Apparently having a 10th anniversary makes Bond No. 9 feel all "Hey it's sexy times!", because to celebrate theirs they created a fantastic but steamy scent. Wearer beware!
The perfume, called simply Bond No. 9, is the latest in a short list of perfumes jumping on the Oud train. Oud is used as a descriptive term in the Middle East, helping catalog a type of scent, but here we use it as an ingredient. An expensive one, in fact, which seems to be fabulously attractive to the smaller, niche perfumers (see: Le Labo Oud 27, Amouage Epic, Kilian Pure Oud, Tom Ford Oud Wood, Tom's YSL M7, Juliette Has a Gun's Midnight Oud, etc...).
What is Oud, anyway?
OK... it's kinda gross. There are these Aquilaria trees, you see, and they tend to get infected with a manky, nasty parasitic mold (fungus). See where the sexy comes in? Er...
Well anyway, the tree produces a dense and strong-smelling resin in response to the mold (like a self-defense mechanism), in an attempt to slow down the infection. The infected wood ("agar" or "agarwood") is darker and more dense than that of the healthy parts of the tree. This damaged wood is harvested and used for incense or perfumes.
Downside: the types of trees that create agarwood are a "potentially threatened species" and the practice of harvesting the agarwood isn't helping. You see, people actually proactively infect some trees to "force" the creation of agarwood. Naturally occurring agarwood is referred to as "agarwood #1" while the man-assisted version is called "agarwood #2". No clue which is used in Bond No. 9's scent.
What does Oud smell like? I haven't smelled a more pure version, but the word on the street is that it's a smoky, charred, woody scent with a tinge of the primal and earthy. It's one that potentially brings out a strong reaction, too, as many people recoil even as others lean forward for more. Does it smell dirty or medicinal or sharp or too primal? Or does it smell deep and sultry, sexy and animalistic, and gloriously resinous? You'll have to decide for yourself...
Bond No. 9
Top Notes: Oud & Rose. The rose adds a sweet floral edge to the "feral" oud, which is easily influenced by the scents around it.
Heart Note: The middle of the scent is Tonka Beans (these are apparently South American) and Bond No. 9 promises they will lend a "caramel almond flavor" and "melt any remaining inhibitions".
Bottom Note: Musk. Bond says this musk is "inspired by the Asian musk deer", so I assume it's synthetic (?).
The Review
I really like the scent, but can easily see why it might not be up everyone's alley. It's got a dirty, smoky feeling to it straight out of the gate. The rose is not terribly present -- just enough to soften the grime of the oud. I enjoy the heart notes. Er.... note. I'm a big tonka fan. The musk used here is a sharp one, but not terribly animalistic or strong.
In fact, I find the whole scent to be fairly close to the skin (which is good since you can't be sure of what others may think of your oud!).
Wet, this perfume smells very, very masculine, but later settles to a pleasantly unisex fragrance, and not the kind you smell and figure "it's pretty manly but I could probably pull it off". It's truly unisex, taking on a lot of personal flavor from the person wearing it.
Does it make me feel super sexy? Yes. Does it make me feel guilty about the poor trees? Uh huh.
Conflicted sex. I was raised a Catholic. What's new!? :)