701 Leather & Vetiver

N.C.P. Olfactives is a Swedish house that has produced a sprawling line of perfumes in a familiar vein (Leather & Oud, Incense & Musk, etc.). While this approach is standard niche practice these days, the marketing still managed to make me roll my eyes; the website advocates for this as an "amazing fragrance for that bold night out” while classifying it as an oriental. Personally, I’m still waiting for the amazing fragrance for a bold day in. However, my interest was piqued when I saw it was composed by Yann Vasnier whose compositions have rarely failed me. I’ve noticed that when niche brands hire a master like Vasnier, the perfumer often delivers a "director’s cut" of a concept that was previously neutered by corporate accountants at a major house. Combine Vasnier's DNA with Leather & Vetiver, and I had to try. This is a variation indeed, but not of one of Vasnier’s perfumes. In reality, this is a beautiful homage to Cartier’s Declaration. It sits comfortably between Declaration Essence and Declaration Parfum being neither as animalic as the former nor as balsamic as the latter. It carries that signature "crackly" cedarwood-leather accord but strips away the heavier spice. It’s smoother and more restrained than the Parfum version, avoiding the loud wood-amber elements that can sometimes feel intrusive. In other words, a rich, wholesome, and debonair variation that remains consistent through the dry down. Simply wonderful. (p.s. The brand provides a sample with your order and prompts you to try that first. If it’s not to your liking, you can return the unopened full-size box.)

I have had a couple of bottles of this before. I know which notes the perfume has, yes, but all I can say is that the perfume smells like a hot thermal spa on the European continent! I mean... really, these thermal bath that contain high level of minerals and salts. I just do love it! It has a really relaxing, uplifting natural scent, kind of mossy, sweeter but mineralistic as well. A bit leathery ..but in a sense of earthiness.. Not a leather jacket soaked in mineral water. Well balanced Swedish perfume, good for layering. I more like big sillage, extrem longevity.. and this is average in both. But it ́s really easy to take the bottle with me, so.. No problem. The bottle itself is a stylish concept, reminds me of the more elegant side of the 70s.

leather smell lasting ever after even take a bath not that bad scent, but this perfume makes everything around you as 'leather'

I don't get the name. I imagined a "dark" scent when I read 'leather and vetiver'; instead, I got "leather" and no vetiver at all. With all that being said, I think this is a nice offering. What I mostly get is a woody smell, mixed with a powdery vanilla. It smells original, I must say; I never smelled anything like it before. The price is very good also. Will I buy it? No. I wear perfumes for one reason: the way they make me feel. I appreciate the work, but it doesn't give me the right vibe.