Reviews of Cuir (2007)
by Lancôme

Love at first sniff . This leather is more beautiful than elegant. It starts as a proper leather fragrance and then it morphs into a wonderful warm floral. Yes, floral ! I always am amazed by this transformation. The drydown, however, is true to the overture...a soft suede that stays close to the skin. There is little sillage and, unfortunately, limited longevity, but this fragrance is so compelling that it IS worth the bother of reapplying often. This is definately not a masculine in any way, which is a strange thing to say about leather. But it is so beautiful, so wonderful that anyone who loves perfume should try it. I cannot believe that the venerable Cuir de Russie could be any better, although I am anxious to try it. (Is Chanel ever going to sell less than a gallon of the stuff? When (if) they do, I will be the first in line to give it a go.) PS This is a very deceptive juice. When I thought that the scent had vanished from my skin, I found myself detecting something wonderful "in the ether". It was me! Did I get some on my clothes? Is this some sort of magical perfume? I think so...

My passion is NOT leather, but I'll tell you ~ this is the most balanced, wearable, interesting leather I've tried! The first spritz comes off all citrusy, but only for the first 2 or 3 inhaling breaths. It immediately gets smokey. The deep kind of smokiness that makes you pull back and go "WHOA!" ~ it's that strong. But just like the citrus topnotes, those heavy smokey notes mellow in very speedy fashion. Now things begin to settle into themselves, creating a comfortable leather chypre that is somewhat bright - not brooding or dirty at all. Only very slight animalics here, at least to this nose. This leather is polite! I think the blending is brilliant, and give high marks to Ms. Becker and Ms. Zanoni for an excellent composition. Cuir de Lancome is highly recommended as a solid quality leather fragrance.

I don't know whether it's just that I rarely wear leather fragrances and so notice even the faintest trace, but I certainly don't have a problem with Cuir's staying power. It lasts much longer than Chanel's Cuir de Russie, and although its development is a little unsubtle at times, trying too hard for a vintage leather effect it can't live up to, it's generally a pleasure to wear.

For me the top notes are nothing special, and can be discounted as soon as smelled , but then I'm not that into citrus anyway. The saffron actually appears a bit later on I think, along with the florals, and though I can't really pick out the individual heart notes listed in the pyramid, they're elegantly blended and combine with the saffron (one of my favourite notes!) to give an overall effect of golden-warm dusty flowers with a soft suede texture (the dust being a good thing, I might add). Once the base kicks Cuir moves away from the gentility of suede and becomes rougher and tarrier, still mellow but somehow more masculine - bbBD's descripton of the drydown as 'old comfy smoking chair' captures it exactly.

Overall, I think I prefer this to Daim Blond because of the darker drydown, but for those who like Cuir for the suede element maybe the Lutens is better.

Okay. Rather than compare it to Cuir de Russie, I will compare it to Donna Karan by Donna Karan, which it smells much more like.
In fact, it smells like a more refined, more classical version with a really good retro dry down. The suede disappears too quickly, but the lingering scent is nice, too. And it hangs around for a while.
I actually think I like it more than Bandit. It feels more wearable to me, and fulfills all the same perfume needs: dashing, sexy, retro, a little bit kinky... minus the sweet/sour ...plus a touch of elegant.
I am sure I will wear this one quite a bit.

I bought Cuir as a gift for my sister and it is one of the few scents that I catch myself breathing deeply to get some more of it into my lungs. Ok I get that it isn't one of the greats or one of the classics bbut then I wasn't paying that sort of money either. For me this is a scent that is warm and gentle and invites people in, it isn't too smart for it's own good nor does it scream "try hard".

A good scent at the right price, just not a masterpiece.

OK, I'll admit it. I'll buy just about anything with the word 'cuir' in its title on the hopes that it will be a leather fragrance capable of rivaling the king, Cuir d'Iris. Cuir Lancome doesn't get into that realm, but it's very nice nonetheless.

The initial burst is very citrusy - I would have guessed lemon but per the pyramid mandarin and bergamot make sense. The citrus is immediately joined by a glove-clean leather note... not smoky or rich, but smooth like gloves or a leather coat. It is a very sensual leather, somewhat reminiscent of the Royal English Leather leather, which is also joined by citrus notes. As the citrus subsides in about ten minutes, the leather is joined by distinct florals. At first the citrus and florals intermingle, then the florals become more prominent for about 1-2 hours. The real beauty is in the drydown where a smoky, birch-heavy leather emerges and persists. This is more of the 'old comfy smoking chair' leather that I'd hope for.

Unfortunately at the time of writing I can't say I've experienced pre-Exclusifs Chanel Cuir de Russie, so I don't know what to make of the comparison by other reviewers. Cuir Lancome is much more realistic and rich than the current floral/iris heavy Chanel version. Although Cuir Lancome wears like and EdP in its longevity, it stays close to the skin and requires a few sprays to get a good application. There is nothing particularly feminine about this fragrance, and it is definitely worth investigating for leather fans.

A beautiful leathery oriental, delicate enough for daytime wear. Reminds me of Ambre Sultan, which I love but rarely dare to wear except at bedtime. I haven't tried Cuir de Russie so cannot compare the two and can only judge Cuir de Lancome on its own merits. The drydown is subtly compelling, the bottle design delightful.

I have to say, I cannot help but think that Lancome found out Chanel was discontinuing Cuir de Russie and decided to steal their loyalist.

Bad try.

Yes, it is somewhat similar. No, it's not a valid substitution.

Firstly, I was very surprised not to see "cucumber" in the notes above. At first spray, I smelled a very distinctive cucumber. It goes away, but still, a woman wearing leather associates better with a whip than a cucumber. Ok, fine, with nice leather gloves, rather than a cucumber. :)

Secondly, there's very little staying power.

Thirdly, it's a bit powdery. Some may like it. I don't.

I guess it'll have to do if you want to hold on to those very precious ml's of Chanel's Cuir de Russie and use something in the same group.

However, it brings to mind Fragrance Imposters for some reason.

I'm only giving it a Neutral because it is somewhat similar to Chanel. A bit.

But they definitely need to work on staying power, at the very least.