Description
This perfume was introduced in 2005, also available in Swarovski crystals decorated version. The creators of fashion house Bond No.9 found inspiration for the romantic look of the bottle in the Ming dynasty. Chinatown is a real sweet and spicy sensation, created by Aurelien Guichard. Top notes seduce with intoxicating scents of peach blossoms and bergamot. The heart is composed of gardenia, honey and sensual sweet tuberose, peony and orange blossom, while the base is made of patchouli, cedar, warm and soft vanilla, sandalwood, cardamom, and Guiac wood. The perfume is characterized as floriental, which can also be sensed from its very name and the bottle design. Chinatown is holiday edition for 2008 introduced in the amount of 50 ml edt, in the bottle tasseled with the smallest Swarovski crystals which reflect light the best, in ruby red color. It costs 650 dollars. It is a limited edition and belongs to the collection of three Swarovski All Stars perfumes.
santailer – :
Chinatown is one the best offerings from Bond no. 9.
Tuberose, Cardamom and wood. Slightly, sweet. There is pleasing scent of beeswax.
I do not smell patchouli nor gardenia.
This is a carefully orchestrated patchwork of scents that is delectable.
Absolutely unisex.
zub823elipseskism – :
Chinatown…hmm..I love it! Hard to describe tho! Notes are blended very well,and off the top of my head I get spicy,waxy,floral with a kick of the spice,namely Cardamom. I also get an incense vibe,,a warm sweet one! A little gem!
Sandalwood flirts with ya! Kind of a Smokey peach jam with saffron too..❤️
baltaodis – :
Working from a sample here — I have been curious about this one since reading Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez’s five star review in The Guide.
This one definitely has vintage overtones. It reminds me of those enticing, amber-colored perfumes on my aunt and grandma’s dressing tables. Chinatown strikes me as a rich, bitter, heady, spicy, floral with an incense haze floating around it. Pleasant enough, but I feel as though I’ve smelled it before in the form of one of those old-fashioned elixirs.
A note about the name: I’m afraid I don’t understand the Chinatown reference at all. If asked out of the blue to brainstorm some smells I associate with Chinatown I would have said the clean, milky scent of fragrant jasmine rice; rich, juicy plum; the savory, smoky, delicious smell of meat markets and streetside vendors; some ethereal, watery tea notes.
Glancing over that, I suppose I expected a feast instead which does not a good perfume make (necessarily). But put another way, I’m surprised there aren’t more edible things in here.
—
EDIT: Upon first wearing, I found this to be quite opaque. It simply smelled “vintage” and vaguely spicy. After a few more wearings, I am starting to crave this one! I love the sweet, syrupy florals with cardamom. I also detect cinnamon, though it’s not listed. It’s very cozy and velvety in its later stages
I was pleasantly surprised to find out that several of my favorite scents are all by Aurelien Guichard after I had purchased and started to wear them: Gucci Guilty, Narciso, Narciso Poudre… Chinatown is quickly climbing to the top of the list!
alex_mars – :
A young girl’s gateway into the complex world of fruity chypres. It takes the idea of the likes of Rochas Femme and Mitsouko of knitting waxy peach/plum skins together with spicy flowers and leaving them to musty up a bit inside lacquered woody chinese boxes. But it makes that lighter, younger and whimsy with bubbly gardenias and a fizzy bellini while still remaining chypre-level-smart. Mitsouko in a nylon petticoat dress from Betsey Johnson with some serious fake eyelashes doing cartwheels outside of a library during research break.
jio963Unlogrere – :
I just got a sample of this…and im so perplexed.I was expecting a richer spicier scent.But all I get is gardenia.i’m so sad.will give it a few more tries though.
Romario89 – :
Words fail me with this one. It reminds me of Smarties candies (US candy). Cardamom makes it fizzy and a touch prickly. Underneath all this fizzy, prickly candy is a delicious base of green patchouli, vanilla and wood. Floral notes are not the main focus, but they help make Chinatown what it is. Feminine. The notes are all there and I can pick them out if I focus on each individually, but I prefer to feel it as a whole because it all comes together to create this really unusual fragrance that is extremely lovable and feels like a best kept secret. It’s addictive like candy let me tell you. But it’s candy for adults! Love.
veu339elipseskism – :
I just read a professional review comparison kind of article about this perfume. The entire premise of the article was to let people know that if they like vintage Dior Poison that this is the dupe. I’ve read every one of these reviews on here and have not seen one comparison to poison. Does anybody find this to be true?
