Madison Avenue

I'm a little bit of a Bond junkie too, like the previous reviewer. However, they do have some scents that haven't wowed me either. This new release is quite nice though! And yes, I blind bought it too. I knew just by the note listing I would love it, and guess what, it's a winner for me. In the opening, I get a little bit of the apple, but the bergamot stands out more to me. The opening is fresh, but then the rose starts peeking through. The rose note is fairly strong on my skin; it actually overpowers the jasmine; I can only smell small nuances of it. As it's drying, the rose still dominates. Then some sweetness from the praline peeks through, turning it into a sweet rose aroma. The dry down is a bit darker with the patchouli, but it still retains some freshness. On my skin, the final ending is rose, patchouli, and amber with hints of praline. I wore this out and kept getting nice wafts of fragrance wherever I went. Even when I got home a few hours later, I could still smell it. The sillage for me was heavy for a couple of hours, then it settled to a more moderate sillage after that. Longevity would've probably been most of day if I hadn't put it on so late this evening. Another great purchase from Bond!

This fragrance is a masterpiece. My first time smelling it I was knocked out of my socks. This smells like happiness in a bottle. It is girly, fun, and playful but the patchouli and amber give it just enough of a twist to make it not so teeny bopper sweet. My first time wearing this after purchasing the full bottle people were practically falling at my feet asking me what I was wearing. I wore it to the gym that evening and all the ladies there were mesmerized saying "I'm going to have to treat myself and get that asap" or "Thank you for making the workout so enjoyable with your perfume". Longevity and sillage is great, which is what I look for in a perfume. To give you an example, my fiance can barely smell most of my perfumes if at all. I sprayed it at 9:30 am at work and without respraying it he could still smell it well while sitting next to me at 8:30 pm that night. All the compliments that I received were from women. Men do think it smells good just not sexy. My best friend called it "cute".

So upon first spray... ooo! She's punchy. I won't lie, the patchouli smacked me in the nose a little bit, and had me kind of worried. But it very quickly gave way to this jammy, fruity fragrance. The patchouli in this adds depth... It's not extremely noticeable. I think it's very well done in this fragrance. I mostly smell just a fruity rose perfume. The rose is very noticeable to my nose. This is a really pleasant fragrance... Think walking outside on a crisp spring morning, surrounded by a bunch of berry bushes intertwined into lovely rose vines. I keep getting whiffs of this on my wrist and it's just a lovely fragrance. I feel like it would justify the price tag, this is something you would smell on a very classy put together woman. It's fruity, but it isn't childish. It's a rose scent, but it's not your grandmothers rose. I really like this! Perhaps a full bottle is in my future. Once I use up my tester, I will consider.

Bond No. 9 says this is the "scent of shopping". I am the last person on the planet to say whether or not that's an accurate description, because I hate shopping. To me, Madison Ave. smells like an adventure, so if shopping is an adventure for you, the name fits well. When I hear "Madison Ave" I think of iconic advertising, and huge concerts (Madison Square Garden). This fragrance connotes both of these as well. It's a bold patchouli-rose with a peppery spiciness that develops into a soft white floral undertone. Upon first spray this seems like it's going to be a bit harsh, but the longer its on my skin, it makes me imagine a watercolor of Madison Avenue on a balmy late Spring day. Fortunately for me, this is, to my nose, a chypre, not a fruity-floral. It doesn't smell like something one would want to eat. As another reviewer commented, there is something mysterious about this fragrance, which makes me love it.

This is lovely! Very fruity and fresh. To me the blend of berries and lime turn into pineapple! This is in the same vein as Givenchy ‘s Ang Demon Secret meaning both have a strong fruit note blended with patchouli. I must say though that I have many scents in my (small) collection that give off the same vibe for a lot less money. I am very happy to have a large sample of this to enjoy on these hot summer days but cannot justify buying this even with a discounted price from the secondary market (eBay or fragrancenet). Staying power on me is minimal but I sure love the dry down which remains fresh and never turns cloying. I may have to grab Rihanna’s Rogue since many find them similar and with the low price tag. Sounds too good to be true to me!