La Collection Couturier Parfumeur Leather Oud

What else is to say about this infamous perfume? I am certain all fragheads have heard of Leather Oud, notorious since its introduction as part of the original "La Collection Couturier" by Maison Christian Dior back in 2010. Since then, it has been reformulated twice and later axed by an unrecognizable Dior, today with a new creative director in charge. I strongly feel this was Demachy’s finest achievement, since Eau Noire was credited to Kurkdijan, while many of the other greats in the Privee line signed by Demachy were amazing but lacked originality (Cuir Cannage, Oud Ispahan, Mitzah, Patchouli Imperial). When Leather Oud came out, it was something novel. Not only for Dior as a house with deep roots and strong French heritage, but for the fragrance scene at that time, especially in the designer realm. And Demachy did a great job. He went full Oriental and challenging, the opposite of what Dior is advertising nowadays. Regarding the “challenging aspect,” I will say, however, that I never felt Leather Oud to be an outrageous perfume as the community made it out to be. But let’s be honest, the average hobbyist also finds Musc Ravageur, MKK, and the likes to be “skanky.” Sure, there is some stank to be found, yet cleverly balanced by a myriad of other aspects. Therefore, depending on how deep you went down the rabbit hole, this might or might not be challenging to you. For me, it is not. Yes, there is a perceivable civet note that does steer towards unclean territory, and the beeswax accord can trigger further animalistic sensations. But apart from that, there is nothing “unsafe” about it; spices, leather, smoked wood chips, and resins. I think Demachy wanted to create a “new leather” perfume by choosing agarwood as the source of his inspiration. To quote him: “Oud wood exudes aromas of Leather when it is burned. It is an astonishing, very animal-like scent... Oud inspired me to make it the focus of an intense, woody Leather fragrance. A very masculine fragrance bursting with character.” That is a good way to describe Leather Oud. It is mostly a leather perfume. It also smells manly, more like “man juice.” I could not picture a woman wearing this. I simply cannot. When I smell it, a few things come to mind: A biker, or a cowboy, after riding all day, his leather jacket reeking of a combination of sweat and cigar stench. Or, perhaps one of those biker or truck driver pubs. Shabby place, smell of testosterone, topped ashtrays, and unkept toilets. I will also say that overall, this is a very good, quite surprisingly good, “Oud” perfume. Of course, there is not a drop of real oud in it, but the way it is built through various accords, it creates a very accurate rendition of how burning wood might smell, and even some oud oils. It gives off an accurate leather and burnt wood smell. The smoky and woody aspects are prominent, next to the leather, spices, and the sweetness of the beeswax and resins. I have tried a few oud oils that approximate what Leather Oud tries to convey. However, being a perfume, that experience is not as heavy and thick. Therefore, thumbs up to Demachy for doing his homework. Leather Oud opens spicy, sweet, and warm - heaps of cardamom in the opening paired with the sugary quality of the beeswax. Gradually, the leather creeps in next to the charred wood, transitioning into smoky territory (think burnt-wood smoke accord). In the base, the civet appears, and paired with beeswax, it creates a buttery, creamy impression. The labdanum further emphasizes the smoky and leathery facets. It is a very dynamic and complex perfume. In the air, it smells like sweet incense, sweaty leather, and wood. I always thought that it smells incredibly sexy. Regarding the various reformulations, the first, minor one that happened in 2013 was negligible. After 2017, it had lost most of its charm, turning into a rather bland, dry, and smoky woody-leather scent. I am not surprised it got axed, but rather that it stayed around for so long. Gone but not forgotten. Indeed, an amazing perfume, ahead of its time, and still relevant today. I used to own two more flacons that I sold down the road, thinking that it can’t be that difficult to find a replacement, especially nowadays when the market overflows with this DNA. However, it became clear to me that there was nothing to replace it, so I made sure to mend my mistake. Surely, I will not part with it again. IG:@memory.of.scents

