Cuir de Russie Extrait de Parfum

Oh, man, this is gorgeous! I actually believe that this is an improvement on the older 15 ml version of the pure parfum. Chanel has either added a bit more birch tar or they've used a dollop of the base notes from Le Lion to this new extrait. Either way, I love its slightly deeper take on saddle leather beautifully undergirded with florals. I'm a horse girl from way back and smelling this fills me with the same kind of unbridled(!) joy that I get from riding out in a sun-warmed country pasture. Plus, it comes in a 30 ml bottle that costs less per ml than the old version. A winner all the way around!

It’s 1924 at a horse ranch. You’re grooming the horse and readying the leather saddle to go riding. On your way in to the stables, you passed a fire pit filled with embers from a fire the night before with friends. There’s a rose bush nearby that you get a small whiff of, too. This is transportive and interesting. I feel like I’m smelling a piece of history & this is very well composed. Cuir de Russie isn’t something I feel like I can wear myself (too much leather), but I like this Extrait version of it more than the EDP version. It is worth experiencing & full of artistry.

As a fan of the great Jacques Polge, I believe his only mistake is Olivier Polge. Olivier's work in recent years has been overall weak, and this release is the final straw. Releasing and promoting a product named Cuir de Russie in 2026, while russia is destroying sovereign countries and killing people, is absolute blindness, cynicism, and I hope reputational suicide... I hope the son's reign at Chanel will be shorter, because with such a disgusting policy, the brand will simply lose its perfume house and the world's respect. The example of Roja Dove, who instantly renamed his perfume to Isola Blu, showed what conscience and respect for human lives look like. Chanel, however, chooses to promote the culture of terror in 2026... UPDATE for understanding: I know this is a not new scent, and I understand that it's a legendary fragrance with deep historical significance. My point is that Chanel, as a huge brand with an incredible history, strict standards, and a global reputation, should understand one thing: in 2026, a release with a name like this will no longer be perceived solely as a historical reference. During a bloody ongoing war, it inevitably carries political connotations as well. After thinking about it for a few minutes, I came up with an alternative that I personally would have considered if I were Chanel. The fragrance could simply have been named after Ernest Beaux, or perhaps called "Cuir de Beaux." Regardless of his origins, it would have been a fitting tribute to the perfumer, preserving the historical legacy of the fragrance while removing the word "russia" from the bottle. In that way, the brand could have preserved its heritage while avoiding the promotion of an aggressors image in 2026. This simple change would demonstrate that Chanel possesses both a historical memory and a contemporary conscience. Instead, by stubbornly sticking to the word "russie" today, Olivier parasitizes the legendary legacy, turning it into something blind and profoundly, excuse me, stupid. Without this moral alignment, the house ceases to be a beacon of high fashion and instead becomes a cynical, blind, and empty perfume parody of its former world-renowned glory.

@Andriiii, and the award for the internet's most relentlessly whiny, permanently offended crybaby goes to... you. It takes a special kind of ego to wander onto the page of a genuinely historic and remarkable creation, dump this steaming pile of nonsense into the comments, and somehow convince yourself that anyone is waiting to hear your verdict. The only thing more laughable than your complaint is the belief that it matters. Fool, Cuir de Russie is a perfume genre. Guerlain had one, LT Piver had one, and virtually every major historic perfume house produced one. So what now? Are you planning to invent a time machine just so you can spend eternity whining until history conforms to your preferences? God, you're pathetic.

Cuir de Russie Chanel is a great fragrance, just like the country it is dedicated to.