I love fragrance. I surround myself with it, bathe in it, slather myself all over with it. Of course I don’t mean this in a hugely literal sense; you can be stuck with me inside an air-tight, claustrophobic elevator for hours and not fear being suffocated by my scent. I only mean that despite my dermatologist’s repeated admonitions for me to wear only fragrance-free products because of my highly sensitive, allergic-to-everything skin, I prefer to obey my nose instead.

My summer staple has been Bond No. 9′s Little Italy, a delicious blend of clementine, grapefruit, and mandarin. It’s citrusy yet not too warm, and absolutely yummy; when I wear it I have a constant urge to lick it right off my skin.

So when I received a friendly email asking me if I’d ever heard of the brand and would I like to receive a few samples, well I jumped and said yes, why of course! So now I have a few more favorites — which is a good thing or a bad thing depending on my fragrance wardrobe’s or my pocketbook’s point of view.

Eau de New York was released in May 2004; how it’s escaped me is a complete mystery (see, I’m always on the prowl). I love, love, LOVE this scent — so fresh yet so vibrant. Here’s the fragrance’s composition according to the friendly folks at www.basenotes.net.

Top notes:
Grapefruit, Mandarin, Bergamot, Petitgrain

Middle Notes
Neroli, Gardenia, Cyclamen, White Lily, Basil, Verbena, Jasmine

Base Notes
Vetiver, Oakmoss, Skin Musk, White Wood

Robin at Now Smell This also has a lovely review, in case you’re interested.

My husband has a favorite, too — well on me, at least. See, when I first met him about seven years ago he told me what turned him on was “the scent of roasting chicks.” And he didn’t mean the aroma at the local rotisserie, mind you; he was referring to the smell of babes all in a row in their bikinis, slathered all over in Coppertone, and baking under the hot summer sun.

I dabbed a bit of Fire Island (launched in July of this year) and pretty soon he was sniffing around me like I was one of the bronzed babes in his fragrant yet slightly frightening (at least for me) dream.

According to an interview with Bond No. 9 creator and founder Laurice Rahme by Pia Catton of The New York Sun:

The main concept behind the fragrance is to recall the smells of tanning and lying on the beach. “There’s more and more of a campaign against tanning, so we did the scent of bronze. If you can’t be tan, you can smell like you are,” Ms. Rahme said.

The scent harks back to a popular French suntan lotion that is now off the market. “In America, you have Coppertone. In France, where vacation is sacred, there was a product that every man, woman, and child used called Ambre Solaire,” the Paris-born Ms. Rahme said. “We wanted to bring back that scent.”

My husband says that if we could die doing something we truly loved, I’d be online shopping. And if that were indeed my fate I might be clicking around Bond No. 9′s new site then. Check it out, with 26 wonderful eaux de parfums to choose from, it’s like you died and went to heaven.