These fragrances are both based around the intriguing combination of iris and leather, so I thought it might be interesting to compare the two. My sample of Cuir Ottoman came today, and I was quite surprised by how different they were from each other.
Cuir Ottoman opens with a sweet, powdery, almost tangy violet note. This is probably caused by the orris, but the orris here is so strongly modified by the other florals as to send it directly into violet territory. The scent almost reminded me of Parma Violet candies, which were favorites of mine as a kid.
The leather entered fairly soon after the brightness of the top notes faded, but is very soft. While related to the leather note in Tabac Blond - the closest as far as my nose has experiences - it's far, far more mellow than that leather or for that matter, any of the other leathers I've experienced. If this was translated into leather, it would be sueded cotton. It is, however, a realistic leather note, especially as its presence becomes more noticeable in the dry down.
I didn't sense the other florals too strongly. I think I might have smelled a touch of rose, but no jasmine, despite it being listed.
The base notes came as a surprise to me. Instead of the more typical top, mid and base sections I seem to find two distinct base note sections. The first happened about five hours after I put it on, when the leather faded and the violet morphed into a recognizable orris note, that scent dominating for some time. After about two hours of this, the orris mellowed out, bringing forward the benzoin and balsam, a gentle vanillic quality initiating the second base section. The smell is almost gourmand; I'm reminded of fresh-baked sugar cookies. There's a slight impression of almond, too; those who've experienced Farnesiana will find it in miniature here, hidden in the last phase of this fragrance.
Cuir D'Iris is a very different fragrance, robust where Ottoman is mellow, strong where it's soft, earthy and cool where it's warm and airy.
Cuir d'Iris opens quite bright and sparkling. Intense, alive orris root, not violet-like but floral in a different way. There are more notes than orris in the opening notes, but I must admit my fragrance nomenclature fails me. If someone knows what I mean by the sparkling quality then feel free to step in; it would be nice to know what it is, and the official set of notes doesn't help here.
Almost immediately after the champagne-orris opening, the leather enters, fairly strong, but playing second fiddle to iris. This is a fairly aggressive leather, but clean, in a new leather jacket way. The vetiver becomes noticeable fairly soon too; this isn't a vetiver that hides until the base notes.
I know some others have complained that the iris disappears on them, but I really have to wonder if that is possible bar the entire fragrance disappearing ( that in itself also sounds unlikely; this is strong stuff ). Iris is always the dominant note on me, from beginning to end. It's not always floral, but if you have a bag of orris powder, you can check for yourself: the iris is always there.
During the dry down the sparkle fades but the intensity doesn't, and an darker, rootier form of iris jumps to the fore. The vetiver and wood notes are prominent at this stage, and to my nose there is a remarkable kinship with L'Air Du Desert Marocain. When comparing Cuir D'Iris with Cuir Ottoman, Cuir D'Iris is the masculine and Cuir Ottoman quite clearly the feminine fragrance. When comparing the Cuir D'Iris with L'Air, the situation is reversed. L'Air is open, warm and masculine, Cuir D'Iris is its cool, reserved sister. Someone compared Cuir D'Iris to a 1920s actress in mens clothing; the analogy is apt. This is a very unisex, sophisticated and urban in way that doesn't negate its rugged qualities. It's one of those fragrances that I feel would go with just about anyone who liked it.
The base notes linger for quite a while, and what smells to my nose like just the faintest, tiniest touch of vanilla makes its appearance to mellow the iris-vetiver-leather combination.
These are both extremely long lasting fragrances ( Cuir D'Iris lasts over 24 hours on me ), and have excellent sillage. I like both, but they're so different it's hard to choose between the two. I'd probably wear Cuir D'Iris more, because it's more "me" and it's less sweet.
Has anyone else tried either of these or dug up another Iris/Leather fragrance?
Cuir Ottoman opens with a sweet, powdery, almost tangy violet note. This is probably caused by the orris, but the orris here is so strongly modified by the other florals as to send it directly into violet territory. The scent almost reminded me of Parma Violet candies, which were favorites of mine as a kid.
The leather entered fairly soon after the brightness of the top notes faded, but is very soft. While related to the leather note in Tabac Blond - the closest as far as my nose has experiences - it's far, far more mellow than that leather or for that matter, any of the other leathers I've experienced. If this was translated into leather, it would be sueded cotton. It is, however, a realistic leather note, especially as its presence becomes more noticeable in the dry down.
I didn't sense the other florals too strongly. I think I might have smelled a touch of rose, but no jasmine, despite it being listed.
The base notes came as a surprise to me. Instead of the more typical top, mid and base sections I seem to find two distinct base note sections. The first happened about five hours after I put it on, when the leather faded and the violet morphed into a recognizable orris note, that scent dominating for some time. After about two hours of this, the orris mellowed out, bringing forward the benzoin and balsam, a gentle vanillic quality initiating the second base section. The smell is almost gourmand; I'm reminded of fresh-baked sugar cookies. There's a slight impression of almond, too; those who've experienced Farnesiana will find it in miniature here, hidden in the last phase of this fragrance.
Cuir D'Iris is a very different fragrance, robust where Ottoman is mellow, strong where it's soft, earthy and cool where it's warm and airy.
Cuir d'Iris opens quite bright and sparkling. Intense, alive orris root, not violet-like but floral in a different way. There are more notes than orris in the opening notes, but I must admit my fragrance nomenclature fails me. If someone knows what I mean by the sparkling quality then feel free to step in; it would be nice to know what it is, and the official set of notes doesn't help here.
Almost immediately after the champagne-orris opening, the leather enters, fairly strong, but playing second fiddle to iris. This is a fairly aggressive leather, but clean, in a new leather jacket way. The vetiver becomes noticeable fairly soon too; this isn't a vetiver that hides until the base notes.
I know some others have complained that the iris disappears on them, but I really have to wonder if that is possible bar the entire fragrance disappearing ( that in itself also sounds unlikely; this is strong stuff ). Iris is always the dominant note on me, from beginning to end. It's not always floral, but if you have a bag of orris powder, you can check for yourself: the iris is always there.
During the dry down the sparkle fades but the intensity doesn't, and an darker, rootier form of iris jumps to the fore. The vetiver and wood notes are prominent at this stage, and to my nose there is a remarkable kinship with L'Air Du Desert Marocain. When comparing Cuir D'Iris with Cuir Ottoman, Cuir D'Iris is the masculine and Cuir Ottoman quite clearly the feminine fragrance. When comparing the Cuir D'Iris with L'Air, the situation is reversed. L'Air is open, warm and masculine, Cuir D'Iris is its cool, reserved sister. Someone compared Cuir D'Iris to a 1920s actress in mens clothing; the analogy is apt. This is a very unisex, sophisticated and urban in way that doesn't negate its rugged qualities. It's one of those fragrances that I feel would go with just about anyone who liked it.
The base notes linger for quite a while, and what smells to my nose like just the faintest, tiniest touch of vanilla makes its appearance to mellow the iris-vetiver-leather combination.
These are both extremely long lasting fragrances ( Cuir D'Iris lasts over 24 hours on me ), and have excellent sillage. I like both, but they're so different it's hard to choose between the two. I'd probably wear Cuir D'Iris more, because it's more "me" and it's less sweet.
Has anyone else tried either of these or dug up another Iris/Leather fragrance?
