Peau d'Espagne (1901)
by Santa Maria Novella

A very natural smelling leather scent. Released in 1901, Peau D'Espagne is still very wearable and while it has a lot of the classic clichè of that time perfumery, it still shows no aging. An ante-litteram animalic leather that smells much better than most of its successors. A must try!

13rd April, 2011.

This is a delightful, old-school scent: at once dryly herbal and richly perfume-y. Aromatic spices and perhaps some oakmoss give this a scent like fine old fougere soap. The leather note is restrained, interesting, and elusive. This has a suave, smooth, attractive character. The notes are substantial but not heavy. They are natural-smelling, and thankfully not sweet or cloying. This one intrigues me, since I don’t usually like leather scents.

8th March, 2010.

Incredibly spicy, Peau d'Espagne is a leather concoction. But it's a 1900's leather, not at all a 1920's one, like Lanvin Scandal, Chanel Cuir de Russie, or Knize Ten. It's more natural, spicy, woody, herbal and ambery, more medicinal, but a masterpiece!

20th February, 2010.

(This review is for the absolute; I applied a only very tiny amount to my wrist and distributes it well over the other arm, since this concentration is not intended to be applied directly to the skin; yes, I am a pushover for a certain kind of bottle.)

I have a weakness for leather notes, so my first request at SMN was for 'something leathery', and 'Peau d'Espagne' was naturally what was presented to me for inspection. After wandering about with it for a day, I decided that I loved it, and went back and bought it.

When first applied, this is not markedly leathery (admittedly, though, since the scent of leather comes primarily form the substances applied to the skins, rather than the skins themselves, this is a rather hazy label). Initially, notes of anise and a sort of soapiness accompany a smoky, muted spiciness. Over time, a much warmer, lightly animalic note emerges, with a suggestion of amber, way in the background. By the end of the day (and this is very persistent... I could smell it the next day, even after a lengthy shower), a muted spiciness remains, hovering over a leathery note that evokes the sun shining in on shelves of leather-bound books. This is the leather of a cosy, much-frequented old library, rather than that of the tack room or the leather bar, the sensuality that of stretching oneself out comfortably in a favourite chair, without encumbering oneself with any more clothing than the temperature demands.

24th March, 2009.

I generally agree with my man everso on many fragrances, and in my never ending quest to sample every leather fragrance ever made I've come across many whose "Cuir" title did not match the actual scent. I was thus prepared to not be impressed with Peau d'Espagne, even though I'm something of an SMN devotee. Living now in Texas it took me quite a while to source a sample, and at times I almost pulled the trigger on an expensive blind buy.

On first spray I was entirely in agreement with everso - I got a blast of pungent herbs, woods, and amber that smelled little or nothing of leather. Not ready to give up, I gave it ten minutes and noticed the herbal notes were calming down and a leathery quality emerging. Within 20 minutes the herbal notes were merely a side note, and 30 minutes after application I was enjoying a terrifically smooth and rich leather fragrance. I'm not sure why SMN would devise such an opening except maybe that the myriad of notes that combine to create leather require these such an opening as a consequence of the ingredients used ((especially in an old-recipe, low/no synthetic formula like SMNs).

The leather is smooth and luxurious. There is a similarity to Chanel Cuir de Russie (pre Exclusifs) only the SMN has a distinctly more masculine feel to it, perhaps because of the herbal underpinnings that are always subtly present. I generally always get terrific longevity from SMN fragrances, despite their label as 'Acqua di Colonias' (which I don't think they are vis a vis concentration levels), and this is no exception. The leather note, once present, is linear and only fades slowly towards the end. Hints of the fragrance are present over 12 hours later, using 3 sprays.

*SIGH* Another Santa Maria Novella I'd like on my shelf.

27th February, 2009.

This is not a real leather scent. I wanted to love this---i really did....however this is a very amber heavy spice driven affair, lacking in any real leather notes or suede. It is a huge dissappointment, as far as i am concerned. It's very well made, however that doesn't change the fact that the name of the fragrance (translates into Spanish Leather) is a complete deception. FAIL!

2nd January, 2009.