Feminine, soft leather/suede scent

Guerlain's Cuir Beluga

If you don't mind scouting out vintage scents on eBay, etc., Hermes Parfum d'Hermes sports a wonderfully sophisticated and buttery leather note book ended by soft florals. Serge Lutens Daim Blond is also very good.

I'm a big fan of soft suede/leather & I thought Le Labo Santal 33 has leather despite its sandalwood namesake. It turns out I may be right as a fellow basenoter confirmed my suspicion; the leather note is akin to Gap Original I dabbled as a fledgling perfumista.

Try Jolie Madame being it's author Tania Sanchez's monogamy choice w/ a leather note if Cuir de Russie is out of ur price range besides the fact its dry down being feminine.

Serge Lutens Daim Blond
Chanel Cuir de Russie
Rochas Femme pre 1989(sugar plums and soft leather)

Cuir de Lancome
Chanel Cuir de Russie

Boxeuse - Serge Lutens
Cuir Ottoman

Ramon Monegal Cuirelle sounds right up your street. It is a soft honeyed suedey thing. Lovely.

+ Cuir de Lancome.

+1 for Daim Blond (sweet apricot, iris, and suede) and Boxeuses (sweet plum and soft leather).

Based on your reaction to Bottega Veneta, I would venture to guess that Boxeuses may be more overtly leather than what you're looking for. And the leather in Cuir Ottoman is more overt even than Boxeuses.

I'll suggest Arquiste Aleksandr (violet and soft suede), which reminds me a lot of Daim Blond but is much less sweet and, to my nose at least, softer.

(daim blond and boxeuses)

+ Aziyadé

The Heeley Cuir Pleine Fleur you ordered is amazing, I kept smelling my wrist the whole time I had it on. You didn't mention Chanel Cuir de Russie, but I'd definitely try that one, probably the best one out there. Also, Guerlain Cuir Beluga, Caron En Avion and L'Artisan Parfumeur Dzing are great too.

Naomi Goodsir Cuir Velours

Six Scent Nappa Noir
Notes per NST: ylang, violet, tobacco, coffee, patchouli, iris, speculos, cistus, styrax, leather, birch tar, saffron, vanilla, and serenolide.

Seconding Boxeuses. A lot of people say it's Daim Blond 2, but I disagree. I can't stand the apricot note in Daim Blond, and Boxeuses is just heaven. It has a distinctive plum note and a soft dry down. It evokes perfumed suede gloves. It also has very good longevity. I've been wearing it all day and it's still going strong.

Other suggestions I have are;

Serge Lutens Cuir Mauresque, a smokey, ambery, incensy leather.
Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier Parfum d'Habit; has a terrifying opening but the dry down is an insence infused leather.
Tabac Blond extrait; what can I say, it exudes sophistication.
Chanel Cuir de Russie; elegant and smooth. Can't go wrong with this.
Keiko Mecheri Fleur de Peau; very soft and utterly feminine. I find some similarities with Tabac Blond, albeit tamer. It might suit you if you're looking for a softer, gentler leather.

Have you tried Bandit extrait? If not, give it a try. It's smoother than the EDP

Happy sampling

Some of my favorite soft, feminine leather perfumes (in addition to Bottega Veneta, which you've already mentioned) are -

+1 for Chanel Cuir de Russie, which is actually unisex, but I think a bit more feminine than masculine,
+1 for Chanel No 19, esp. the edp,
+1 for Keiko Mecheri Fleur de Peau - what ladymurasaki said,
Balmain Miss Balmain and Estée Lauder Azurée, although really not necessarily the softest or most feminine on my list, lol, but both absolutely worth trying 'cuz they're both really beautiful and you just never know what you'll like,
and Juliette Has a Gun Citizen Queen which is, to my nose, very feminine, powdery, plush and luxurious leather and velvety violets.

+1 on the Ramon Monegal

Cuir de Lancome
Chanel no19
Chanel Cuir de Russie- agree one of the best soft leathers.
Guerlain Cuir Beluga
F Malle Le Parfum De Therese

This one.

