Cuirlilas

Iris leather. Refined and feral. Agree with Whackyjack's review that mentioned "cuir de russie". Whereas Chanel Cuir de Russie is a luxurious suede, Cuirlilas is an oppulently perfumed leather. Stunning. Having sampled a few Sultan Pasha attars, there is a thread of opulence, sensuality, and emotionality as well as notes that feel Middle Eastern or Indian in style, even in perfumes inspired by western styles. I love the creativity and lack of loud aromachemicals, both of which are increasingly rare.

Before I got into fragrance, this is what I’d have imagined a ‘Cuir de Russie’ to smell like. Waves of thick leather, booming purple flowers, powder and hide. It’s my favourite Sultan scent, and one of my favourite perfumers ever. Regal florals, an incredibly dense and guttural castoreum, and Sultan’s signature honeyed, resinous backdrop, all blended along with a turn of the century powder - the kind I imagine the ladies of the aristocracy plushed themselves up with before attending the grand balls of St Petersburg. It’s a perfect scent because of the assurance of the blending. Each aspect is just so on point; the flowers, the beaver, the honey, the powder. When my partner wears it, she smells like Anna Karenina. When I wear it, I’m Vronsky.

Cuirlilas is very creamy and smooth. In the opening the florals hit you hard. Extremely purple smelling and nicely powdery and leathered. New leather, not worn vintage leather. Turns more ambery as it dries. I prefer the dry down. Overall a staple in my collection. There is a feeling of gas station hand soap BUT I feel the quality of the sandalwood and florals is so clearly evident that the whole is more than the sum of the parts. An animalic + a dark tobacco/plum note comes out on my skin an hour in that smells very distinctive and enjoyable even if slightly synthetic in feel. Like all the other attars I have tried the blending immediately feels impeccable on the first swipe you can tell this is made with care and attention to detail

A floral animalic leather. Once the attar touches my skin, I immediately detect the castoreum with its phenolic dirty leathery nuances. There is an overdose of castoreum in this fragrance. However, this is a balanced by a big dose of innocent floral notes, you will not get jasmine or tuberose with their indolic characters but you will get sweet lilac, rich ylang-ylang absolute and powdery heliotrope. In addition, even though orris root is listed, I almost get iris with its sweet powdery character not the cold woody orris. The fragrance gets more leathery and balsamic once the floral notes start fading.

Musky, leathery and purple. Love it! It does come across as a few of this other attars, but that doesn't detract from the fact that this is a wonderfully dark scent. It's beautiful and brings a tear my eye, that good.