bond no 9… i’m throwing hands! 😡😤

so as you all know, i made a post a while ago talking about my first time trying some basic niche fragrances, dipping ma toe in the water and purchasing some samples from a few higher end stuff, and lafayette street by bond no 9.

i mentioned that i did enjoy this scent, even recommending it to someone wanting to try it out. but honestly, after the hype died down for me, i looked more into them as a brand, and started to understand them better…

bear with me, im going to say something very controversial.

bond no 9 is kind of a massive disappointment.

THERE, I SAID IT, AHHHHHHH SORRY (not sorry at all)

i went to try out their stuff in person from some stores. felt the bottles, the caps, smelled them, tested them on my skin.

and… seriously? this is something that i’m paying 400 dollars for?

look i’m a sucker for expensive stuff. i like creed, i like tom ford, louis vuitton scents, big fans of all of them. but for me it runs deeper than just scents. presentation, packaging, storytelling, i mean it all plays a part.

creed, i mean, look at those bottles. you can tell it’s meticulously made. handcrafted scents, a beautiful, engraved, heavy cap, fantastic packaging.

louis vuitton, a simple, minimalist design with a sickkkkk magnetic cap, tom ford private blend with their chess-style bottles! tom ford private blend is my favorite bottle design. xerjoff, with the iconic egg-shape design, high quality materials with the bottles, and next level presentation.

but bond no 9 feels cheap and plasticky. designs are kind of tacky (new york nights is kinda cool), the starfish shape is iconic but odd looking to me, and atomizers are incredibly mid.

i KNOW this sounds super nitpicky, like obviously you should care about the actual scent, but packaging and presentation matters to me.

this might be my ocd talking, but if i’m going to pay for a premium brand, i want premium packaging and presentation. i want heritage, storytelling, and artisanal quality. if they’re not going to do that with their presentation, so be it, but you’re gonna have to cut those prices down to versace mancera prada levels!

now like i said before, “why care about the presentation? the actual scent matters next!”

well im gonna start blasting this next.

lafayette street is fantastic, but generic, underwhelming, and borderline synthetic for the price. theres another scent by the same perfumer, which smells exactly the same, for 90% less of the price.

i actually did a comparison, where i sprayed 3 high end niches and 1 designer onto testers, put them in my pocket, and compared it with the samples of bond no 9 at the store.

the scents i picked were Creed Aventus, Xerjoff Torino 21, and Parfums de Marly Oajan for my higher ends, and Prada Paradigme for my designer.

and i’m sorry… all 4 scents blew every other sample out of the water. some may have come close to beating paradigme, but even the designer beat it. i mention this with pricing in mind as well

i just found a lot of the bond no 9 stuff to be either generic, too similar to existing fragrances (some of which came BEFORE the bond no 9s), synthetic and artificial smelling, or too syrupy.

i finally GET the hype with niche stuff. you can tell it’s natural ingredients. i was the biggest aventus hater until i smelled the real stuff, and i fell in love. you can tell the time of crafting, planning, and dedication put into scents. it feels genuinely artisanal and artistic.

but bond no 9 feels very cheap and mass produced compared to them. they’re not objectively BAD bad, i’d still wear their stuff, but at an artisan niche level price, i want something artisan niche level quality

and regarding the actual brand themselves, its also disappointing. i’m finally starting to realize the love of fragrance and why it’s so treasured. i mean, storytelling, brand heritage, it’s deeper than just smelling good, it’s an art form, and yk what? i’m willing to pay for that art.

but bond no 9 feels like a cheaper version of that form. sort of like a printed photocopy of a mona lisa. it’s there, it’s not objectively bad, but it pales in comparison to the greats.

so long story short, tldr; bond no 9 isn’t a bad fragrance house, but i don’t think it deserves the title “niche fragrance house”, because it’s just blown out of the water in comparison to real niche houses like orto parisi, creed, xerjoff, le labo, argos, killian, and ex nihilo with many more in the mention. it’s not a worthy investment in my opinion, and if you have the money, get something that’s a bang for your buck.

now that being said, fragrance is very subjective! you might disagree with me on this and that’s ok.

so asking you all, what’s your opinion on this? do you agree or disagree?

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