Scandal by Lanvin, 1933

Somehow I haven't dared to write a review for my holy grail LEATHER (a cuir-de-russie to be precise). This is Scandal for me, no doubt! It was also one of the very first vintage extraits I hoarded (they somehow seemed to float my way naturally as this is normally extremely hard to come by) and finally stayed after I had a fair part of my vintage stuff traded away again. Scandal is to stay... over the time, I managed to procure a really old, what looks like wartime 1930/40s 'economy' packaging bottle, still sealed and wrapped in its paper with very little evaporation as well as several tester bottles from a tester set for the Lanvin classics what could be 1950s (I'm guessing) and finally fairly new ones, possibly before its discontinuation in the late 1960s / early 1970s. The WWII Scandal is extremely smoky and animalic leathery, yet smooth, rich and luxurious on skin. Cuir-de-russie leathers are sort of by definition skin scents. It clearly evokes images of smoky bars, fur coats, alcohol (liquors) and worn leather, heavily used leather seats etc. How you achieve smoothness, richness and glamour in this composition is probably the biggest asset of the old Scandal. Of course, an extrait this old will not or hardly present the floral notes as they were originally, no matter how well preserved it is (sealed, wrapped in original paper and very little evaporation). Naturally, the newer Scandal is clearly more floral (jasmine is a big player). The smoothness and richness is present, it is just the overall vibe that is less butch, less animalic. My guess is that both factors come in here... age - the animalic components are enforced in the very old jus, but still, I think that the 1940s jus could be more 'scandalous' as life was simply dirtier and smellier in its time compared to the 1960/70s. I think what distinguishes Scandal most from the vintage Cuir de Russie from Chanel is a certain 'warmth' and 'richness'. There is no other like Scandal and I will treasure it dearly...

Review of vintage extrait formulation:
The drydown and development of Scandal is an incredible journey.

It begins with peat-infused whiskey, indolic but not sweet florals and a bite of civet. A touch of spice, possibly clove or carnation begins soon thereafter, along with damp, fresh-cut orris. Then comes the leather, and I mean real leather, naturally tanned with plenty of animalic scent remaining. It's the assertive leather of of well-worn saddles and harnesses of the gentry, not delicate handbags and gloves. In fact, you are taken into the stable, with the introduction of grain, hay, damp and slightly sweaty hair, and even a touch of liniment in the form of what I think may be castoreum. There is also a bit of tobacco, not sweet, but slightly biting and tart.

This assertive leather stage softens and sweetens, going from stiff saddle leather to fine kidskin. The powdery orris intensifies and the florals return, albeit subtly, never getting in the way of the now-refined leather.

The final act is pure magic. The musk-heavy base pulls in a slightly astringent incense, complete with the burnt ashes in the censor. The leather becomes damp, mossy, and eventually gives way to costus, oakmoss, vetiver and more musk.

I know that the word 'masterpiece' is tossed about rather casually on Basenotes. I contend that Scandal is the real deal.

Lanvin Scandal (vintage extrait)

Notes (from Perfume Shrine):

Top: neroli, bergamot, mandarine, clary sage.
Heart: jüchten (cuir de Russie), iris, rose, ylang
Base: incense, civet, oakmoss, vanilla, vetiver, benzoin

Scandal has been compared to Chanel Cuir de Russie which I am wearing on my other arm for reference (modern formulation, parfum strength).

On first application of Scandal, I smell penetrating white florals with a slight urinous quality. This could be the age of the vintage juice, or it could be a lily-like note within the composition. It is slightly powdery, but not as much as Cuir de Russie which seems to have a cool, dry iris note right up front. The leather in Scandal comes out quickly, and is such an incredible rendering of real leather, that I would probably not be able to distinguish between the fragrance and a pair of well-tanned boots in a blind sniff test. I smell smoky birch tar and castoreum--the birch tar note is not as plastic or petrochemical as it seems to be in Cuir de Russie, rather, it is more woody and resinous. The castoreum does not have the antiseptic "band-aid" edge that I have smelled in other fragrances (L'Artisan Dzing! for example), but has a softened horse stable smell of hay, wood, dried manure and saddle leather. I also smell a slight tinge of tobacco and vanilla. Comparing to CdR at this stage, Scandal smells drier, bitter, green, mossy, much more leathery and animalic, and a bit less floral. Both seem to be equally powdery at this point, and I suspect that the iris in the mid notes of Scandal are starting to come out.

Scandal's middle leather stage lasts a couple of hours, and slowly evolves from bitter, dry, almost harsh leather to a softer, creamy leather with floral notes. It never has the sweet, floral-leather which is almost like butter stage that CdR has, but next to Scandal, CdR does not have the same leather prominence throughout the entire development. CdR also seems much more feminine than Scandal, perhaps because it is not nearly as dry and mossy. However, it is at the late middle stage that both Scandal and CdR smell the most alike with refined, softened leather and mildly sweet floral notes (iris and mixed white florals). I didn't smell civet very strongly in Scandal today, but I did smell it from time to time in a previous wearing. The civet (cat-pee and mothball-like notes) in Scandal is restrained--it is much less harsh and edgy than the civet I have smelled in other modern fragrance formulations. It mostly comes out in the late-middle drydown.

In the late development, some incense and sweet (now banned) musks show themselves in Scandal's base. The incense is not like the burned frankincense aromachemical I have smelled in modern perfumes. It is more like a combination of garden sage, which has a smoky quality to it, ash and mild resins. The ash note is almost like burning sage from a sage bundle, so it is not quite the smell of burned tobacco (ie, ashtray smell), but is more herbal, green, dry and medicinal. I am sure there is also some vetiver, which typically adds to the smoky vegetal note, and oakmoss which is very mossy, dry and powdery. In comparison, CdR is still much sweeter and floral, and has completely lost the earlier birch tar smoke note. Scandal is very firmly rooted in the woody leather chypre family with resins and oakmoss in the base. It is a beautiful composition from beginning to end, a joy to wear, and frankly, is what I wish modern leather chypres would be. Sillage is light to moderate, longevity is moderate (skin scent after 6 hours), and it is very wearable for either men or women.