First spray. One thing. The only thing I could think.... IsoButyl Quinoline nightmare. (and I love IBQ) Here me out though, this is a stripped back, raw and modern (if a little lazy) leather accord which is predominantly one material IBQ. Now I'm being a little harsh calling it lazy, this is a well made perfume, a deliberate overdose and stylistically on trend with a certain perfume I didn't like initially but now LOVE!!! So let's talk about Frederic Malle/Jean Claude Ellena's Rose & Cuir. I get that the 'reminds me of' section here is full of R&C associations and it can't help but remind anyone of that, it's a simplistic transparent rose with a massive scratchy, smokey, mossy, leathery IBQ note. Crucial difference for me is that rose and Cuir is much more leaning into the geranium (minus the minty facet) aspect of rose, but then giving a sweet, raspberry jam at times too. This it still that infused, lighter more PEA rose, like a rosewater, being dommed in quite a savage way by the leather note/accord/material. Although it's an overdose and as I said I like the material and this style, it just feels a bit too grubby, oily, like a mechanics discarded rag. I'm not saying it doesn't have nuance and I will have to try it again because R&C took ages to grow on me but I get that. It's a modern art piece, this just feels like a bit of an afterthought. Sorry.
I think Tom Ford's leather accord relies heavily on cypriol, because I get a strong whack of it here, as I do from all of the other TF leathers I've smelled. Not that it's bad, but it isn't what I expected. I prefer Rose de Chine [EDIT: Nope, I prefer this!], however this is more wearable for me out and about, at work etc. as a 43 year old man. Anyway, I was lucky enough to get a grey market bottle for 150 euros so I'll be eeking it out carefully over the years. Update: Giving it a proper wear today, and it smells 100 times better on skin than on card or clothes. Imagine the aftermath of a Shakespearean tragicomic massacre, with one guy left alive with a precious rose he salvaged clenched between his teeth to take home to his loved one. That's what this is. I've realised I love this so so much, and for the first time I feel like it's "me" through and through, perhaps a signature scent finally. Not only have I had several compliments from clients over the last two days, one of them said "it's perfect for you". It's bold, but not aggressive, and the jammy, dripping rose on the leather base is to die for. This is waaaaay better than Ombré Leather whilst sharing a little of the leather DNA. Re. comparisons to Rose et Cuir... It's like comparing two different fruit tarts. It's the same principle but one has apple and the other apricot. Here we have rose, the inaccurately named Rose et Cuir has geranium, and minty geranium to boot, so the resemblance is there, but it's more of a genre resemblance, and one certainly cannot substitute for the other. I prefer Rose de Russie, it's jammier and way easier to wear, while Rose et Cuir is perhaps more technically impressive. Another update: I reckon there's a hefty dose of cypriol here. Shem by Nishane does the same trick, using cypriol with rose to make a rosey leather, but Nishane overdid it, this is much better, although not actually any cheaper.
I have a boxed, sealed 50ml bottle, Paris, France, if anyone is interested in buying.