Stallion Leather

I love leather. I love leather fragrances. I also love Jordi Fernandez and pretty much all he has ever done in perfumery. I mentioned to a nice lady in Bloomingdale's in Dubai on my last visit that I was a Jordi Fernandez fan and she kindly showed me this, from a range into which I wouldn't normally have ventured. As with Roberto Carvalli's Gold line of designer niches, the Herrera Confidential collection is designer perfumes in designer bottles elevated to niche quality that get slept on a bit by the fragrance bloggers and collectorate-at-large and in both cases, this is a pity because there is some real, honest-to-goodness brilliance going on there. Ive tried all the Confidentials and enjoyed all of them, but this is one I kept coming back to. Stallion Leather is an intense opening that cracks you across the backside with an oiled leather strap and is almost scary. It is the most intense opening I've come across since Creed's Oud Zarian to my nose. Wow. It is powerful. And classically Jordi, it dries down quite dynamically into a veritable cowboy sunset of ginger and osmanthus, and it is playfully the patchouli that does the heavy lifting here for longevity and power. If I told you after a second of the first smell that the leather isnt the power behind this scent you'd never believe me. It doesnt die off but settles into the gallop alongside the jasmine and labdanum as it is led off into stunning sunset of oranges, yellows, purples and reds by an effervescent patchouli note on a fast horse. Effervescent? How does anyone describe patchouli as that? Somehow it is here. Typically Jordi, he is playfully daring you to commit to this intense leather opening into a world of saddles, horses, boots and belts. And when you do, you realise you arent sharing that smell with horsy musk, gunpowder, beans, sweat and tobacco juice, but with cashmere notes of floral accords, spices, resins and that spellbinding patchouli you don't expect. It is clever because the patchouli takes some of the roughness off the leather and compliments it. The two accords are startlingly similar here and blended masterfully. You cannot have one without the other, and it works so well. If I'd have said to you before smelling this - what if I told you leather and patchouli can smell almost the same and be interchangeable in one fragrance - you'd likely have been rightly cynical. I was. But here it is. Two hours after spraying and it is still projecting but not leaping like a horse off your skin. This is one of those smells where you WANT it to dry down close to the skin because it is powerful enough to satisfy your sillage and projection cravings but is by its nature a sexy, sensual scent that you want people to lean in closer to you to to get more. You can wear this in any formal setting, but I am a guy who loves the jeans and cowboy boots aesthetic and this works so well here. You'd think it was cliched and a bit trite to try to smell like a cowboy whilst wearing the boots and jeans, but I promise you it works. I love the way it smells different when you move your arm quickly past your face and you get more shiny, tough leather, than when you stick your nose up against your skin where the patchouli is more apparent. I cannot emphasis this enough - the drydown here is absolutely incredible. You will not believe how tender and beautiful the drydown is after that monster opening. You need to try this. Scent - 9/10 Sillage - 7/10 Drydown - 10/10 Bottle / packaging - 7/10 Performance - 7/10 40/50

Very early thoughts, Take Tuscan leather but replace the raspberry with a hint of stonefruit (an apricot or peach-like note from the osmanthus). Add in a healthy dose of the gasoline and woodsmoke/woodshop/motor oil from Guilty Absolute. Stir in a few drops of a narcotic, deep and darkly earthy jasmine - anymore would be too much! At this point you have a tiny bit of hay and dirty barnyard juxtaposed against a vibrant and bright floral leather. It even reminds me a bit of Yatagan - minus the celery and dry herbs. Both of them have heavy doses of castoreum in their leather accord, and here the cistus creates a somewhat similar, semi-harsh and arid amber that evokes the ochre orange color of the bottle. Delightful stuff. Almost opulent leather and flowers grounded by a healthy dose of earth and dirt.

Salty, chunky leather with a very fine, clean finish. It feels sharp and precise, almost as if the leather itself was freshly cut rather than worn in. There’s a mineral, slightly sparkly quality running through it that keeps the scent feeling fresh despite how solid and weighty it is. The leather is very dry, lightly smoky, never greasy or animalic. There’s a controlled sharpness here, almost metallic at times, which gives the fragrance tension and clarity instead of darkness. Overall, it’s rugged but polished. Strong without being loud. Leather done with restraint and confidence. If you enjoy this profile, you should also try Complex by Boadicea the Victorious and Cuir Majesté by Armani.

This is much less overtly masculine to me these days but I still love it. It doesn't smell that similar to, but it reminds me of Fahrenheit in its floral leatheriness. There is a tiny bit of gasoline here (that same petrol/leather note used in Gucci Guilty Absolute, Oudain, 1 Million Golden Oud,etc) but it's much less overt than in vintage Fahrenheit. Still though, they are both smooth and smoldering floral leather scents with a palpable heat woven in. Yes,this is a unisex, sweeter and more modern and elegant take on Fahrenheit. This would likely be a holy grail leather for me if the sweetness was toned down and the gasoline leather ramped up.

Stunning on me (female), way more feminine than masculine, like sweet leather with a hint of floral, warm. Very long lasting and only a little needed. I get compliments every time I wear it and asked what it is. My best friend wanted to buy it immediately after smelling on me. Expensive but worth it IMO.