Shelter Island

When you smell enough Bond No 9 fragrances, you start making connections from one to the other. This one is built on the DNA of Bond Signature Scent, Bond Fire Island, Bond Wallstreet, and pepper. I like signature scent and Wallstreet, so naturally I like this one too. Opening is spicy marine seaweed and lemon (wallstreet) musk "oud" and florals (signature) and in the base is sunscreen (fire island). If you own 2 out of 3 of these aforementioned fragrances, it's redundant. Otherwise it's a good value if you can find it for 140 USD or less. I have tried and owned dozens of Bond fragrances, and none of them are worth full retail except Warhol (original retail) or Cooper Square (possibly discontinued). But this one is a lot of bang for your buck if you can find it at a good price. Scent 8.7/10

I was surprised by how prevalent the oud was in this at first. When I sprayed it on, it was like a lighter version of Bond no. 9's New York Oud, but it almost immediately softened into this citrusy-oud number. Very nice. Initially I wasn't happy because I was expecting more of a typical "beachy" scent I guess, and to me this is more of a "city by the shore" scent moreso than a beach scent. However, I find it steers slightly more to the masculine side, and also to my surprise my wife loved it on me. I'm giving this 8/10 because it's very wearable for me, and I can't believe my wife oooh'd and ahhh'd at me; that gets an additional point.

Shelter Island opens with zesty citrus and peppercorn, imagine squinting from the bright sun as you walk towards the shoreline. The lilies take hold gradually, carpeting the experience in green and making it feel somehow humid. A balmy ocean breeze. Further into the drydown it becomes quite woody and resinous, sharply alcoholic from the oud. Vodka martinis sipped around a sunset bonfire. It’s a complete story, this scent. A truly beautiful one. UPDATE: This morning, a full 13 hours after application, I woke to the faintest hint of sunscreen. It was pure magic.

The subtle floral at the top was a nice surprise, but what sold me was the natural seaweed I was getting well into base notes. One of my favorite fresh fragrances, but the poor sillage will have me waiting for a sale before I commit to a bigger bottle. You'll need three pumps (minimum) if you're going outside, which defeats the purpose of a spring/summer fragrance daily driver. Edit: I got a bigger bottle. Just too good to resist. The ultimate beach frag. 9/10

You can see in the accords list there is a lot going on. It definitely smells a little floral, a little green, a little citrus, I get aspects of the sea in there that might be coming from the seaweed, it's slightly sweet, etc. It's all put together nicely and surrounding this fantastic oud. The oud is not pungent but it is the main player for me in this scent. It's perfect, adds just a bit of earthiness to what otherwise I think would be a pretty light scent.