3 Cuir Ambre by Prada, 2004

I'm surprised that I'm the first to review No.3 Cuir Ambre, but given that the Prada exclusives have received very little attention on BN pehaps I shouldn't be.

Have you ever had a fragrance that you wanted upon first learning of it, even though you have no idea what it's like? That's been me with this. I live nowhere near a Prada boutique, and the one time I was traveling and visited one it was long out of stock (it is available at the time of writing from Liberty in London). I have a thing for leather fragrances, and I have a thing for ambers, so the idea of low-run high-quality cuir ambre appealed to me. I did buy an expensive sample, so I knew I liked it, but the sample wasn't enough to actually give it a full wear. A special thanks to fellow BNer ultranova3 for hooking me up with a great price on a full bottle.

OK.... to the fragrance. I'm not sure what the real concentration is... it's marketed as a parfum, but it's not quite that strong - it's more of a strong EdP. It's essentially a hig-quality, linear leather and amber fragrance. Unlike Pierre Cardin Centaure Cuir Ambre, which is 1:10 leather:amber, the leather is the star here. The leather is a strong, smoky leather that is most similar - in leather terms - to Creed's Royal English Leather. It's a bit spicier and smokier, a little more full, then REL. Amber is not prominent - and it's certainly not the least bit sweet, but it's clearly present as a balance to the smokiness of the leather. The entire composition is the slightest bit musky. I don't detect many of the notes listed above - in fact very few of them. If they are present, they exist only to fill out the leather accord and perhaps enhance the fragrance's muskiness. Although not a parfum, No.3 lasts well over 8 hours and only requires light application to give off some real sillage.

A few last notes; the bottle and presentation is great. The Prada exclusives come in a small, rectangular cut glass bottle. The extent of the adornment is a white sticker on the front (a la Helmut Lang) and a white sticker on the side (a la Infusion d'Iris/Homme) with 'No.3 Cuir Ambre' is a small typewriter style font. The small black screw cap (no sprayer) is a little incongruous and cheap compared to the rest of the bottle. At $7+ per ml, you've really got to want this. Although it's not the best leather I own (PG Cuir d'Iris), I'd say No.3 is a must-try for serious leather fans.