Cuir Eau de Parfum

This is not just a fragrance, this one tells a story. A beautiful story of a life well-lived. Visual association: the music video of "Return to Innocence" by Enigma, the one with the old man who dies in his garden, and then his and his wife's lives are played in reverse. I bought Cuir for the first time a year ago because I was looking for a nice leather scent, and it turned out to be not that heavy on the leather but... wow! I got so much more instead! Simply put, this scent for me is quietly cathartic. It isn't a head turner, and you probably won't remember it for the rest of your life after smelling it on someone once. But the more I wear it, the more I enjoy discovering all the subtle layers it has, and the more it feels like a part of myself. Top notes - Spring: It's both fresh (bergamot?) and distinctly animalistic in the opening, there's that somewhat pungent animalistic note that, honestly, makes me think of goats, but not in a gross way at all, it's bold and beautiful, wrapped in freshness and peppery spiciness. Middle notes - Summer: It then proceeds to become sweeter with a hint of something sour, I can clearly smell dried plums in the heart. At this point, it sits closest to the skin and becomes quite soft and comforting. Some warm brown leather remains in the background also. Lilies come through sometimes, other times I can't detect anything remotely floral at all. Base notes - Autumn/Winter: Then, 2.5-3 hours in, it's oud supported by either the same lingering sweetness, or spices, or cozy cinnamon, I'm never really sure how it's going to develop, it seems to vary from day to day. I can still find leather in it, but it's faded, more of a distant echo now. On my clothes the next day, it smells of wooden spools, the kind my grandmother kept in her sewing box. It's both contemplative and confident, classy but primal, and I can see why a lot of reviewers see it as masculine but my guess is you really have to test this on your skin. On me, the plummy sweetness and all its soft undertones make it more than wearable for me as a woman. This underrated masterpiece will have a place in my heart forever. P.S. The sprayer on my bottle (I'm on my second one at the moment) sprays very "locally", I much prefer Cuir sprayed as a finer must over a larger area of my skin, if that makes sense, so I have an atomiser I use for the desired effect. The scent opens more beautifully this way, and I think it helps it project better too.

Vroom! Fascinating fragrance. Gasoline and motor oil opening, rather heady. As a woman this accord makes me feel daringly, provocatively macho, in a borrowed-from-the-boys, motorcycle jacket way — it’s how I imagine women in the 1920s felt wearing Tabac Blonde. But under the jacket is something more elegant. The fragrance takes some time to settle — for a while, quite a strong lemon verbena takes over, mingles with the petrol, and meanwhile the leather impression is slowly taking form via the saffron and oud - a fairly smooth leather but with some tannic sharpness. In and out float the lilies, sometimes there, sometimes not, hovering a couple of inches above the leather and tilting this at times in a more feminine direction. There is also a soft, pervasive, rounded skin scent that arises and carries through the end of the drydown, which I *think* is musk (a scent I don’t have much experience of). Later on I get some kind of dried green note — the patchouli? The longevity of this development is about four hours, followed by at least a couple more of the quite soft, lovely, gentle leather/skin scent that wears very close to the body. At 8+ hours the lilies are back, now over very soft suede. I find myself addictively smelling my arms while this whole thing goes down. I love it. I think Luca Turin has missed a trick in dismissing all the “ards” of French perfumery as simplistic and touristy — Molinard’s Cuir, for one, is fabulous.

Spectacular...!!! A surprise for sure. IMO, this is what I would call a "lavender leather"...???....I at some point feel and sense the other notes in this as well.Just enough nut meg and lily spice...and I think the verbena is the mystery note that adds that certain "somethin' else". I, personally,don't get Oud in the traditional sense,but that is just fine. This scent goes thru phases on my skin,inviting you to experience ALL the notes is some way. This is a clue to it being quality blending,IMO.I also get a smokey/insense-y vibe like others have mentioned. I can't say that it "smells similar" to anything I have...but if I HAD to guess/choose something,I would say Issey Miyake Or Encens in "vibe" only. This one has decent sillage/projection...smooth...too. Thumbs UP !!!

This 'single note' Molinards in the purple bottles really hit for me. I have several, and they seem to occupy a space between niche and designer that works for me. All have longevity but aren't beast mode. Wearing Cuir today on a nice late fall day in California - soft, spicy, a bit 'fuzzy' - very pleasing. Nicely blended - I can pick out the notes but nothing overpowers. I love how different a 'leather' scent can feel depending on the mix. I love Chanel's, Knize 10, Lalique's, this one - all very different.

A beautifully complicated, intriguing interpretation of leather with pricks of spice. To me it smells reassuring and masculine, but I am a woman and I love to wear it just so that I can experience the fragrance myself throughout the day. It wasn't immediately addictive for me but soon became one of the scents that I crave.