Usually I will apply a fragrance and put it up to my partners nose and she will say the totally wrong description, like a dense creamy, oriental she'll say "mmmm...that's really fresh and fruity." Or something to that effect...basically the total opposite of what it is. (Who knows how her nose works she could be right and it's everyone else who's wrong.) Anyhow...memo Irish leather was a big exception...as soon as she got a whiff "that's LEATHER!" She proclaimed and I proceeded to patronise her with an unexpected "wow it is...well done!" I mean I can smell the leather (and I had prior knowledge of what the scent was called don't forget) but I was a bit surprised because for me it didn't smell completely typical or even that Tuscan Leather type approximation used in perfumery would have been more obvious for a noob to detect as 'leather' , I would imagine? Anyway... She went on to say that memo Irish leather smelled like a new car and I have to say I agree with her. It's a very accurate description because I would include the plastic and wood too. She never got the opening but it is indeed a sharp juniper which frankly I find jars with the leather. It takes a while to develop fully but when it does my my its an interesting one. Mate!!! Mate has shown up for a second time in a couple of days trying new fragrances and I'm still non the wiser what it smells like? Whatever is effecting the leather in here is not unpleasant but not to my liking. My first from this house and I'll be honest I've smelled better fragrances than this one, performance was good but I desperately want to try it again before writing anything off. Very very interesting...Gets marks for originally and that's half the battle these days.

Okay, so I very much like this perfume I have to say and I don't know why but it's a guilty pleasure for me, something about it's construction says it's kinda cheap thrills perfumery or lacking in a deeper level of sophistication. Yet a part of me craves this perfume. Another problem is that I own a clone of this, yeah me buying a clone! What a hypocrite!!! Let's add some context. I wasn't aware it was a clone, in as much as anyone can buy a Rasasi fragrance and expect to get something original and I certainly didn't know it was a clone of this and in fairness I've never smelled anything like Irish Leather/Ambergris showers so in fairness to Memo and Massenet gives them a huge amount of credit for making something truly memorable. It smells like hefty juniper, fizzy, green citrus in the opening, metallic, angular, it's incredible brightness only dimmed with the balance of dry, smoky, powdered aerated woody, leather accord. It's magnificently simple and direct, the kind of approach I imagine would go down well with the Aventus bro crowd, and I'm not saying that to seem all superior more that I think Memo really hit on something here. Irish leather is butch in terms of it's woody and leather themes but generally bright and easy going, pure high street fodder in that other sense but definitely feels decadent and luxurious in some sense too. I personally really enjoy wearing it and for me it doesn't raise a conundrum about the clone because having now worn this I perceive this as marginally better but truthfully there's not a great deal in it, I would advocate for this over the clone.