Suede et Safran

When my Mum was young she loved Bandit. What a great start for a story ! :) Actually, the smell from my childhood which I associate with Mum is Calèche - but her inner self, her nature was rather Bandit though. I can't say about my Mum "when she grew old" - she never did - but, anyway, I sprayed a new rendition of Bandit on her receintly - she said "A bit similar !" Sorry for this sentimental part - a perfume is not just a smell, it's an idea ! The idea behind this absolutely wonderful Nishane fragrance is "stop mourning about great vintage, look around". Here we are - since vintage Bandit smells of whatever now, modern Bandit smells of anything a little bit similar, here we come - SUEDE et SAFRAN. Suede is really suede - soft and gentle, not leather at all, like often happens with other perfumes - suede turns into leather sooner than you have a chance to really enjoy it. Saffron is quite subtle, I can hardly discern it but caraway, ginger and even coriander (secret component, not mentioned by creators) play bass guitar and drums, when the suede is the lead vocalist, of course ! I realise that some old fashioned flower bouquet is missing compared with the old Bandit but it is substituted by tantalisingly tangy spice bouquet - surprise-surprise, nowadays spice shops are places for inspiration like flower shops used to be ages before and up the 20th century. Anyway - when I send SUEDE et SAFRAN to my Mum - she said "That's the Bandit I remember !" I know, it's not the best way to describe a great perfume through comparisson to the legend, but life goes on and legends for the future are being created today, now - and no doubts - this fragrance has pretty fat chances to be one of them !

@Petrichor - you nail it. Great review btw. I second many people after digging in to the reviews in the community. I bought ambre loup by rania j off twisted Lilly and let them know if they send samples I am really in to leather scents right now and to send me their best leather samples. This was obviously one of them. My first and immediate thought was Tuscan Leather clone. Then I put it on my left hand in generous proportion. Still Tuscan Leather..then I noticed it started to get a little sweet. So I looked up the notes. Ambre tote mixed with saffron and ginger make for a real real interesting composition. It's like a floral sweetness or a super fresh sweetness. Not cloying surgar at all. I need a little more time with this fragrance as this is just a first impression. But with how much hype TL gets, I think this should at least get some attention. I got to be honest, and don't care what anyone says or if I get any balloons and I say that bc I don't like Tuscan Leather. I do like this though. It's bc of the slight sweet and fresh undertones this has. TL is too in your face and strong like. I really like this fragrance. They are both about the same price, this being a little more. It only comes in 50ml and its $230.00. If you are a fan of very high end high quality leather scents with excellent longevity and projection, you would be missing out if you didn't sample this fragrance. If you tried to like Tuscan leather but just thought it was a little to harsh or something was a little off, you have to try this. I think we got so,etching here guys. This isn't CH for men leather, this is very refined all natural high end leather.

Suede et Safran from Nishane is best discovery of this year for me. I was hesitating to buy this one for few reasons: lack of reviews and some reviews says about animalic/gasoline notes which I’m not a big fan of. I risked it and when it was available I blind bought this bottle dressed in black & gold which by the way looks incredible. For me this is hidden gem of entire Nishane collection. Secret here to make the fragrance work for you is cold weather and max 2 sprays. Juice is extremely potent, it’s nothing for beginners but it’s very well blended. It has only few but very powerful notes. Some may find first 30minutes very challenging and initial opening is very strong (I spray 30min before going out). Starts with beautiful saffron smell (to me is similar saffron they use in Colognise) coupled with Ginger. After 5minutes leathery suede sneaks into componsition and starts to play main role until end – whole artistic performance of this fragrance takes around 12 hours and on clothes lasts days. I absolutely love this fragrance and to me there’s nothing animalic I would dislike. It’s all about leather, suede, slightly medicinal saffron and bitterness that makes whole composition addictive to me and keeps me sniffing my clothes or skin where I sprayed it. This is absolutely for winter-cold weather only and silage and performance is amazing. To me is very masculine fragrance. So happy I followed my instinct and bought this gem! Well done Nishane!

It's like Ombré Leather, but smoother and less smoky. It's like Tuscan Leather, but again, smoother, and with saffron instead of raspberry. I think it's much better than both - stronger, longer lasting, and not taking prisoners trying to make it a bit more mass appealing. All the notes smell much more natural and realistic. The ambrette note reminds me of Dior Homme Intense, but these fragrances are not similar. The saffron is very potent, as strong as leather, especially for the first 5 hours. You can imagine a longer lasting, stronger and more natural Tuscan, but less Tom Ford style and much, much more oriental, natural and spicy style. Some say there's a gasoline note, I don't get that. If you hate caroway like me don't worry, I don't get that either. Presentation is great. Beautiful packaging, very, very heavy cap. I'd like a better atomizer, like the one in Toy Boy

Wow!!!! What a criminally underrated fragrance! This is hands down the best blind buy of my life. Imagine a better version of Tuscan Leather... and yes, I know what you're thinking... but that's possible! Suède et Safran smells even richer, rounder, more natural, and it lasts forever! It's also a bit "dryer" at the beginning, but it becomes creamier in the dry down. I'm completely blown away! Got a great discount on it and... oh boy, I'm so glad I pulled the trigger! If you can get it at a discounter or with a friend, don't hesitate for a minute!!! Not that unique, but one of the best fragrances I've ever smelled - although I understand it can be polarizing. You have to love saffron and suede. Definitely not for the faint of heart!