Leather Scents

[water]

I received a decant of Creed's Royal English Leather earlier this week. While I enjoy it, the sweetness almost overtakes the leather.

Anyone care to list their favourite leather scents?

[Austin]

Trumpers Spanish Leather
T&H Spanish Leather

[Scotto]

This is my White Whale...

I can't seem to find a good leathery scent. I have tried Trumpers SL (too soapy), T&H (too weird), and others. I can't seem to find a good one.

If you like things in that vein, John Varvatos is very nice. Has some exotic ingredients and a leathery thing going on.

[threeputt]

Trumper's Spanish Leather is fantastic...one of my favorites. I also love Penhaligon's Opus 1870, although I'm not sure it is a "leather" scent. Seems very woody and leathery to me...

Jeff

[water]

I think I am one of the few that is not overly enamoured with Trumper's Spanish Leather. I much prefer Truefitt's version. For me, the leather note explodes from it. I have read speculation that they reformulated it a little while back. However, I received my sample only about six months ago and I love it. If this is the reformulation I have no problem with it!

I also really like Creed's Cuir de Russie. This one certainly would not be for everyone as it is a pretty big turn from most of what is available on the market but, for me, it just has that something.

[Austin]

I would like to add that Knize 10 is also a good leather scent.

[Nick]

+1 on the Knize 10. It has a nice leather scent that doesn't go overboard.

-Nick

[zaphf]

T&H Spanish leather is nice
Knize Ten is leather / Tobacco combo that's great
Tabac has some leather in it, but not primarily.
Aromatic Cypre from Pecksniffs is also leathery / sweet

My favorite of them is the Knize, but I think that scent isnt one that's loved by everyone, even people who like leather.

The thing I like about leather scents is that they smell, clean I guess. I don't think Penhaligons 1870 smells a bit like leather however. I love that scent, but all I really smell from it is the cedar. It smells like living in an heirloom cedar chest .

[Justso]

Another vote for T&H Spanish Leather :001_smile

[acoldspoon]

Soon some T&H Spanish Leather will be mine, mine, and ALL MINE. Blah hah ha ha hah!

Damn you Austin, look what you've started.

[water]

I recently bought a new bottle of T&H Spanish Leather. I really love this cologne. Such a great clean, leathery scent.

[Austin]

Soon some T&H Spanish Leather will be mine, mine, and ALL MINE. Blah hah ha ha hah!

Damn you Austin, look what you've started.

Sorry to be the evil enabler. :biggrin:

[Ben]

John Varvatos is very nice. Has some exotic ingredients and a leathery thing going on.
No kidding ... some crazy ingredients! I've been meaning to give this one a try.

[enlightenment]

I'm suprised nobody has mentioned Dzing! by L'Artisan Parfumeur. I just got a sample at Neiman's the other day. It's quite unusual/unique, if you are interested in unique scents. I'm still undecided on it. I need to wear it to find out though. I've never worn a leather scent so its a little different for me.

[acoldspoon]

T&H Spanish Leather is one of my favorite scents period. I can't wear it on a hot day, but last night was cool out so I was able to put it on. Great lasting power. My wife remarked the morning after that a smelled great when I woke up. While very few scents last on me, I've had very good luck with the T&H Spanish Leather and West Indian Limes in this regard. They are both becoming favorites of mine. SL for cool days and WIL for warm ones.

DZING! is one of my favorite scents from L'Artisan. I really have to buy some, as I've only got one sample left. As a very musky scent, I can't wear it for work. But for a night out it is uniquely attractive. Not only do I like the way it smells, but my wife really likes it on me. She is, thank G-d, a big musk fan. I guess it would make sense that we'd like DZING!. We take comfort in our close relationship working with animals, so it would natural that we'd like something reminiscent of a circus.

Another great leather scent is Santa Maria Novella Nostalgia. It is supposed to be reminiscent of an old racing car, and in some ways it is. To this end, it does have a "bracing" gasoline/acetone like top note. This was off putting at first. But the dry down is very pleasing. Once again, not really a scent for work, but interesting for a night out. I like my large sample quite a bit.

All in all, while I like the more unique leathers, T&H wins out.

[guenron]

Let me see,


Woods of Windsor
Knize Zehn
Truefitt and Hill Spanish Leather

[vontech]

Caron Tabac Blond.

Leather is super rich and dominates all other scents in this fragrance. Caron markets this for women, but I would not want to meet the woman in a dark alley who wears this. Luca Turin, who was chronicled in The Emporer of Scent by Chandler Burr, said something like the woman who wore this was not the girl you would bring home to mother.

Notes: Leather, vanilla, tobacco, carnation and others

Wear it out on a night on the town in your Maserati -- DON'T wear it to work!

Best leather scent I have ever found, although Knize Ten and Cuir de Russie are close second and third!

Tom

[rtaylor61]

Caron Tabac Blond.

Leather is super rich and dominates all other scents in this fragrance. Caron markets this for women, but I would not want to meet the woman in a dark alley who wears this. Luca Turin, who was chronicled in The Emporer of Scent by Chandler Burr, said something like the woman who wore this was not the girl you would bring home to mother.

