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.

This is the most realistic rendition of what a beach smells like, that I've ever smelled. Excellent choice of choosing medicinal oud backed up with myrhh, and a clean musk coming through nicely. The lemon cuts through with the seaweed note to elevate and emulate a fresh breeze accord. Black pepper pushing the top and middle notes, and further transitions the beach vibe with a soapy touch. I like the beach, 5/5

This is a great fragrance to spray on your shirt after a day at the beach or out on the river or lake as it compliments the natural "aromas" that accompany being outside in the sun in or on salt water. It doesn't conflict with most suntan lotions either, which is nice. It is also nice on its own after a shower. All in all, this is a great choice for hot days. It can be addictive, too.

Good perfume. Top quality Niche with great notes for summer. Yes I do smell the lotion, note but the mixture is nice! Not bad. Thanks Greg for the sample. Sweet, clean and a hint of the sea.

This is a masculine fragrance that is very fresh, an easy like for the citrus lovers. it is also sexy and has less projection than other Bond perfumes. A great one for spring/summer!

The opening of this slightly reminds me of Bond no 9 perfume but the citrus quickly comes in calmed down the oud. So far so good. Will provide an update after I get a full wearing.

vibrant and crispy aquatic oud with good sillage and duration..ultra nice for summer days and nights

Lovely Summer beach fragrance !

I’m not sure when Shelter Island died. Was it when the Clintons visited back in the 90s? When Andre Balasz opened Sunset Beach? Shelter Island was never the place for the mooring of super yachts or for the vacationing of presidents. So while the death knell for this vacation spot was sounded long ago, Bond creating this fragrance is certainly nails in the coffin. Well, now that I got that out of the way, I like this scent. My family has owned a house on Shelter Island since the 1960s. Shelter Island is a place to get away from the city, from the suburbs, from civilization. It’s the place to go sailing, to go fishing, to get drunk and walk around in the dark. Shelter Island is spooky, it’s haunted, it’s a secret, or at least it was. Shelter Island was the anti-Hamptons and Bond creating this fragrance in homage to the island just signals to how much that is no longer true. Or maybe...it doesn’t matter. Who cares, right? My parents met on Crescent Beach in the 80s, got married at Our Lady of the Isle and I’ve spent many a summer there. But nothing lasts forever. Shelter Island is a special place. Is Shelter Island by Bond No 9 special? No. Does it matter? Not really. Shelter Island doesn’t really have “beaches” unless you consider rocky shores and baby waves to be a beach. Bay shores have their place in coastal culture but they’re not true beaches in the Atlantic sense of the word. But does it matter? No. You want a beach? Go to Montauk with the rest of the assholes from the city. Anywhere you can plop a chair, pop open a Truly (if you’re basic) and get some rays is worthy, right? Sure. Why not. Shelter Island is special because it’s is decidedly unspecial. That’s how I feel about this fragrance. I like it in the way that I liked Cool Water. Effortlessly marine, unoffensive. Nothing special, but nothing wrong with that. The opening note is aquatic, yes, but that juicy lemon is balanced nicely with the mineral of the seaweed. This unique combination is actually VERY Shelter Island. These “beaches” we spoke of? Sometimes little more than seaweed repositories. But alas, the fishy quality of the mineral doesn’t last very long and that is a good thing: the aquatic qualities give way to a more subdued base where we can see those florals and musk come to light. This is certainly unisex but I would say that it tends to dry down more feminine, it really does dry down to a more sophisticated version of Cool Water, which was one of my favorites growing up. The oud really grounds this one and prevents it from evaporating and floating away like so many marine scents can. After spraying this again for the purposes of this review, I have to say the mineral (seaweed) note really does remind me of the way the water smells on the way over to the island on the ferry. That first liberating feeling; putting your car in park, stepping out of your car, walking over to the bow and watching the wake flow back to the shore. The freedom of being separated from the mainland. TL;DR: You don’t need waves.

