83 Leather Reserve

Not much more to be said, I think @garantis28 pretty much nailed it. Agreed with everything in that review, so maybe all there is to say is "+1". I would definitely recommend this, it's easy-going and accessible while at the same time distinguishing itself from the typical. The banana republic fragrances have continually impressed me as great options for the price. Not a one has been a disappointment, each one has a place in my collection. Also I really like the suggestion by @Morenoetrata to layer this with Vintage Green (maybe my favorite BR frag), I will definitely try that! I do see a lot of reviews below that don't really seem to suggest that the leather is very prominent, but I find it to be quite noticeable once the fragrance dries down and is also the longest lasting accord. After awhile all I get is lemon, bergamot and leather.

83 Leather Reserve is an underrated gem. It reminds me of Equipage by Hermes or Tabarome by Creed minus the room-clearing sillage. Many people seem to complain about the performance, but keep in mind that this is a Eau De Parfum. The concentration contains more aromatic compounds but tends to stick close to the skin. You generally won't get that alcoholic projection that's commonly associated with Eau De Toilette. The scent pyramid presented is quite accurate and comes together well. It's a very safe yet enticing fragrance. I feel this would be an acceptable blind buy. If you enjoy leather/wood/cypress but want a work-safe option, this is for you.

This perfume is perfect as a go anywhere scent. I work in a hospital and it wears well in this environment. Leather Reserve is both woody and dusty, which gives it a comforting, nostalgic feeling. It doesn’t feel perfumey but more like a sweater that has been stored in a cedar chest over the summer. Neroli and tonka bean add the slightest sweet smokiness to make it perfectly unisex. Reminds me slightly of Dark Rebel Rider by Varvatos but it’s less rough around the edges. As a female I find it both unique and a bit tomboyish. Certainly not a powerhouse but enough sillage to feel ‘finished.’ Affordable and interesting, I recommend checking it out.

Teetering between like and love on this one. Between just using up my decant and buying a bottle. Something about it really draws me in. I do get leather/suede... And something that took me a while to place but more than anything reminds me of sweet almond. Not marzipan-intense, which is a deal killer for me, but a soft hint of almond extract. I don't mind weak performance with scents like these. Anything with sharpness to it, from vetiver or citrus for example, is doing me a favor by projecting softly and fading away. Prolonged intensity would tire my nose. This is my favorite from this line.

What a great warm inviting leather suede scent. I definitely get a lot of cypress which is one of my favorite notes. And it blends with the suede note perfectly. The tonka adds a tiny bit of powder to make this a classic gentleman scent! I would be impressed if Hermes came out with something along the lines of this. They need a good leather version of TDH imo! Great job Banana Republic!

This is a cologne that actually smells like the breakdown It starts out super fresh like a citrusy gin and tonic. Just an awesome open of cypress,bergamot & lemon Then you start to get the cedar, neroli & suede that stays around through the drydown finish of vetiver, tonka bean & amber

Banana Republic number 83 leather Reserve is not so bad.. it's more like a skin scent after the initial drydown but it has a beautiful beautiful smell of suede/leather and citrus and spice I give this scent an 8.0 strength and longevity I give it a 6.8

I love the scent, that suede does come through. It's a very clean scent, leathery, velvety, and relaxing. Very nice pick up.

I actually like this fragrance quite a lot. Was my favorite from the line, and I was not expecting much.

The best masculine from the line. Not bad for the price either.

Leathery old spice. I love it, but not much projection.

INTRO: I bought the Banana Republic Icon Collection sample set for $50 bucks Canadian. The sample set contains a 5ml spray vial of each of the 5 scents in the collection: 1)Vintage Green; 2)Leather Reserve; 3)Pure White; 4)Black Platinum; 5)Oud Mosaic. If you do the math, you'll realize that the sample set is expensive as you'll be paying $2 per ml of perfume. Compare this to a fragrance like L'Homme Ideal which is from a prestigious house like Guerlain where you can get a 50ml for about $50 Canadian ($1 per ml) at discount/wholesaler websites. If you really want one of these fragrances, the best thing to do is try each one in the store and then just purchase the largest size which is 75ml (goes for about $60 to $65). Although these scents come off as niche scents, their performance puts them below Zara fragrances, in my opinion. SCENT - Leather Reserve: - when I first spray this, right off the bat, I get a leather smell which is different because most fragrances tend to start with a fresh, citrusy or fruity accord before transitioning to a darker accord like leather - but there is no leather listed as a note (so it's the combination of suede and cypress and cedar, to me, that give the imitation of leather) - it dries down into less or very subdued suede and a bit of vetiver+neroli - I don't get any tonka bean from this All of the above is nice, but it doesn't matter if the scent doesn't perform and for me, on my skin, this scent DIES OFF between the 2 to 3 hour mark. Lacks longevity and it DOESN'T JUMP off the skin or clothing like any fragrance should. When I spray this, I literally have to put my nose right on the spot where I sprayed it to even notice the scent. SUMMARY: You label your fragrance as an EDP and it can't even last past 3 hours?! You label your fragrance an EDP and when I sit in my car after spraying it 5 minutes earlier, I can't even smell it on me?! It's so disappointing when a clothing house tries to be bold and mimic amazing/unique niche-like scents but then fail to ensure the scents perform. Sorry Banana Republic but you need to do just a little more with this ICON collection if you want to follow Zara. Zara's scents are straight knock-offs/clones of classics and they're pretty much all linear but AT LEAST they PERFORM.