Notes: Leather, vanilla, tobacco, carnation and others

Wear it out on a night on the town in your Maserati -- DON'T wear it to work!

Best leather scent I have ever found, although Knize Ten and Cuir de Russie are close second and third!

Tom

Tom,

Where did you pick this up?

Randy

[Austin]

Randy, Tabac Blond is hard to find. I can't remember the vendor that sells it. I think they were in either Italy or France. It may have been offered at Neiman Marcus at one time or another.

[rtaylor61]

Randy, Tabac Blond is hard to find. I can't remember the vendor that sells it. I think they were in either Italy or France. It may have been offered at Neiman Marcus at one time or another.

Andrew,

I've read a lot about it on Basenotes...tried to find it on ebay...it sounds so...decadent!

Randy

[fisherc]

Caron has a boutique in New York where this can be obtained. I don't have the phone # or URL handy but you can GOOGLE it easy enough.

Chris

[Austin]

Randy, it's a great scent. I had a bottle a few years ago.

[rtaylor61]

Caron has a boutique in New York where this can be obtained. I don't have the phone # or URL handy but you can GOOGLE it easy enough.

Chris

Chris,

Thank you for the info! I'll check it out!

Randy

[vontech]

Tom,

Where did you pick this up?

Randy

Randy, http://cgi.ebay.com/CARON-Tabac-Blond-Pure-Parfum-Perfume-5ml-1-6oz-Decant_W0QQitemZ5658081474QQcategoryZ11847QQcmdZVi ewItem

EBay seller Dragonfly Scent Me.

She is probably the most professional EBay fragrance seller I have encountered. 10 out of 10! She may also be able to make a sample available for you.

Really nice stuff. I **DID** wear it to work tonight, and I got a nice compliment from a customer.

Leather (scents)rule!

Tom

[HoustonianYankee]

Just bought a bottle of Santa Maria Novella "Russa" which is a Russian Leather. I'm not sure what's Russian about it but its quite nice albeit not very longlasting. I tried the Nostalgia which was kind of funny. I was at the antique Farmacia of SMN in Florence and the lady behind the counter was letting me try different scents. When I tried the Nostalgia she smiled and said something to the effect of, be honest, tell me what you smell. I said, turpentine. She smiled and nodded and said that was the nostalgia part. Some people are nostalgic for the smell of racing cars in a pit. I didn't like it, nor did my wife, but my 22 yr old son did. I bought the Russa.

[ScottS]

I'll toss in Crabtree and Evelyn Sienna

[Bargepole]

Just bought a bottle of Santa Maria Novella "Russa" which is a Russian Leather. I'm not sure what's Russian about it .

Russia leathers are generally woodier, usually built around birch tar notes, rather than Spanish leathers (the best of which were English, oddly) which come across with lavandine (the harsher hybrid), often patchouli, and in the old days genuine -- and lots of -- ambergris & civet & musk at the base.

The Creed Royal English Leather is an acquired taste. It's a genuine C18 formulation though the animalics, apart from ambergris, are always synthetic now. (The Law, gentlemen.) There was an unacknowledged experimental R.E.L around briefly -- I caught a whiff of it -- which had musk ambrettes at the base. Think Brut... It would never have caught on :cool:

The SM Novella version is barely a Russia Leather at all, in my opinion. It's more a classic light eau de cologne with a birchwood drydown. I think the nearest to a true Russian leather cologne now would be the L T Piver Cuir de Russie (and the incomparable Chanel Cuir de Russie, too.)

[echophonic]

Tom,

Where did you pick this up?

Randy

Besides eBay, this is the only place I could find it online. (http://www.escentual.com/cgi-bin/Escentual.storefront/4677263900e6efa12741c0a8650a06d9/Product/View/caron0032)

That's not cheap to get on a blind recommendation!

[Zeni]

I just bought a decant of Tabac Blond for my wife. :evilgrin: It smells great on her, I haven't tried it ... yet.


http://fragrantfripperies.com/store/page42.html

[koso]

I also really like Creed's Cuir de Russie. This one certainly would not be for everyone as it is a pretty big turn from most of what is available on the market but, for me, it just has that something.

Rorschuck did a split on this a while back and I got some. The birch tar is powerful, almost too much for me. The heart and base are fantastic.

[STINGYBRIMSandBOURBON]

john varvatos vintage

[Aaron01]

Knize Ten
Creed Royal English Leather
Helmut Lang Cuiron

These are my top 3 leather scents, Cuiron is my favorite of the bunch. I think REL and K10 are very close scents. Since I have a large decant of K10, once that runs out I'll probably get a small bottle of REL

[OldSchoolYoungin]

Knize Ten
Creed Royal English Leather




+ a lot.

[D.Irving79]

old spice leather.


if you can find a NOS unused bottle, it smells of nothing BUT leather. theres usually a few bottles on ebay for cheap. very mature scent. i love it.

