Smell like the Big Apple

Posted on 10th Jun 2010 @ 3:09 AM

Laurent Le Guernec plays with the idea of flirting with the scents of New York.

New York Fling perfume by Bond No. 9 is trialling a brand new concept for the fragrance industry. Essentially, capturing the smell of a place.

The alluring essence of Central Park in a bottle? Might be plausible, but would people want to wear their neighbourhood? Apparently so.

Some of the neighbourhoods include: Little Italy, Central Park, Chelsea and possibilities for the future include both China Town and Wall Street.

There is a feature on WB 11 Morning News in the States, some of which was very interesting. The reporter interviews a few New Yorkers about the scents in their neighbourhood and how they compare to the resulting fragrances.

How should Little Italy smell?

The majority thought Little Italy should smell of food – garlic, basil, peppers, food, people, sausage, pizza, herbs, sauces.

The resulting fragrance actually smells of largely citrus, orange with a mandarin base.

Central Park?

Those who were interviewed thought Central Park smelt of fresh air, trees, green grass and a couple noted the potent horse manure.

But the notes of the fragrance are actually bergamot, verbena and lime blossom.

“I don’t think you spray for Central Park… I think you spray for a night out”

And the most popular of the Bond No. 9 scents, Chelsea Flowers. The district of Chelsea was once home some of New York’s greater florists, it was the flower district. And the scent captured in the bottle resembles this nicely with notes of white peony, white hyacinth and musk, a sweet smelling scent.

Smelling like a place. Capturing the alluring essence of your neighbourhood into a bottle. An interesting phenomenon.