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Cuir de Russie: also for men?

Poll Results: Is Cuir de Russie (Chanel) por men also

Poll expired: Jul 9, 2012  
  • 2% (1)
    Hard question
  • 97% (39)
    Unisex hands down
40 Total Votes  
post #1 of 42
Thread Starter 
Yesterday I discovered Chanel's Cuir de Russie and got really impressed about the quality, the loft revelation and the class exuded by this frag. Simply an epiphany. Never said better: outstanding. I said to myself "I found it!" but later I made some research and discovered that is female labeled, no Foetidus review, and very few enthusiasts, only Alfarom. Turin is not clear about the point. I need some help.
post #2 of 42
I think its great and believe it leans more unisex. Fantastic soft leather scent.
post #3 of 42
I believe the current formulation of Cuir de Russie is much more masculine than Dior Homme ever was. Trust your "I found it"-feeling!
post #4 of 42
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nersh View Post

Fantastic soft leather scent.

Agree. Very nice, but just not for me.
post #5 of 42
If you like it, wear it. Have confidence in your appraisal.
post #6 of 42
Unisex and a great gentle leather fragrance.
post #7 of 42
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Candide View Post

I believe the current formulation of Cuir de Russie is much more masculine than Dior Homme ever was. Trust your "I found it"-feeling!

Thank you Candide! I'm prone to do it, much more now.

- - - Updated - - -

Thank you to everybody, but I don't understand why is in the female category?
post #8 of 42
Chanel actually market almost all of the les Exclusifs range as unisex. If you ask the Chanel sales assistants in any boutique they would confirm that. Cuir de Russie is more masculine than hundreds of modern men's releases.
post #9 of 42
ask us a hard one!!!
post #10 of 42
I love Cuir De Russie but had to move on to Knize 10 because of sillage and longevity issues. If that isn't an issue with you then I am sincerely jealous of you

If by chance you still feel uncomfortable with CDR know that Knize 10 *Golden Edition can fill your needs.

Enjoy a very fine fragrance.
post #11 of 42
Quote:
Originally Posted by wildroses View Post

ask us a hard one!!!

+1. All of the Chanel's, and most definitely Cuir de Russie, fly as unisex. Never had a doubt about wearing any of these as long as it was appealing.
post #12 of 42
Thread Starter 
Thank you Hilaire. In that case I have no need to repeat the number with Eau de Cologne, one more from Les Exclusifs, that I discovered yesterday, and also enjoyed but not in the same league of CdR.
post #13 of 42
Quote:
Originally Posted by Papi Le Bon View Post

Thank you Hilaire. In that case I have no need to repeat the number with Eau de Cologne, one more from Les Exclusifs, that I discovered yesterday, and also enjoyed but not in the same league of CdR.


Yeah I think the only Les Exclusifs which is really explicitly marketed towards women is Gardenia, but tbh even Gardenia could be worn by a very adventurous and confident guy.
post #14 of 42
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by wildroses View Post

ask us a hard one!!!

Ok, Wildroses, actually I will, soon.

It`s a question about the long ago gone Eau de Cologne Tabac Blond 240, from Caron. For men, of course?

But not today. This question came from the discovery of an extraordinary stuff, full of class, as CdR.
post #15 of 42
Absolutely yes.
post #16 of 42
You have good taste !
Enjoy wearing this wonderful fragrance.
post #17 of 42
Definitely unisex.
post #18 of 42
It was a fragrance marketed towards women who wanted to smell like a man. Add 90 years to any fragrance, though, and it becomes pretty unisex.

It's utterly fantastic, though the strength of the newest version is relatively poor compared to its fraternal twin brother, Knize Ten - my new favorite leather.
post #19 of 42
Go forth with confidence that you will smell manly.
post #20 of 42
Wonderful frag. I actually own and use the parfum concentration. If you are ready to drop the required money, you should consider the parfum as well. They are similar, of course, but not identical. The edt is a touch more floral and leathery, the parfum is smoother, and lasts a very long time. Here in the US, the parfum goes for about $180 for 15 ml.

cacio
post #21 of 42
I own it and worship it!
post #22 of 42
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by cacio View Post

Wonderful frag. I actually own and use the parfum concentration. If you are ready to drop the required money, you should consider the parfum as well. They are similar, of course, but not identical. The edt is a touch more floral and leathery, the parfum is smoother, and lasts a very long time. Here in the US, the parfum goes for about $180 for 15 ml.

cacio

Thank you Cacio, but I will try EdT first. But for me, and I supose for everybody, longevity is crucial. Then, we will see.


Quote:
Originally Posted by digger51 View Post

Go forth with confidence that you will smell manly.

