Cuir Mauresque (1996)
by Serge Lutens Les Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido

For my nose, Cuir Mauresque is Daim Blond on steroids. Extremely fruity. This 'amped up' version loses the subtle charm of DB...making me turn a neutral thumb.

Hmmm, I smell more fruity sweetness in this than actual leather...

Even though Cuir Mauresque makes a respectable nod towards Tabac Blond, it's still a disappointment.

[Original submission date: 10 April 2008]

This has a uniquely sweet floral leather scent, if that makes any sense, that remains on me throughout the day. I wish it had more smoke and spice but I guess my Ph reacts differently. I don't hate it, but I'm not really sold on it either.
This definitely has strong longevity, a plus for anyone wanting to get there money's worth. A distinctive scent to be sure.

A wonderfully smooth and sensual leather, with just enough smoke and spice to keep it real interesting. When I applied to my arm, I noticed something of a floral note at first that I didn't find too appealing (I find this note in other SLs as well, such as Bois en Violette), this note fading out by the heart. When actually wearing CM, I didn't notice this floral note, instead I was just surrounded by a wonderful leather aroma. The leather starts out fairly intense but becomes more smooth over time. You can really feel the balance and twinge of fruit via orange blossom in the heart and base. The longevity is good, 7-8 hours.

As far as leather fragrances go, this one deserves a place on the top shelf with the other true greats such as Chanel Cuir de Russie and PG's Cuir d'Iris. In fact, this may the absolute smoothest among them, like the inside of a new Bentley.

The first thing that struck me about Cuir Mauresque when I sprayed it on my wrist was how it shares a similar opening combination with Givenchy Gentleman. Both fragrances open with a combination of citrus, cinnamon, leather and spice, but how they are presented is very different: GG is initially sharp and rough and takes time to settle down, whereas CM goes on smooth and round and stays this way. GG is overtly masculine compared to CM, and I prefer GG’s blast to CM’s comfort.

The leather in CM makes me think of an overstuffed burgundy armchair in an elegant wood panelled club. The leather is tinged with aloe and clove, and it is the sort of leather that one expects to sit on, but not to sweat on. To put the leather in CM in perspective, it is somewhere between the floral high fashion leather of Chanel Cuir de Russie and the weather beaten whip in Caron Yatagan. It came from an animal, but it is no longer animalic.

As the hours pass the amber in the base of CM grows stronger and sweeter, until the leather is floating in amber. At this point CM becomes boring for me, because this sweetness overpowers the leather and musk.

I enjoy Cuir Mauresque while the leather lasts, but want it gone long before the amber fades away.

On me, Cuir Mauresque starts out like some kind of cleaning fluid. It's not awful, but it's atrange and strong. After about ten minutes it starts to settle into s mild and spicy leather that's rather sweet. There is a slight floral note in there but it stays in the background. The sillage at this point is mild. While the drydown is nice, I was hoping for a leather that was either a little more animalic and/or smoky. ZZ Top was right (see his review below), on my skin this is more ambery and floral when it's all said and done. My top 3 leathers are still, Montale's Aoud Cuir d'Arabie, Tabac Blond, and vintage Jolie Madame (which can be found regularly on ebay). I think CM is a pretty scent, but since it wasn't the hardcore leather I was looking for, I'm giving it a neutral thumb.