Reviews of Cuir de Russie (1953)
by Creed

This begins with a very fine old fashioned lemon note, evolves into a birch-tarry light but present leather and ends with a fine ambergris note. Some nice Sandalwood too.

Not a pretty fragrance but an excellent one. It states "masculine" strong and clear without the need to be confrontational.

A well-deployed lemon accord married to a smokey woodlike scent. To me leather suggests the smell of saddles, wallets, rawhide, new shoes, belts. I don't detect any of that. Think of lemons that have been placed on green branches that are then placed on a grill. Similar in effect to the Vintage Tabarome, though without the heavy sweetness. Fresh and wintry. Makes me think of horse-drawn carriages in the Russian countryside, in the snow. There is an astringency but the lemon balances it so the scent remains balanced, no excessive sweetness or harshness. Not at all like the modern Creeds starting with GIT since the animalic note of ambergris or civet is absent. Wears close to the skin. Would be a nice surprise for anyone snuggling up to the wearer. The bad news is that Creed is pulling the frag. It will be reissued once or twice a decade. The good news is that Chanel Cuir de Russie is nearly identical, only lighter.

This is by far one of THE weakest and worst leather fragrances i've ever tried. There is MINIMAL to no leather in this.....another falsely named Creed scent. This smells cheap and nasty to my nose....with no real development, sillage, longetivity or anything! I'm struggling to figure out what the point of this scent is......oh wait, i've figured it out----so people can pay $175 for a bottle that says "Cuir" and "Creed" on it...but doesn't accomplish the "cuir" part of the equation.

The opening provides an intense blast of birch tar and leather tempered with lemon. I find it to be intensely masculine, but it a rugged way, nothing sexual here. The intensity lasts for roughly 30 minutes. I enjoy this part. It would be easy (and incorrect in my case) to say it is gone after 30 minutes. What lingers for hours is a dull impression of what I smell in the opening. So it doesn’t develop, but is rather anticlimactic, and therefore relatively disappointing.

Cuir de Russie starts out drier and more astringent than its sibling Royal English Leather, with a dominant birch tar component. It quickly grows smoky on the skin, and even suggests some iodine, as in an Islay single malt whisky. It doesn't bring to mind beef jerky or a barbecue like Andy Tauer's Lonestar Memories, nor is it fruity and sweetened like Daim Blond or Armani Prive Cuir Amethyste. I understand other reviewers' references to gasoline, medicine, and asphalt, I but I actually like Cuir de Russie's harsh, smoky take on leather. In fact, it seems to me quite modern, in the mold of Bvlgari Black or Santa Maria Novella's Nostalgia.

What disappoints me about Cuir de Russie is that it peters out very quickly, running through its smoky leather and sandalwood drydown within just a couple of hours. Otherwise a very well-made and appealing fragrance for fans of birch tar-dominated leather.

Leather, leather, and leather with a little citrus—true, the leather is smooth and rustically enjoyable, but I don’t think that it’s enough. I find Cuir de Russe missing dimension and the whole fragrance seems to be absent of complexity. Its leather note might not earn the label “boring,” but only in the sense of my not being brutally honest. I find the sandalwood used in an almost excellent way—almost, because it is the right note in the right place, but it needs to be more hefty to accomplish its balancing act with the overbearing leather note. The sandalwood would add a beautiful depth to leather if it were stronger, but as it is, it’s a tiny voice crying in a leathern desert. The ambergris is quite diminutive to my nose, and that, too, is not a good thing in this case. A person has to really love leather to love this one.

I find the birch note to be absolutely stunning here. I agree that it is unusually paired with the citrus and prone to derision. I am unaware of it being used like this in any other (masculine) fragrance. To some this is the odd, rubber/gasoline accord. Although I can detect this for a short time, it is not a detriment. I find that to be an integral part of its bold character--and it's not created synthetically. CdR is unique among all of the Creeds and other brands. It is not soft, clean or well behaved. It is dynamic, sweeping and not for everyone. The ambergris base tends to fade more rapidly below 50 degrees F / 10 C and above 90 F / 32 C. It is not the most tenacious composition but that is not an issue for such a blast of the country life.

