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.

Surprisingly lovely. Old old style by choice. A dry leather and rich lavande, sitten on amber, tonka, patchouly, rose&geranium, resins and spicies and balsamic and aromatics herbs. Moscow Concert. The eagle (l'aigle) fly on Jicky, Mouchoir de Monsieur and Hammam Bouquet. That family of dandy lavenders. Love.

I get a lot of shaving foam and spicy warm notes from this perfume. It's warm, dry, and I don’t really pick up any of the florals. After the dry-down it almost smells like baby powder, which I love. Couldn’t recommend enough! 9/10

It's a powdery citrus lavender fragrance, another fragrance in Cuir de russe category.

1892 was a year of empires, part of The Golden Age when aristocrats flourished and opulence was the order of the day. It was also the year when Oriza L. Legrand released a leather fragrance designed to appeal to its imperial Russian clients. Mr. Lambert, owner and nose of the brand, opted not to use the name "Cuir de Russie" as it was suceptible to litigation and went for Cuir de L'Aigle Russe (Leather of the Russian Eagle). As a natter of fact, the Russian imperial coat of arms bears an eagle. When I sprayed it the very first time I was taken by surprise as I did not detect any "Russian leather", but what a surprise: bracingly aromatic, bitter, and, on occasion, medicinal in its first hours, the fragrance opens on my skin with forceful clouds of pungently herbal lavender, bitter geranium, and sharp, icy, bergamot lemon, all infused with a ton of soapy, clean musk. There is no leather, no floralcy, and no ambered softness. It is clearly designed to evoked a Vintage barbershop place A dusty, musty spice bouquet pops up on the sidelines a few minutes later, followed by a cedar-ish woodiness. The overall, total effect is bitter, pungent, bracing, musty, sometimes sour, and bears the sharpness of a razor: it is something that my great-grandfather would have wore. FANTASTIC! At times I am submersed with a certian baby powder note (the same you may encounter in vintage Gold Man or vintage Hammam Bouquet). But the very interesting part is the use of cade (juniper) that for me stems from the base; it smells simply of musty woods that are bear an occasional, sometimes nebulous, smokiness. Cuir de l’Aigle Russe’s woody undercurrent is further accentuated when the patchouli rears its head 5 minutes in, adding to overall sense of mustiness. The vetiver follows it shortly thereafter. The fragrance is slowly growing spicier, but it’s not merely the patchouli. It starts to feel as though there were a heaping amount of pungent, dusty cloves added in as well, creating a medicinal quality that goes in tandem with the bitterness of the geranium and the trenchant, powerful lavender. n the base, the cade occasionally sends out vaguely leathery, smoky wisps to curl around the aromatic top notes, but it continues to resemble dusty, dry woods above all else. in the drydoqn tonka and amber will intervine to fight the medicinal felling of the fragrance making it golden and warm. IG @alexolympia6

Good old oriental. Opens with a rose-geraniol, aromatic lavender top note with some citrus, and then goes into an oriental ambery base. A bit feminine. The amber goes vanillic, a bit musky. On skin it’s sweet, slightly sticky, even a touch dirty. Subtle, not loud. Overall it stays sweet and round, with a vibe of benzoin, furry musk, some coumarin, vanilla, and that geranium citronellol thread that runs through and keeps things from going flat. Nothing groundbreaking, but nicely executed.

This actually reminds me of an amped up Jolie Madame by Balmain, I get the same "green leather" feeling. I actually expected to see birch listed as a note. I guess that's just a trick of the brain.

Not doing a full review yet, but this is much more similar to vol de nuit than to shalimar. I dont get any resemblance to shalimar actually

As a collector of vintage perfumes as well as current, this perfume definitely falls easily into a vintage category as do quite a few of Oriza L. Legrand perfumes which is why I love this house. I was expecting a leather perfume and this is not that to my nose. It changes a lot from the opening to the mid for me. I get a classic soft but powerful floral opening in the older style, then it becomes a clean, spicy soapy scent, somewhat ambery with a hint of bitterness. This is the first perfume I have actually smelled the "blue cheese" note. I believe this is the wormwood as that is a bitter herb. I smell this note through the rest if the dry down which makes it not a favorite personally, however, it may not be something others identify in the same way. I was surprised people smell Shalimar or Jolie Madame in this. I do not, but we all have our own associations. It's still very beautiful if not something I would wear.