[professorchaos]

In addition to the others mentioned her, I would add Santa Maria Novella's Peau d'Espagne.

[Hun]

I vote for Knize 10 over Tabac. That's the power, boy!

[profsaffel]

I just found scent in Dillard's called "Dirty English" which smells like an old leather bag. :001_huh:

[ClubmanRob]

old spice leather.


if you can find a NOS unused bottle, it smells of nothing BUT leather. theres usually a few bottles on ebay for cheap. very mature scent. i love it.


In the summer, I like T&H Spanish Leather. Winter, I like Old Spice Leather simply because it really smells like a leather shop. I usually wear it when I'm wearing my leather coat or jacket, because the smell perfectly matches my attire. :blush:

[philamac]

just got a bottle of Trumpers Spanish Leather.

It is beautiful. I need to get a bar of Imperial Leather soap to blend in when i wear it

[LeGaulois]

Chanel : Cuir de Russie

[jeasley]

I would like to add that Knize 10 is also a good leather scent.yes

[ctakim]

What ever happened to English Leather aftershave/Cologne. Is it still available. I used it a couple of decades ago.

"All my men use English Leather" as the TV ad used to say:tongue:

[koso]

I picked up a mini of English Leather at an after-Christmas sale.

Being used to these high-end leathers, it smelled pretty nasty to me.

[Whitmore]

I just received my package of Trumper samples, including the Spanish Leather cologne. What can I say? I'll be heading to the store and buy me a bottle. I can't stop sniffing my wrist. It's an incredible, warm, very sophisticated scent which absolutely doesn't fit the fresh, almost lemony profile I'm used to. Love it.

[Jarmo P]

Am I the only one here who uses GranValor Tabac EdT?
It has leather in it as well as some pepper and other spicies.

Jarmo

[Squeg]

I just discovered T&H Spanish Leather. These days I have so few opportunities to wear cologne that I find it hard to justify buying an entire bottle that I will have for the rest of my life. Is anyone selling decants?

[The Nid Hog]

Thought that I'd wake up this old thread. I read through this when I first joined and I've been trying out leathers ever since. Right now, I have Knize Ten and Trumper's Spanish Leather in my rotation. Very different fragrances, but both are good in the winter. The Knize is by far my favorite.

I also have some decants of Tabac Blond, Creed's REL and Cuir de Russie that I like.

Finally, I have a soft spot for Dana's English Leather. I remember the MEM version from when I was a kid and I think that it's still pretty nice--especially the aftershave.

[StylinLA]

What's a brief Nid analysis of the Cuir de Russie? I might have tried that one years ago in a brief in store test but don't remember it that well, Intense top notes as I recall. How would you contrast it with REL?

[JaDo]

Antaeus or Bel Ami. I get the "leathery" notes when I wear these, but overapplication is very, VERY, easy.

[warlandsboy]

I'm also a Antaeus fan, especially the vintage!

[Aaron01]

The reformulated Bel Ami is less about the leather than the vintage version.

[The Nid Hog]

What's a brief Nid analysis of the Cuir de Russie? I might have tried that one years ago in a brief in store test but don't remember it that well, Intense top notes as I recall. How would you contrast it with REL?

I've been nursing it--let me break it out tomorrow and give it a try. I'll report back tomorrow night.

[The Nid Hog]

OK--here's my first take on Creed's Cuir de Russie.

I came to Cuir de Russie with heavy expectations. The name itself evokes images of a lone mounted Cossack, racing through a snow-filled birch forest. I expected a wild, primeval scent. I couldn't have been more surprised. If this evokes the Cossack, it is the young Tolstoy writing at his desk in his quarters, watching his men through a frosted window. Or perhaps it is the same young man in a St. Petersburg salon, recounting his experiences to his sophisticated friends.

The first scent that i get is leather, but not the leather of well cared for harnesses. It reminds me of a leather coat that my wife has, glove leather so light and soft that it could be made of matte silk. Only the faintest hint of leather, refined and subdued. Something else too--like a whiff of vodka. A cold alcoholic feeling--almost a scent without scent. The promised wild fragrance of smoke and birch tar never arrives.

The austere feeling fades as I wear it and I get another note--perhaps juniper berry? The leather warms and develops, like a distant whiff of the same leather at the heart of REL. Still, it remains a remote fragrance. I like it, but it isn't me.

[john parker]

Beautifully stated! I can picture it and smell it exactly! Thanks!!

[funkyb]

Not nearly the same price point as others already mentioned, but I'm a big fan of the C&E Sienna line. Wonderfully deep and sweet leather scent, and I find the entire line from soap to EdT to be matched well and worth the cost.

[Zenas]

T&H Spanish Leather

My wife liked this scent alot. It was second to 1805. I really liked it too.

[StylinLA]

Nice write up. Looks like REL more of a standout. I sort of remember a heavier birch tar kind of note, but didn't really give a test wear.

[The Nid Hog]

I guess that I got dressed this morning at about 6:30 or so. Now, six hours later, I'm reminded of a much fainter version of Knize Ten's drydown. There's definitely a sandalwood note in there.