Cuir de Russie (1953)
by Creed

This fragrance starts seriously resinous (birch tree), woodsy, tarry and aromatic on my skin and follows lemony, laundry-detergent and finally leathery, mildly citrusy and silky. The formulation i inhaled (supposed to be slightly different than the original) a bit disappointed me because i smell for long time a kind of middle laundry stage whose the smell reminds a sort of conservant spray for leather wares and goods. After an initial tarry-bitter phase and a second soapy-detergent stage, obviously the best part of the trip is the dry down of leather, sandalwood and velvety-fluidy-lemony-soapy suede. The fragrance itself is a bit vintage in its unfloral, citrusy, boozy mildness. I see the association with iodine, i detect a complex final fruity-hesperidic-gassy cloud of styrax, bergamot, neroli and lemon. The longevity is not at top.

9th October, 2011. (Last Edited: 22nd December, 2011.)

The scent that jumps out at me is new to me, it must be the Russian birch tar, along with lemon in the background. Somewhat low-key scent, really have to layer it on to get projection, and does not last. If this was a scent I liked better, I would worry about the sillage, but I just don't care for it. I can see where an enthusiast might like it, it's definitely different.

28th May, 2011.

The simplicity on Cuir de Russie is appealing for me. A vintage, straightfoward leather scent. The citrus notes seems to fade very fast on me, and I`m left with a soft vintage leather scent. It`s not so smoky on me as some mentioned above. At first, i get more of a leather aroma with a suede texture, and the smell makes me think of that great aroma you get when you buy good quality leather shoes. Something on it smells like wax or some product that you use to preserve your shoes, and on Cuir de Russie it gives a nice subtle salty aspect. Different from some vintage leathers, that seems strong and sometimes a little bit agressive, Cuir de Russie sounds relaxed, never getting too strong, but never fading completely. I usually don`t like the simplicity of some Creed scents, but as a leather fan i cannot resist to it.

12nd January, 2011.

This is a deadly serious leather scent. The most austere and non-forgiving of all CREED scents. A nice compliment to their other leather scent, Royal English Leather.

Cuir de Russie bolts out of the gate at "11". Then begins its countdown to "1" after a shorter then expected time. I get about 3 hours longevity out of this. The punch it delivers up front due to the citrus steps back about an hour in to reveal a peppery-leather heart. The birch-tar base gives it a petro aura. This is crafted much better then Royal English Leather, with more complexity and character.

I can't imagine a more "manly" fragrance. If I were going to a bachelor party and wanted to make it known that I am bar none the biggest swingin' d*ck in the room, I would wear this. If I were spending a weekend on a horse-farm in cold, rainy weather, I would wear this.

This is the Radiohead of fragrance. Radiohead is possibly the greatest living band, but most days you aren't in the mood to listen to their downer tunes. However, when the mood is right... when feeling pensive, serious, or moody, they satisfy like no other. Same with Cuir de Russie.

CdR reminds me of Daniel Day Lewis in the movie "There Will Be Blood". A mean bastard, but also the most powerful and commands respect and attention. Unapologetic and opportunistic. (probably not a coincidence that Radiohead did the soundtrack for this movie)

I was lucky (and crazy) enough to take half a flacon off of a fellow basenoter's hands (for a pretty penny). Money well spent. This is a rare and discontinued fragrance that I respect and enjoy very much...


... when the mood is right. :-)

20th October, 2010.

The lemony smell in this fragrance dominates the leather and I do not like that in my opinion. I would like it to have more leather. Oh well at least we have Royal English Leather to set the record straight.

27th April, 2010. (Last Edited: 20th May, 2010.)

Either I'm partially anosmic to birch tar or I've actually acquired some taste for such leather-types over the past months. For apart from a distinctively masculine mildly astringent tarry leather opening, the scent progresses smoothly to a dry sparse leather that, for lack of more appropriate words, feels rather 'stripped down'. Not the tang of animalics in Chanel's version nor the saltish tinge of leather upholstery in Ottoman, Creed's take on leather feels not so much of real leather but more like the 'memory of leather'. The quality however is in evidence and the composition, surprisingly contemporary. And as linear as CUIR DE RUSSIE seems to be, I've come to appreciate that sometimes you can be distinctive without resorting to theatrics.

19th February, 2010.