Suede

Suede is big, butch & a little bit dirty - It's a thick, meaty and unapologetic leather & I adore everything about it! It's quite unique in just how realistic it smells - It's rugged, dry and there isn't really any sweetness, it's like breathing in a 'new' leather hide, so I can kind of understand why some people say that this is 'challenging', as leather is often presented as sweetened up or cleaned and polished - like a new pair of boots or a car seat - and if Suede smelt any more raw & natural than it does, it would be mooing! To me, Suede is beautiful & evocative - and there's something about it that I find quite sensual. It should probably make think of tanneries, leather stores - anything along those lines, but instead it takes me away to a hazy land of dreams and memories. I'm at a beach party at the end of Summer, there's a barbecue in the distance and I'm drinking & chain-smoking, sitting around the bonfire, watching the tide come in, the night air filled with smoke & the moon is high, full and bright. I open up another new packet of cigarettes, snatching away that silver tab and I'm welcomed by that first burst of fresh, unlit cigarettes - I breathe it in deeply and let that intoxicating aroma fill my lungs. I'm flirting with a cute guy that I've just met & as the night draws on, he offers me his leather biker jacket to protect me from the evening chill, I'm not cold - but I accept it anyway and he places it over my shoulders, I snuggle into him & into that oversized jacket, nestling into it like a newfound sanctuary; His smell on the collar, the thickness of the leather, the warmth of the fire - all wrap me up in hopes and desires that run wild & untamed, the thoughts of what may come; I lean in closer and whisper into his ear...

Extremely intoxicating combination of suede base with bias to leather, with some faint degree of singeing, and the lightest amount of sweetness to combine all the notes together--it marries with a smooth but alluring tobacco facet. Funnily enough, I had smelled something exactly this, probably something like leather/rubber synthetic footwear many years ago, so I guess there's that (albeit an odd smell for a garment--starting to think a vintage perfume has done this profile before). Either way, I'm a big fan of leather/rubber scents, but even though this didn't hit the marks that I was going for, it was certainly a nostalgic kind of fragrance (in an intimate way). Would wear everyday, has good projection, silage, and longevity. I'm not here to tell you a woman couldn't wear this, but this isn't really a "run of the mill" kind of fragrance--it's not really distinctly sweet in that regard, but to each their own. This develops into a more vanilla bias over time, but it's still really subtle that the main notes I had discussed still stand out.

[Suede] ⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚪️ DRY - ROUGH - ANIMALIC Suede is a dry leather and isn’t forgiving in the slightest. The main theme for me is castoreum which really contributes to the dryness and minimal sweetness. The fragrance is gruff and intense. There’s a lot of texture too as though I’m running my fingers along the grain with all of the imperfections. The smoke here isn’t dense but comparable to that of a nearby bonfire where the breeze has carried the smoke across to your open window. It could have easily dominated the whole composition but it doesn’t. It’s controlled and adds another dimension to the leather. It is another great release from Rook which hasn’t diminished in quality or scent at all since it’s re-release and reformulation. It is as seamless as it ever was.

You just got home from a wild night in the club. You spent some time outside chilling, everyone around you was smoking. You put away your vintage leather jacket and you smell the night you have passed, fading away before bedtime. This is what's about. The best leather+tobacco perfume by far I ever tried.

When I lived in Zambia as a kid, I remember regularly eating a spicy, meatless, bologna-like snack called chikanda. This is SO reminiscent of that. This is why I love niche perfumery - this is so experimental and unique

Oh man, this one opens up harsh! Very overpowering suede and tobacco mixed with smoke. Definitely off-putting for most people, but just hang in there. This one sweetens up a lot and the suede and tobacco turns into something truly gorgeous. This is like wearing Tom Ford's Tuscan Leather and smoking a fine cigar. Very lovely. Really, really smoky and leathery. If you don't like the sound of that, steer clear of this. Longevity of about 5 hours, projection 1-2ft for 3 hours. I give this one a 5/10. Sadly I have knocked off a load of points for these reasons: - People that I've introduced this one to REALLY hate this one. - Versatility is extremely low. Not a warm weather fragrance. Cold winter days only. - Performance is slightly below par for the type of fragrance it is. Also, considering the price of £99 for 50ml, you'd expect a few more hours at least.

On skin this starts out dry, with lots of leather and smoke (think campfire). The first time I wore it I got a very slight medicinal smell at the opening. but I didn’t notice that the second time that I wore the fragrance. Shortly after the opening, the tobacco starts to come through, and it is a very sweet and wet tobacco. It creates a very nice juxtaposition to the drier opening of Suede. As it wears the smoke transitions a bit to more of a slightly ashy smell all the while maintaining the warmness of the leather and the sweetness of the wet tobacco. Although the opening of the fragrance is quite intense, the dry down is very smooth and very sexy. There are no wood notes listed, however I get some type of wood or vetiver in the dry down (maybe even oakmoss). The notes are VERY realistic smelling. There is nothing synthetic smelling about this fragrance, which I really appreciate. The performance on this fragrance is FANTASTIC; this fragrance will last until you wash it off. In my opinion this leans masculine, however the sweetness of the tobacco really balances it out. I definitely think a woman can wear it; I’m going to of course wear it! This is PERFECT for cold weather, as it does have a warm and smoky element.

