Royal English Leather

I love this scent. Truly, I do. However, I also love keeping both of my kidneys, so I'm afraid the bottle that I own will have to last me the rest of my earthly days. Separated from the intricate story that Creed has spun, this is a lovely, very masculine scent. It opens with a smell I can only describe as reminiscent of cherry syrup, before settling in to a beautiful, natural smelling leather. The sandalwood compliments said leather very nicely. As many of Creeds older fragrances are, it tends to follow a more linear path. Once the citruses drop off and the leather and sandalwood come out; that’s all you’re getting. It isn’t attention grabbing, nor do I believe it was made to be. If you’re looking to make more of a statement, try layering this with Tabarome Millesime. They compliment each other beautifully. This is a beautiful scent, and arguably the crown jewel of my collection. I’d recommend every diehard Creed collector give this one a try, even if owning a bottle proves too costly.

This is the smell of success, of victory, of accomplishment, of confidence. It is a strong scent, but not in an overtly sexual way. The picture it brings to mind is that of a man surveying his world and knowing that he is the master of not only what he sees but of himself. The initial mandarin smell is strong but only lasts long enough to remind you that there is more to life than the leather of the bottom tones. There is beauty in this world that you have mastered, and you need to take the time to stop and examine it once you have taken in that beauty, you can go back to ordering the world around you, leather crop in hand. This scent had a powerful impact on me and I will find a way to add it to my collection.

And as an FYI to anyone who was looking for this (please note the past tense being operative), Creed has stopped manufacturing. I believe there is no supply left, other than Creed's infamous vault. Slowly, the heritage of Creed is being transformed and many of those vintage scents are fading away. This is a definite loss.

My dad still has like 5% of this left and I’m obsessed with it. It’s a shame it’s forever attached to my dad in my head because it’s so seductive, so leathery, so sophisticated yet “dirty”. I feel sick thinking my dad smells that good. Ew. Make men smell this good again.

I don't know from what batch my bottle was, but I had it like for 28 years now. Rich ambergis and birch. Animalic, leathery yet succulent. It's hands down a reference worthy for leather scent

Unfortunately, this perfume has been discontinued and I wish Creed would produce it again or design a replacement for it.

More rare than all of the other perfumes

More than a review, I do a comparison with TF Tuscan Leather which is one of my benchmarks for leather scents. I do not intend to determine a winner or a loser because as we know every nose is different and anyone who thinks he can say this smell better that is wrong... this comparison only serves to precisely enumerate findings and differences between them, there are no winners or losers. Both perfumes open with very disparate notes: The notes of red currant and thyme saffron are fused together to create in Tuscan much sweeter blend of aromas, REL, begins with mandarin and bergamot, is drier, more linear and more natural, in the strict sense of a literal "leather" aroma. The heart starts beating in both perfumes very similar; they share similar notes but with one big difference: REL remains true to its animal essence, whereas the presence of birch resin in Tuscan makes it more plastic, and the effect of leather is fused with a touch of rubber and oil. Tuscan is more complex, more deep, which makes it no better or worse, is a characteristic that differs it form REL. The bases are the same: amber, sandalwood and leather so once developed, the scents begins to resemble more and more. In REL the leather fades to leave us a trace of sandal, Tuscan keeps a touch of rubber in a very subtle way. Tuscan Leather is a modern version of the genre, kinder. I think that fans of the genre of leather, especially for the Orthodox, REL is the most faithful of both, and I'm sure when Creed stop manufacturing it, it will achieve the same level of cult of VINTAGE TABAROME, and those who get a bottle, will keep it locked for use only on those special occasions where it is necessary to make a statement, leave that through aroma that is possessed of exquisite taste purist and refined. For something they have for over 200 years, is a classic.

Let's face it not many 'Leather' fragrances actually smell like real leather. Some have leather notes which are fleeting or androgynous, changing all the while. Even some of the best that I'd class as brilliant leather scents like Tuscan leather smell as much like resins, fruit, class A drugs etc...as they do of leather. This is another type again...the type that doesn't smell of leather much at all. Now I got my sample of Royal English leather from 'The perfumed court' and I've heard horror stories that they sometimes label scents incorrectly and I'm thinking they may have done that here. My sample smells very similar to Tauer's Eau d'epices, the second I smelled it I knew that I was familiar with this scent but couldn't think what it was. I scanned my olfactory databanks and thought I'd never get it...took me about 20 mins to realise what it was. This is just from memory here... because unfortunately I've warn all my Tauer sample to do a direct comparison. I seem to recall the opening of the tauer to be more aggressive and sharper, also the drydown much more gradual...this feels a bit mellow in comparison but essentially they are the same thing. Cloves, orange, hint of white florals, ambergris and sandalwood...and probably much more. I really like the smell of this I have to say but I was expecting something monumental. I thought some of these lesser known Creed's might just be hidden gems, I hoped for a knockout leather but instead I got a very complex and interesting fragrance. Not that I think Andy Tauer copied this or anything but it still makes Eau d'epices seem less innovative to me now.

