Ann Gerard Cuir de Nacre ~ fragrance review

Posted by Angela on 25 February 2013 46 Comments

Ann Gérard Cuir de Nacre

Ann Gérard Cuir de Nacre is one of my favorite types of fragrances — a leather chypre — by one of the perfumers whose work intrigues me most, Bertrand Duchaufour. When I opened my decant, I wanted to be swept away by Cuir de Nacre’s beauty. But then again, it wouldn’t be so terrible if it smelled enough like other leather perfumes to spare my wallet.

I’ve worn Cuir de Nacre for a week and half now. Does it deserve a spot on my “must have” list? Here are my criteria and how Cuir de Nacre matches up:

It must smell divine. Cuir de Nacre’s notes include angelica root, ambrette, aldehydic ozonic notes, cassie, iris concrete, leather accord, sandalwood, white musk and styrax. Cuir de Nacre’s soft leather and iris ride in on a cloud of aldehydes with a tickle of peppery angelica root. As the fragrance settles, the cassie (also known as mimosa) adds its strange and slightly fetid buzz to the mix. And is Cuir de Nacre ever mossy. Moss lovers will definitely want to sniff how moss cushions the fragrance, puffing and peeking out like a crinoline a touch longer than its suede skirt…

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Leather fragrances 101

Posted by Angela on 21 January 2013 199 Comments

Embossed leather

Few fragrances marry butch and elegance as well as a good leather. For the most part, leather is easy to smell in perfume. Think of Caron Tabac Blond, for instance. It’s a snootful of sweet, oily leather. But sometimes leather weaves itself more cleverly into a fragrance and, if you’re expecting a true saddle leather, might not be obvious at first. Bottega Veneta is an example of a leather fragrance with less blatant, but still very present, leather note.

I thought it would be helpful to run through some of the different ways leather can star in a fragrance — a sort of “Leather 101.”

Birch tar-loaded “Russian” leather: This is what most people think of when they think “leather perfume.” Birch tar on its own is smoky, burnt, and leathery as a slab of oil-rubbed hide. It’s a powerful note. Sometimes it’s left seemingly untouched in a strong leather fragrance (Knize Ten), and sometimes it’s complemented by something equally assertive (the sharp galbanum in Bandit). Examples include Caron Tabac Blond…

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Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier Cuir Fetiche ~ fragrance review

Posted by Kevin on 14 December 2011 28 Comments

Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier Cuir Fetiche

Maître Parfumeur et Gantier Cuir Fétiche, a new women’s perfume, just launched. According to house perfumer Jean-Paul Millet Lage, he was inspired to create Cuir Fétiche on a scouting trip to southern France where he was looking at (and apparently sniffing) leathers for a new line of Maître Parfumeur et Gantier gloves. (As Robin said last week; I’m pretty tired of “creation stories.”)

Cuir Fétiche tries to be “racy;” it’s advertised using a woman wearing nothing but leather gloves (that make her hands look a tad masculine!), and the Cuir Fétiche bottle comes wrapped in a red corset.* Though Cuir Fétiche’s ads may be “suggestive” for Maître Parfumeur et Gantier, the perfume is far from “sexy;” it’s “bound” by convention, not leather handcuffs. Cuir Fétiche is a classic leather fragrance: elegant, calm, well-dressed (not, well, “un-dressed” for sure).

Cuir Fétiche contains fragrance notes of red mandarin, lemon, bergamot, geranium, leather, ylang ylang, jasmine, rose, iris, vanilla, musk, ambergris, patchouli, cedar and sandalwood. Cuir Fétiche goes on bright with glints of citrus and aldehydes…

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L’Artisan Parfumeur Mon Numero 10 ~ fragrance review

Posted by Angela on 26 September 2011 56 Comments

L'Artisan Parfumeur Mon Numero 10

Two and a half years ago, perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour created ten fragrances. “Sure,” you might say, “And he’s created another couple of dozen since then. Big deal.” The thing is, he only made one bottle of each of these fragrances. L’Artisan Parfumeur put them on the market for $20,000 each. Now L’Artisan is producing eight of those fragrances for the masses for the relative bargain of $200 for 100 ml. Of them, Mon Numéro 10 piqued my interest right away.

L’Artisan Parfumeur’s PR machine says of Mon Numéro 10, “This last act will be explosive. After our travels, secret tributes and other sensual pleasures, this perfume is an explosion of warm, enveloping notes. Quite simply addictive. A heady, memorable ode to a highly sought-after note of oriental perfumes. Mon Numéro 10, with its eccentric, piercing mood, is like an evening gown that turns heads all on its own.”

Well. Does anyone else get an image of trains and bombs and evening dresses walking around without anyone in them? Let me simplify the description of Mon Numéro 10: it’s a spicy leather oriental. My thumbnail review? Leather cola…

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Serge Lutens Cuir Mauresque ~ fragrance review

Posted by Angela on 14 March 2011 65 Comments

Serge Lutens Cuir Mauresque

One of the hazards of a bulging perfume cabinet is how hard it can be to justify buying another bottle, especially when you know you already have a few bottles from the same fragrance family. That’s my dilemma with Serge Lutens Cuir Mauresque. Since Cuir Mauresque became available in the United States last year, my fingers have wavered over the “add to shopping cart” button many a time. I tell myself Cuir Mauresque is special — warm and cozy, intimate and spicy, different from my other leathers. Meanwhile, Caron Tabac Blond, Lancôme Cuir de Lancôme, Bvlgari Black, Robert Piguet Bandit, Christian Dior Diorling, and probably some others I’m forgetting languish as they wait their turn in the fragrance rotation. What’s a girl to do?

Serge Lutens launched Cuir Mauresque in 1996 as one of its non-export, bell jar “exclusives” (as opposed to the export line in the rectangular bottle). In 2010, Cuir Mauresque (“moorish leather”) joined the export line for a limited edition run. Perfumer Christopher Sheldrake developed Cuir Mauresque, and its notes include mandarin peel, orange blossom, burnt styrax, incense, cinnamon, nutmeg, amber, myrrh, cumin, musk, cedar, and civet.

Like many of the Serge Lutens fragrances, Cuir Mauresque kicks off with a surprising note that offers a freaky insight into the rest of the fragrance…

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Now Smell This

a blog about perfume

Ann Gerard Cuir de Nacre ~ fragrance review

Leather fragrances 101

Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier Cuir Fetiche ~ fragrance review

L’Artisan Parfumeur Mon Numero 10 ~ fragrance review

Serge Lutens Cuir Mauresque ~ fragrance review