Mnemanik – :
I had it from the beginning. I had to get rid of it because it was way to sweet and headache inducing on me. I’m sure it smells lovely on others and yes, this is really something different, than most Bond No 9 scents.
opl – :
This is a very pleasant scent for mild weather, suitable for spring/summer and early fall, day and night. It leans clearly towards feminine scents. It’s not unisex IMO.
Chinatown is both fresh and warm somehow (warmth from the vanillla), floral/spicy/woody scent with dominant tuberose, peach blossom, with a strong vanilla note which caracterize the whole blend, intensive gardenia and mild cardamom. I love cardamom but in Chinatown it’s very much toned down. I don’t get the usual warm/spicy vibe from it. Cardamom exist only to support the florals. The rest notes are mild.
Chinatown is a long lasting scent with moderate sillage and moderate projection.
mtebneva – :
I sooo get the hype with this one, exotic peach blossom and tuberose with cardamom spice and creamy sandal. A bit of plastiky dolls head. This is fantastic! It is also has a very refined and elegant vibe. I would wear this with my favorite Jackie O dress and pearls. I feel like it’s sacrilegious wearing it with hole-y jeans shorts and a lace trimmed tank. Beautiful! Best Bond EVER!
Rus.25171991 – :
I received this in a swap and I am so surprised by how much I love this! This isn’t the style I usually go for but I just can’t stop spraying it. It’s a spicy white floral on my skin. It has completely captured my heart. I feel so elegant wearing this.
Al8550Pr – :
A big, stereotypical waxy white floral-blossom concoction with a touch of smoke to just smooth over the gourmand-ish sweetness. That being said, it really reminds me of an overpowering, cloying air-freshener. But while it is far too sweet for me, I can understand its success and appeal.
Also, the name confuses me. It smells neither oriental, nor reminiscent of Chinatown. Maybe they were going for the ‘China doll’ association, complete with peony blossoms in her hair, and a peach lollypop in her mouth.
oen209intitytek – :
I added Chinatown to my wishlist just by reading reviews and waited so long to try it.it was a blindbuy,a successful one since it’s a unique and amazing fragrance.it may look playful,fun and girly at first but you will gradually discover it’s different facets,it’s complexity and sensuality
All the notes are very well blended,still I can detect most of them.cardamom is definitely there.it’s a note I usually stay away from,but in Chinatown it’s not invasive or too masculine and it blends very well with peachy white floral cream.white florals are very present without overpowering other beautiful notes.I can see that most people find tuberose the most prominent one but on me gardenia is the main actor.sparkly peach blossom and smooth vanilla,hand in hand with cardamom and white florals create such a delicious and flirty scent which sometimes reminds me bubble gum.but this is not the end of Chinatown’s story.there’s a subtle base of Smokey woods and a pinch of powder,which give more depth to scent and turn it to something more grown up.
I love the fact that it’s a compliment magnet while being interesting.people around me find it lovely and memorable.I’m so glad to find something which is original and is an easy to wear crowd pleaser at the same time.projection and longevity are very satisfying which is another bonu5.it’s wearable year round,better suited for mild weather as it may become cloying for some people in hot weather and can’t fully bloom in freezing cold weather.I’m sure there are some men who can pull it off but for me,it’s a feminine scent.though it was a blindbuy and I’m so glad for deciding to order it,I think it’s not a very safe one to buy without test.it seems to act different on different people,some of my friends find it too sweet or sharp,some believe it’s just a simple floral fruity.I even have a friend who says it’s all about spicy woods and incense on her.but to me it’s pure perfection.not something I wear often but each time I crave and go for it,it doesn’t disappoint me
denkudysh – :
i’m a dude.. I wear it… it blends super nice with Tobacco Vanille.
odin-dimarik – :
A sweet, peach-tinged mix of waxy blooms with a light, sheer cardamom and vanilla background. The cardamom fades pretty quickly, and what’s left is the waxy peach blossom scent. It smells sort of like a lip balm or scented chapstick with the waxiness – it’s a nice smell, just pretty simple on me. But I love scents with a whack of cardamom, and this one had a whisper.