I had to try this because it was created for Errol Flynn and because I love leather. I don't much fancy it though. I don't mind raw, strong leather scents verging on rubber, gasoline and tar, like CdG Synthetics, Lonestar Memories, Cuir Ottoman, Kolnisch Juchten, Knize Ten, Patchouli 24... Cuir de Russie is too "thin" and cold and aggressively metallic/medicinal though. I guess it reminds me mostly of CdG Garage, which is an interesting concept scent but not very wearable, smelling more like gasoline and fake leather car seats than leather.
CdR starts with very cool birch and very sour lemon and perhaps some of the other notes too combining to a sharp mosquito repellant/felt tip pen scent. Underneath that there's some not-quite-leather, more like fake leather. Very butch but not in the ruggedly handsome way, more like a young model with a chiseled jaw staring coldly into the camera dressed in a brand new punkrocker outfit, metal chains and rubber pants all shiny.
Not veyr likable but I probably have to keep it nonetheless for the history.

What a nice surprise! Nothing of the gasoline smell some other noses have remarked on, but rather a very fine, distinguished smell. Never sweet indeed! No worries about applying too much in the hectic of a workday morning. A very refined, masculine fragrance. I now use it every day. Very much suited for the office.
Only drawback: it does not stay with you very long and who would like to be caught with a vaporiser in his pocket?

Wow! What can I say. To be honest - this is not really a scent that I would wear except on the rare occassion. The opening smelled like some kind of medicine to me. The leather was the most prevalent scent throughout - though I could smell the Sandalwood after about 15 minutes. The Sandalwood actually tickled my nose though - because there was nothing to soften or sweeten its sharpness. This fragrance is NEVER sweet. By the final dry down, it really does smell like a high quality leather and tack shop. I have to give this thumbs up though because even though I don't really prefer this fragrance, it is very original, very masculine, and very high quality. If you like leather - this is the way to go.

With notes of leather, sandalwood, silver birch (a rare essence of Birch tree found in Russia by the Black Sea), styrax, bergamot, ambergris, lemon and neroli, this Creed classic stands shoulder to shoulder with Royal English Leather (REL - another outstanding Creed) as a powerhouse leather fragrance. Cuir De Russie (CDR) is the darker, smokier but no less impressive brother of REL. With a spicy-citrusy opening, CDR provides an inviting intro before revealing a polished, deep, smoky and incredibly authentic leather note. This note dominates the proceedings there onwards, and the sandalwood provides a soft smooth base. It doesnt last as long as REL, but longevity is still decent.

I consider CdR to be appropriate for leather afficianados, while REL caters more to the casual fragrance fan. Both are outstanding!

Beautiful orange topnotes. Dries down a bit mor aggressive than most Creeds, but with the signature ambergris. Very classy,

undoubtedly the 'dirtiest' of the Creed scents, Cuir de Russie is, to my nose, also the most exciting. knowing that Errol Flynn, for whom it was created in 1938, was a big fan of Knize Ten may explain some of its mystery. Like Knize Ten, Cuir de Russie is an uncompromising oily, leathery beast, though all things considered more citrussy, less smoky than Knize. an elderly, knowledgeable sales assistant once commented to me that Cuir de Russie was hollywood and Knize Ten wiemar republic; in other words, where Knize Ten conjures up images of a decadent cabaret in 20s berlin (or even vienna), Cuir de Russie is a fragrance fit for the swashbuckling hero...

very dated, not something a young guy such as myself could wear (im 22). Its very very lemony to start and dries down into a pleasant but cold leather. I could see this really working on an older guy but its not something a young fly gangsta such as myself could work

Perhaps the most singular of the Creed scents: unlike any of the others. True it doesn't last very long, but it's just wonderful. To say it smells like a brand new saddle is pointing in the right direction but there is so much else going on, that I am really at a loss for words with this.

Who knew Creed could do it twice? REL is the scent of sweet buttery leather, tangy and paired with citrus, and Cuir de Russie is the darker, smoky leather, rich and earthy, paired with lavender. Sadly, the longevity of CdR is a bit fleeting, but a masterpeice nonetheless.

Others have wonderfully described the notes. Allow me to simply add that this is a fantastic scent that lives up to its name and its Creed heritage. Upon applying Cuir de Russie, you will be overtaken by the sheer beauty of the fragrance. Truly amazing. Unfortunately, after an hour I have to try stuffing my wrist up my nose to get a whiff. Pretty safe bet nobody else can smell it, so I'd say the longevity is pretty poor. Too bad, too, because it really is great smelling at first.

