Andy Warhol, Success is a Job in New York,
Bond No. 9
Smells Like Success
New Review and Interview with Laurice Rahmé
Bond No. 9 Founder and CEO
By Michael Davis
A few years ago, I went to an exhibit of Andy Warhol's drawings at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. I was more familiar with his silkscreen prints and had only seen few of his drawings prior to the exhibit. I had read that some of his first jobs were commercial illustration projects for magazines and department stores. Many of these early assignments were part of the exhibit. The gallery rooms were filled with drawings of people, shoes, bugs, and accessories. While moving through the rooms and viewing a seemingly endless collection of drawing, I thought Warhol drew so many shoes he must have seen them in his sleep. I realized then that I was seeing the prolific tireless output that paved the way for his later success. Although I don't recall seeing it as part of the exhibit, Andy Warhol's first assignment was an illustration for a Glamour magazine entitled "Success is a Job in New York." The article's title proved prophetic for Andy who would later become one of the most successful and significant artists of his time.
Flashback to the 1980s when American culture was immersed in shoulder pads, new wave, and Trivial Pursuit. However, there was nothing trivial about our pursuit of money and investing that became widespread during this time. We glorified Donald Trump and glamorized Wall Street. Andy Warhol had his finger on the pulse of American culture and returned to painting images of dollar bills, a subject he originally began painting back in the early 1960s. Instead of dollar bills, Andy replicated the dollar sign on his artwork. The dollar sign in his painting and prints of that time had a sketchy quality reminiscent of his early drawings. The hastily drawn and reproduced images of the dollar sign were a metaphor for Warhol's view that paintings and prints had become a consumer items.
Although much more than a consumer item, the latest addition to Bond No. 9's eaux de parfum series takes its name from Andy Warhol's first writing assignment. Andy Warhol Success is a Job in New York is fragrant art in a bottle adorned by one of Warhol's dollar sign images. The bright coral and blue colors of the bottle also pay homage to the 1980s ideals of success and the era's romance of big money.
Andy Warhol Success is a Job in New York is a spicy gourmand scent that gives new meaning to the phrase, 'sweet smell of success.' Claude Dir of Givaudan is the perfumer who created this scent for Bond No. 9. He also created the floral woody masterpiece, Andy Warhol Lexington Avenue for Bond No. 9. For Success is a Job in New York, Claude Dir blends spices, citrus, floral notes, fruit and oriental notes resulting in a rich, heady fragrant experience. The opening top notes of coriander, cardamom, mandarin, and bergamot provide a warm and comforting sensation foreshadowing an even warmer and seductive heart and base. Floral notes of jasmine, tuberose, and rose in the heart are lush and full and accompanied with a succulent, ripe plum with warm hint of pimento. Vanilla is the anchoring centerpiece of the oriental base with just enough patchouli and amber to brighten the corners.
Every time I wear Success is a Job in New York, the initial sweet accord of spicy top notes and floral heart notes make me feel as if I am in the best confectionery on Earth. It is like being surrounded by a multitude of many different accords that smell familiar and comforting yet not instantly recognizable. These accords lend mystery and depth to the scent creating a pleasurable experience that ensures recurring wear. After this mystery unfolds, the oriental base places me in much more familiar territory. The vanilla, patchouli, and amber in the base are a soft, steady hum of calm comfort that marks the twilight of the scent.
Sampling this scent and discussing it with others gave rise to a few questions. Laurice Rahmé, Bond No. 9 founder and CEO, took some time out of her busy schedule to answer my questions about Andy Warhol Success is a Job in New York.
MD: How did you create the idea for Success is a Job in New York?
Laurice Rahmé: The one thing that everyone is lacking all over the world is money. Andy Warhol has done a lot of work on the dollar sign and I thought it was perfect timing to use his dollar sign artwork for this fall as well as his Success is a Job in NY concept. As it seems, there is also a lack in jobs and the idea here is to give everyone what they are lacking.
MD: What was the first thought that came to mind when you smelled Success is a Job in New York for the first time? Did the smell remind you of anything or bring back a memory?
Laurice Rahmé: It was important to have a smell that reminds us of abundance and comfort at the same time. It was important to bring back memories of the 'good ole days' and I hope that the fragrance accomplishes just that.
MD: Given the state of the economy, how do you expect a perfume with a name like Success is a Job in NY to be received? How do you respond to those who find the name ironically humorous during these economic times?
Laurice Rahmé: Andy Warhol was very famous and appreciated for his unique sense of humor. I believe that this is a time where we should help and put a smile on people faces and why not be humorous during hard times?
"I like money on the wall. Say you were going to buy a $200,000 painting. I think you should take that money,
tie it up, and hang it on the wall. Then when someone visited you, the first thing they would see is the money on the wall."
"Business Art is a much better thing to be making than Art Art."
