Coney Island by Bond No 9 {Perfume Review & Musings} {New Perfume}

Coney Island is the upcoming new release by Bond no9 which will be available from June 1st with pre-orders ready to be taken on May 15. It is the 29th addition to their collection and like The Hamptons and Fire Island, it is a fragrance with a summery sea resort theme. Coney Island takes the marine motif and brings to it a gourmand and fruity twist together with the showcasing of a savory and boozey accord of Margarita. The latter alludes to the relaxing image of a cocktail sipped on the beach and at the same time is the only perceptible reference to the sense of excess that seemed to inhabit that locale, at least in its heydays.

There are several Coney Islands and obviously the fragrance wishes to support the idea of the gentrification of the resort rather than allude to the mounds of hot dogs, knishes and the musky mingling of a million bodies, as could be experienced on Sundays from the 1920s onwards when the working class rushed to its shore thanks to the newly constructed subway in an era that came to be known as the Nickel Empire. Artists were so struck by the hard-to-fathom over-population of its beachfront that it became a common theme in paintings of Coney Island.

If at other times, Coney Island served as the backdrop of a crime scene in noir movies where its lack of measure translated into an atmosphere flickering with too many lights, resounding with too many people and their screams hesitating between delight and terror all gorged with street food, an atmosphere condusive to the covering up of a silent shady murder, Coney Island the fragrance is the untainted version of its sinful unruly sides. There is even redemption in the ultimate message of distinction and exquisiteness it distillates.......

Coney Island was created by perfumer Richard Herpin. It is a slightly unusual fragrance as the development leads you in a direction that was not fully expected as one started inhaling the mouth-salivating notes of Margarita with Tequila Blanco. According to Bond no9, "Top notes are Margarita mix, with fiery Tequila Blanco already poured in, un-humble melon that goes way beyond fruit salad, freshly ripened guava that's naughty but sweet. The heart has cinnamon in sensual mode (fougedaboud apple pie), chocolate, pour-able caramel, out to intoxicate. Base notes are decadent, un-redeemed musk, together with vanilla, cedarwood, sandalwood."

The perfume starts with the aroma of a Margarita cocktail complete with lime wedge, salt on the brim, and frosty ice. It creates the olfactory and gustatory illusion of salt on the edge of a cocktail glass on the backdrop of a stroll taken in the early morning on the boardwalk of Coney Island moistened by sea spray.The illusion of the Margarita mix is efficacious enough to trigger a salivating reaction. The drink then fades away a bit and sugary notes become more prominent evoking the vision of a crêpe bretonne with white sugar in its middle melting in the places where drops of squeezed lime and lemon have hit it. Some spicy and nutty notes make their entrances, the latter evoking Nutella. The gourmand notes of chocolate and caramel and even apple pie are discernable when one pays close attention but in fact blend in and are understated. They create a sensation of warmth in the fragrance and probably convey a subliminal message of comfort. The typical Calone molecule creating a marine iodine accord with slightly floral overtones is persistent throughout and quite pronounced with its piscean nuances evoking varech and its light metallic overtones. People who do not like marine perfumes in principle will not find here a discrete allusion that can be easily overlooked. Coney Island proclaims that a fully maritime brew is the way to go. People on the other hand who enjoy the symbolism of chocolate with oysters will catch on the aphrodisiac hints.

As the scent develops, slightly burnt nuances of amber emerge that are reminiscent of the "neon amber" note in CK IN2U for Her, only in this case the facets range from electric bulb to burnt tire (these are very faint). This passage is dry and can conjure up cement as well as sand and dry skin warmed up by the sun. I was suprised to be reminded in a very distant way of Cabochard by Grès which is a very dry chypre with pale green and yellow nuances. The connection with the house of Grès was reinforced when I discovered that the sillage of the perfume unfolds like the impression of a large elegant basket of exquisite fruits sprinkled with musky sugar and woodsy undertones. This motif appears in the new Ambre de Cabochard as it includes a so-called note of "corbeille de fruits" (fruit basket). It is a very distinct sensation that invites the vizualization of a classic basket of fruits filled with a variety of fruits. It is a complex, unusual accord and smells exquisite.  

Bond No. 9‚s Coney Island is sold at all four Bond No. 9 stores, at selected branches of Saks Fifth Avenue, and at Harvey Nichols, Harrods, Paris Gallery, Lane Crawford.  Besides being available in its 3.4 oz. artist-designed superstar bottle and box presentation ($180), 1.7oz travel size ($125), Coney Island may be purchased by the ounce ($40), either in a 2-ounce basic spray flacon with gilt honeycomb cap ($25) or in our unique our unique vintage or art bottles, featured in a wide variety of designs ($60 - $200)."