Nobody mentioned l'Arsene Lupin? A soft, flowery, guerlainesque leather. Cuir beluga doesn't have much leather I think. Cuir de russie is a great feminine leather, but not really suede.
Cuir ottoman is more of a suede, but you have to like patchouli.
One of the greatest leathers ever is imo cuir pleine fleur. But not really suede. It is only feminine in the topnotes, in the drydown it gets quite butch imo.
A great suede would be dzing. Aware, it is dirty :-)

Adding Robert Piguet's Calypso to all the great recommendations. It is a soft, powdery floral scent with a suede note which makes it irresistable.

Daim Blond is probably the closest relative of Kelly Caleche and Bottega Veneta.

If you find you can handle a bit more leather then Parfumerie Generale Cuir d'Iris and Cuir Fetiche are also beautiful.

Daim Blond -- too sweet for me though
Aleksandr - Arquiste
Hot Leather - Mark Buxton (don't be fooled by the name -- bit hard to find now )

Also from Parfum D'Empire: Equistrius... I love their Cuir Ottoman!

I think Diam Blond would be more sweet than Bottega.

I agree with Kalli. Both Daim Blond and Boxeuses are sweet, and I adore them. But if sweet isn't your thing, you may not. Suggesting Arquiste Aleksandr again.

Mauboussin Histoire d' Eau soft, ambery suede
Chopard Madness a bit unusual but suede, pink pepper, cherry candyish

I'm going to say MPG Cuir Fetiche. Very soft floral leather, despite the racy name.

That sounds wonderful (both the name and the scent actually ) ! I must try this one.

Arsene Lupin Dandy is wonderful. I wore it when it was launched--a wonderful violet leather! To bad they had to change their name. The sad thing is that Guerlain is the company with the real historical pedigree going back to 1828. The other company was founded in 1908 even thought it says "1830" on the boxes. For more reading on this:

"The Perfume Handbook, 2nd edition," by Nigel Groom
"Perfume Presentation," by Ken Leach

http://perfumeshrine.blogspot.com/20...fragrance.html

Other great leathers to try are Armani Prive Cuir Amethyste. It smells a lot like Bottega Veneta.

+1 for Chanel Cuir de Russie (aldehyde floral and leather) and Cuir de Lancome (smoky leather jasmine).

Also try the limited edition flankers of Thierry Muger's Angel Cuir and Alien Cuir.

Other scents: Balmain Jolie Madame (violet leather), Azuree (a sister to Aramis) and Cabochard (chypre leather).

Cuir Pleine Fleur (violet leather) and Cuir Ottoman (iris leather) are both wonderful. (I don't get patchouli from the Ottoman, only a bezoin in the drydown.)

If you like leather chypres, try the very dry and elegant Guerlain Derby (sold as a masculine), although this might not be floral enough for your tastes.

Arquiste Aleksandr is a wonderful leather with violets, but it has a lot of woody fir notes.

Lastly, try L'Artisan Traversee du Bosphore (sold as a men's) as it is a wonderful and unisex light gourmand leather with touches of rose and Turkish delight!

EDIT: I would also like to add trying Knize Ten. This is a men's floral leather that you might enjoy.

Yes, i think the Daim Blond might be too sweet for you, it's def. sweeer than Bottega Veneta. it has a sweet fruity apricot.
Personally I love Cuir de Lancome (great price), and I was pleasantly surprised bij MP et G's Cuir Fetiche, a very sophisticated and soft floral leather, very unlike it's name. Cuit Ottoman was a bit raw and dry to me, I prefer my leathers soft. and if you like a sexy lleather, I'd recommend L'Agent by Agent Provocatuer. I'm wearing this right now for the first time and it's very sensual en heady rosy leather. It IS on the sweeter side, but also dark. Love this!
I find Jolie Madame a bit sharp and green, more in the line of Bandit.
HTH

About Cuir de Lancome. I got it on DirectCosmetics but it has sold out! I notice that it has gone up in price Plaisir. It could be had for as little as £30 not long ago. It has now gone up to over £50. It is probably still worth it though as there is a possiblilty that the Lancome "La Collection" fragrances may be repackaged and relaunched and of course if that happens it could be a lot more expensive.