Uraha – :
I do pick up the cardamom note here, which is pretty much one of my reasons for getting this. This is all in all pleasant enough, I am just not “wowed” by this. Truth be told, this smells like a better version of a Bath and Body Works body mist, using better quality ingredients and with better longevity and none of the syntheticness that I get from most B&BW fragrances. I really do not get the white floral, maybe a slight hint. But I do pick up the cherry blossom. The upside is I do not pick up the patchouli nor the woody notes (perhaps a wee hint of sandalwood in the back). Sometimes patchouli and woody notes spoil a fragrance for me. I am just picky about patchouli and woody notes, and I am glad they are MIA here for me. This to me is more of a Spring/early Summer scent. Oh!!! I know what this reminds me a little bit of..Hermes Twilly. But I like Twilly a good deal….Twilly to me is more of something I want to smell like. Chinatown is just not something I want to really smell like. I guess I will wear this on occasion if I want to smell fresh and clean. It is (surprisingly?) a light scent to my nose/on my skin. It is pleasant enough, but not quite enough for me to hit the ‘like’ button. Meh.
ErafEssef – :
Chinatown is for me like a very passionate affair with a boyfriend, one that goes on and off for years, one I know he could never be my stable, long time relationship.
Incence-white floral-cardamom, all blended to perfection and I love wearing it, yet some days Chinatown can be too much.
Of note, I have owned many bottles of Chinatown over a few years, all authentic. There were definite variations between different batches. Some were more lactonic, in a somewhat unpleasant way. Others had more of an incence accord. Others were a bit heavier on the white florals.
All of the bottles I have owned were minuscule variations of the same perfume, unless some were slightly turned from aging or a reformulation took place. In any case, I definitely recommend Chinatown, but I would make sure I was buying a fresh bottle.
maibax5 – :
I usually don’t care for masc or femm gender scents. But this is really on the feminine side. And it probably smells good on the opposite sex. There’s no tobacco here for sure, to my nose. Just floral, floral and floral. Rose and floral in general are not my cup of tea. Tested it and forgot it. Got rid off the sample.
triun – :
Katie Puckrik either got it spot on or she frontloaded my perception. Chinatown is chockablock with creamy white floral stereotypica – “tuberose,” I suppose? If that’s enough, do not pass GO, do not collect $200, go directly to Nebras.
The Bond product justifies its triple digit pricetag with incense and spices that travel over and above the already smile-inducing wave of white. As Ms. Puckrik articulates, a strong and nostalgic aroma of lacquered wooden Asian tableware comes to mind; all those Grant Avenue knickknack shops are brought to the fore of consciousness.
I don’t know if the formulators of Chinatown got a little too literal with the lacquer component. The cap has a habit of gumming up on the congealed and solidified overspray.
I don’t think it’s very unisex. It’s quite feminine, but it’s also too good for that to impede me from smelling good.
dias62 – :
@MixedTastes, the cardamom is listed in the notes for sure.
This is the first Bond I’ve really liked, and I think it’s love, actually. There’s something addicting about it, something familiar and something other-worldly. It’s sweet but nothing like a “generic pink syrup” celebrity scent thingy. The blend of white flowers and vanilla with the other florals and spices is just magical. At first I thought it had been reformulated as I had a few drops for a couple of years and that was wonderful … the new samples and then the full bottle (yes indeedy) I got smelled a tad sweeter and less “creamy waxy,” but it’s as gorgeous as it ever was. Don’t ever change, darling.
kurdo85 – :
Blind bought a Notino sample and I am impressed.
Delicious, well blended oriental floral with a subtle (unlisted) pineapple. Cardamom and (again, not listed!) ginger give it a cracking spice-kick in the dry down.
Sillage is fair, longevity is awesome.
Full bottle worthy. In fact, I just ordered one (oops!)
sderevisimo – :
“Chinatown” smells (and looks) like the olfactory manifestation of Cyndi Lauper’s 80’s hit “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”.
A giddy explosion of cardamom, peach and orange blossom, bouncing on a bed of plush vanilla, creamy tuberose and gardenia. It gives me a vivid image of teenage girls with crimped blonde Barbie hair dolling themselves up for a party, a sweet, redolent cloud of hairspray, bubblegum and Cola-flavoured lip balm.