-Andy Warhol
MD: When you wear Success is a Job in NY, how does it make you feel, personally?
Laurice Rahmé: When you wear Andy Warhol Success is a Job in New York, I personally feel that it is the New York spirit and the character and strength of New Yorkers that I am wearing and I am very proud of that.
MD: If you were to create a scent named, “Success is a Perfumery on Bond St”, how would you describe it?
Laurice Rahmé: This is a great question because we just, as you know, created a fragrance of the Bond Street store’s 10 year anniversary- it's not called success; it's simply called Bond. It’s the sexiest oud that would certainly attract many successful love stories.
Andy Warhol Success is a Job in New York is sure to please those with a taste for bold, rich, gourmands and comforting accords. A light spray is all you need to smell like a success. If only the ink we use to print currency smelled this good. -
Micheal Davis
Very special thank you to Laurice Rahmé for her kindness, generosity, and comments.
Bond No. 9 Perfume
French perfume expert and 35-year beauty industry veteran, Laurice Rahme, opened her headquarters boutique at 9 Bond Street ten years ago, hoping to make the New York street as famous as the London one of the same name. Since then, Rahme has advanced the art of perfumery with a riveting collection of New York neighborhood scents -- from Chelsea Flowers to New Haarlem.
Now, to mark the 10-year anniversary of Bond No. 9's headquarters boutique, we had no choice but to unveil our signature scent,Bond No. 9 Perfume Oud, not for a New York neighborhood, but for our NoHo address --a fixed point in the realm of the senses. Debuting in November, Bond No. 9 Perfume is so seductive, so frankly erotic, that we went all the way rendering it as a 30 percent concentration: pure perfume. The scent contains four superbly harmonious East/West ingredients. At the top, earthy, sultry oud. Playing up against it is rose, that epitome of refined sweetness. Tonka beans from South America form the heart, while musk, from the Asian musk deer, further unders scores oud's carnal nature.
A Bit of Background on the Oud: For starters, the word oud (pronounced ooh’d) derives from the Arabic el-oud, meaning branch of wood or twig, referencing the bark of the Aquilaria (or aloewood) tree, which produces an aromatic resin to protect itself against mold. Bearing a powerful aroma which simultaneously soothes and provokes, the oud has served as a perfume for two millennia in the Gulf Region. Its primary use has long been as incense, wafting into the heavens to unite the human with the divine. But so treasured is the languorous fragrance of oud that it is basic to scent-making in the Arabian Peninsula. Thus, we find jasmine ouds, leather ouds, and so forth. The best ouds are more precious, more costly than rubies or gold.
Since 2003, Bond No. 9 has advanced the art of perfumery with a riveting collection of New York neighborhood scents—from Wall Street to Chelsea Flowers to New Haarlem. But our latest fragrance, debuting in time for the holidays, takes a new direction, conjuring up a contemporary New York version of the ancient Eastern oud.
What makes Bond No. 9 Perfume unique in our scent repertory? For one thing, it is a study in contrasts, a mingling of East and West, Dubai and New York, ancient and modern, that captures the emerging international mood of 21st century New York. For another thing, it is so seductive, so frankly erotic, that we went all the way with this one, rendering it not as one of our customary 20 percent eaux de parfum, but as a 30 percent concentration, thereby moving it into a category that’s rare today: pure perfume.
Images courtesy of Bond No. 9
The Scent of Bond No. 9 Perfume
The world has many ouds, but here is an oud that could only come out of the fabled melting pot that is New York. Bond No. 9 Perfume contains four superbly harmonious East/West ingredients—the fewest of any Bond No. 9 fragrance (but no more were needed). Representing the Eastern world is earthy, sultry oud. Playing up against it is the rose, that epitome of refined sweetness, treasured in both the Middle East and the New World. Tonka beans from South America add to the heat with its caramel-almond flavor, while musk, from the Asian musk deer, further underscores oud’s carnal nature.
Representing the preciousness of its ingredients, the Bond No. 9 Perfume bottle is rendered in non-stop gold, laser-etched with an overall patterning of our signature token. Hold the bottle up to the light, and you will see through both sides and the crystal-clear perfume itself to an undulating undersea vision that captures the magic of this potion.
Arriving on counter in time for Holiday 2009, Bond No. 9 Perfume will be sold exclusively at Bond No. 9’s four New York stores and Saks Fifth Avenue nationwide.
Launch date: November 1st, 2009. Price: 3.4 oz., $330.
Michael W. Davis is a writer and management consultant in Atlanta, Georgia. Michael has been collecting and testing fragrances for fifteen years, and is an active contributing member of Basenotes. Michael holds a B.S. in psychology, an M.S. in organizational behavior and focuses on behavior modification in corporate environments. Michael also studies the effects of fragrance from a social psychology perspective.
EDITOR'S NOTE: A very special thank you to Laurice Rahmé and Michael Davis.
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