0lfak

This is one of the good Bonds, so nothing with flowery synthetic notes like so often from this house. It is quite new and is also being promoted in stores for employees with its own information sheets. Together with Hamptons, Montauk, and Sag Harbor, it forms the Bond No. 9 Summer ’14 beach scent lineup. However, I find Montauk disappointingly just fresh-synthetic and Hamptons does not appeal to me with its floral-fresh notes, now onto Shelter Island.

The name is that of a town on Long Island and is supposed to suggest an outing feeling of the Upper Class.

I smell aromatic, slightly fruity oud, and although I am not a fan of oud, I like it. Shelter Island is a fragrant, rounded, and substantial scent. I would go so far as to spontaneously call it one of the best fragrances ever.

I hope there is no synthetic alarm on the skin. On the test strip, I sensed this danger after a few hours.

Artisan is a citrusy fresh neroli scent from the fragrance house of the same-named fashion designer.

Now, everyone needs a fragrance of this kind in their collection. Perhaps I could have found a cheaper one. However, this does not bother me. Nor does the moderate sillage and longevity, which forces me to use the scent purely as a room fragrance, i.e. a pick-me-up (the uplifting effect of citrus scents is scientifically proven) and a cover for unwanted odors.

Similar to an Alfa Romeo, a car brand with a considerable amount of style and passionate followers - but unfortunately unreliable technical craftsmanship - I feel like a member of a cool club for enthusiasts with John Varvatos/Artisan, knowingly nodding at each other in everyday life when we cross paths with like-minded individuals.

Among the cologne derivatives, Artisan is very pleasant, balanced, and modern.
The many votes for 'fruity' in the scent diagram are a mystery to me.
The spray head is weak, but the weaving and the cap are a thing of their own.

The fragrance presents itself as a good alternative to Sycomore and Encre Noire, as it has a softer vetiver for those who prefer something not so punchy or, respectively, sharp. It comes from Indonesia and harmonizes well with the coffee and grapefruit that round it out in the background.
A woody, spicy, and yet distinctive scent.

The scent doesn't even know where it wants to go. With good intentions, many different well-known and popular fragrance directions have been mixed together, but there is no harmonious interplay. There is the woody and the fresh, the attempt at something cozy-sweet. But nothing holds it all together. The scent falls apart. It really takes a long time to get to the bottom of this fragrance and to smell it. In between, there are good moments and one feels hopeful. Then you take another sniff and can't find it again, nothing substantial. Like several people trying to go through a door, but all hindering each other. Moreover, they aren't even good people, and a villain named Synthetics is in the mix.

The relationship to the other two Prada men's fragrances "Amber" and "Infusion" is noticeable. The scent is refined and offers dark, yet not too heavy, notes. It is also soapy. At times, it seems to me like a fragrance that could also be worn by a lady.

I somehow had to think of a fictional excursion. One is exploring a historic town, a place that starts with "Bad." A dim, mossy castle tower with wooden planks. The scent would fit there.