Bleecker Street - 673

The Essence Vault's No. 673 takes on Bond No. 9's Bleecker Street, a fragrance whose appeal lies precisely in how unusual its green-fruity-woody combination is. The opening does a fair job of capturing that signature: green violet leaf paired with tart cassis gives an immediate nod to the original's garden-in-the-city character, and the thyme and blueberry in the heart echo Bleecker Street's herbal-fruity contrast. Where it comes up short is in the sharpness that makes the original memorable - the real Bleecker Street has a metallic, almost bracing blueberry note that gives it a slightly masculine edge despite the sweetness, and No. 673 smooths that over into a softer, more conventional fruity-green blend. The patchouli-oakmoss-amber base is a reasonable stab at the original's woody-earthy drydown, but it's thinner and fades sooner, missing the sophisticated mossy depth that makes Bleecker Street feel more polished than a typical gourmand-adjacent fragrance. It's a decent, wearable everyday green scent for the price, but the specific artistic weirdness that makes the original a cult favourite doesn't fully survive the translation.