Scandal (1933)
by Lanvin

I don't know how, but I managed to nab a 1930's coffret of four Lanvin minis, late one night on Ebay for under $40. It seems as though the bottle of My Sin was missing form the set and had been replaced along the way with a second bottle of Scandal, so that there were 2 bottles of Scandal, I bottle of Arpege and 1 bottle of Rumeur. That was fine with me since I already had a full sized vintage bottle of MY Sin. Now, let me tell you that vintage Scandal deserves every positive review it has received here. I thought Chanel's Cuir de Russie was the ultimate leather scent, but Scandal has now taken over that position in my mind. While I think Cuir de Russie is amazing Scandal is the most realistic leather scent I've experienced to date. It's also mildly sweeter and less harsh than Cuir de Russie can sometimes be. I agree with bbBD that Asha has written the perfect review for Scandal, so all I will add is that this scent is gorgeous from it's smoky opening down to it's soft floral leather drydowwn. This is one classy leather scent and is worth the hunt you're surely going to have to go through to get your hands on it.

Review of vintage extrait formulation:
The drydown and development of Scandal is an incredible journey.

It begins with peat-infused whiskey, indolic but not sweet florals and a bite of civet. A touch of spice, possibly clove or carnation begins soon thereafter, along with damp, fresh-cut orris. Then comes the leather, and I mean real leather, naturally tanned with plenty of animalic scent remaining. It's the assertive leather of of well-worn saddles and harnesses of the gentry, not delicate handbags and gloves. In fact, you are taken into the stable, with the introduction of grain, hay, damp and slightly sweaty hair, and even a touch of liniment in the form of what I think may be castoreum. There is also a bit of tobacco, not sweet, but slightly biting and tart.

This assertive leather stage softens and sweetens, going from stiff saddle leather to fine kidskin. The powdery orris intensifies and the florals return, albeit subtly, never getting in the way of the now-refined leather.

The final act is pure magic. The musk-heavy base pulls in a slightly astringent incense, complete with the burnt ashes in the censor. The leather becomes damp, mossy, and eventually gives way to costus, oakmoss, vetiver and more musk.

I know that the word 'masterpiece' is tossed about rather casually on Basenotes. I contend that Scandal is the real deal.

On my right wrist I have Scandal, just unsealed from cello,box, and bottle. Top notes still evident, unlike the wondrous goo at the bottom of most vintage bottles. On my left wrist I have vintage Crepe de Chine: they smell similar, initially, having many common components, although the leather in Scandal is much more prominent, making it sultry and far superior. Crepe de C. has a carnation note, making it a spicy floral chypre with a leather angle. Scandal defines the genre of floral leather chypre.

It's taken me a couple tries to get a sample of Scandal that was still in excellent shape. Now that I have, I can report that it is an incredible leather fragrance - among the best I've ever tried. Glove smooth and very luxurious, Scandal is reminiscent of vintage Chanel Cuir de Russie but even smoother and richer. Asha's review, below, is superb. There's no way I can follow such a good review so I won't try.... read her review to learn about Scandal, then go find yourself a sample. If you like leather fragrances it's worth buying a couple bottles on eBay until you find one that still smells good.

Lanvin Scandal (vintage extrait)

Notes (from Perfume Shrine):

Top: neroli, bergamot, mandarine, clary sage.
Heart: jüchten (cuir de Russie), iris, rose, ylang
Base: incense, civet, oakmoss, vanilla, vetiver, benzoin

Scandal has been compared to Chanel Cuir de Russie which I am wearing on my other arm for reference (modern formulation, parfum strength).

On first application of Scandal, I smell penetrating white florals with a slight urinous quality. This could be the age of the vintage juice, or it could be a lily-like note within the composition. It is slightly powdery, but not as much as Cuir de Russie which seems to have a cool, dry iris note right up front. The leather in Scandal comes out quickly, and is such an incredible rendering of real leather, that I would probably not be able to distinguish between the fragrance and a pair of well-tanned boots in a blind sniff test. I smell smoky birch tar and castoreum--the birch tar note is not as plastic or petrochemical as it seems to be in Cuir de Russie, rather, it is more woody and resinous. The castoreum does not have the antiseptic "band-aid" edge that I have smelled in other fragrances (L'Artisan Dzing! for example), but has a softened horse stable smell of hay, wood, dried manure and saddle leather. I also smell a slight tinge of tobacco and vanilla. Comparing to CdR at this stage, Scandal smells drier, bitter, green, mossy, much more leathery and animalic, and a bit less floral. Both seem to be equally powdery at this point, and I suspect that the iris in the mid notes of Scandal are starting to come out.

Scandal's middle leather stage lasts a couple of hours, and slowly evolves from bitter, dry, almost harsh leather to a softer, creamy leather with floral notes. It never has the sweet, floral-leather which is almost like butter stage that CdR has, but next to Scandal, CdR does not have the same leather prominence throughout the entire development. CdR also seems much more feminine than Scandal, perhaps because it is not nearly as dry and mossy. However, it is at the late middle stage that both Scandal and CdR smell the most alike with refined, softened leather and mildly sweet floral notes (iris and mixed white florals). I didn't smell civet very strongly in Scandal today, but I did smell it from time to time in a previous wearing. The civet (cat-pee and mothball-like notes) in Scandal is restrained--it is much less harsh and edgy than the civet I have smelled in other modern fragrance formulations. It mostly comes out in the late-middle drydown.

In the late development, some incense and sweet (now banned) musks show themselves in Scandal's base. The incense is not like the burned frankincense aromachemical I have smelled in modern perfumes. It is more like a combination of garden sage, which has a smoky quality to it, ash and mild resins. The ash note is almost like burning sage from a sage bundle, so it is not quite the smell of burned tobacco (ie, ashtray smell), but is more herbal, green, dry and medicinal. I am sure there is also some vetiver, which typically adds to the smoky vegetal note, and oakmoss which is very mossy, dry and powdery. In comparison, CdR is still much sweeter and floral, and has completely lost the earlier birch tar smoke note. Scandal is very firmly rooted in the woody leather chypre family with resins and oakmoss in the base. It is a beautiful composition from beginning to end, a joy to wear, and frankly, is what I wish modern leather chypres would be. Sillage is light to moderate, longevity is moderate (skin scent after 6 hours), and it is very wearable for either men or women.

Booze, leather, civit. I am the Whore of Babylon! This is great fun. Discontinued in 1971, almost 40 years after its creation, Scandal marked an era when mainstream fragrance companies had courage. This perfume is sweet, animalic, and dirty, like vintage Cuir de Russie, only milder, overall. I would imagine that it shares the spirit of the original Cabochard. Put it on and one immediately takes on the aroma of half-empty tumblers of booze, slept-in bedsheets, wet tobacco, and S&M gear. Starts out naughty, ends up nice: soft, sweet, leathery, powdery--more in the spirit of Tabac Blonde. I want to say to the mainstream houses, "Come on, loosen up, make more fragrances like this!" My young son pilfered the remainder of my sample and refuses to give it back. He says, "It smells like rum."