Ah man, I can see people hating this one. The opening is very intense, and it "stings the nostrils"... But remember these are Eau de Parfums so we're facing less alcohol here, so it could just be a very intense opening. Maybe it's the hit of the sharp cypress, cedar, and suede. The opening does have those noticeable citruses. Paired against the very sharp, ashy, pungent leather, it does give a nice variation to the opening. The opening is just so intense, that it can make you just say "NO" immediately... give this one some time. You can tell the cedar is making its presence there a bit, but the leather/suede is super prominent and has that gasoline/sharp leather smell too it. Maybe not the gasoline that Fahrenheit has (they do it perfect), but the leather accord here is sharp, maybe even ashy. It's not the smoothest leather, its a rougher kind of smell that can be polarizing. This one feels sweeter and brighter than Fahrenheit. Ferrari Uomo is also a sweeter version of this scent, but may be a bit closer to its profile. This one has an intense, gasoline, ashy, even somewhat smoky (like tobacco smoke) accord to it, that can DEFINITELY be too pungent and off-putting for others. GF hated this immediately. I am all about the pungent, intense leather accords. ONE bad thing about this, longevity. Doesn't last like most BR frags. This is one of the better ones in the series, IMO. Only pick up if you like leather and a more pungent smell. Can be layered with something like Vetiver Guerlain to smooth it out a bit. Check this one out for sure.

***Update*** This fragrance has certainly improved and has gotten EVEN BETTER than when Id first purchased it in September of 2025! The Lemon/Bergamot opening is really quite bright but NOT astringent and together with the suede/leather is really very nice! Ive also learned that besides the lack of "Strong Projection", the performance/longevity for any of my scents from the Icon Line isn't really as bad as folks claim it is and I have found that many of these beautiful scents are quite easy to go noseblind to if sprayed anywhere near the face, yet if sprayed on my arms or my lower torso, Ill catch small whiffs of them throughout most of my day. Also 83 Leather Reserve layers BEAUTIFULLY with many of the other offerings from the Banana Republic Icon Collection. My fave layering combo has to be Neroli Woods with 83 Leather Reserve, but also pairs very well with 73 Vintage Green, Peony & Peppercorn and Gardenia & Cardamom and Im sure it'll go well with others as well. I think 83 Leather Reserve layers well bc its one of the "Lighter" wears from the line and doesn't over-power the other Icon Collection options. These fragrances, their packaging and bottles are ALL so well done and the actual scents just smell as though they truley use high quality materials. An impressive line indeed!

This is a very interesting fragrance for the price. It starts out almost like an old school barbershop fragrance. Then you get his with the neroli and cypress. But this really takes me back to the 70’s on the dry down it smells very similar to “English Leather”, the square bottle with the big wooden cap, no kidding, this made me weep almost I wore that as a kid on every date! Not to mention also a few others like British Sterling. Well this is really a surprising fragrance for me and performance is average +, but I melts me with the memories it brought back!

So when Id first tried this fragrance I wasnt super impressed with it bc it just smelled EXACTLY like English Leather which is ok, just NOT my fave "Leather fragrance." Well a few months later I tried it again and it was more Nuanced bc I could smell the light spices and the lemon was also more pronounced. Its not very long lasting (maybe 4 hours, a bit longer on clothes) and soft projection, but I do enjoy wearing it quite a bit. Actually makes me want to pick up English Leather.

I mostly smell suede. I can see what Laurdess is saying about cigarette smoke. But the drydown is suede and the overall feeling of the scent is suede. I don't get vetiver or neroli here. The leathery-animalic opening dries down to a pleasing and very slightly sweet scent after two hours or so. Give it a full wear before judging.

Definitely a holiday scent. The cypress, cedar and vetiver are overwhelming. It does soften rather nicely, but other than driving looking at Christmas lights, or eating pumpkin pie...I can’t think of a time I would rock this. Easy pick up for $20. This is a rare tobacco fragrance that I would honestly say is unisex.

