Bond No 9 is a New York perfume house founded in 2003 by Laurice Rahme, with most fragrances named after city neighbourhoods. Scent Door decants genuine Bond No 9 bottles into 5ml to 20ml atomizers, so you can wear a scent for a week before deciding whether the full bottle is worth it.
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Bond No 9 is a New York perfume house founded in 2003 by Laurice Rahme, with most fragrances named after city neighbourhoods. Scent Door decants genuine Bond No 9 bottles into 5ml to 20ml atomizers, so you can wear a scent for a week before deciding whether the full bottle is worth it.
From the Scent Door Bond No 9 library
Scent Door stocks 26 Bond No 9 fragrances in decanted form: the genuine bottle, measured into a small aluminium atomizer. This page is a map of what the house actually smells like, which scents tend to suit which people, and how to test one properly.
The idea behind the house
It is a charming idea and completely useless for shopping. Knowing that Bleecker Street runs through the West Village does not tell you it is a sweet, leathery gourmand. Knowing the Hamptons is a beach town does not tell you the scent opens on lime blossom and bergamot. The names are art direction, not description, which is exactly why sampling this house matters more than it does with most others.
Where to start, based on what you already wear
Sweet, gourmand, dessert-adjacent
This corner of the house gets the most attention and is the most likely to feel like too much if it is not your thing. If you sample anywhere before buying, sample here.
- TriBeCa. Hazelnut and cacao over jasmine sambac and cedar, landing on ambroxan, caramel and moss. An oriental vanilla launched in 2020, worn by men and women.
- Bleecker Street. Black currant, thyme and violet leaf into jasmine, cedarwood and cinnamon, with amber, oakmoss, leather, patchouli and vanilla underneath. Unisex, but it leans masculine.
- New York Nights. Gardenia, carnation and jasmine on top, then patchouli, sandalwood and sea notes, drying down to caramel and coffee. Darker and sweeter than the floral opening suggests.
- Greenwich Village. Cassis, litchi and mandarin, then peony, water lily and jasmine, over ambroxan, musk, vanilla, oakmoss and praline. Fruity and generous in a warm room.
Clean, fresh, wearable at work
The quieter end of the line, and where most people should begin if they have never worn Bond No 9 before.
- The Scent of Peace. Grapefruit, black currant, lily of the valley, hedione, cedarwood and musk. The house signature, and the scent most people mean when they say Bond No 9.
- The Scent of Peace for Him. Pineapple, juniper berries and bergamot, currant buds in the heart, cedar and vetiver at the base. A woody aromatic from 2013, and a genuinely separate fragrance from the women’s version.
- Hamptons. Lime blossom and bergamot over white jasmine, magnolia and Turkish rose, settling into sandalwood, amber and musk. Sea-breeze freshness with a creamy finish.
- New York Musk. Grapefruit, black currant, osmanthus and green lilies with nutmeg, resting on musk, patchouli, sandalwood and vetiver. Part of the New York Notes collection.
Florals with some weight
- Nolita. Freesia and tangerine, then jasmine sambac and lily, over sandalwood, musk and amber. A floral woody musk from 2017, listed for women.
- Central Park West. Narcissus, ylang ylang and black pepper with gardenia, jasmine, linden, orris, musk and white oak. Composed by Laurent Le Guernec.
- Gold Coast. Litchi, red apple and apricot into watermelon and French rose, on musk, cedar and vanilla. The fruitiest thing in the range.
- Nuits de Noho. Jasmine, creamy vanilla and sheer patchouli. Three ideas, done well, from the original 2003 line.
- New York Fling. Bergamot and clementine with cardamom, peony, basil, muguet and freesia, over musk, sandalwood, cedarwood, jasmine absolute and amber.
Spice, oud and amber
- New York Oud. Red plum, saffron and orange zest with oud, red rose, orris, patchouli, musk, honey and vetiver. Bond’s attempt at making oud feel urban rather than exotic.
- B9. Citrus and saffron with gardenia leaves, jasmine and orchid, then agarwood, amber, sandalwood, oakmoss, musk and vetiver. Amber spicy, launched 2015.
- NoMad. Quince, black currant and pear into rose, oud, orris and violet leaves, over amber, vanilla and sandalwood. The newest of this group, from 2021.
- Madison Avenue. Apple, bergamot, blackcurrant, rose, jasmine, magnolia, patchouli, ambroxan and praline. Bond named it for New York’s street of boutiques and called it a shopping scent.
- Queens. Bergamot, cardamom and blackberry with tuberose, champaca flower and osmanthus, over sandalwood, benzoin resin, musk and amber.
The Dubai collection
Bond stepped outside New York for this line. Scent Door carries four of them: Dubai Gold, Dubai Ruby, Dubai Indigo and Dubai Jade. They arrive in star-shaped flacons of coloured glass wrapped in gold-toned metalwork cut to resemble the door of an Arabic palace, with light passing through the perforations. Dubai Gold is the easiest way in: brandy, saffron and bitter orange up top, then ginger, cedar and guaiac wood, over musk, amber, patchouli and sandalwood.
The two Scents of Peace are not the same fragrance
What you actually receive
- 5 ml / 0.16 oz
- 8 ml / 0.27 oz
- 10 ml / 0.33 oz
- 15 ml / 0.50 oz
- 20 ml / 0.67 oz
All five sit in twist aluminium atomizers. Each is filled using a measuring device rather than by eye, and there is deliberate air space at the top. That space is what pressurises an atomizer; it is not a short fill. [CLIENT TO CONFIRM: whether all 26 Bond No 9 fragrances are offered in all five sizes, and the current price per size.]
