Chemical Bonding Ineke for women

Note to perfumers: please do not name your creations in ways that immediately evoke visions of an organic chemistry laboratory! Ineke CHEMICAL BONDING would be an example to avoid. In fact, the composition is much better than the name would seem to suggest to those of us who have tested way too many of the sickeningly synthetic fragrances on the market today. To be perfectly frank (quoi d'autre?), I actually do not understand and am indeed mystified by the weird “molecule” trend in avant-garde perfumery, with single synthetic notes being poured into bottles and sold as perfume at niche prices. Hello? Does this make any sense whatsoever? Why not just go to a chemical supply shop and buy yourself a bottle of the “special molecule” for a tiny fraction of the cost? But I digress...

CHEMICAL BONDING is another masculine-leaning composition by this house—along the lines of FIELD NOTES FROM PARIS, and I find it about as appealing. I wouldn't mind smelling it on someone else, but it's not something that I would go out of my way to acquire. Nor is it something that I'd go out of my way to wear, if I happened to have a bottle. To me, CHEMICAL BONDING seems like a generic men's citrus cologne which falls just this side of the natural/synthetic divide. Vetiver, citrus, light florality...you know the drill.

Hello ctruses! Loads of oranges and lemons right off the bat. There's a sprig-of-mint feeling, but it's probably the tea. Not altogether unpleasant.

Reminds me a lot of Bath & Body Work's Orange Ginger body lotion from their Armoatherapy Energy line.

Probably best worn in warmer weather when the citrus/tea combination might have a cooling effect.

It’s a cute name, but doesn’t seem relevant to the perfume. Initially this is an extremely strong citrus scent with a background that smells like a typical “men’s cologne” made with lavender. However, there is so much lemon that it pretty much overpowers everything else, making the overall impression that of a harsh, cleaning-product odor.

Within a half hour it has developed a fuzzy, scratchy drugstore green tea note, the one that makes me sneeze. I really couldn’t take it once this super-strong and irritating note developed, so ended up scrubbing - and scrubbing - and scrubbing. Even after scrubbing with alcohol and acetone I still smell it. On second thought, maybe the name is apt, indicating that it bonds permanently to skin. Definitely not for me.

Chemical Bonding is a very nice tart citrus/tea scent that I find to be completely unisex. The citrus notes last and last, and the tea/peony notes compliment the citrus very well. It's a bit too astringent and biting for me (kinda gives me a headache), but as a plus my 51 year old mother loves it. Not bad, just not for me.

Wow, what a lemon! Is it just a burst of lemon with leaves, tree and bark? Is it just about to melt into a lemon meringue? Is it -- God forbid! -- just a lemon scented dish soap??

Just when I thought that lemon will overpower my senses, the lovely note of peony rose up. Stayed like that for about three hours and went into a very mild drydown.

This one is nice... but... it makes me think about L'Eclat d'Arpege by Lanvin and the comparison is definitely favors this old favorite of mine. It has the beginning of Sicilian lemon leaves, a lemony beginning, too, but a far more interesting one. A peony note it delivers is sweeter, and the lasting power is definitely 8 hours+ rather than about 5-6. I guess it's just me -- now I know what it feels like to find a Holy Grail since I'm turning down two new peony fragrances (this one and Paeonia by L'Occitane) with the same phrase: there's nothing this fragrance does that L'Eclat d'Arpege doesn't do for me.

Chemical bonding smells of bitter lemon peels on my skin. Pure citrus fragrance,that's what it is. I find it extremely similar to Carthusia's Mediterraneo with the average staying power. Must try for citrus fragrance lovers.

An extremely uncharacteristic perfume from this house. Light to the point of anonymity with generic citrus and overwhelming tea. Between samples and purchases I've now tried A-F and this is my least favorite of all of her perfumes. If you want a bright citrus try D&G Sicily or some of the Tocca summer colognes.

Chemical Bonding is a lovely light fragrance that, for me, offered a nice contrast from the more wintery fragrances full of incense or wood. Chemical Bonding smells like spring or summer; starts with fruit but not like a tween fragrance. After the berry fades, you can smell the fresh peony. It was all but gone in a couple hours but while I could smell it my mood was lifted.

With such a name, couldn't 'Chemical Bonding' have been something exciting, some kind of explosively harmonious synthetic blend? This is sheer ennui on me. Where's the rush and tingle of chemicals? Aside from the misnomer (after all, there is no rule about this: witness MJ 'Daisy'), I would still have to complain about the lethargic citrus and the faintest drydown imaginable. Doesn't last on me, but that is to my relief. Very nice for fans of Elizabeth Arden 'Green Tea' and some of the lighter Davidoff fragrances. For me, too much of a limp handshake -- no thanks.