C-eau-ney Island

The Hamptons may reek of money, but Coney Island is getting its very own scent, courtesy of downtown fragrance company Bond No. 9. Inspired by all the recent development along Brooklyn's bayshore, parfumeur Richard Harpin designed a location-based scent that is the borough's first from the company. It will retail for $40 an ounce, $125 for 1.7 ounces or $180 for 3.4 ounces, indicating to us that the value lies in the increasing size of the bottle, rather than the contents inside.

Perfume-blog Now Smell This had the essence of Bond No. 9's announcement:

What is the smell of fun—and how do you bottle it? That was our mission at Bond No. 9 when we decided to capture the essence of Coney Island and turn it into an eau de parfum. Why Coney Island? We were intrigued by the vintage allure of this century-old fantasy-land with its honky-tonk chic, its Mermaid Parade, its incomparable hotdog haven (Nathan’s Famous) fronting the Atlantic Ocean along Brooklyn’s southernmost edge. But we wanted to celebrate its future, too, just as a formidable revival is getting under way.

When we think of the smells of Coney Island, our thoughts run to food: hot dogs, fried clams, beer, and fried dough. That is not what Coney Island the perfume is going to involve, however. The fragrance smells like a "combination of Margarita mix, tequila, chocolate, caramel, cedarwood and cinnamon" - and Bond No. 9 president Laurice Rahme told the Daily News, "We chose Margarita, but we do not do food."

True: Bond No. 9's Chinatown scent does not smell like dumplings, raw fish or fake purses (instead, peach blossoms, gardenia, tuberose, patchouli and cardomom) and the Little Italy scent does not smell like pasta, olive oil and red wine (clementine, grapefruit and mandarin).

What does Coney Island smell like to you?

(Photo of Coney Island hotdog by tienmao at flickr)