A very difficult one to review. If this were a person I would say it is not an easy one to "fathom". First minutes: a strong mix of cardamom and something rubbery shows mastery and presence. I must confess every time I put this on to analyze, it changes some aromas so I get confused again and then don't know what to say about this first part. Most times I find this 90% similar to Oud by Kurkdjian in its first stage... but don't get me wrong: this takes a totally different path after that. The sillage is strong the first minutes. No leather, no civet yet. I was very worried for blindbuying since civet is one of the few notes I seldom like. I thought this would be a western rendition of arabic traditions but it reminds me of India all the time... I can’t figure out why. The mix leans on sweet but beeswax like... very elegant and unique. After this, civet and what I suppose is leather start appearing more and more. This civet is classy and well done... not obnoxious at all. Oud is there too, very strong but you know... in such a mix it’s a bit of a miss... I don't find this so but most of the people I've asked have mentioned it smells very macho like, as if I put a cream of testosterone on my skin... very sexual, raw and merciless. In my case I find it somehow weird, like something on the edge between exquisite and putrid, between gentlemanly and worringly gourmand. The leather is not of the new shoes kind but that of a living (or just killed!) animal. Very realistic... not truly my cup of tea though. I can admire the mastery behind this but not a single time I’ve said: wow, nice! The last stage is the clearest to my mind and I can describe it as a well behaved Kouros... a mix of soapy civet that smells a bit old school but modern at the same time... it manages to be classy without sending you back to 1985. Something sweet lingers and lingers. This lasts till next day. All in all, leather oud is a complex scent I don't recommend to blindbuy as I did. Edit: It is funny how silly I felt when I went to the Dior page and I read this was mainly about the oud and cardamom! I thought they were making fun of my intellect... but after 2 months of wearing this my opinion has slightly changed. I still think all of the above BUT I must add that Leather oud smells throughout the whole development like that cardamom dessert they make in India. It’s the closest smell I relate this to and again: think twice before getting this since it is very well blended but could well become a nightmare if you don’t feel at ease in front of exotic animalic scents. Chances you will like this are high in case you love Kouros, Al Oudh, Phillipine houseboy (a.k.a. Fils de dieu, du riz et des agrumes) and alike.

"Beauty and the Beast" First spray is the scream of civet, cedar, and leather. For first 10 minutes, civet scent project like crazy, but it get softer later on. Oud comes out in the dried down notes. Longevity, scent, sillage, uniqueness; all are excellent 10/10 Most of people complaining about civet scent, but I don't have any complain about it. It is an animalic scent, a scent that come from animal, sexy, beautiful. An smell that today's men have missed. I have to add that civet scent tone become very less and you cannot distinguish it from leather and oud after 1 hour, except you put your nose on your skin and sniff it. imagine, you go to a jungle, find a deer and close to it. touch it, close your nose and smell it. Smell of animal. Alive one. A heart is biting beneath this skin and flesh. The deer is clean, no smell of shit or urine. I have to add that civet has more aromatic scent. More interesting and more unique. The leather is not a wallet-belt type leather. It's the combination of alive skin animal scent (because of civet probably), the skin in leather processing and the processed leather you can smell in wallet. Thanks civet to bring my nose this range of leather scents. Can I tolerate civet smell? I LOVE it, if it combines with other scents correctly. It's an amazing combination here. Beauty and the beast. Beauty of leather and oud, and a beast scent beneath it. it's really Delicious If you think that civet is extra here, you can spray it in your hair. You won't get the civet scent on your hair. I found it somehow boring without civet ..... If you like cedar, try it. if you like oud, try it. If you like animals, try it. If you like leather, try it. If you like floral and fresh scent, it's not for you. If you like soapy scents, it's not for you. If you like Versace Eros or 1 million, it's not for you. If you are hipster, there is no way you like it. I am 24 now and I love this fragrance, but I think this fragrance fits better with more mature men. 30+ Do females like it? I don't know and I don't care. I don't like many of their fragrance and they don't care :D (I think they like it) Many people who complain about it, probably haven't wear it . They ran with the first tester spray. The first 10 minutes is harsh (and delicious in my test), but it develop on skin fast an become a nice scent. Wearable for everywhere. If you want a clean version of Leather Oud, go for Oud Ispahan. That one is also excellent fragrance. Beauty without the beast. Beauty with the rose in her hand.

