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.

It was a blind buy and i like it a lot. I was not expecting to get so much smokyness - at least for me it is the very strong note, but I like it. The only thing that annoys me is the hint of citrusy-lemon thing at the beggining. Longevity is pretty decent. One of the best things you can get at such low price.

This is something special. To my nose, it begins with a harsh smokey leather, but has a transformative journey on the dry down. In becomes increasingly sweet and herbal, settling into something that reminds me of an apple pie. Perfect for this chilly time of year.

I consider this one more an amber fragrance than leather. Amber with sandalwood and spices create a cocoon of comfort. This is the bottle I reach for when I want a fragrant hug. I adore this one.

Got a similar vibe than bentley for men intense maybe a bit toned down though. Mysterious heavy powdery warm concoction. Really reminds me christmas time. Looks like a winner here

I picked this up a few years ago after seeing Gents Scents review. It's a little medicinal in the first 10 minutes after that its absolutely stunning imo. 8/10

Голяма изнедада, предвид отзивите, които изчетох. След първия тест мога да кажа, че е прекрасен, ще допълвам още. Молинар още веднъж ме зарадва

Just warm yourself up to this beauty gently, it's moderately sweet, and a perfect blend of oud, leather, saffron and amber. Lovely.

Ако не сте го пробвали в горещините, не сте усетили истински красотата му. Страхотен!

What a great surprise! The top is leaning masculine. Despite being listed in the base, I get a very nice round, warm oud-ish wood note right at the opening. It's clearly a synthetic oud accord, but more realistic than in other designer fragrances (YSL M7 Oud Absolu or Versace Oud Noir, to cite just a couple). I also spot a shy cacao note in the background, like in L'Instant de Guerlain. Here, Molinard seems to take the same approach as Acqua di Parma, by balancing traditionally warmer/heavier notes with fresh ones: in this case a sharp bergamot, that will keep an aldehydic touch from top to base. Great start! The heart is totally unisex. After 15-30 mins, it morphs toward an excellent ballet of nutmeg, verbena, lavender, chili pepper and saffron, in which each note is individually noticeable (note that black pepper is unaccurately listed in the heart notes instead of chili peppers). The base leans feminine. After an hour, it softens, and the base notes (vanilla, sandalwood and patchouli) give a great impression of suede leather, with a hint of smoke. Women should not be scared to wear that one: despite oud and leather notes are listed in the pyramid, it's not at all a "masculine woody/leather" fragrance (unlike Dior Fahrenheit or TF Tuscan Leather for example). The only drawback (already brought-up by other reviewers) is the very low performance (skin scent after a few minutes, and a 2 hours longevity), and thus the use of moisturizer as well as heavily overspraying with a double-layer is recommended - if not required - to get just a soft/moderate projection and 7 to 9 hours of longevity. This is one of the "I wish it had a better performance" shelf, like Pal Zileri Sartoriale for example... in that hypothetical case, both would have been in the masterpiece category. While Molinard usually targets more the feminine crowds, here it delivers a totally unisex (and fantastic) oud-y/fresh/spicy suede fragrance. At just $40 online, it's a steal! Imo, it's best worn in Spring and Fall, maybe even in moderatly warm summertime, thanks to the bergamot. It may be preferable to pull it off during evenings, but I can totally see women wearing this one also during the day, in office (low projection is a strength in this case). 30+. My first buy from Molinard, and for sure not the last one. Despite the bad performance, congratulations to Célia Lerouge (in-house perfumer and chief executive of Molinard) for this great scent!

Strong leather and slightly smoky up top like a smack to the face. Oud is more detectable sprayed on skin. A little rough and medicinal opening. Light saffron background vibes. In the dry down, the spices start to present themselves though to me never to the spiced apple smell others have mentioned. This is a pretty challenging fragrance leaning more towards niche type scents less the longevity. Smells very different on skin vs paper. On paper its a little less challenging, so definitely try on skin before purchasing. Definitely not blind buy worthy for most and beginners and younger folks will probably not dig like this. The dry down is way better than the opening so give it a chance. I do get the discontinued JV Dark Rebel vibes on the extreme dry down but not 1:1 by any means. I got a really good deal on this at $35 so at that price, its totally worth it, and wouldn't pay retail for this or more than $50. It doesn't smell like anything else i have. Longevity, sillage and projection are just average. If it lasted longer I'd give it a higher score for sure.

Leather is one of my favourite notes. I've been eying with this one for years, and recently took the plunge and bought it blind due to reviews and my everlasting love for leather fragrances. Right, first impressions: - sweeter than expected based on reviews - not as heavy on the leather as expected from reviews - I smell notes different to the pyramid So here's what I get, which is nice, do not get me wrong :) Initially I got a boozy, plum liquor (no plum note, odd). I knew Molinard scents usually take a bit of time on skin to unfold their petals... (Habanita, my fav does too)...now the next phase was something which veered dangerously toward cloves. I love cloves. In food. Not in my perfume. I persisted. Later I was relieved because it was something that I liked...a bit fruity, semi-transparant take on polished, black leather, a bit in the vein of Leather Concentree from Aqua di Parma, just not with raspberries but plums. I still have no idea why I get plums tho. :)

If you are into steampunk, this fragrance is for you :) Brings a strong association with the manufactures, early industries in the second half of the 19th century, working boots, rough and a bit oily leather, prepared for the further manufacturing process (the difference is, there is no dirt or sweat here in this fragrantic manufacture, it is round as if the leather was previously washed with some very neutral soap). I like the experience that this fragrance brings and I have pruchased it. It works quite well on the skin, however, I feel like wearing some vintage photo. It fits perfectly vintage places - I would definitely use it if I would work in some old bookshop, tobacco shop, steampunk cafes (we have one in Vilnius), and museum of old mechanisms. UPD: in colder season it gets milder and brings even the light fruity echo.

I love what the Molinard brand is doing with this line: straightforward scents, masterfully done at an almost laughable price. What's not to like? Cuir is pure leather scent, extremely masculine and dry. It opens with a small citrus spark and quite a bit of nutmeg and chili pepper, but soon becomes a pure leather experience. Oud is a major note here and I'm not a fan but that doesn't mean I cannot appreaciate here. It should be reminded that as mentioned in several review, Cuir is really very dark and deeply smoky, one of darkest deepest smokiest things I've ever smelled... It's a classic leathery masculine scent, but as glitterlust pointed out, no reason for a woman not to use it as a pretty bold statement: it's a strong scent, very assured and self centered, not for the faint of heart and definitely for the oud lovers.

- This is an excellent aromatic oud and leather perfume. I get a blast of oud in the opening, but it quickly retreats to the background while the aromatic facets of the scent come to life. Even though the name is CUIR the leather is shy and lovely enough for a person like me to love. Leather sometimes smells like hyde or the cow rather than a leather purse, which I don't own because animal skins give me the creeps. And now I'm off on a tangent. Returning to the review, the nutmeg and lemon verbena really tame this fragrance. That lemon verbena single handedly freshens and makes this perfume unisex and so beautiful. It's just used so well here. Overall this is a well-done fragrance that will thrill any leather lover who enjoys an intimate scent cloud.

@ ptilda & adrien99 FYI: purple bottles (30 & 75 ml) are for the release in the Elements collection and the mainstream perfume shops, the cylindrical bottles (30 & 90 ml) in clear glass, refillable, are for Molinard's website and shops (Nice, Grasse and now Paris, rue Bonaparte), large refill bottles (250 & 500 ml) are sold regularly on M's website and in their shops.