Normally I would find this kind of thing garish and cloying, but there’s something charming about “Chinatown” that I just can’t put my finger on, something that makes me think ‘glitz’ rather than ditz.
A dry guaiac wood and patchouli lend a vaguely smokey character to the vanilla and things eventually solidify into a thick, waxy candle note, with remnants of that fizzy, sweet floral opening.
At this point it feels darker, more subdued and sensual. I can imagine the party girls taking a break from the revelment, slipping out of their shoes so they might dip their feet in the pool, the sweet tang of blossoms hanging in the warm summer night air.
This is youthful feminine exuberance in a bottle.
*EDIT*
I also agree with a previous reviewer who said it smells like Nag Champa incense. Imagine a Nag Champa scented candle and you have China Town.
alexei2878225 – :
This is a sophisticated complex scent.
I was ready to love it, so I went insane and bought 3 testers at Notino. Sadly, this is only a like for me. But I’m finding it is a great base to layer with other fragrances and thus make a great VavavaBoom fragrance.
Lovely projection and Excellent longevity.
ksubik – :
At first sprits i got sweet cardamon which reminded me of kenzo elephant but not as intense. Off to a great start.
It settles on the skin and fizzy peach comes through and as it dries it smooths out more and becomes quite woody and a little smokey, like a candle.
Im so happy i blind bought this finally, it did not disappoint.
Such a complex and amazing scent.
PreamiGreedia – :
Chinatown is one of those perfumes that I’ve been waiting to test for a very long time. I had no idea what to expect. From first spray this smells familiar, it actually reminds me of spicebomb but with the added peach blossom and a lighter version. It’s a really pretty perfume. It opens with a lot of cardamom and i love cardamom, it always reminds me of warm chi tea. Then out pops the insence and cedar. It is so well blended… cardamom, Insence, cedar and sandlewood. About 10 minutes later i can smell peach blossom. At this point the cardamom isn’t the dominant note anymore but insence and peach blossom take front and center. It stays in this phase for an hour or so before it faded out into a fuzzy insenced sandlewood. Projection is soft, sillage is moderate and then becomes close to the skin after 10 minutes. Longevity is 4 hours on skin. It’s a beautiful perfume and i adore the smell but I’m still deciding if i should buy a FB or not. What’s holding me back? The fact that it’s so expensive and doesn’t have very good sillage or longevity on me. It is a relaxing, warm, meditative scent.
Ronaldinhoq21 – :
The most cute niche perfume for girlfriends!
Great sillage, outstanding performance and twelve plus hours longevity easily in any weather.
Peach blossom and lots of white flowers on vanilla. Amazing!
qqq – :
Pure powder on me. Smells like an unlit cardamom incense stick. No flowers, no fruit, very little wood.
I guess it could be lovely on someone, but that someone definitely isn’t me.
Vitalik8888 – :
The beauty of Chinatown lies in how it juxtaposes its notes and textures. You have delicious peach fizz, contrasted against this weirdly artificial accord of spices and wood. A smooth vanillic quality – most apparent when you take the cap off your bottle and smell the nozzle – is juxtaposed with a powdery vibrancy that becomes stronger as it dries down. Over time, the classic chypre structure takes over, which smells like the peaches are rapidly ripening and drying out. Chinatown announces its presence with sprightly cheer, but underneath there is a complexity you’d never expect from something so delicious.
As if describing it wasn’t hard enough by itself, this fragrance seems to smell completely different depending on your skin chemistry. Over the years, several friends of mine had a go at my bottle, with vastly different results. Most astonishing was my sister, on whose skin it almost immediately devolved into a dreadful mish-mash of rotting wood.
Longevity is excellent. Same goes for projection, partly because the accord is so unique that you can easily identify it even through the fragrance-laden atmosphere of your local perfumery. Whether it works on your skin or not, this is at the very least a fiendishly clever composition. There is nothing else like it.
pashtet155 – :
This is my first Bond No 9 fragrance.
I was in New York City Manhattan last week and discovered their boutique. The bottles in this line all look the same so whoever is behind the line is not putting much of an effort into creating attractive or attention grabbing bottles. But never mind. After sampling a lot of different fragrances; some I really liked but couldn’t afford to bring more than one, I went with this one. I’d also heard excellent reviews of this fragrance on YouTube including one by Katie Puckrik who is an experienced perfumista. The lady knows her perfumes like the palm of her hand!
