Gold Leather

”...the heart is an organ of fire.” Michael Ondaatje - The English Patient. The first whiff of this perfume reminds me instantly of one of my favourite soothing winter warming drinks: brandy and lovage. Lovage appears to be one of the most underrated and unheard of mixers known to mankind. It is an old English alcoholic cordial distilled from local Devon herbs and spices according to a family recipe. The word 'lovage' comes from 'love-ache', which is a medieval name for parsley. Traditionally, this is drunk two parts lovage to one part brandy as a warming pick-me-up on cool evenings. It is sweet and aromatic and has an almost honey like texture that slides down the throat. Although not listed here, Gold Leather contains Davana oil from India; it has a sweet, penetrating and boozy (of dried fruits) fragrance. it is well known to smell differently on different persons. If the nose could smell colour, Gold Leather is how a luminous reddish gold would smell. It is the scent of an evening by a crackling wood fire, sat in an Eames leather lounge chair, sipping fine cognac in a gold-rimmed Dartington Crystal brandy glass with memories of a past passionate embrace coursing through the veins. It is incredibly sensual. Although I think Gold Lovage might have been a more appropriate name, I can most definitely smell leather. It is just not the overt dry leather smell that most of us are accustomed to. It is a moist chamois leather, like a nineteenth-century glove or a cloth used to clean jewels or perhaps more aptly, to clean fine gold jewellery. Gold Leather is most likely a love or hate perfume (at least during the first hour of application) but it mellows down to a beautiful sweet leather and wood that lasts for many hours on skin (and possibly even days on clothing) which I don't think many people would take any offence to. Lots of people do seem to dislike the shocking alcoholic opening though, and although I wasn't too sure myself on first application, I found it to become utterly addictive. One reviewer mentioned that they couldn't imagine many occasions where they would wear Gold Leather and yet they felt compelled to reapply it every half hour. I get that completely; on certain nights I like to drink to get drunk. (”Every night I cut out my heart. But in the morning it was full again”). Gold Leather is a strong love for me, the type of love that makes me ache for a cosy evening by the fire, while the wild winter wind blows down the chimney. Some flames can never be extinguished.

Bitter orange, saffron, rum and plum... imagine the opulently dressed table of a Tsar’s banquet; and this is just the top notes. If, like myself, you enjoy these notes, you will be in for a wonderful treat; but wait, the proof of is in the pudding. Artemisia and eucalyptus are the middle notes; wonderful medicinal notes that pierce the nostrils and lift the top notes on a vaporous cloud. Cedar, guaiac wood, agarwood (oud) and leather provide the decadent base notes. So many revered notes could run the risk of making a perfume smell overwhelming or ‘muddy’. Fortunately, Gold Leather has been crafted by Atelier Cologne so we can rest assured that we have the trademark sparkle,the sense of lightness and the incredible artistic use of space between each of the individual notes that make the entire composition work together in perfect harmony - like a heavenly choir in the Vatican. There are those of you that will undoubtedly dislike this fragrance and that for me is a good thing because some of my very favourite perfumes have some strong dislikes within the fragrance community. Although Gold Leather carries the quintessential Atelier Cologne touch, I would say that Gold Leather is one of the most diverse of the fragrances within the Atelier Cologne portfolio and I wish that Atelier Cologne had the courage and vision to step further in this bold and decadent direction. Gold Leather is deep and rich and ‘alcoholicly puddingy’, yet it still manages to remain light and semi transparent and although it is a perfume that I have always worn in winter - today I wear it in the evening of the hottest day of summer and it works perfectly. It works because when perfume is created under the most perfect of conditions, it is the work of alchemy. To experience the scent of Gold Leather is to enjoy a moment of rare ecstasy and magic. Alchemists of days long gone looked deep into their magic orbs in order find a way to turn base matter into gold. Atelier Cologne have managed, somehow, to turn leather into gold. Just close your eyes and inhale the first hedonistic atoms then inhale again an hour or so later. There are worlds within worlds that exist alongside ours; we just need to learn how to see them. Using our nose is a good start. 10/10

