leather | The Scented Hound

February 13, 2014
by The Scented Hound 11 Comments

Cuir Mauresque by Serge Lutens

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.

When I typed in “floral candy” in Google Images, this is what came up. I had to use it as her top, the headband and the cotton candy just somehow aren’t quite right, just like the fragrance.

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

February 6, 2014
by The Scented Hound 29 Comments

Vintage Review: Cabochard by Gres

How can a pretty little girl wearing a bow be so menacing??

WHAT I SMELL: Cabochard opens quite skanky, biting and strong, with a strange mix of floral and leather that creates this harsh, yet weirdly pretty in your face fragrance. The base is rather tarry, like the bottom of a dirty ashtray. And it’s like the florals are pushing out of the tar, like they are reaching out using the tar as a base like a potted plant. The tar is not thick, but instead is sharp and unrelenting. After a while add to the tar, a coating of dust, like you were just riding a motorcycle down a dirty unpaved road and the dust was filing your nostrils. I know I hardly make this sound enticing, but there is something very primal about this fragrance that hits my perfume sweet spot!

Top: aldehydes, bergamot, mandarin, galbanum, spice

Heart: jasmine, rosa damscena, geranium, ylang-ylang, iris

Base: patchouli, leather, vetiver, castoreum, oakmoss, tobacco, musk, labdanum, sandalwood

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Kitten With a Whip…sexy with a dangerous side.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE CABOCHARD: indiscreet, racy, unrepentant

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT CABOCHARD: Yesterday’s Perfumes, Perfume Shrine, Bois de Jasmin

BOTTOM LINE: Wow, this little gem took me by surprise. I wore this at the gym the other day and combined with a raised body temperature and a little sweat I found myself falling in love with myself. I only have a little bottle of this, but I want more! Cabochard is as masculine of a fragrance that is meant for a woman that there is, which means that this is supremely unisex and I plan to wear it a lot.

Bone Rating: 5 out of 5 possible bones
Scent: Leather
Nose: Bernard Chant
Classification: a very masculine feminine fragrance
Expense: Review based on Parfum Extrait. Various prices and vintage concentrations can be found on eBay and through other sources.

January 9, 2014
by The Scented Hound 15 Comments

Grand Cuir by Parfums Retro

WHAT I SMELL: Grand Cuir opens with a citrus like orange blossom twist. It’s not what I was expecting as it’s not to heavy and there’s something rather salty, and tangy about the finish. I’m not quite sure what it is, but there is something here that reminds me of 1968 and going to the barber shop where the combination of sweat, oil and Brylcreem and dirt seemed to permeate the shop. Soon enough a slight soap makes an appearance along with this dryish birch and light petroleum note. After around 20 minutes or so, the florals come to surface and help to warm the fragrance, helping to even out the sharper tones of the opening. Then after a little more time, a bit of spice comes to play, but it peeks in an out rather than comes to the forefront. What I like about this fragrance is that Grand Cuir’s note are completely harmonic and therefore, none of the notes tends to dominate although you are always acutely aware that this is a leather fragrance. In the end, you’re left with a long-lasting fragrance that rides evenly and comfortably on your skin. There is something very nostalgic about Grand Cuir that I find appealing where it feels a bit forbidden, but at the same time by today’s standards comes off as rather innocent.

From Parfums Retro:

A fragrant composition in four parts:

A leather soul from start to finish
Spicy and herbaceous accents
A multi-dimentional floral heart
A comfortabel, relaxed base.

Grand Cuir Notes:

Cistus-labdanum, birch tar, clary sage, orange flower, lavender, carnation, rose, violet leaf, geranium, cinnamon leaf oil, tarragon, pine moss, sandalwood, rosewood, patchouli, musk, rosewood

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: I keep going back to the 1960s. It’s manly without being brutish and it’s comfortable without being sloppy.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE GRAND CUIR: nostalgic, easy, vintage

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT GRAND CUIR: Kafkaesque, Scents Memory, Perfume Project NW

BOTTOM LINE: As many of you know, leather is not one of my favorite notes. Grand Cuir is about as close to changing my mind that I have found. The leather isn’t hard, but instead is just slightly naughty…in a nostalgic way. I have noted that a couple of bloggers have named Grand Cuir on their “best of 2013” lists, including Kafkaesque and Eyeliner on a Cat, so I recommend that if you like leather fragrances (and even if you don’t), that you check Grand Cuir out!

Bone Rating: 4 out of 5 possible bones
Scent: Leather
Nose: Hugh Spencer
Classification: Leans masculine
Expense: $155 for 100ml EdP

Disclosure: Product for review provided courtesy of Parfums Retro.