Chinatown is not as exotic or heavy an Oriental fragrance as I had imagined it would be. When I smelled it the floral notes leapt off the bottle in Technicolor like the flowers in FANTASIA. This also throws out such a projection and fills up the air in a room that is sure to get you noticed coming and going. It smells like elaborate flowers in a kimono.
The peach blossom is there at the first spritz, a citrus and something green and herbal. It begins to smell of flowers gradually as it develops and settles down. I smelled tuberose, orange blossom, gardenia and peony. The tuberose is dominant but the orange blossom is the starting point. Right after the citrus scent begins to dissipate, the orange blossom replaces it and invites other florals to join her. Gardenia and tuberose, two of the biggest white floral notes of all time, are here and fortunately are not as mean as Giorgio Beverly Hills. These white floral notes are more enjoyable and sweeter but it has a projection so you would still need to handle with care and apply without going too far. Two spritz that’s it for me.
The other notes include patchouli and it’s leafy and green, not smoky. It smells like an herbal shop in Chinatown. It is also smelling a bit of tea. There’s tons of wood in the form of sandalwood, guaiacum wood and cedar wood. The dry down of woodsy notes provides this scent with a superb longevity but it’s also giving it a masculine personality and a unisex body. So if you’re a gender bender when it comes to fragrances, this is tailor made for you with the feminine florals and the masculine woods.
A really well made fragrance.
I can’t wait to go into that store again and buy one more from the Bond No 9 line!
Vampire – :
It is a unique perfume, no doubt. But too much smoke and incense to my taste. Actually I only get incense with spices, no fruits, no flowers – so sad. I LOVE the bootle, such a pretty thing. But the perfume is almost all base on me right from the start. I’ve given it several tries during the last years, but still the same.
evgen1888 – :
Yes, I am with you Miss precious orchid and want to add, it smells like a cross between Jungle Elephant Kenzo and a bit of Gucci rush and I also smell cardamom and maybe a little cinnamon?
malki14 – :
This perfume was recommended to me by a fellow member and actually I don’t like it. There is something that puts me off and the longevity is somewhat disappointing for a niche. Upon applying Chinatown, I couldn’t help comparing it to Kenzo Jungle Elephant as they both contain cardamon. Chinatown is dry while the floral notes give it a touch of the exotic and Kenzo is a cardamon and clove bomb. The note pyramid says, peach blossom, tuberose which I get upon application but then the cardamon drowns out the rest of the notes. When I get whiffs of it from time to time it’s almost like I rubbed a spicy scented candle over my body. It’s definitely oriental…….
PaulaHillm – :
Love it. The familiar smell, to me, is actually Sandalwood oil from The Body Shop that I used to wear in high school. ChinaTown is a softer, sweeter version of it. Just trying to figure out if it’s worth the money though. Maybe I’ll swap my Central Park West…
Michman – :
I find myself reaching for this one very often, even though I keep buying new perfumes every now and then, I’m starting to think this one is a love of mine 🙂 it makes me happy in a way, it such a cheerful and easy-to-wear perfume.
I love the peach note in the beginning, and that waxy note is so interesting and playful. Plus, when I put it on in the morning, I can feel it ALL day till I shower. It’s one of my best blind buys ever.
bre952Diobtetty – :
Straight up head shop and bubblegum.
I ordered this blindly and I absolutely do not regret it. The opening reads more like cherry blossom than peach on my skin, and I don’t get any of the bergamot at all. The tuberose is not shy in the opening, but in my skin comes off more like bubblegum than white floral. As soon as the top notes settle the sandalwood and cardamom appear. Though there aren’t any incense notes listed, that’s definitely what I’m smelling. Nag champa and vanilla. Chinatown reminds me of my undergrad years at a liberal arts college smoking hookah on the green with my roommates. Totally a hippie scent, but beautifully blended. I’m beyond stoked I found this on mega sale, but it would have been worth it for the memories it brought back.
Edit: I could still smell this in the morning from the spot I spritzed on my wrist. Now I’m getting all the sugary sweet cardamom cake notes other Fragranticans have been mentioning. Longevity is beastly!
