Cuir de l'Aigle Russe

Cuir de l'Aigle Russe is a carefully tilted silk hat, a monocle, a May rose boutonnière, and bright tweeds. It's as delightfully stuffy as a high stiff collar, powdered, starched, fussily floral and divine. It swings its gilded stick as it walks through a lavender field, pondering the bees and butterflies. Geranium imparts a Beau Brummel grace and coolness, and a wormwood and benzoin mingle, rendering a birch beer flavor to the affair. This all sits on a plangent sonorous styrax and celadon-hued leather, with a pinch of olibanum resin, baby powder dry and castille soap soft, feeling almost melancholy, as if exposing vulnerability beyond the pomp and circumstance. It is as modern as a pocket watch and it lays before us the sands of time through scent, decades and decades past us, coming back to haunt and seduce, begging for us not to erase but to embrace. Those who appreciate antiquated delights such as Hammam Bouquet, Floris No. 89, Mouchoir de Monsieur, will be in rapture. I adore it.

Herbal, aromatic, and soapy at the start; quickly joined by a tad dirty, vintage-like note (which I love). Once again, I can clearly detect this house’s DNA here. Given the “Russian leather” concept, I expected something more tarry and leathery, but what I got is much softer. The leather impression here likely comes from a blend of labdanum, immortelle, and styrax, because that’s exactly the vibe I get. Whatever it is, I find it irresistibly appealing; this might be my second FBW bottle from the house. Sophisticated, nostalgic, and wonderfully soft. It’s so cozy and enveloping. Perfectly balanced, neither too warm nor too cool, making it truly four-season wearable. In the drydown, a warm tonka/vanilla/benzoin facet emerges with a powdery nuance, ending on a clean yet sensual musk. I’m very sensitive to lavender (not in a good way) and extremely picky about it but here, the lavender is beautifully blended. Tag(s): nostalgic, soapy but dirty, russian-leather vibes, cozy

Opens as a bright, pungent, fresh, geranium-rose with a dry slightly spicy herbal underpinning. The lavender is a slow reveal. Once I recognized it for what it was, I was almost surprised. I knew it was supposed to be there, but the opening is so powerful, the transition so unexpected; it's surprising in a good way, every time. It dries down into a sweet, warm, and comforting skin scent, with a nearly human-animalic undertone. I can sense traces of other Legrand scents in this one. The leather pissy-ness of Peau d’Espagne, here much subdued, is present deep down in the opening. And the drydown is like a distant cousin of that found in Scotch Lavender, with, ironically, a longer lasting lavender. Very well done!

I love this! I love any scent that is full of smokey, musky, ambery rich goodness. I just love Legrand's whole vintage vibe that encompasses the range. Not only are the bottles beautifully vintage-styled but the fragrances themselves are so convincingly vintage and many dry-down with a lovely powderiness that is so much in the vintage oeuvre. If I could afford it, I'd buy one of each bottle they produce. I would recommend to any vintage frag hound getting a sample set - available on the Bay and 1ml individual vials on Luckyscent - and sniff your way through the range. You will certainly find many, like this one, that will trip your vintage trigger.

It is indeed a cracking scent. On me it is sort of Shalimar with the leather amped up and no vanilla. Not surprisingly quite resinous with a little warmth from the labdanum and rose. The perfect amount of kick from the lavender and geranium. A touch of pepper. It is very well blended so not easy to identify notes. I would agree with the comparison with Madam Jolie. I'm not usually one for the leather note but it is reined in a bit with all the resin and floral notes. Perfectly unisex. I feel kinda sophisticated when I wear this beauty. I take more care with my attire. Moderate sillage and longevity.