The Best Linden/Tilleul/French Lime Blossom fragrance is: Bond No. 9 Eau de Noho

Few things are as exciting as being gifted a fragrance when you’re an avid scent junkie. Brian bought me a perfume that not only had I never heard of; I’d never even sniffed. It was Bond No. 9 Eau de Noho. The beauty of it was that I sprayed Eau de Noho (EdN) without any preconceived notions whatsoever. I had no idea what I was about to smell , no clue if it was floral, oriental or gourmand (and if you read me, you *know* how much I try to avoid preconceived notions!).

Eau de Noho, without knowing the notes, started off reminding me of Jean Patou’s Vacances. It is delicate, softly green and innocently floral. At first I thought I was smelling green lilacs and violets in a meadow of fresh spring blooms. After about 10 minutes the morning fog passed and I realized I was smelling linden. Linden! One of my all-time favorite notes. Linden is such a cheerful, naïve, fresh girly-girl scent and I have never found a fragrance focused on it that lasts more than an hour. I have Jo Malone French Lime Blossom, D’Orsay Tilleul and L’Artisan La Chasse aux Papillon and these are all beautiful but far too fleeting. D’Orsay Tilleul is my favorite and during really swampy humid summers in New Jersey I recall carrying around a decant in my purse to re-spritz all day long. Eau de Noho is the only linden I’ve ever worn that projects (a little) and lasts for hours.

I can’t tell you how touched I was that Brian found a linden fragrance for me and kept it quiet until I opened it! Bond has another fragrance called Nuits de Noho which is similar in name but entirely different. Nuits is closer to Thierry Mugler’s Angel with zero linden in sight. I can’t believe no one ever talks or writes about EdN. After wearing it a bit and swooning all over myself I looked EdN up online to find linden not listed among the notes. No matter, this is still the best linden fragrance I have ever encountered bar none.

If you have a fondness for linden fragrances you ought to try EdN. Like all linden scents, there’s a slight cucumber effect here, a vegetal, leafy-green-garden-shoot- in-early-spring vibe. I still remember the few times I’ve smelled actual linden blossoms and it’s blissful. Eau de Noho should be the sleeper hit of the summer (and summers past). Only problem is, I don’t think it’s even that popular. It ought to be one of the more well-known Bond’s, I need to spread the word, for those who love linden, try Eau de Noho.

Fragrant friends rule. I am so lucky to have found Brian.

From Basenotes, the notes include: mandarin, watery greens, mimosa, violet leaves, cashmere woods, green moss, amber