Smells pretty bad. Opening is horrible. Dries into meh. Possible first reaction overreaction. It’s not that bad. 20$ at Ross is a good deal. Good gift for a brother or uncle. Update 2: after a few wears it’s actually quite nice after the opening goes away. Doesn’t last long though.

This is a great fragrance for the price. smells like a clean, musky, dark, leathery fragrance. This would be great for a leather jacket or anytime of occasion.great scent overall and as a first leather scent. Longetivity: 83/100 Projection: 82/100 The scent: 85/100 Overall: 83/100

@tastysurprise Glad you liked my suggestion, also if you have Gres by Cabochard or Classic Aramis, try layering 83 Vintage Leather over those. It really just brings out the leather in those without over-powering them.

Subtle mix in that it’s not loud. Woody, grassy leather extract. Strong and unique. Wet vetiver. Interesting citric undertone. Chic, but not great. An acquired taste. Can grow on you, probably won’t.

People say they can't smell the neroli but I can. I actually have a hard time picking out a leather note. It's not bad for what it is but it isn't fantastic either and the longevity is poor. 5.5/10.

This is a very clean scent with the leather note in the background. That note can get cloying if oversprayed sadly. Very dry and dusty. If they pulled that back a bit this would be perfect.

Okay guys the perfect way the wear this fragrance is to layer it. It gives great added notes to almost any fragrance. Trust me! By itself its meh.. but layered oh my God it's amazing.

Dries nicely into a soft, chalky, leather fragrance... for those who like leathers. It might be a gateway drug to get girls and boys hooked. Just say no!

This fragrance smells better in the drydown than the initial blast....unfortunately, the drydown is a skin scent. Not bad, but not great....

I think anyone who says this doesn't smell a lot like English Leather haven't smelled English Leather

Scent 8/10 The smell is nice but the performance suck.. Longevity 2/10

I hated this at first. I could hardly smell it and chalked it up to a blind buy mistake. However, after putting it away for a month and revisiting 83 reserve, this has gotten much better (but not stronger) . It has a spicy tobacco leather accord that is very nice. Similar vibe to Versace Dreamer with a slight gasoline vibe. Also like an extremely, and I cannot overstate this EXTREMELY weak very ok Le Labo Tonka 25. Performance is terrible. Hardly any oil visible on skin. Don't pay much, because your bottle will go very fast. Even after spraying this 8 times I can hardly smell it.

So I grabbed this today at Ross, with some higher hopes lol. It isn’t terrible, but it isn’t great either. Bottle is very nice looking and the way this line is presented is nice, but this one just doesn’t do it for me smell wise. Smells like a musty old house with stale cigarette smoke or something by itself. I’m actually looking to try and see what would be some good fragrances to layer with it if I continue to use it? I can see it being a fragrance someone only layers with, just not something to wear by itself. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

I got this in my sampler pack. Thank God they had a 40 percent off sale. Some do smell nice but they all have super poor performance. The leather reserve wasn't my favorite smell. A very soft suede smell is really all I get. No other notes to speak of. I did think maybe I could at least layer it to add more depth to a different fragrance but the only problem is that I can literally spray my arm with 4 sprays and ten minutes later the smell is mostly gone. I would definitely pass on this one. The oud mosaic is by far the most interesting of the line. With that one I can at least get a few hours of longevity also.

Blind bought this one today, based upon my liking the Icon Collection in general. Sadly, this one doesn't work on me. It seems that while other reviewers get a cedary sweetness on the dry down, I just get a sharp, lemony vetiver throughout with a musky amber coming in behind. It's just too sharply woody for me and the amber in the base simply makes this smell dated on me. That said, I'm learning that amber bases tend to just go wrong on my skin, so your experience could be better. Definitely sniff before you buy!

I don’t really like the scent. I don’t get leather at all from this. If this is leather reserve, the leather must be reserved for some other fragrance! (Ba-dum tss). I do get the lemon zest and cypress heavily in the opening, Then mostly cedar and vetiver the rest of the way. None of the other notes are anything more than a hint. Performance is awful. If the scent profile is something you like, I got 2.5ml at TJMaxx for 12.99. My bottle is being assigned bathroom duty. I don’t recommend.

This doesn't really smell like a fragrance, it could be like a car scent or a candle. It's a dry powdery bitter green scent. And when I say dry powdery, I mean just that, sort of dusty; I think it's coming from that suede note. However, it still retains some greenness due to the cypress note, so it almost smells like a dusty winter green spruce. It's not mass appealing, but for someone with a unique taste. I didn't mind smelling it from the bottle, but I didn't enjoy wearing it.

It’s an absolute shame that the longevity and performance are below average. I really like the DNA but just doesn’t last and is a skin scent within an hour. Beautiful leather note with sweetness from the tonka and amber. Very wearable leather. Alas, I can not recommend due to the performance/longevity. Even though this is insanely affordable at outlets, I have no patience for fragrances that last less than 4/5 hours.

