Description
Out of the Bottle, Into the Street...
Home to merchants and misfits, Beatniks and Bohemians, dissidents and protesters, the West Village’s infamous Christopher Street has established a reputation for celebrating rugged and rebellious individualism. Like the unique architecture of the street’s Northern Dispensary, Christopher Street introduces a distinctive fragrance structure that challenges traditional olfactive notions of gender. Unlike unisex fragrances that target a lowest common denominator, Christopher Street revels in the unexpected harmonies of its strong masculine and feminine notes. The fragrance combines classical floral chypre elements with more subversive tones of metals, smoky tobacco, watered down alcohol, wet woods and clove. Every bottle of Christopher Street is hand filled, and packed with patchouli.
Christopher Street created in collaboration with perfumer Ralf Schwieger of Mane USA.
Named a 2014 Art and Olfaction Awards Finalist in the Independent Category.
Major Fragrance Notes
Lucy Raubertas of Indieperfumes –
Christopher Street makes a strong yet refined first impression with a sparkling lime note that holds its presence through the development of the companion top citrus notes of bergamot and bitter orange, toned by leather and tobacco accords floating over a base of incense, moss, musk, myrrh and patchouli. The mid-notes of cinnamon, clove bud, orange blossom and poet carnation all share an interior tang that has been harnessed to the vivacity and energy of the perfume. The perfume holds to the skin beautifully, and on my skin comes across as a lightly intoxicating cocktail made of sparkling precious fragrance materials. … It’s clear that the energy of this perfume relates to freedom gained from the release of traditional and strict gender roles, as opened up in our own time by people actively seizing the opportunity they’ve created for themselves to be truly themselves.
Read the full review on Indieperfumes…
Gaia Fishler of The Non-Blonde –
Christopher Street is civilized, tasteful and very approachable, while still offering us a lot of substance. … While tobacco, clove, and dry patchouli play a major part in Christopher Street, the citrus makes a vivid statement that can be felt throughout the perfume’s development. Christopher Street is very much alive and bursting with excitement. It doesn’t have a particular gender or a day/night label. It just is– exuberant and present, very long lasting (12 hours and then some) without crossing any taste boundaries. It’s a very wearable perfume that should appeal to many.
Read the full review on The Non-Blonde…
Mark Behnke of CaFleureBon –
One of the best fragrances I have tried in the last year.
The citrus opening of Christopher Street is made up of alcoholic lime, bitter orange, and bergamot. The alcoholic lime is the key ingredient as it blunts the tartness of the lime and lets the bitter orange add an equal amount of tart without ever becoming sharp. It results in a rounded citrus accord that comes together and lingers. Christopher Street was known for its leather bars and so leather and cigarettes had to be here and they are. This is exactly that processed leather accord from a leather jacket infused with the cigarette smoke of the bar the night before. It is surprisingly complementary with the citrus accord and I wouldn’t have expected that to be the case. The heart of Christopher Street is also where Mr. Bender inserted a bit of his heart as he asked Mr. Schwieger to use an accord Mr. Bender created called “Dance on Skin”. For anybody who has ever been on a crowded dance floor you will immediately recognize the perspiring skin character this accord adds with cumin the focal point of this accord. Mr. Schwieger was wise to surround it with a flurry of spices, cinnamon, clove and a bit of floral quality with carnation matching the clove perfectly. Christopher Street, up to this point, has been all about the fun but in the base notes Christopher Street asks for reflection as myrrh and frankincense focus one’s thoughts and musk and patchouli remind us of the humanity we want to celebrate. Christopher Street has outstanding longevity and above average silage.
Read the full review on CaFleureBon…
Jessica M of Now Smell This –
Christopher Street opens with sharp, bitter notes of lime and bergamot that are quickly submerged in a haze of booze and tobacco. The tobacco is present both as cured leaves and as cigar smoke, and the smoke seems to have already seeped into the old wood and broken-in leather that are also present in the heart of the fragrance. The base exudes handfuls of earthy, crumbled patchouli and dried moss, as well as as subtle sweaty note. I end up not knowing whether I’m in a bar or a barn, but either one would be fine with me, if it smelled like this.
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Victoria Jent of EauMG –
It should be mandatory sniffing for anyone that loves perfume. I love it.
Christopher Street has a vintage feel reminding me of popular fragrances of the 1960’s and early 1970’s; however, it has more “umph” and a certain sense of “otherness” making it unique. … It’s persistent and it should be to correspond with the story of Christopher Street (and every single liberation movement that occurred in the 60s-70s). It goes against the current fragrance trends, there are no worries about a demographic. Christopher Street exists to tell a story and it does. It’s a rebel with a cause.
Read the full review at EauMG…