Cuir d'Oranger (2005)
by Miller Harris

I swear the leather in here is birch tar, but I'm not having the allergic reaction that I typically get with birch tar.

Whatever, because this stuff is great. This is the reason why we browse the niche. Cuir d'Oranger is a big, juicy, orange covered leather. Isn't is great when the name matches the smell? I found myself using up my sample just by accidental sniffings. Every so often I would get the urge for just one li'l spray. Eventually it added up, and I realized that I needed to do my full-day test before I whittled my fairly large sample away to nothing.

I'm still not sure it I want to smell this way, but that could just be because I've never smelled anything like this so my brain is having a hard time categorizing it. And yet despite the peculiar uniqueness of a leather, orange, and moss combination, it's also comfortingly familiar. I strongly urge everyone to at least grab themselves a sample to experience this.

31st January, 2012.

Cuir d'Oranger isn't just another leather. Its potent birch tar, moss, and animalic musk would be compelling even without the oddly persistent bitter orange note, but with it Cuir d'Oranger is something very special.

Unlike some others, I have no problem catching the leather alongside the moss in the foundation. On me the two duke it out in a magnificent battle all the way through the drydown. A rather dark, dirty labdanum and plenty of patchouli give the scent tremendous animal presence, while a very dry iris perpetuates the orange's bitter edge. Shockingly good!

10th December, 2009.

Coruscating opening, which then settles down to a deep dark orange, wood and leather mix that lasts all day. This is a f... off scent of the highest quality and much, much easier to wear than Tabac Blond and far superior imo. A killer frag --- save up.

13rd February, 2009.

Miller Harris Cuir d'Oranger

Notes: top notes of orange oil Valencia, pettigrain Paraguay and shimmering orange flowers Tunisia, fused with jasmin Egypt and orris absolute resting on a rich base of leather with birch tar, Spanish ciste, oak moss and patchouli (from The Perfumed Court website)

On first spray of Cd'O, I smell spicy pepper, citrus and light florals. Soon, this is followed by deeper green notes, powdery moss, and iris. The fragrance is mostly dry and bitter after the initial blast, and this is offset by juicy orange and sweet floral notes. Pepper is not listed in the notes, but I do smell something which reminds me of black pepper. However, I have noticed that sometimes patchouli can have a peppery quality, so this could be a factor. The iris is buttery and a little candied, reminiscent of the iris in Miller Harris' Terre d'Iris, but less overt.

In the mid development, Cuir d'Oranger loses the fruity orange, but still maintains a citrus quality due to the petitgrain. Petitgrain is bitter and woody, and it blends beautifully with the oakmoss and iris. The pepper note has actually become stronger, but it seems more vegetal than in the early stage. The powder is also more prominent, and has a rooty and bitter quality that is quite diffuse. There is a tiny bit of sweetness, probably from the orris and perhaps some of the floral notes. So far I am perplexed about the leather portion of this fragrance. I think I can smell it faintly in the base notes, but it seems that for the beginning and middle development, I am mostly led to the illusion of leather due to the dusty, almost tannic quality of the oakmoss, orris and petitgrain combination. I am sure the patchouli is also chiming in on this too, as there is a deep earthyness present which anchors the ephemeral powder into something more substantial.

As Cuir d'Oranger approaches the drydown, a smokiness begins to emerge. This could be the birch tar note and perhaps some vetiver. The fragrance is still quite dry and bitter, has a touch of pepper, and is much softer overall. The powder accord is beautiful--it is not like baby powder at all, rather, it is green and dry, evocative of living plant aromatics in a garden or forest. I am reminded of the smell of many plants in the artemesia family, such as southernwood or wormwood. These plants have an astringent, medicinal and sweet herbaceous smell that permeates the air. That is the sense of this powder accord in Cd'O. Lovely. The leather is still not strong, and really seems to play a supporting role to the oakmoss, vetiver and other notes. The fragrance stays mostly in this form for the rest of the development. However, in very late stages (7-10 hours later), the Cd'O has almost nothing left of the dry mossyness and settles into a sweet amber skin scent.

Sillage is strong at first, and moderate for the majority of the development. Longevity is very good--in overnight wears, I can smell the amber base the next morning. Cuir d'Oranger is listed as a unisex fragrance. I agree with this designation, although it seems to be a touch on the masculine side. When compared to other leather chypres, it is not as floral as those which would be considered more feminine. The leather component of Cd'O is really not a major player, but the fragrance is immensely enjoyable nonetheless, especially with Lyn Harris' beautiful use of oakmoss and the warming pepper note.

[NOTE: I see that some reviewers have mentioned that the oakmoss is more prominent in cooler weather--today was a sunny 65F day, and the oakmoss really came out for me!]

8th February, 2009.

I think Cuir d'Oranger is an underappreciated leather scent (not here on Basenotes obviously, but on the blogs) which I'd pick over Serge Lutens' headshoppy Cuir Mauresque any day! I'm not a great fan of neroli, but in Cuir d'Orange it adds a nice, gentlemanly citrusy/powdery touch. Overall, Cuir d'Oranger is a lot like smooth, warm, refined leather fragrances from days past, not the more modern ultra-realistic kind that smells like fresh hides or leather chairs (which I love too, mind you) As a reference, it's more like Tabac Blond than Knize Ten, without the metallic sharpness of the latter.

10th June, 2008.

I agree with pluran -- this sexy leather frag is easily related to Tabac Blond, but considerably more masculine. The oakmoss moves it into the realm of the bad boy, granted, but there's still a formality here in spite of the leathery/orange-y sexiness. (I would feel just as comfortable putting this on for the board room as for the boudoir.)

I haven't yet sprung for a bottle, no, but am making my decant last as long as humanly possible. Along with Noir Epices (one of my all time favorites), Cuir d'Oranger is one of the very best orange-heavy frags ever made, IMHO.

3rd April, 2008.