I personally don't really like this. It smells of green, balsamic notes, and also smells like fruit loops. Anybody else get that? performance is not bad if you smashed this on it would last a while and have good projection. cool bottle and box but absolutely not for me 😓

Intriguing name.... disgusting smell. If you are going for old Leather coat filled with cigarette smoke this is for you.

Very underwhelming fragrance. My least favourite from the line.

Unpleasant bitter, green and bergamont. Don't blind buy.

NON LEATHER JUNK!!! Even if you're on a budget-----do not purchase this fragrance... Save you the extra $20!!! 1.4/10

Surprised to see so many people don't like this one because I'm pretty impressed. It reminds me a fair bit of Vetiver Extraordinaire in the opening and has some of the same tobacco and spice effect of Versace Dreamer in the heart so I can see why it's rated as a smell alike. There's some feelings of things like Guerlain's Vetiver and maybe something like Déclaration de Cartier as well. Maybe the feel of it is just better suited to a little older crowd. There's also very clearly a leather note, sort of a polished car interior or a nice new jacket. Not sure why other people aren't getting the same. Very transparent and airy, I'd guess there's some hedione in there somewhere too. The far drydown keeps the vetiver and keeps the airiness but it does wear close to the skin. Still, I'm about six hours into it and I'm still getting it. This smells a lot more high quality than it goes for and makes me very eager to try some of the other Banana Republic line. At list price this is a pretty fair value. At the $25 it goes for in discount stores it's a great deal. For the $10 I paid for it? I feel like I pulled off a heist.

I tried this and Black Platinum on each wrist when I visited a mall recently. I liked Vintage Green, too, but didn't want to overwhelm myself. I left the BR store with my friend to continue shopping and see how the fragrances developed. I was considering buying the small $25 bottles of each because I was pleased with the scent of both and was having a hard time deciding. However, at my half hour check-in, I was shocked. I sniffed and sniffed both hands and then offered them to my friend and even she was stunned. Gone. Not a trace of scent on either hand. If you like these scents enough to buy them, you should probably purchase the large $95 bottle because you're going to be respraying a lot. For me, no way. Not spending my money on invisible perfume.

Just got this one and Linen Vetiver this past weekend. I'm still testing both but so far this one reminds me of a cigar humidor and that is not a bad thing. Whenever I'd see a humidor I'd sniff the interior, now I have that scent in the form of a fragrance. A humidor yeap, cedar from the box, a sweetness you'd smell in one of those boxes from the tobacco, there's tobacco in cigars right? Ok anyway, I hope im painting the picture accurately. I really think I'm loving this and great price, found at Burlington for $20 bucks for the 2.5oz. I really liked SJP stash but not on me so I gave it to a friend who loves it but this on me is what I wanted stash to be.

Not your typical Leather scent... Many probably expecting a supple, sweet, warm, soft, etc Leather accord... This is not that. This is a dry, brown, cracked, sunbathed leathery accord... Like an old horse saddle baking in the sun. With some desert flowers, dry grasses and herbs.. To my nose, it’s more of a Vetiver/Leather fragrance. The touch of resinous Amber and Tonka provide just a slight sweetness as it dries into the base.. It helps soften and rounds out the rougher dryer edges. It’s not exactly my thing... But it’s ok. Definitely somewhat of an acquired taste. Again... Not your usual Leather.

On my skin, I don't get leather (maybe a hint in the opening, but that's all). To me, this is a very nice nutty vetiver fragrance with a noticeable cypress supporting note. Kind of a cross between Givenchy Vetyver and Lalique Encre Noire. But only in terms of scent: indeed, the performance is very disappointing, and would suggest not to spend more than $30 for a large bottle. Spring/Fall days, 25+

Tested today. Kinda generic everyday scent....but there is "something" that keeps pulling my "I like this" buttons...lol. I get a green/citrus/leather combo for sure...and underneath the tonka note peeks in...but not too prominently...on my skin.Mid-sweetness in the drydown too. Sillage/longevity/projection is "low" range.In the dry down...I get cedar also...but sweet cedar,if that makes sense.

Eh, idk about this one.. I like it well enough once it cools down but then again it disappears shortly after it does cool down When I first sprayed it there was like a weird plastic doll hair smell to it? I don't know what note was that and I dont like it I liked the rest of the line more

A true modern classic. A brother fragrance to Versace The Dreamer. The leather accord welcomes the floral citruses, while the vetiver and even the opening’s cypress provide a grounding for the fragrance.

A lightweight version of Prada infusion homme in the drydown stage. very light longevity and performance, you get what you pay in terms of quality.