Migexpife – :
I ordered a bottle of this blind, I liked the sound of it but I also ordered a whole swag of others and it was the others that grabbed my attention initially. I literally have had this sitting in my stash since November and haven’t worn it until last night (and it’s now February). I wasn’t a fan sniffing it from the bottle so put it aside and had considered gifting it. Then last night I read a review about perfumes and this one was mentioned as something that needs to be experienced and how right they were! I agree with some other reviewers that it has a bit of the whole Lush store smell or like a teenage girls bedroom but to me it’s also reminiscent of a wonderful period of my life, when I hung out with these new age hippies and we would drink chai on the porch of a 100 year old house surrounded by fruit trees and gardenias; guys on guitars or bongo’s, soft breezes playing with the wind-chimes, nag champa curling it’s way through diaphanous curtains to wrap around bare bronzed shoulders, curtained with patchouli scented tresses and skin musk. It sings to me of freedom, of mystery, of seduction and secrets and I think I’ve just found my signature <3
DieveBics – :
One of the few Bonds that works well for me. I love the peach and white flower top notes. It is cool today and a little breezy which works to CT’s benefit. I don’t get heavy like some mentioned. And of course the tuberose, I am finding that my chemistry and tuberose are simpatico, erotico, (sorry ha! watched Bad teacher last night).
qiviluwg – :
Delicious cardamom cake in a summer kitchen decorated with flowers.
Very long lasting. Faintly noticeable after 12 hours and a hot shower.
gkj288Negeltzex – :
Chinatown. I’ve had this scent for a year but haven’t written a review yet because it’s a complicated perfume. I’ve read so many reviews and agree and disagree with bits of many of them, good and bad. It’s so many things that are common- sweet, white floral, syrupy, spicy- but the waxy, snuffed-candle feel that is laid over the scent by cardamom and guaiac wood sets it apart entirely. Yes, it’s sweet, but the smokiness renders it utterly inedible. Yes, it’s floral, but the waxy incense feel means it’s better suited to deep winter than fresh spring. Yes, it’s peachy and the bottle is youthful, but the hazy cloudiness makes it feel equally at home on a woman with gravitas. It’s an unconventional chypre but a chypre nonetheless. It’s beautiful yet strange, formal yet comfortable, flirty yet meditative. It’s not right all the time, or even half the time(is that a hint of Crayon I smell?)…but when it is, it’s so very right. For some reason I associate this perfume with February- the month when quiet, meditative, smoky winter turns its heart and thoughts to sweet spring and unopened buds are weighed down on their boughs by melting snow.
theos92 – :
This perfumes reminds of church . I love it thou. It’s sweet, warm , feels cosy somehow. Gives me piece of mind.
mishanex – :
Chinatown opens rather sheer and vaguely sugary with cardamom adding a strange artificial sparkle reminiscent of a scented mylittlepony or maybe bubblegum soap for kids. It’s much lighter than what I’ve come to expect from a white floral and vanilla affair but there’s something quite pleasant and cheerful about this fizzy (cardamom) rubbery (tuberose) and candy-like sweetness. As some reviewers have mentioned, it begins to smell like a mixture of candle smoke and sweet incense midway, but it’s less head shop and more teenage bedroom or one of those junk shops that sell lava lamps and magic kits. It’s certainly not the sort of thing that would be widely appreciated among women but still kind of funky and cute; the way I imagine Bjork would have smelled circa 90s with her hair buns, eyebrow dots and all. In fact as a 90s kid I think it’s possible to make endless endearing youth culture references with this–it smells familiar, it smells naive and happy and awkward right down to its final stages as a waxy crayola scent. Not particularly appealing as far as perfumes go, but with all these nice associations I would wear it to carnivals and outdoor music festivals, that sort of thing.
alla30 – :
This is the fragrance that I always avoid whenever I pop by Sephora. Not because I hated it but because of the hefty price tag that comes with it.
Now i have finally tried it..
Chinatown is LUSH store condensed in a bottle. A very well stocked LUSH store in fact. There’s alot going on in the fragrance, the bergamot,sandalwood, vanilla, spices and the patchouli note is prominent yet there’s balance. I smell LUSH’s Karma in it too. Having said that, I like it a lot just not the price tag.
warpnindswear – :
I instantly fell in love with this scent, using it from a decant, I didn’t know what the bottle looked like or what the notes were supposed to be. This is one of my top fives.