Cuir de l'Aigle Russe Oriza L. Legrand (USD75) I am speechless when I first applied a bottle of Cuir de L'Aigle Russe on my skin. I was doubtful about the barrier of Fougere, Chypre, Fern and Barbershop. These are high fluidity olfactive when I start dig deeper in the genre. "I ask myself often, how to actually classify these scents" I know this could be easily describe as "Gentleman" fragrance. And it sure right, but I am just so specific what I want to wear. I found my answer in a bottle of Cuir de L'Aigle Russe. Not only the understanding, but the rendition of another whole fragrance Genre. "Cuir de Russie" ===== - Reserve for scent description part - ===== I know now that these gentleman fragrances can be push as far as being "leather" fragrance. In the more modern direction. It a cut on certain part of this and recreate another fragrance. "The Chypre", " The Fougere", "The Leather", "The Soapy Aldehyde". It depends on which aspects you would like to work on and reinterpretation them for the market. For the fragrance that so precision, you understand clearly by the sniff And enjoy the ride with scent. You unlock uncertain. I found this, really close to "English Leather" by MEM. (Which originally want to name "Russian Leather") I have a vintage from 1965 - an all propose lotion. This is somewhat close. By time, it starts to be maundered. Oriza Legrand still crisp, clean, precision. Make me smile when I applied and enjoy the ride. That's.. that more than enough to be a really really good fragrance. One of my top purchase of the year. ----- Extension 1 on 17 July 2026,, So I re-visit this today, year and a half after my initial question. Still a great ride. particularly - this. I might just wanna humbly share that.. this is front and foremost. A gentlemen fragrance. yes, and it is bygone era. let's me explain. Traditionally, a leather style fragrance (which; a part of older olfactive : Leather which also part of Chypre family), as you know. apart from Bergamot top, Labdanum and Oakmoss base. the heart and other support can be put into any direction. A Leather Chypre, was predominantly interpreted 3 way. Plus some important leather ingredients in this cade oil was use. (1) : As Ylang Ylang and take Cuir de Russie current of route. (2) : As Birch Tar and take on Cuir de Espange route (which now, a very few house carry). here, is in the most gentleman and Fougere Centric way. (3) : English Leather, all - and yes a Fougere way.. You may think, the faaq? why? because Fougere is roughly request Oak moss, Lavender and Coumarin (and Carly Sage to an extend) but it never require any structural like Chypre. So yeap. Fougere can tenchically inside a Chypre fragrance. Resulting in an English Leather style or in this case "Cuir de l'Aigle Russe" After the name war and messy style cross over, English leather is never gone but instead. Integrate into Homme style fragrance of later era but in fragment not a full interpretation. Cade oil are still use for English Leather style fragrance. --- To verify is it an English leather, looking for strong coumarin tone, on Lavender material slowly with some bitter Leather like, labdanum - Oakmoss quality. that is a key to English leather Like Bois de Portugal, or Tangee Forest. or TF Fougere Collection. is a reinterpretation from this. Jicky is leans into more Fougere style (it don't have strong chypre quality) or a more modern interpretation Chanel Boy. So when you sniff this. I wish you register that this is slightly different. Genre is really a fun little concept, isn't it?

Leather of the Russian Eagle If that name conjures up something grandly tsaric, so be it. ...Just don't let it remind you of anything like a modern leather accord. Leather in perfumery meant something different a century ago, (The formula for Cuir de l'Aigle Russe dates from 1892) Often such old leathers suggested something redolent of birch tar, ...but this perfume is nothing like that either! (If you want a tarry vintage leather, try Peau dEspagne, also by Oriza L. Legrand) Even as a fantasy, I'm not sure why the idea of 'leather' is being invoked. So what does Cuir de l'Aigle Russe smell like? Mostly a soft blend of herbs, spices, and woods, lightly sweetened with rose and amber. The aromatic herbs lend the most distinction, but it all stays blended together. (No, this is nothing nearly as strong or pungent as Shalimar) Overall, this is a gently soothing daydream of a scent. Yes, a tsar might wear it, ...but probably on a quiet day off; more likely wearing suede and satin slippers, than leather boots.

On my décolletage the last place I imagine to be is in the barber shop chair. For me the dry down consists of supple resins, dusty powder, an underlying dark opulent patchouli & labdanum elixir, mellowed by tame fur. A loving household pet, not a perverted beast. This was originally one I ignored, yawn, no interest in smelling like clean Russian skin. I didn’t expect much from the accords and lack of reviews. But lucky me my mother pawned off her sample, I was pleasantly surprised for this to become my new favorite from the house.

Opens up very red berry fruity and proceeds to become more powdery with tuberose and lily of the valley being dominant to my nose. After about 1-2 hours all there's left is creamy vanilla with touches of ylang, patchouli warmth and civet. Very nice but was expecting proper old school leather fragrance and there's none of that here in my opinion. Then again, I can't find any of the listed notes so maybe my sample is mislabeled!

Oh, that little leather—half vintage and well-groomed, half animalic. It has presence, a slight acidity, and a somewhat powdery feel. I was expecting a bitter, brown leather with that damned asparagus note I so despise—but no, it’s been beautified. I find it quite easy to wear. Too bad the drydown brings out a lemon balm/citronella scent on my skin (while on my husband, not at all!). I’ll pass on this one.

Vintage, powdery kind of bubblegum/candy sweet florals. If you like Jardins, you will like this, it has a similiar scent profile. It is quite loud and gives me a bit of a headache as it is quite a mix of notes and you can smell all of them to different degrees. Not my cup of tea, same as Jardins, they are both too busy/loud for me and just a touch too vintage in a way I am not a fan of.

You collect fancy bar soaps. You have an antique Victorian porcelain dish where you keep your soap collection. Every morning you unpack a new piece of soap and lather your hands, face, and neck with it. It feels so fresh and envigorating and charges you with a sense of cleanliness for the rest of the day.

Leather constructed by nature, I suppose, since leather itself isn't in the notes. Someone said "green leather" and I agree.It could also smell like NEW leather that has been polished and cleaned. Could almost be "new car smell" if it wasn't so grassy (this might be the immortelle).

Scent - geranium & baby powder musk. Season/Time of Day - I prefer to use this one in the colder months, during the day. Projection - I did get noticed, it garners compliments. Longevity - I get 8hrs consistently.

to my nose there is a hint of citrus in the top then a soft leather with lots of amber and a hint of floral; a skin scent that reminds me of Histoires de Parfums

Very lavendery, reminds me Yardley Soap of English Lavender. For me its very soapy. The bottle is charming. Its in my list to buy it one day.