A complex and interesting fragrance; seriously, this fragrance has a number of twists and turns. Gold Leather opens with a loud boozy-plummy bang, which slowly subsides over the next two-hours on my skin. I enjoy loud openings, but this one is a bit too boozy-sweet for my taste and comes across as leaving more feminine at this point...which my teenage daughter loves. Boozy, plummy and a faint woody vibe are what I get out of this phase. However, the heart is where Gold Leather moves into another direction and becomes a light medicinal-oud, with a whisper of guaiac wood and leather tones in the background, and not much else going on other than an occasional whiff of booze and/or plum from time-to-time. I really enjoy this phase whereas my daughter, who is not an oud fan, does not. I've come to love in-your-face oud scents--like some of the Montale/Mancera lines or Perris Monte Carlo Oud Imperial, or oud fragrances--or even oud that play a supporting role in Western fragrances such as Royal Oud. I guess a muted-oud is how I would describe it; it has full-body, but it kept under control. I woke-up this morning and Gold Leather was still going strong 12+ hours later. Perhaps going strong is a poor choice of words since it was mostly a skin scent after the four hour mark, but it's still there. Let's just say that overall projection is moderate and longevity is 12+ hours. I still kept getting a whiff of this one even when I thought it was gone. Also, at some point during the deep drydown phase, this fragrance turned into a plum jam scent (another interesting twist) on my skin with perhaps with a little very light leather in the background. I really like this one (unique, complex and interesting) and I look forward to further evaluations in the fall; it certainly warrants further attention. The major problem I have with this fragrance is the fact leather is missing to my nose: booze, plum, oud, guaiac wood/saffron and finally leather is how I see it. What hinders this fragrance is versatility as I find it difficult to find suitable occasions to wear this one. Perhaps I will learn to love this one (I very much like it) but I feel it should be renamed to Purple Boozy Aoud.

Beautiful fragrance. Very realistic boozy accord. And I say Booze & not Rum because the addition of the Plum makes the Rum smell like a Plum Wine. The note doesn’t stand out particularly as Rum. In fact theres a drink made with Red Wine & Coca Cola called a "Kalimotxo" Imagine Plums fermenting into Wine with Cinnamon, Nutmeg, & Coriander. With Citrus notes to add to the composition by giving it a Cola like effervescence. If you were to take a Kalimotxo & pour it all over a Brown luxury Leather Bag, thats what Gold Leather would smell like. .... & while this fragrance is named "Gold Leather", it smells more like spilled booze on top of leather, than it does actual leather. It’s such a sexy fragrance, & although beastly in the opening it remains airy enough to wear on Spring & Summer nights. In my opinion the Eucalyptus note is a nice middle ground between the Leather & the Oud. The Eucalyptus is only strong for about 10 minutes, 15 minutes after it’s initially applied. Then that Spiced Plum Wine & Leather comes back & lasts & projects for hours. The Oud is mild, but very noticeable. Adding an Earthy Woody nuance. This fragrance smells sexy on both men & women. Gold Leather smells nothing similar to Tuscan Leather, nor Plum Japonais. However, Gold Leather will serve the same purpose as Plum Japonais. But they are two totally different fragrances who’s Plum notes are nothing alike. Gold Leather is great for Dates, Formal Events, or any time you will be well dressed & going out at night, or on a cool overcast day or evening.

I find it necessary to, or at least only fair that I should, write a few words about this, as the notes-list above says that it has oud in it. So it transpires that since about October last year I have had a perfume with the stuff in it! Maybe I should not be all that surprised, given the prevalence of it. But I do remember, when I was in the store testing this, I was constanly attracted by a note that I found kind of tart with a 'bite' to it and yet velvety smooth at the same time. I would get the bottle to revisit it if it were not in an awkward place (and I were more certain exactly which place). But each time I have worn this as well as when I chose it, it always seemed to me that the most outstanding feature of this fragrance is that delightful counterpoint between the tart and the velvet. And I suppose that is effectively my review of it, as I cannot reliably recall fine detail about it. But I do remember enjoying it a very great deal, and I am now minded to find it again without too much delay, so as I can have another go on it.