I'll do my best! Just in case I will bring with me this poll...
post #23 of 42
Very elegant! Love it!
post #24 of 42
The Top notes scream signature Chanel, as in No.5, No.22, 31 Rue Cambon, white florals and Aldehydes galore, then it starts to settle into a masculine leather, which any woman or man could wear, I own it in Les Exclusives concentration as well as the Perfume.
post #25 of 42
I find it very feminine on my skin and to my nose. It was developed with a woman in mind at the time it was made you can't dispute that.
post #26 of 42
MMMM...Yes. Oh, it's nice to wear.
post #27 of 42
Used to love to spray this on my brea..chest before I broke my large sample.
post #28 of 42

...As you know, Coco Chanel was romantically involved with Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia [Dmitri Pavlovich Romanov] through whom Chanel met perfumers in Grasse and master perfumer Ernest Beaux (born and trained in Moscow, Russia). It was Beaux who had been asked by Chanel to encapsulate the essence of her romance with the Grand Duke. The idea was to create a fragrance of wild cavalcades, wafts of blond tobacco and the smell of boots tanned by birch bark, which the Russian soldiers would wear. I personally think that this idea was brought to the absolute realism! This is because of a memory from my childhood... I vividly remember my father, who was a Russian military man, smelling exactly like Cuir de Russie by Chanel!!!

 

     Quote from scentimus:

Originally Posted by scentimus View Post

I find it very feminine on my skin and to my nose. It was developed with a woman in mind at the time it was made you can't dispute that.
 
Response from AJLo:
Based on historical facts behind personal and creative biography of Gabrielle (Coco) Chanel, Cuir de Russie was developed with NO woman in mind. The fragrance is abstract, and serves as chemical memory of her love affair with a Russian man, of her obsession with Russian culture; it's her dedication to those Russian men and women from noble families [immigrated to France after the 1910s] who were an inspiration and a deep influence on her creative growth at that time.
 
So, it's definitely a unisex fragrance. 

 

post #29 of 42
Thread Starter 
Very nice post AJLo!
post #30 of 42

Right on the verge of being too femme for me at first, but after a few min the leather become more noticeable and tempers the florals. Very easily worn by men. 

post #31 of 42

It's perhaps worth saying (partly in reponse to AJLo) that, however Chanel's Cuir de Russie was conceived, the current Exclusifs line EdT shares little more than its name with the previous version (and who knows what the original '20s version was like?).

 

I've noticed that, where No.5 goes, Cuir de Russie seems to follow. The Pre-Exclusifs version of CdR shared vintage No.5's base, on top of which was piled birchtar and castoreum.

 

Nowadays, like No.5, the ylang-ylang has been dialled up, and the animalic components down. Modern CdR is a soft, nuanced floral leather, with none of the  butchness of its predecessor. A fragrance more for Russian oligarchs than soldiers...

post #32 of 42

In my opinion, yes. 

post #33 of 42

Maybe I should give this another try sometime but both times I tested it, I was absolutely sure that this will never be my thing and actually I though it smelled like shrill old woman.

post #34 of 42

could be but low on sillage/duration, not worth its price...IMO

post #35 of 42

Despite nowadays version of Cuir de Russie is more floral and the birch tar has been dimmed a lot compared to the original formula, it is still a very good option for a man. Go for the parfum if you can afford it: less aldehydic topnotes and florals make it focus more on the resinous leather and less projection is balanced by an incredible depth.

post #36 of 42

Cuir De Russie is one of my top 3 fragrances and I'm the strongest, toughest, blokiest bloke I know.

 

Seriously, I bend 6" nails as a party trick and look exactly like the fella in my avatar.

 

Anyone can (and should) wear it.

post #37 of 42

Cuir de Russie by Chanel is feminine perfume for ladies from 1924.  If a man is a very feminine (voice, way of walking, moves) then this fragrance could work well too.
 

post #38 of 42
Quote:
Originally Posted by dofa91 View Post

Cuir de Russie (...) is feminine perfume for ladies (...).  If a man is a very feminine (...) then this fragrance could work well too.
 


Really? My impression is that the butcher and blokier a guy is, the more easily he can pull off feminine scents...

Anyway, I don't find CdR particularly feminine - it's definitely unisex, especially in the EdP version.

post #39 of 42

I agree with other posters that more masculine men can actually get away with more feminine scents.

 

CdR, at least in its Les Exclusifs form, which is all I've ever sampled, and which I own, is a soft and smooth leather. The floral notes, I find, give it an air of class and set it apart from the dirty leather you usually see in men's leather based scents.

 

In short, it's a masculine scent provided you can (as always) own it 

post #40 of 42

Cuir de Russie on a man who wore it with aplomb would be tough to resist, imo.  Great scent for up-close encounters, to smell on someone's neck, in a shirt collar, in someone's hair.  Go forth and enjoy it!
 

post #41 of 42

Scent doesn't have a gender.  If you like it, and wearing it wouldn't make you personally feel "too feminine" or "too masculine" for your own comfort level - regardless of the opinions of others - wear it with pride.

post #42 of 42
Quote:
Originally Posted by dofa91 View Post

Cuir de Russie by Chanel is feminine perfume for ladies from 1924.  If a man is a very feminine (voice, way of walking, moves) then this fragrance could work well too.
 

 

I find this comment rather amusing.lolk.gif

 

PS: I just saw on the internet that CdR by Chanel is Mick Jagger's signature fragrance... well, I guess (jokingly) he could be considered as a "very feminine" man (long hair, outrageously flamboyant behavior, and also he allegedly was discovered once in the bed with David Bowie). LMAO laugh.gif 


Edited by AJLo - 5/29/13 at 12:12am
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