Page Six editors try the ‘little black dress’ of perfumes

Florals for autumn? Absolutely — when it’s this heady perfection of a fragrance.

Bond No. 9 is a Parisian-founded New York perfume house that draws inspiration from the city where it was born. Cobbled streets, from Chinatown to Astor Place, are the brand’s muses, with each scent evoking the neighborhood or lush, green park it’s named for.

That is, until now. The house just released New York Chic, a love letter to the whole city itself. And as a beauty editor who has tried quite literally hundreds of fragrances, this one tops them all for my holy grail scent.

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It opens with honeyed flowers, including davana and heliotrope, and has middle notes of smoky tobacco leaf, cognac and tuberose — plus hints of carnal musk and resins in the base notes. The result is something neither overbearing nor elusive, and it has me smelling my wrist all day.

Given it’s said to be like the “little black dress” of perfumes, naturally, I toted my bottle into the office to get other Page Six editors’ opinions.

More than just a perfume, Bond fragrances are wearable art. Even better, we found that New York Chic morphed into a bespoke experience for every person who tried it. While all of our staffers loved it, the fragrance bloomed differently on each of our skin chemistries, furthering the unique magnetism of the scent. When you are wearing it, no one else will smell like you.

“As a longtime fan of both tuberose and tobacco leaf in fragrance, I had a feeling I’d like New York Chic — and I wasn’t disappointed,” says Elana Fishman, Page Six Style & Shopping Director.

“This scent definitely read as more ‘uptown’ than ‘downtown’ when I spritzed it on my wrist; it’s warm, rich, floral-forward and definitely smells expensive (which it is!),” she adds. “It’d be perfect to wear for a date night at a fancy brasserie or a trip to the ballet or opera, but I could also see it working well as an everyday fragrance.”

Founder Laurice Rahmé enlisted renowned perfumer Miroslav Petkov — the nose behind Bond No. 9’s beloved Chelsea Nights and NoMad fragrances — to create the new scent.

The bottles are artistically designed with a vintage subway token-inspired logo. (Anna Wintour’s protégée and newly minted Vogue editor, Chloe Malle, even told the magazine in 2023, “It’s such a distinctive, beautiful bottle design.”)

Our own Commerce Deputy Editor Holly J. Coley is equally hooked, calling it, “truly a perfect perfume, encapsulating a New York City woman in a single spritz: distinct, unique, a little sweet and undeniably powerful.”

“I’ve always been skeptical of perfumes that are supposed to work for everyone, but Bond No. 9’s New York Chic delivers,” she adds.

Personally, I’m generally a minimalist and understand why people may balk at the price tag. But the 100-milliliter bottle will last forever — and for me, I’d paint my own nails in perpetuum and cancel every streaming service to smell like this. Pick your poisons (mine smell like heaven).

As a longtime brand devotee, New York Chic has become my inescapable favorite.

If you shop now, with any 100-milliliter fragrance purchase, you’ll receive a complimentary travel-size spray in one of the brand’s bestselling scents.

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Why Trust Page Six Style Shopping

This article was written by Erica Radol, Page Six Commerce Reporter. From identifying the top anti-aging skincare secrets the stars trust to pinpointing the season’s next big fashion trends to finding a great deal on all of the above, Erica has a knack for reporting on – and even testing – Hollywood’s bestselling fashion and beauty products. Before joining Page Six in 2025, she wrote about entertainment, lifestyle and shopping trends for Us Weekly, The Daily Beast, Entertainment Tonight, Well+Good and Hearst.

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