Cuir de Lancome

3 Reviews

1. 

   holisticVenison6

   Reply

   I was trying to find a more accessible and less expensive alternative to Chanel’s Cuir de Russie. I was eager to try Cuir de Lancome based on the great reviews. The beautiful opening which validated all of the accolades only served to make the contrasting cheap and synthetic drydown so shocking and disappointing. I will keep searching but perhaps there is no comparison or replacement for Chanel’s Cuir. I just wish the Chanel were longer lasting…

2. 

   boredBuzzard9

   Reply

   I won’t even try to equal all the eloquent – bordering on poetic – descriptions by other posters here. Let me just give you the word that immediately came to my mind when I spritzed this on: elegant. This is a very elegant perfume. It’s a very subtle leather, which suits me fine because I’m not too keen on smelling SO leathery that I remind those around me of a shoe store, or something.

   I’ve been wanting to try this for a long time because I’m going back to the classics as I am getting increasingly tired of new perfumes that smell practically all the same. Also, I don’t like scents that are too flowery or too fruity (I’m not keen on smelling like a bowl of fruit salad, either). I consider those much too unsophisticated. The problem was always the price. Then I found this (which usually retails for $125) for a very available $34 at a website where I usually get genuine brands for unbelievable prices (case in point). So I decided to buy it unsniffed (which is rare for me). Oh, how glad I am I did! And yes, it
   s the real thing. This scent is very feminine. More soft, expensive suede than leather. And the floral notes are just enough to make it lovely, but not cloying. I particularly get the saffron. On my skin, it dries down to a very sexy, earthy, mossy, woody smell. As I said, a very elegant scent. It talks to me of refinement, good taste, and understated luxury. Now what could be better than that?

   Now I’m hunting for the rest of the collection: Magie, Sikkim, Climat (which I used to wear when I was young), Sagamore, and Mille & Une Roses. My reliable website does not carry them, worse luck. If I find them, I bet they’re going to cost a fortune. 🙁

3. 

   ecstaticPretzels2

   Reply

   Given the hype , I was skeptical when I first tried Cuir de Lancôme, but I’m happy to be proven wrong. One wearing, and it’s up there in my leather pantheon with Chanel’s Cuire de Russie, Knize Ten, Cuir Pleine Fleur, Bandit, Derby, Oud Cuir d’Arabie, and Eau d’Hermès. That said, what were the folks at Lancôme thinking? They (re?)introduce one of the most compelling leather scents on the market, and then distribute it so erratically that nobody can actually purchase it. I see no point.

   I find Cuir de Lancôme decidedly animalistic from the very start, with a well-integrated civet note no less apparent than that found in Chanel’s Cuir de Russie.

   Smoky, animalistic leather and bergamot dominate the top notes. They soon receive support from a reserved floral bouquet that reveals flashes of jasmine and crisp rose among an otherwise seamlessly blended accord. Cuir de Lancôme employs iris in its central leather accord, not the plush-bordering-on-indulgent iris root of Cuir de Russie. The result is a dry, woody, smoky leather accord that’s very much a thing unto itself. .

   The dry down leans heavily on woody notes, enlivened by a discreet touch of herbaceous patchouli. I’d further point out that moss is no more apparent here than heavy amber, so that Cuir de Lancôme eschews chypre references just as effectively as oriental leanings. I only hope that someday Lancôme will see fit to make it more widely available. In the meantime, I’ve just ordered myself a backup bottle.