I'm glad I was finally able to sample Creed's Royal English Leather, now vaulted, via a decant from a friend and Creed enthusiast / collector, and it certainly doesn't disappoint. REL is leathery, spicy, and animalic, and it's a bit too spicy and animalic for my taste, overall, keeping it from being a leather that I really love. The ambergris factors in very strongly, fostering an acidity that's both natural-smelling and resolute. Performance is unusually superb for a Creed fragrance, especially from the EDT era of the 1980s and earlier (presumably my sample came from the 1980s, not earlier, though). Between the classic, masculine vibes of this fragrance and its power, REL is a nice option for an older man if one can afford it, but it's simply a bit too sharp to be wearable in many situations in my case. Nonetheless, I'm very glad to have finally tried it out. 7 out of 10

Incredibly luxurious and long lasting. One needs a crown, throne, scepter and navy to do this one justice.

now THIS is real creed. unfortunately the peak of their brand is just meh compared to... y'know... good stuff. leather note is heavy here but i've smelled it in more expensive blends

This reminded me a lot of Royal Bain de Caron, but with slightly less violet. They're equally archaic, and equally bubblegummy. I won't go off on my usual "it's too feminine" rant because it's from such a different era that the criteria were different. Here in the modern world, though, it leaves me with a super-heavy boutique soap-bar smell, and almost no leather whatsoever (am I missing something!?). I wouldn't object to this smell in the form of a cherub-shaped guest soap on a red heart-shaped doily in a fancy, secluded Bed and Breakfast bathroom (though I'd die of cutesiness overdose), but for myself to smell like this just doesn't compute. It overwhelms me in an unwelcome way.

Definitely leathery with strong wood undertones, but there's something in there that I can't identify but which makes it a little too bitter for my liking. A little bit different from the run of the mill, however.

if it was made in the 1700's. LEAVE IT THERE

I've learned that this fragrance was vaulted , which means "discontinued" with only a small promise of reissue at some later point in time. A terrible shame, IMHO. This is one of CREED's real treasures, and they've done away with it. Maybe it wasn't producing the revenue they desire. Aventus success probably kills their more creative CREED fragrances, because they don't perform as well. ______________________________________________________ Royal English Leather gives a light echo of Cuir de Russie, but with fewer florals and more leather. It's more refined than Knize Ten and creamier than Etro Gomma. For me, it's a fantastic composition that sort of "hits" the sweet spot of this genre. A fair number of similar fragrances, but with a choice I'd always pick REL. This fragrance is definitely crafted with fine quality ingredients and well blended. I get a slight waxy floral sweetness, which is a wonderful quality for this kind of iconic leather aroma first popularized by Knize Ten. While Gomma is very close to Knize Ten with a more forward floral component, it's not quite as well put together as Royal English Leather. Still... among all three, my choice would be Etro Gomma for the sheer fact of much greater affordability. Alas, Gomma suffers a bit on longevity, whereas Royal English Leather holds on for a good many hours more. It must be said, as it's the dark fact about this fragrance - it was discontinued some years back and is now terribly expensive. No telling if and when CREED will bring it back. Yet I must say, for those fragrance buyers who will never find Gomma because Etro is too far off their radar and were disappointed by the latest neutering reformulation of Knize Ten, they'd miss this fine fragrance composition unless CREED brings it back. And given CREED's strong brand recognition, I really think they should. 9.4 / 10. ★★★★

Creed English Leather was never in my wishlist, but I acquired a bottle as the seller just threw it into the bundle when I made a purchase of Creed Original Santal. In my opinion, it is so unbearably strong and animalic at the beginning, and I don't comprehend what I am smelling until it get to settle down for a little bit. Then I begin to smell sandalwood and actual old expensive intage leather. It smells incense, something powdery and woody. At the same time, it is kinda milky like a leather conditioner. I can say that it smells dusty too or perhaps my bottle is a little old (my liquid seems a bit darker than this picture). It's only been an hour, and there is no sign of it fading away. I don't think this is gonna change anymore, and I can't see myself use it at all. It's just not my type. I'm contemplating whether I should get rid of it or keep it for the sake of having it. Afterall, it is like a gift to me. Remark: So it actually turns out quite nice as it dries down to just sandalwood. It smells like a vintage perfume and still has this dusty smell. It's really masculine and hard to imagine a woman wear this.