Spicy and sweet like soft gingerbread or carrot cake with powder sugar together with creamy gardenia, fuzzy peach skin and vanilla, and powdery/sparkling candy tuberose. The base consists of a cozy, milky sandalwood and warm soft spices, especially cardamom, which I feel is a much softer note compared to cinnamon/cloves which can be sharp. All in all, a very sweet, bubblegum-y scent with warm edible spicy cake.
This has a similar bubble gum (dare I say crayon?) effect to Madonna Truth or dare with tuberose, and a similar nostalgic warm Christmasy spicy base to Kenzo Jungle. Add a tad more sugar to those two and you’re on the right track. I also agree this has that LUSH feel, especially Lust with it’s sweet candy jasmine and Death & Decay with its soft spices. This is without doubt one of my most unique and most loved perfumes, with a lot of character. Definitely one of Bond No 9’s very best scents!
rlh499Bessinepome – :
I first owned this perfume when it was released 10 years ago and it was absolute love at first sniff. I have gone through 2 or 3 bottles since, but it has been a few years since I bought it because it’s expensive and I don’t have that kind of money in my perfume budget these days. I would still own it if I could afford it.
Anyway I know this will be a risky assertion to make, but I just got Jessica Simpson Fancy Love and as I was reading the notes and noticing it reminded me of something, I noticed that Fancy Love actually shares several notes (bergamot, peach blossom, peony, patchouli & woods to name a few) with Chinatown! I still have my old Chinatown bottle so I smelled them next to each other, and while they’re definitely different from each other, I feel like the overlapping notes are enough to satisfy my craving for Chinatown for now. Chinatown is bolder, headier, spicier, while Fancy Love is softer, sweeter and more reserved. So if you like the idea of a sweeter, less spicy Chinatown, you may enjoy Fancy Love (for about 1/10 the price). I’m also thinking of layering the FL with something spicy as I do enjoy the cardamom note that Chinatown has.
Again, I am not saying that Fancy Love is anywhere near a dupe for Chinatown, just that they share some notes and may appeal to the same people because of it. Chinatown is the extroverted sister that moved to Manhattan for the bright lights and exotic flavors while Fancy Love is the quieter sister that prefers the fresh air of the countryside. ;D
varyag1987 – :
Yes I’m a man, and yes this is my signature scent 🙂
felix_messalina – :
I’ve spritzed my bottle for the first time (after having doubted wether to sell/swap it) today, and for all of you girls and guys saying it smells like something familiar, I think I have the answer…
It smells like the Lush store. That whaft of a gazillion different Lush soaps, creams and scrubs combined, that you get when passing by the entrance, that is what it smells like to me.
It’s spicy, sugary, sweet, floral, vanilla, soap, everything. It’s glorious in its own way.
Иллидан – :
Disappointingly faint and plasticy like so many other so called cherry blossom scents :
mar4 – :
So far this is the only Bond No 9 I’ve ever liked, and in fact, I love it. I never would have thought so, considering I usually detest perfumes with gardenia and tuberose. But this is spicy and warm, intoxicating, not floral. Different from anything else I’ve ever tried. I imagine it would smell great on a man as well. I’m wearing it in humid summer weather and it just works. Long lasting as well.
ехидна – :
Chinatown – Bond nº 9
Uma palavra define: PERFEIÇÃO.
Creio que não estou “acesa” à toa. Faz muito tempo que não sinto isso em relação a um perfume, provavelmente o último foi Opium EDT.
Como Opium, Chinatown é uma explosão de notas.
Trata-se de uma mistura de muitas notas, florais, orientais, frutadas e gustativas.
É um perfume imponente, absoluto como apenas ele é! Amei desde o instante em que apliquei na pele.
Fui correndo mostrar p/ mamys e ela já soltou: “Nossa, ele é muito parecido com o Madeira do Oriente (perfume que ela usava qdo jovem e amava).
A saída é um bouquet de muitas flores, com predominância da flor de laranjeira, gardênia e tuberosa, misturadas ao pêssego e mel. Aliás, é a melhor nota de pêssego que já senti num perfume.
Sinto patchouli e especiarias que num sei definir quais são, mas que o tornam um perfume doce e quente como Lou Lou por exemplo.
Se fecho os olhos, enqto sinto o cheiro, imagino muitas flores, frutas, especiarias misturadas numa calda densa de mel, é isso!
Não sei que