Léonard Pour Homme (original) by Léonard, 1980

Leonard pour Homme goes on with a dash of bergamot and cinnamon that soon couples with leather and oakmoss in the early heart of the scent. The soft suede-like leather and green oakmoss tandem takes over as the scent develops, now joined by herbal clary sage that has an almost aromatic lavender quality, spiked with perhaps a small amount of clove spice to darken the scent just a tad as its development progresses. During the late dry-down the oakmoss recedes to reveal benzoin that slightly sweetens the remnants of the leather as violet leaf adds a fine powdery sheen to the finish. Projection is above average and longevity is average to slightly above average at 8-9 hours on skin. The discontinued leather chypre Leonard pour Homme in its smoky brown bottle (not to be confused with the much later and completely different smelling release from the house still in production, Leonard Homme) is a great rarely heard of treasure. Unlike many of its peers of the early 80s, it does not join the powerhouse category but is rather tame by comparison. Its soft suede leather facets coupled with green oakmoss, aromatic clary sage and the slightly powdery violet leaf late are just the perfect mesh for such a distinguished scent that can be worn anywhere and anytime with pride. It is really a shame this great composition by Winnegrade does not get more attention because it really is one of the best releases of its time. As previously mentioned Leonard pour Homme has long since been discontinued but 100ml bottles are still relatively easy to find on the aftermarket for $50 or less which is an outright steal for a 4 star out of 5 excellent smelling fragrance of this quality. My advice is buy while you can before sellers come to their senses.

I'm so lucky to find around my wonderful Italy so many secret vintage shops full of many of these pearls in the background. Leonard Pour Homme is really close to V&A Pour Homme, just a bit brighter, less angular (yes more oily), equally leathery and more optimistic. Leonard introduces a more developed citrus/lavender opening (more bergamot/lavender than V&A Pour Homme and i suppose a touch of aldehydes), a fainter floral and herbal aromatic presence (marjoram and rosemary in particular are less heady), more incense and a barely more tamed castoreum/patchouli/oakmoss than V&A Pour Homme. I smells effectively some olfactory resemblance also with Paco Rabanne Pour Homme (the barber-shop honeyed/mossy soapiness), Francesco Smalto, Arrogance Pour Homme Original (in particular this one is the fragrance that more smells close to Leonard Pour Homme), Oscar Pour Lui and some others. As well as already specified this fragrance is a sheer leathery chypre with some herbal/aromatic elements conjuring the powerhouse classic structure. After the initial citrus/herbal opening (soon effectively joined by the animalic leather and incense from the background) i detect a central cinnamon/orange, geranium/carnation and iris/jasmine agreament producing the main part of the fruity-floral aroma. The dry down is leathery, mossy and soapy with a touch of animalic powder. I detect the woodsy oiliness, a sort of oily vetiver/balsams accord (flanking and pairing the animalic/incensey leather) some talk about and in this sense i smell a brighter (or better more fluidy/boise) composition than the classic V&A Pour Homme. Another epitome of discreet class and conservative elegance for disappeared gentlemen.

The Estonian site lists the following notes: Top: Basil, bergamot, lavender, marjoram, petigrain oil, thyme. Mid: Artemisia, carnation, carrot, cedar, cinnamon, jasmine, iris, patchouli, vetiver. Base: Amber, castoreum, labdanum, leather, moss, musk. For me, the lavender/herbal aspect is clear. and you get occasional wafts of leather. I have to try hard to avoid the top notes, which are very strong, so keep that in mind. I don't much wood, moss, or castoreum. It's a little "powdery," so I assume that's the iris. The floral elements are probably too blended to detect more than the lavender. It also seems to have a little amber softening it up, but don't expect much sweetness here. Nor is there much in the way of spice. It does seem to have a little patchouli blended in, but the vetiver must be minimal. If you want a bitter leather, I suggest Francesco Smalto. This one is closer to Oscar Pour Lui or VC&A Pour Homme, but this one is blended better (I've only tried the new VC&A PH and I think that one is clearly inferior to the others). Longevity is quite good but with fair "sillage"/projection at best. One thing that's good is that it never goes into that "soapy lavender" area that so many of these "80s power frags" do. The only criticism I have is that I'd like to smell more of the notes listed clearly, but that's my preference, and I consider it a minor flaw, though of course the perfumer may have been trying to create this kind of smooth fragrance.

Strong, dark and brooding are the words a certain sage used to describe this scent. Leonard pour Homme is an exemplar of 80s scents scents of a period when disco was king, when Christmas was called by its proper name, when letters were still the main medium of communication and the acronym IFRA would have been thought to be for a lethal exotic virus or neuro-toxin. Leonard pour Homme, leather chypre par excellence, introduces itself with spicy olfactory fanfare basil and thyme prominent in the fore. When the lovely screeching recedes a bit, wormwood/artemisia attains prominence. Smokiness also emerges, i guess, from patchouli and cedar oil among other ingredients of the frag. Perhaps because I live in the tropics and naturally exposed to direct heat sometimes, it is not long into the wearing that the animalic castoreum and leather ingredients ascend into my conciousness. Resinous labdanum sings in harmony with the smoke-sodden leatheriness to deliver an accord that may be a bit scary to the Acqua di Gio crowd. There is not a smidgen of sweetness in this frag. Baroque pipe organ music and the eerie sound of ghosts and crazed bats seem to be the appropriate sound track for LpH. LpH is similar to Van Cleef and Arpels pour Homme, but less flowery. It also reminds me of Francesco Smalto pour Homme, but is a bit more herbal and oily; Trussardi Uomo without the tobacco notes, or a more resinous Bel Ami. In all its darkness LpH is not a room-strafing powerhouse like Trussardi pH. Lph has mazing longevity. 9+ hours after applying I still get authoritative whiffs of leathery darkness. I came upon this frag late, but with it in my wardrobe now the rest of my life will surely be fragrantly richer.