Rolling greys cover the dying, brown earth. Countless days of wandering in this vast barren world has brought you to the end of your days...no water, no food, no companion. Covered in the burning ash of oud and wrapped tightly in a constricting animalic leather cloak, you stare aimlessly into the depths of the dark sky. The whole world is a wasteland, the smoke and flames of burnt cedar and birch coat your lungs and the only foliage is the deep brown of dead patchouli to mark every doomed step in a hollow crunch. A few more shallow breaths before the dark comes. You stir at the sound of footsteps approaching - it is the silhouette of a woman, pale and golden against the black of night. She reaches toward you and offers some water to sate your ashen mouth - she leans close enough that you can smell the warm, fleshy resins, sandalwood, honey, and amber of her quietly glistening skin. She gently touches your face and tells you that everything will be alright. You close your eyes tightly and pray that she speaks the truth - you fall asleep under her tender care. When you wake again, you find you are strong enough to carry onward, but your savior is nowhere to be found...you shed a lonely tear - it turns to dust as it touches the ground...of course such beauty was a dream, this is an endless wasteland after all... Day 72 - Only in our dreams Listening to: Flume - Take a Chance (feat. Little Dragon) Notes: I have to agree that this is an aggressively masculine scent - maybe appropriate for a dungeon master...it's that intense! There is a lot in here to turn people off - right off the bat this fume pummel you with an unrelenting civet and oud note with a dusting of animalic cloves and cardamom. It is a little hard to put nose to flesh to really get in it - I honestly didn't like it my first two wears. Over the course of its 12 to 14 hour life, LO slowly transitions from the potent spiced leather and oud with the slightest touch of cedar and vetiver to a gradually warmer, smoky labdanum and honey (comb) with a dry warmth coming from a sandalwood and amyris. It smells like a fantastic rendition of Oud Ispahan without the rose - 100% woods, spices, and resins! I can say that I do enjoy this quite a bit and it is unique in what it does and how it does it - definitely not for the faint of heart!

The good, the bad, and the ugly about Leather Oud (and note that some claim there was a significant reformulation, but if that is the case I have the "vintage"' formulation) : The good is that there is no deception here; you get woods, a hint of smokiness, leather, animalic elements, and a bit of what I think of as oud. It lasts very well though projection seems more good than monstrous (one spray to the chest).. The bad is that it feels like it's incomplete, which is okay for me because I think this would be great for layering purposes. Also, it doesn't have quite the depth of the vintage greats, though I wasn't expecting that to be the case. And of course the price is going to be a "dealbreaker" for a lot of people. The ugly is that this is a "dirty" scent, so consider the social circumstances before spraying it on. If you think Kouros (vintage) smells "clean," then you might perceive this the same way, for all I know. I think you could create a similar effect, actually, by layering Kouros and Alyssa Ashley's Oud Pour Lui. It won't smell exactly the same,but you will certainly be in the same neighborhood. Also, it's rather linear, which some people like and others don't. Overall, the "clean" type musk used here may be a way to "modernize" this Kouros/Yatagan/etc. type scent, and while I like the smell, I'm not sure if it offers enough contrast for my tastes, so next time I intend to use it in a "layering experiment." UPDATE: Second regular wearing. I actually like it more now, as I'm getting a bit of something ambery that softens this up and make it more balanced. Since the first wearing, I obtained a bottle of One Man Show Oud Edition, which is similar, but in the drydown some "cheap" aroma chemicals show up, which ruins it for me (especially since I can wear Leather Oud instead). If you are on a budget and don't mind a bit of iso e super, you can try OMSOE. LO is one of the few niche scents that I would not consider selling or swapping, due to the unique combination of "heavy" notes being blended so smoothly.