Sour lemon floor cleaner rubbed into the side of a leather satchel that's been dry rotting in an attic for fifty years combined with leaded gasoline. If this is the next level of leather sophistication, I'll stay a bumpkin gladly.

I am very pleased. This is a fragrance of great uniqueness, quality and style. On the surface it smells like rubber or tire, nice horses sweat, and a sheep farm right at the beginning indeed. But, thats a positive thing because its so unique and sexy. Moreover, its like watching a picture that is in three dimensions and you are constantly trying to cross your eyes to see whats the 3D image in the picture but you cannot. Same like trying to be intelligent but you cannot, because its not there. You really need some time to understand how great and how complex this fragrance is, unlike some comments here. It really has depth to it and you cannot get sick of it. Last night I smelled it for like 5 minutes before sleep in my bed and that night I had such pure, intense and good dreams like I haven't had in a long time. It must be something in the chemistry of it. Imagine then, what could it do to a woman brain cels upon her smelling it on you. She would probably try to tie the knot right on the spot. You never know.... I mean....for this one you really have to be intelligent and openminded oterwise go for Polo sport or Tommy instead....It's like they say in The Bible .."Pearls are not for pigs" Sorry to put it that way..
I also have Himalaya and cannot determine which one is better and why, because you cannot compare the two like that.
Next, I am looking forward to trying Verveine Narcisse that Queen Viktoria wore. They say its the best.

The Baron de Charlus once told me: 'I recall the time when I was a house guest at the Hollywood estate of Errol Flynn. He gave us each a bottle of Creed's Cuir de Russie.
"De Charlus, old sport," roared the actor in fury, "some reviewer on Basenotes has said that Cuir de Russie reminds him of Cary Grant's arse on a saddle! Everyone knows that Creed designed Cuir de Russie for me! And everyone knows that I've got a better arse than that lounge-lizard Grant! You're the expert, you decide the matter!"
"My dear Flynn," I responded, "I steadfastly refuse to allow an aesthetic review to degenerate into a discussion about whether you or Mr. Grant has the most fragrant posterior. I can, however, tell you this: although not normally a lover of overtly leather scents, Creed's Cuir de Russie was a revelation to me. While I can appreciate that the likes of Bandit, Knize Ten, Etro Gomma, and Creed's Royal English leather are well-crafted scents, I'm afraid I endure rather than enjoy their fragrance. But Creed's Cuir de Russie seems to take leather scents into a different dimension altogether: beautiful citrus with a suggestion of the softest leather, clean and pure. I cannot connect at all with those reviewers who talk about sour lemons, gasolene and rubber but I quite agree with the gentleman who describes Cuir de Russie as taking leather scents to a new level of sophistication. That being the case, I conclude that the comparison with Cary Grant is quite apt. While I am sure you are his equal in terms of virility, you will perhaps concede that his image is a tad more sophisticated than that of your good self."
It was, of course, not what Mr. Flynn wanted to hear and he never again invited me to his Hollywood estate. Indeed, I believe, had he not been aware of my skill with a swordstick, he would have challenged me there and then to act out Robin Hood and the Sheriff of Nottingham.'

Astonishing and unforgettable. Unique in its boldness and complexity. Unquestionably distinguished yet brazenly sexual. Like Cary Grants saddle after he's been out riding all day. Power, money and sex. Reckon you can pull it off? Only for the select few.

Alongside Knize Ten and Cuiron the best leather scent out there. Never overpowring but a rich mixture of fizzy mandarins and exclusive deep accords of smoky leather. Exquisite.
Mattias / Sweden

Amazing...
Only just found this, (very informative), and see a review of my all time favourite creed fragrance...
russian leather...
I would not even attempt to describe it...except to say that if you think that Royal English Leather really does have the fragrance of fine old english leather then you will find that russian leather conjurs up fantastic images of Cossacks, Winter, Log Fires, Hot Horses......May sound fanciful but I beleive that Creed put more than a modicom of consideration into the naming of thier fine fragrances.... and for me, at least, this is one fragrance that really does work well.
Have only been able to buy from Harrods in the 250ml glass bottle with the leather bound stopper... but at circa £120 worth every single penny!

Cuir de Russie is a very strange fragrance. It smells like very sour lemon and gasoline, emphasis on sour. It really only works for me as a novelty scent. It's a fun fragrance but it's just too weird for everyday wear.