WHAT I SMELL: Cuir Mauresque opens oddly sweet and tangy, like soured candy sprinkled in sugar and it’s as if that layer of sweet rests on an orange like plastic.  Actually, more precisely, this smells like something sealed in plastic that when the seal is broken, the chemical plastic odors that were trapped inside are released.  After a few minutes, a sour note appears, like ripened apricot.  After a few more minutes, the leather starts to appear.  It’s rather faint and not harsh, but there is a sharp edge to it that makes the back of my tongue curl.  After another five minutes or so, the jasmine takes center stage and the fragrance begins to bloom and thankfully, that helps to push out the sour.  Unfortunately, the sour is pushed out but the sweet comes on very strong.  It keeps building and it smells artificial and manufactured.  Thankfully, after around the 30 minute mark, Cuir Mauresque becomes slightly more muted, but not enough to make me love it more.

From Fragrantica:

Cuir Mauresque (Moorish leather) is a perfume launched in 1996. It represents a blend of leather wrapped up in jasmine and sweet spices to make a true Arabian aroma. Notes: amber, myrrh, burnt styrax, incense, cinnamon, aloe wood, cedar, civet, nutmeg, clove, cumin, musk, mandarin peel and orange blossom.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME:  Floral candy.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE CUIR MAURESQUE:  odd, confused, sweet n’ sour

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT CUIR MAURESQUE: Kafkaesque, What Men Should Smell LIke, Notable Scents

BOTTOM LINE:  This is one of the Serge Lutens that you don’t hear much about and if it wasn’t for the wonderful Kafkaesque I probably wouldn’t have bothered to check it out.  Unfortunately, this one wasn’t meant for me.  In the end, it evens out, but this is one odd duck that I can do without.

• Bone Rating: 2.5 out of 5 possible bones
• Scent: Leather
• Nose:  Christopher Sheldrake
• Classification: Unisex
• Expense: $140 for 50ml EdP