Ah, what the heck, I'm just gonna talk about it.... Creed's history. This is a good fragrance page to talk about it due to the 1781 date. Now, a lot of newbies in the frag comm. come upon the Creed house. It's a gateway niche house. Please try not to get sucked into Creed's BS marketing 'history'. Think about it. This was supposedly released in 1781? Go get yourself a bottle of Royal English Leather, and send some to get analyzed by a GC-MS. What if chemicals in the fragrance -didn't even exist- back in 1781? Mmmhm. Don't fall into the trap of thinking that Creed is some glamorous history filled fragrance house. They were maybe a trailor brand, became a fragrance house. But don't worry, this isn't to say Creed fragrances are bad. I enjoy Creed! I have multiple bottles, :). Just don't fall for their marketing. Judge based on smell, (perceived) quality, longevity, whatever. Oh, and also, Creed sells for a bunch more in USA than over in Europe. Go buy Creed from discounters or European retailers. Trust me. Don't pay USA retail price.

A sharp-edged, cloying, aspartame-sweetened version of Coty L'Origan. Its had the equilibrium slapped out of it with trademarked modern firmenich aroma molecules, dont forget creeds "trademark" synthetic ambergris accord. Hyped by wide-eyed youtubers like some lord of the rings artifact, except they have never smelled l'origan and think when creed released this it was some sort of earth shattering moment in the history of fragrance blending. No no, this is essentially a shitty clone fragrance made by a frenchman in 2002 rather than arab perfumer working at Armaf, so people automatically think its classy. As original as a citrus cologne at this stage. Current prices on ebay - not worth a 20th of that, I sold a bottle for a couple of hundred a while ago and made good profit on it!

this is a very refine leather scent,there is a story behind this very old scent,made for a king, king george the third,he liked the scent of his leather gloves, well there is more to the story,but ,yes the of his gloves so he commishend,creed to re create the scent of his leather gloves, and that was in 1781,and still the same recipe till today i realy enjoy this scent five stars, at first sprsy it comes on kinda srtong and weird let it dry down and wow again i love creed fragrances well i hope you find thescent thats you good luck.

Royal English Leather es una fragancia que le tengo ganas desde hace muy poco tiempo pues sus casi 200 años de historia me apabullan esto probáblemente debe ser una de las fragancias mas antiguas que existan. Me conformo sólo con probarla en una muestra. Me imagino que será el primer perfume de la familia cuero de la historia ya que anteriormente supongo que los perfumes seguirían el clásico binomio cítrico-florales. Haber si me consigo un sample de the perfumed court y me lo pongo para la boda de mi prima.

After watching Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story on Netflix I was playing a game that I do after watching any tv show, where I matched fragrances to each character. I was trying to match a fragrance to King George III and Brimsley and was picking something from Creed. Only to find out that the actual King George III wore this fragrance from Creed. Wow

Surely among my favorites in the Creed's range. RIL basically strikes as a smoother (and much expensier) version of Knize Ten. Soft leather and amber in a perfect blend that's rich deep and completely satisfying. Surely much more easily approachable than the Knize due to its mannered presence. Very Good.. Me? I stick with Knize. Rating: 8/10

I think this is a scent for the person who knows they love leather. A lot of other leather fragrances merely have leather as a note, but REL really is all about the leather, and while the note is sweetened and slightly altered, it's more like putting sugar in coffee than adding prominent new notes to the mix.

I enjoy trying out the old fragrances and ordered a sample off eBay. It start out strong and with the citrus and spice scents very present. My wife says the opening starts off smelling like incense. It smells very different after an hour or so. Very nice. Worth trying if you can find a sample.

This is a very subtle fragrance that honestly smells like "fall in a bottle". I don't get alot of leather, but the Amber and the Bergamot are strong to my nose. Longevity is not super strong. I usually get about 6 hours but the dry down last about a good 10 hours.

warrenlockman -- HOW vintage? You know that all the stories about Creed and various perfumes from them dating back to the 18th century are fake, right? There's no evidence that any incarnation of the brand existed before the late 60s at the earliest

Clearly modeled after Coty’s L’Origan (vintage) with its big punch of powdery spiced flowers, animalic leathery castoreum and sultry amber. Not as glorious as vintage L’Origan, but still pretty close!

It will be befitting to update the true date of this fragrances, after all that was researched and published about this brand true history as fragrance creators. This piece of data is misleading.

Guys come on, please leave your prejudices against Creed at least with this fragrance. It was made in 1781 now that s history man, that s history.

Best leather fragrance I've smelled. Elegant & refined with some addicting sweetness underneath. Why discontinue?

@123 ...ohhhh absolutely. I even heard George Washington wore this...or KIng George or ...

Smelled like womens hand cream to me. Not for me.

So do any vintage bottles exist?

Simriser1 😂🤣 This one got me 🤣