New York's West Side. Snuggled between Morningside Heights, Central Park and the Hudson River, this area of Manhattan has quite a rich history. One of my favorite haunts in the city is the Museum of American Folk Art which can be found on the West Side, as can Lincoln Center and Julliard. Here are the famed NY brownstones and their residents. In the Spring, flowers line some of the streets and residents and visitors alike visit the Farmer's Market. Here, also, is the Dakota hotel, where John Lennon lived and died. Grant's tomb, Riverside Park, and Columbia University round out this diverse neighborhood.
While we're talking about Lincoln Center, Julliard and Lennon, let's cast our gaze on the musical history of this area. Back in the mid-19th century, songwriters and performers participated in the surge or popular music referred to as Tin Pan Alley - right there on the Lower West Side. Carnegie Hall is on the West Side, but so were the Cotton Club and The Copacabana and Studio 54.
This musical diversity is what Bond No. 9's fragrance is all about.
Read more after the jump...
(image source)
West Side is described as "an ultra-melodious eau de parfum that finds the
scent equivalent for the sounds of music in its full-bodied, mellow
composition, its undulating rhythms, its harmonies, its pitch - and
yes, its notes. Whether they're high or low, dark or light, sweet or
sharp - notes is what music and fragrance are both about..."
Try to find your music in West Side! This fragrance is
purposefully fluid and therefore everyone gets a bit of a different
dance from the notes. All I know is this: this is one of my favorite Bond No. 9 scents and when I decide to splurge on a bottle, it's a toss-up between this, Silver Factory, and Chinatown.
West Side notes lead with Rose, Ylang Ylang and
Peony. Heart notes are Sandalwood and Amber. The scent is nestled
securely in base notes of Vanilla and Musk.
On me, the rose, peony and ylang ylang start the show- with the peony
in the lead. The rose is a subtle background singer- not a heady, blow
you away, old lady rose! The amber is also evident almost immediately
for me, which is great because it's one of my favorite notes. Later,
the sandalwood, vanilla and musk prevail, but on me never go powdery
(yay!). Definitely a great tune.
As with all Bond No. 9 scents, the West Side bottle deserves a mention. It's in a red superstar flacon, and has lovely multi-colored musical notes all over one side, and one gigantic note on the other (along with the Bond No. 9 subway token logo). So pretty!
Visit Bond No. 9 to sniff West Side: Bond No. 9 site; Saks.
Brownstone image courtesy of jayleonhart.com ; WestSide bottle image courtesy of beautycafe.com; John and Yoko in front of the Dakota courtesy of polaris images, peony courtesy of modernbook.
Edited to include: Apparently it
is true that great minds think alike. Only yesterday my blogger buddy at The Daily Cookie reviewed this scent, too! Amazingly funny coincidence, since yesterday I was so busy getting the new site ready that it was one of the first days I ever missed reading her site. Please visit The Daily Cookie for her review of West Side.