Bond No 9 fragrances stocked at Scent Door
Year the house was founded, at 9 Bond Street
Decant sizes, in twist aluminium atomizers
How to test a Bond No 9 decant so you learn something
- Wear it on skin, not paper. Bond’s gourmands change considerably once your skin warms the base, and a blotter will not show you that.
- Give it a full day. TriBeCa and Bleecker Street open sweet and settle into something woodier and drier by the third hour.
- Test one at a time. Two of these at once will fight each other. They are not shy compositions.
- Wear it where you would actually wear it. A scent that reads well outdoors in cold air can be overwhelming in a warm meeting room.
- Pay attention to what other people say, not only what you think in front of the mirror. Sillage is the hardest thing to judge on yourself.
Who Bond No 9 suits
It also suits collectors, because the range is genuinely varied. A hazelnut-and-cacao gourmand, a saffron oud, a grapefruit floral and a pineapple-juniper aromatic all carry the same logo. Working through four or five decants will teach you more about your own taste than a single full bottle ever could.
If you would rather read a ranked shortlist than a map of the house, the top ten Bond No 9 sellers post covers ten of these in review format. The full Bond No 9 range sits in the brand archive, Our Bottles explains the decanting and the fill process in more detail, and the shipping, refund and return policy covers what happens after you order. If you are building a comparison set, Tom Ford decants make a useful counterpoint, or browse the full catalogue across every brand.
Answered plainly
01. Why are Bond No 9 perfumes named after New York neighbourhoods?
Bond No 9 names its fragrances after New York neighbourhoods and landmarks because the entire house is built as a tribute to the city. Founded in 2003 by Laurice Rahme and named for its headquarters and boutique at 9 Bond Street in NoHo, the brand set out to bottle specific pieces of New York geography. The names are a concept rather than a description, so TriBeCa, Nolita and Lafayette tell you where a scent is pointed emotionally, not what it smells like.
02. What is the difference between The Scent of Peace and The Scent of Peace for Him?
They are two different fragrances that happen to share a name. The Scent of Peace is a floral woody musk built on grapefruit, black currant, lily of the valley, hedione, cedarwood and musk. The Scent of Peace for Him, launched in 2013, is a woody aromatic with pineapple, juniper berries and bergamot on top, currant buds in the heart, and cedar and vetiver at the base. Liking one tells you nothing about whether you will like the other.
03. Which Bond No 9 fragrance should I try first?
The Scent of Peace is the usual starting point, because it is the house signature and the least polarising thing Bond makes. If you already know you like sweet, gourmand fragrances, begin with TriBeCa or Bleecker Street instead. If you want something fresh and office-friendly, Hamptons and New York Musk are the safer opening moves.
04. Are Bond No 9 fragrances unisex?
Most of them are. Bond lists a majority of the range as being for women and men, including TriBeCa, New York Nights, Central Park West, B9, NoMad, Lafayette and Dubai Gold. A handful are aimed at one audience: The Scent of Peace for Him is listed for men, while Nolita, Gold Coast, Nuits de Noho and New York Fling are listed for women.
05. What is the Bond No 9 Dubai collection?
The Dubai collection is Bond No 9’s step outside New York, and Scent Door carries four of them: Dubai Gold, Dubai Ruby, Dubai Indigo and Dubai Jade. They come in star-shaped flacons of coloured glass wrapped in gold-toned metalwork cut to resemble the door of an Arabic palace, with light passing through the perforations. Dubai Gold, an oriental spicy from 2017, opens on brandy, saffron and bitter orange.
06. Is there really a Bond No 9 fragrance called BondNo9.com?
Yes, BondNo9.com is a real fragrance in the line, named after the brand’s own web address. It sits in the Scent Door catalogue alongside the neighbourhood scents and the Dubai collection. It is also a good illustration of how little the Bond naming convention tells you about what is inside the bottle.
07. How long do Bond No 9 fragrances last?
Longevity varies considerably across the range, which is the honest answer and part of the reason decants exist. The gourmands and ambers, such as TriBeCa, Bleecker Street, B9 and New York Oud, tend to stay with you longest, while the citrus-led fresh scents fade faster. Skin chemistry, weather and how much you apply affect the result more than the brand does, so wear a decant for a full day before drawing conclusions.
08. Which Bond No 9 is best if I like sweet, gourmand fragrances?
TriBeCa and Bleecker Street are the two to try. TriBeCa runs hazelnut and cacao into ambroxan, caramel and moss, while Bleecker Street layers cinnamon, leather, patchouli and vanilla under black currant, thyme and violet leaf. New York Nights is the third option, drying down to caramel and coffee. All three are strong, so a small decant is the sensible way in.
09. Are Scent Door's Bond No 9 decants authentic?
Yes. Scent Door decants genuine Bond No 9 bottles into smaller atomizers, and nothing is mixed, reformulated or substituted. The company states that every product on the site is 100% original and authentic with no imitations or knock-offs, and each decant is filled using a measuring device rather than by eye. Scent Door is an independent retailer rather than an authorised Bond No 9 distributor, and it does not sell imitations or copies of any kind.
10. Which Bond No 9 bottle should someone new to the house try first?
Start with whichever neighbourhood scent matches the character you want rather than the most famous name. Bond No 9 builds its fragrances around specific New York places, so the range spans bright and clean through to dense and sweet. Sampling two or three from opposite ends of that spread tells you more about your own taste than starting with the best-seller.
Twenty-six Bond No 9s, measured into travel bottles.
Every one authentic, filled to order in California, from 5 ml to 20 ml.
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