Cuir Majeste

The mystique of Armani Cuir Majeste--the only member of the Prive line sold exclusively outside the US, to my knowledge--was significant, as was the praise I heard for it, so I was delighted to procure a decant. It's exclusive to Harrods in London, but seems to be available for purchase online. Like another Armani Prive offering, Cuir Noir, Cuir Majeste is a sweet leather fragrance, but better, at least to me. CM is composed mostly of leather and mixed fruits, with a strong hint of rose in the background, with more minor accords of oud, resins, and perhaps some woods remotely contributing. I'm definitely impressed. I liked Cuir Noir but I love Cuir Majeste. it's an excellent "sweet leather" fragrance, opulent and sharp, certainly a notch up in terms of formality from Davidoff Leather Blend, another one of my favorite sweet leathers, and less loaded and audacious than, say, Tom Ford Tuscan Leather or its now-numerous smellalikes. One downside is that while most of the Prive line is sold in 100ml bottles for $250-300 or so (depending on the scent), Cuir Majeste is sold only in a 250ml bottle for $612 (the Harrods site's conversion from GBP as of today). I can hardly think of any need for that much juice, so it may just have to be a decant for me for the time being. This is a great offering and I hope it receives a wider release (in 100ml bottles) at some point. It surely is one of my favorites of the Prive line, along with Rose d'Arabie (my very favorite), Myrrhe Imperiale, Oud Royal, New York, and Bois D'Encens. Try it if you can track down a decant or live in the UK! 8 out of 10

Regal, decadent and rich.. This is a delight to wear. The notes as detected by reviewers is pretty bang on. Mostly dark rich leather, sweetened by dried fruit and lovely rose just in the background, along with more subtle oud, tobacco and incense. I don't pick out the ambroxan and vanilla until a good 6 hours or so in. I managed to secure decants totalling 85ml after a few days of wheeling and dealing in the fragrance community. Really best suited to evenings in cold weather, but I've been known to wear this to work in winter being careful on the trigger. I get a very sound 7 to 8 hours performance with this (4 sprays) before the silage becomes soft for another 2 to 4. It then becomes a strong skin scent for another few hours. Unisex leaning masculine, one of the few I own that always receives positive comments from my partner whenever I wear it. I really don't understand why Armarni insist on selling this in 250ml bottles. It prices a lot of people out and those that do go ahead are left with a bottle of fragrance they are unlikely to use in their lifetime. This should really be available in smaller sizes. Surely they would sell a lot more this way? From an entirely selfish point of view it does add to the exclusivity of the fragrance but from a making money point of view it does seem bonkers. EDIT: Cuir Majeste is now being made available in 50ml bottles. The price point however isn't that great. I'd still be inclined to split the larger bottle.

I bought a decant of this earlier this year, and applied it tonight for the first time in months. I still love it, but gosh it reeks. I put on what I thought was just a little and set out for the grocery store around 5pm. I've said this before; I'm 72 and don't live like younger people do. I don't wait for a big event to wear an expensive perfume. Cuir Majeste doesn't care where you're going, it just immediately takes you over. Normally I don't care what people think, but tonight I was actually embarrassed to be wearing such a strong scent. No one said anything, but I bet that stuff stayed in the air an hour later. (Not always a good thing.) This is really Saturday night date night stuff, or probably more like Valentine's Day/New Year's Eve date night stuff. (I could be graphic here, but I'll restrain myself.) I have a bunch of Tom Ford decants that are similar to Cuir Majeste, but none of them are this strong, including Tuscan Leather. Black Afgano may not even be this strong. I still love it, but it isn't for everyone, and you can't wear it everywhere. Wearing it to the theatre would not be a good idea. Not a blind buy, and everyone not in London will have to blind buy it.

So I had a chance to try this one at Harrods 2 weeks ago while I were in London. Overall, this one is a drier, darker, more masculine and a bit more sophisticate version of Rose d'Arabie. During the first few minutes I couldn't tell the different between this and Rose d'Arabie due to the incense, oud, rose and vanilla. As the scent dries down, it reveals a more sophisticate combination with tobacco, amber, some sugary note (I guess that's the dried fruit) and leather. The scent itself does not disappointed but the way Armani sell it is a huge draw back. What am I gonna do with a 250 ml bottle? Shower everyday with it? This is purely for the purpose of increasing revenue. With £530 I rather buy 3 other good one and that was exactly what I did. So if money is not an issue then this is a great choice.

The name doesn’t lie, this truly is an exceptionally majestic leather scent. It opens very bright initially with a sweet jammy rose and softly fruity osmanthus, before developing a dry and smoky tobacco to contrast this floral brightness. From here you begin to experience the deliciously intoxicating combination of smooth, powerful leather with sweetly sticky dried fruits. This compliments the tobacco and florals perfectly, with extra touches of sweetness from vanilla and a subtle darkness from oud. This is one of my absolute favourite evening wear fragrances. It’s fantastically luxurious and attention grabbing - by far the best from the Armani Prive line and it’s really disappointing that this is so hard to find nowadays. This is a must try for any leather enthusiast.