One of the very few truly fresh oud-based scents on the market. Unfortunately, if you are a consumer who is prefers masculine leaning scents, this may not fit the bill for you. The first blast catches you off guard - my nose actually gets the dark, base notes for the first 5 to 10 minutes. I get a soft woody mix that comes across as an amalgamation of oud, musk, sandalwood and other non-descript woody, smooth, warm elements. Then, the fresh sea-air starts to take over. I don't get much pepper but the sea-weed note is definitely the star for most of the scent's life. It doesn't come off as overly salty and there might be a slight, very slight artificial quality to it but it's well done for the most part. Where this scent inches towards the feminine is the duo/partner to the seaweed note = the white lily. On my skin, and in the air, this floral and slightly waxy note plays hand-in-hand with the seaweed and honestly when I move, the wafts of it make me think I'm wearing a perfume marketed for women (which may not be a bad thing depending on your taste). It's kind of tricky because sometimes the seaweed takes over and then your nose feeds to your brain that the darker base notes are lurking but they're not really at the forefront after the first 10 minutes. To conclude, if you're a guy who prefers clearly defined masculine scents or unisex scents that clearly lean masculine, this is not a safe blind-buy - you'd need to test it on your skin first. If you're a woman who likes traditionally feminine leaning scents and you are on the search for a fresh oud-based scent, this is probably blind-buy worthy. Ultimately, it's a good fragrance that performs well and is always present for a 7 to 12+hour wearing. YT Channel - The Scentrovert

Bond No. 9 Shelter Island goes in several directions for me---citrus / aquatic, spicy, and even candy sweet, reminding of I Love New York For All. It lands somewhere between, the aquatic seaweed and citrus notes being complemented by the pepper, myrrh, and oud, with a musk base likely adding the sweetness that I smell. I don't get the lotion smell in particular but I can certainly see how this smells like women's cosmetics, though the lipstick/makeup smell (i.e. Chanel Egoist) isn't something that cannot be flattering on a man. This definitely strikes me as a unisex, year-round, day/night fragrance, sufficiently strong and multi-directional. So for that versatility alone, it offers something special. Longevity surprisingly isn't great since this does lie on more of the aquatic/fresh side. Due to its complexity, Shelter Island really needs to be tested out on the skin to see which notes come out. I imagine that most will find it provocative and interesting even if not a great fit. It leans feminine on me so I'd probably not consider it, especially at the house price, but it's a fun composition. 7 out of 10

Similar to KENZO "Pour Homme" from 1991/92 but modernized with OUD and therefore creamier. Pleasamt and very wearable for anyone during the summer. The floral aspect is subtle and only really noticeable in the opening. It will sell well as it is rather commercial and smells pleasantly of summer suntan lotion. Perfect by the beach or on casual Friday at work: in fact any day in summer for the day.

To me this is a very light and airy scent that absolutely smells like good sunscreen or lotion. On first spray I get floral notes with a little spice and citrus, after that calms down it’s a pure sunscreen scent for me which is nice as it has a little warmth and smoothness. Longevity is light but great for a beach/pool day on a sunny warm day.

There must be something wrong with my bottle! Did I get a wrong fragrance in a Shelter Island bottle? I'm seriously considering that when I see this many people talking about this being summery or beach-like or fresh and citrusy. This is the 2nd time I wear it and I'm getting the same I got the 1st time around: Resinous sweetness (almost like honey) and oud with a very mild floral component working silently in the back and perhaps a little wood so, I'd never dare to wear this on a summer day, not unless I want to choke myself and everyone around me. This isn't a bad scent at all, it's quite nice, something I could wear during an evening perhaps in the fall or the colder side of spring, just not summer. I get nothing oceanic, aquatic, citrusy or even fresh on Shelter Island. Has anyone else got the same experience with this? any feedback?

Looking at the number 1 closest fragrance to this (Signature Scent), and having had S.S. for the longest time, I can honestly say that I was one of the people who said this fragrance was NOT similar to it at all. MAYBE they're distant cousins, but that's about it. They're both powdery to me, but SS is much more sparkling, where this one is much flatter- sort of like the difference between a carbonated drink and a regular drink. I'm not saying Shelter Island is worse because of that, it's just different. Also, the seaweed note becomes more prominent in it during the drydown, separating it from SS even more. All in all, this one is okay for me. Fire also has a seaweed note and it's soo much better.

Truly a lover of Bond No. 9 fragrances. Madison Ave Park is an absolute love. This one fell a little short for me. It is a very 2 dimensional scent - if that makes sense. Falls squarely in the citrus & marine. It is also leaning more masculine than fem. It's nice but I think there are more well rounded citrus choices if that is the vibe youre going for.