As I am learning, one of the perks of this beauty blogging gig is getting to try new stuff. How cool is that?? Today, it’s Bond No. 9’s lastest fragrance, called Coney Island. Envisioned as a perfume to capture the scent of summer fun, Coney Island contains top notes of margarita, melon, and guava, middle notes of cinnamon, chocolate, and caramel, and base notes of musk, vanilla, cedarwood, and sandalwood.

Despite the suggestion of sweets presented by the notes, this scent does not seem particularly sweet. It starts out very fresh – the margarita jumped up first – and settles into something that reminded me strongly of water. It reminded me a lot of Mare by Creative Universe – Beth Terry and fragrance called Sea Moss (click here and scroll down for notes). It’s sweeter than either of these scents, and overall, I think I like it the best of the three. The lasting power was better than I expected, too. I was catching whiffs of it for most of the day, having dabbed it on my neck, decollete, and wrists. It never got heavy, but retained that light, slightly sweet, watery-ness all day long. The initial tang of the margarita, the only part I didn’t love, wore off quickly.

This is a unisex scent, but definitely doesn’t veer too strongly in either a masculine or feminine direction. Guys accustomed to a stronger, spicier cologne might not care for it, and likewise, it doesn’t have any particular floral notions for the ladies. It’s just a straight-up fresh scent (although without the unattractive “laundry” connotations most scents labelled “fresh” seem to have), very playful and fun. It says “water sprite” to me, not beach bunny.

I’ve read a lot about Bond No. 9 and their perfumes, but have never had the chance to experience one. This was fun, and the sample I have is definitely leading me on towards purchasing this when it is officially launched in June. Now I want to hunt down more of them for a sniff, particularly New Haarlem and Chinatown.