Smells like a vintage car with leather seats that has been smoked in. Not an unpleasant smell, but hard to pull off unless you're a gruffy older man. If you've ever smelled an old leather jacket that belonged to a chain smoker, this is that smell. Very well done as a perfume, but not something I can imagine people wanting to smell like. The tail end is much more pleasant though, but other leather fragrances beat it

Definitely not a crowd pleaser, but the drastic change from start to finish is crazy! Heavy, dirty, wet “leather”. Almost still with the flesh on it, meaty, but not rank. Like grill smoke. Wait about 30 mins bc it changes so much though! A cold very slightly wet, slightly sweet, realistic leather, 100%. Very wearable if you can make it past the harsh opening. Not full bottle worthy for me

Supercharged leather smell, strong and lasts well. I'm not into strong leather frags as it tends to overwhelm everything else to my nose so definitely too powerful and literal leather for me to pull off; I do appreciate the skill to create it but not for me. If you're into Ombre Leather or similar it might be worth a try.

Edit: my daughter said it smells like smoked ham. Now it cannot be unfelt. This has way too negative reviews! I find it very interesting, it's a non sweet tervaleijona... Beautiful!

This is real leather smell, amped up to 100. Strong smoky leather and suede, light tobacco. Too strong for me.

Something slightly farty about the smell. Similar to Calvin Klein’s Obsession. I’m afraid it’s not for me.

I had been on the look out for a pleasing smoky fragrance for quite some time so I decided to try a sampler trio of Rook perfumes as they all seemed to lean toward that olfactory property. Unfortunately they were not for me at all. Suede, of the three, was easily the worst. It smells to me like a chemical fire in a medicine cabinet and I had to scrub it almost as soon as I applied it to my skin. Despite doing this I still got a few raised eyebrows when I met my folks later in the day as they asked me what I'd been up to to smell so strangely. I found the perfume extremely harsh and the people I was around later were perturbed even by the lingering residue despite my best efforts to remove it. I'm not a lover of overtly challenging scents like this as you have to consider others as well as yourself when wearing something so uncompromising. A big no from me for this one.

I must have owned around 150 fragrances on over thirty years and truthfully, to greater or lesser degrees, I have enjoyed virtually all of them. However, Suede is a definite exception and by far the least appealing fragrance I have ever tried. Having had my interest piqued by Rook I ordered the discovery sample set. Certainly most are highly unusual scents and likely to be an acquired taste. Suede however, is simply hideous - imagine the smell of a used ashtray left over from the night before and you have this. Obviously it's subjective but I can't imagine how anyone would want a fragrance to smell like this. The other Rook fragrances are unique, adventurous and worth investigating to see if they appeal but I would strongly recommend avoiding Suede at all costs.

More from my Rook Discovery Set. I hated this. Reminds me of barbecue potato chips, latex and chloraseptic. I am pretty into leather fragrances usually but this one just isn't my thing.

Back in the 70s, I was out on my motorcycle, riding back from London when, just as I passed Coventry, I saw the signs for Meriden. So, I turned off from my journey and came to find myself, sitting outside the old Triumph factory, as I hit the motorbike's kill switch. The Triumph factory was quite a sight to see in those days. A big stand up sign on the factory roof with 'Triumph Motorcycles' on it, like you sometimes see in old 1950s American movies. All the flags of the world flying from the roof, where Triumph exported their bikes to - and, boy, there were a lot. I looked through the wrought iron gates with 'Triumph Motorcycles' set in the old, many times painted iron, to the factory beyond, and I thought, "One day, I'm going to own one of those bikes." I recounted this story to my brother, one time, and he replied, "That'd make a great story, if you'd said you were going to buy the factory!" I did, however, buy a Triumph motorcycle; a T140 Bonneville, to be precise, and I bought a Lewis Leathers lancer jacket in black, the only colour you could buy in those days. And sometimes, after a ride through autumn weather, where last summer's leaves scurried across smoky roads like packs of mice, I'd come home and garage my bike and put my Lewis Leathers jacket away. And the next time I took that jacket out, it would greet me with a smell of leather, and exhaust smoke and the open road, beckoning me to the streets again. Suede, by Rook perfumes, is about as close as I can get to evoking the smell of that old, black leather, smoky, motorcycle jacket, and a chance for me to relive a few memories of times past.

The opening is ghastly. A gag-inducing cloud of birch tar, charred ham and turpentine. After 20 minutes it softens into a realistic, rugged leather and campfire scent, with hints of warm, powdery vanillic sweetness. At this point it reminds me of Anubis by Papillon Artisan. If you like this kind of thing, go with Anubis instead, because the opening is far more accessible.