One of my favorite fragrance brands, Bond No.9, introduces the newest scent in their roster of famous neighborhoods - Brooklyn.  Bond crosses the bridge with this unisex scent with romantic, sexy and distinctive top notes of cardamom and grapefruit. Many of the other elements of the fragrance get their inspiration from various Brooklyn neighborhoods such as Cypress-wood (from the Koi Pond in the Brooklyn Botanical Garden), Geranium Leaves (drifting along the DUMBO waterfront), Juniper Berries (Williamsburg martini), Cedarwood (Fort Greene antique shops) and Leather (evocative of Red Hook). On the cutting-edge of perfumery, Brooklyn also has what’s known in the trade as sillage, which is to say, it doesn’t cling to the skin, but rather diffuses, leaving a trail behind it - très sexy!

As always, the flacon is just as gorgeous as the scent it contains. The vivid colors of the graffitiesque handstyle letters are decorated directly onto the transparent glass - a Bond No.9 first! I can’t wait to get my hands on Brooklyn. I love that it’s a unisex scent as I don’t really like super-feminine flowery or powdery scents. With eclectic notes of cardomom and leather - two of my favorite scents - this is sure to be a scent that is as laid back and understated as the city it’s named after.

Brooklyn launches in March at Bond No.9’s four New York City boutiques and at Saks Fifth Avenue nationwide. The eau de parfum is available in two sizes: 100ml and 50 ml, and retail for $220 and $145 respectively.

Our favorite multi-sensory t-shirt line, Cream Of The Crop, just released its third season, “The Third Time’s The Charm.”  This collection is inspired by all things luxurious - think big crystal chandeliers, Bond No.9 Candles and the ubiquitous Chanel perfume bottle.  We gave you a sneak peak of what’s to come this holiday season at Magic, but I always love to see the shirts as characters in the stories that designers layout for us in their look books.  Mika, the founder and designer of Cream does not disappoint.  Her tale of a young woman out on the town is really cute and I especially love the styling of her chandelier top (down to the hearts on the stockings!). And, of course, each tee is scented with a theme-appropriate scent! So kawaii!!
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The Crystallized Amphora, $3,500

Every year, Bond No.9 gives certain bottles the “Swarovski Treatment,” that is, they bejewel and bedazzle some of their most popular scents in Swarovski-covered flacons.  This holiday season the bottles are more beautiful than ever. First, the scent that got the annual “Swarovski Treatment” is Bleeker Street (a gourmand oriental mingling of patchouli, cassis, caramel, woods, and musk). The limited-edition 100ml lime green-chartreuse-amethyst-gold starburst watercolor flacon is studded, back and front, with a harlequinesque pattern of matching crystals with an extra-large green crystal front and center (photo below).

The second set of shiny, pretty things are the Swarovski “All Stars” - three favorite scents with the tiniest and most reflective of all the Swarovski stones—five thousand of them per 50ml bottle! The pearlized milk glass Eau de New York bottle (citruses-cyclamen-jasmine-vetiver) is studded with diamond-colored aurora borealis stones. Chelsea Flowers (peonies-magnolia-rose) is decked with emerald-colored stones. Chinatown (peach-gardenia-tuberose-sandalwood) features ruby-colored stones. These bottle are gorgeous and you can view the picture below.

The most stunning and breath-taking of the Bond No.9 Swarovski set is The Crystallized Amphora, an outsized 42 oz amphora vitrine, breathtakingly covered with 16,500 hand-applied platinum Swarovski stones. The Amphora’s crowning glory is an elliptical mirror with honeycomb base, and it wouldn’t be complete without the golden spigot. The best part is that you can fill The Crystalized Amphora with your choice among Bond No.9’s 32 scents. This bejeweled beauty comes in a white patent leather gift case, also adorned with crystals.

Fragrance, by definition is luxurious, but I love how Bond No.9 continues to take decadence to new heights. These flacons are gorgeous and are works of art themselves, as much as the mesmerizing scents they contain. They make beautiful gifts or wonderful splurges for oneself. View the other bejeweled bottles after the jump.

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And Bond no. 9 has answered my craving! With 18 different neighborhood scents wrapped like perfect little candy confections. I’m so excited to try them all! Each day I’m going to try a different scent and give you my take on it. Stay tuned to find out which are my favorites.

I love perfume and have been a bit of a snob as far as scents go as I’ve had a personal rule that perfume should be French. It all stems from my mom, long story. New York based Bond no. 9 has made me revisit this decision. Their iconic bottle has been a canvas for beautiful designs, each inspired by different neighborhoods of New York. A few months back we announced that Bond no. 9 had launched a series of 12 perfumes with the Andy Warhol Foundation. On March 1st, Bond no.9 is launching its second fragrance in collaboration with The Warhol Foundation: Andy Warhol Union Square. It’s a big, fresh, seductive green floral with equally major inspiration: Warhol’s Flowers silk-screens and Union Square itself, the second location of Warhol’s Factory (and the place where he created his Flowers). The scent is launching in early March because after all: “My favorite smell is the first smell of spring in New York,â€? Warhol once said.

And can we talk about the design of the bottle? It’s gorgeous. Half the mystique of perfume is the bottle it comes in and Bond no.9 does true justice to Warhol’s vision. If you’re super-serious, and you have money to spend, then the limited edition collector’s porfolio is for you. The collection includes 10 bottles, each with different flower prints.

Limited-edition Portfolio of ten bottles, each a different Flowers print. Suggested retail price: $1500 for ten 100ml bottles.

Available in 100 ml and 50ml flacons, Andy Warhol Union Square will be available at Bond No. 9’s four New York boutiques and at Saks Fifth Avenue nationwide beginning March 15, 2008.

Read Bond No. 9’s story of the inspiration, scent and bottle design after the jump . . .
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Bond No. 9, a perfume comany based in New York, has devoted its business creating scents inspired by, and named after, different neighborhoods in New York City. From Coney Island to Chinatown, from Wall Street to Broadway, there’s a scent for all of your favorite NYC spots. Bond No. 9 just announced that they teamed up with the Andy Warhol Foundation to produce more than 12 Warhol collectible scents. The first scent, Silver Factory, is inspired by Andy Warhol’s studio in the Sixties which had aluminum foil walls. In addition to working with the Andy Warhol Foundation, Bond has created signature scents for Saks Fifth Avenue. One of the bottles is encrusted with Swarovski Crystals. There have been many collaborations of late and I think this is really exciting because we haven’t seen too much on the perfume side of things. Read the full story after the jump . . .

Image & Info: wwd
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