...and if it doesn't happen then Cuir will no longer be available! So, either way it is probably worth it. I am not a big blind buyer at all but I did buy this blind because there is nowhere to try it. I wasn't dissapointed and I have bought a reserve bottle since. It may not be your holy grail of sot leather/suede fragrances but it is soft, and it is leathery and it is a really satisfying wear.

Plaisir, it would be my pleasure to send you a little to try it BUT I have to be honest and say that I think that if you want it you had probably better get off your mark and order some while it is still available.

It is still available through Amazon but maybe someone knows another online retailer that has stocks left.

Let me know your thoughts....

Plus 1 on Jacona's suggestion- this is very nice for the price. Just make sure you get the amber/topaze juice and not the amethyst version.


adding smellbent"s newer- St Tropez Dispenser - Après Soleil must be the Apres Soleil version for the leather/suede notes. Cozy buttery & soft

Hi,
I got Cuir De Lancome from fragrancenet.com for a good price. When you wait for a discount code it can be very good value to order from the US.

Cuir de Lancome is a bargain now, and I think they do the floral leather better than the Cuir Fetiche of MPG, which is much more expensive. You can find Cuir de Lancome at many discounters. Cuir de Lancome is always with me every day in a small vial! It's a treasure!

BTW, MPG have Parfum d'Habit for men, and this is very leathery. Not floral at all.

Hi I'm by no means an expert, but I fell in love with Chanel cuir de ruisse, from a perfume sample set. I prompty ordered a small decant from the sample service, but tried to track down other leathers, a rarity in a small Canadian city. Eventually I did buy a bottle of the cuir de ruisse in las Vegas, I find it elegant and beautiful.
I've also been fond over these last 2 years of Dior pour homme. I would say it was a suede and expensive compact scent. Have used almost a bottle, lovely sprayed on coat and scarf. Perhaps not feminine enough, but hopefully you can try it in Sweden.
I have also been tempted by the cuir lancome, wish it was available at one the counters, I have read positive things about this on, and I adore o d'lancome.

I'm wearing it today: Maria Candida Gentile Barry Lindon is a very soft spoken leather, sprinkled with mountain flowers and herbs. It's worth trying it, if you have the chance...

Foustie, in the US, Overstock.com might be worth a look. It might be a good idea to check prices.

Thanks Primrose. There is an idea for you Plaisir.

Chambre Noire from Olfactive Studio is a sensual leather scent with spices , plum and patchouli.


"Top notes: Schinus. Heart: jasmine, papyrus, violet, incense and prune. Base: sandalwood, patchouli, musk, vanilla and leather."

Sonia Rykiel Woman (Not For Men!)

Yes, that's the name of the frag. Says so right on the box.

This was a wild thing on all the blogs and forums a few years ago. The chat on it made it sound like an industrial-strength agarwood/leather bomb. But it's actually a rather soft, only slightly leathery scent with some oud accents. You might like it, still available through some discounters. The bottle is fabulous, made to evoke leather with metal studs.

A warning: the one Jardanel is talking about is the EDP. The EDT is a different scent altogether (a boring aquatic floral). They also come in different-looking bottles.

Thanks bonsai! Good heads-up, and I agree, the EDT is a runt compared to the EDP.

Just chiming in to say that for me, Daim Blond isn't sweet. It has a complete lack of any harsh notes, but I still don't actually read it as sweet. And it's the softest leather I know, so I'd really recommend sampling it.

Indeed Bottega Veneta wears wonderfully on a guy even if it is soft and plummy. Yet you find it somewhat masculine as it dries down. In that case I really wouldn't recommend Cuir de Lancome, Cuir Ottoman, Cuire Pleine Fleur nor Cuir de Russie. There is a certain masculine edge or a hint of bitterness in these 4 that imo makes them rather suitable for men.

I too second Daim Blond - it should be on your test list at the very least.