New Perfume Review: Canoe Skive (Jessica Hannah of J. Hannah Co.) + Easy Rider Draw

Windfromthesea-AndrewWyeth

Winds from the Sea Andrew Wyeth

My husband and I got married last May, in a big red barn next to a wide, rambling house with a wraparound porch.  Behind the barn was a muddy track leading up a long, winding hill.  We exchanged our vows in front of a slight rock wall underneath two scrappy, scraggly rural trees.  The memory of the day when we said our actual vows, along with the accompanying ceremony and reception come at me now like a hazy dream, but I remember how the barn and the house felt.  There was a deep earthiness tramped into the wood and absorbed into the fabric of the upholstered chairs.  Each room had that ancient, almost stuffy scent of many lives lived within its walls.  Okay – not so much a scent as an olfactory shared experience – you couldn’t move through the rooms or stand under the rafters of the barn without breathing in the time spent by all the other folks who had been married there, or who lived in the house, or were born there.

natalie davis jessica hannah skive canoe perfume leather

Jessica Hannah composed Skive for Natalie Davis, owner of Canoe in Austin love of leather working (photos courtesy of Citygrammag.com)

Skive, the new award-winning all natural perfume is a collaboration between leather working company Canoe, and natural perfumer Jessica Hannah (of J. Hannah Co.) absolutely nails this feeling of sweet warmth and age in their work together in producing this perfume.  Skive takes its name from a leatherworking term, “skiving”, or thinning out the backs of leather strips prior to joining them together.  It is very much an aromatic scent, one that Natalie and Jessica specifically designed to give the wearer an olfactory visualization of Canoe, Natalie’s studio in Austin, TX.  “With Skive, we were able to fully tell the story of Canoe – how I work with the leather, the tactile experience of unrolling a hide, and the evocative scent of my studio.” Natalie says.

JessicaHannahSkivewinner of art and olfaction awards 2015 canoe

Skive is A Winner of Art and Olfaction 2015 /Independent

Natalie and Jessica Hannah met over a private blending session at Jessica Hannah’s atelier, and immediately knew they wanted to work together.  Skive took two months to complete, and the result feels as if it took far longer to finish.  After sampling it, there was no doubt in my mind why this scent is this year’s winner of the Art and Olfaction Awards, Independent Category.  “It feels very special to have Skive recognized,” Davis says, “Skive is an incredibly personal scent that invites the wearer into my creative world.”

karen-black dennis hopper easy rider

Dennis Hopper and Karen Black in the movie Easy Rider 1969

Skive is a soft leather scent.  It is not oily, brash or redolent of black tar or rubber in any way.  Instead, it slides on like a hand-me-down fringed leather jacket, or one you might find tucked in a fortunate corner of your favorite vintage shop.  There’s a lived-in, yet unfinished quality to the notes, as if this perfume were stashed somewhere just waiting for the right person to come along and create a new chapter for it.   This is a leather perfume someone like Dennis Hopper's portrayal of Billy would wear in the movie Easy Rider    It’s a soothing, laid-back leather style that is immediately comforting and enormously appealing. The notes all lean into each other softly, with clary sage, saffron and myrrh relinquishing their nose-wrinkling qualities in favor of a graceful bending of one into the other, with a dash of Atlas cedarwood to highlight the edges and remind us that sun is always streaming into the studio where Natalie works.  Skive is nearly holographic at times; I caught myself shrugging my shoulders like I was trying to tug this perfume on like a jacket.  The longevity and sillage are average to above average.

I began to think of Skive in the same way as I think about my new marriage.  There should always be a feel to being with someone you  pledge to spend your life with that is exactly like Skive feels on the skin: a little fusty and lived-in, maybe a little rough at times, but always comfortable, inviting and warm.

Pam Barr, Guest Contributor

Editor’s Note Pam is a  ÇaFeureBon reader, a  copy writer,  a perfumista and we are so happy she is writing for us. Jessica Hannah is at FRAGments Artisan Perfume Event today in LA.

Notes: Ambrette (botanical musk), Atlas Cedarwood, Castorium, Choya Loban, Clary Sage, Myrrh, Nutmeg, Saffron, Tobacco, Vetiver (2014)

Skive_Bottle_Open_Wrap

Thanks to J. Hannah and Co. and Canoe, we have a draw of  .25 oz. ($52) of Skive  To be eligible; you must be a registered US CaFleureBon reader (The Log in is on the Home Page). Please leave a comment below on why you want to try Skive and what you love most about leather scents.  Draw closes June 2, 2015.

We announce the winner’s only onsite and on our Facebook page, so Like CaFleureBon and use our RSS option…..or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume.

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20 comments

  • Very nice review. I would very like to try that perfume, because form the article it sounds nice and interesting. I like the notes, it must be very good scent. I love the most about leather scent, is that those are so elegant and warm. I also love my leather jackets and my leather handbag , my leather shoes. Those have very nice smell in my opinion. I live in Europe.

  • leathermountain says:

    I’m registered! I’ve wanted to try Skive ever since you profiled Jessica Hannah a month ago! I looooooooooove leather scents because they are bad-ass and sensual at the same time. I love the is-it-floral?-or-is-it-burning? back and forth I feel when I smell leather scents. I love their androgyny. I love everything about leather scents!

  • fazalcheema says:

    it is a lovely article. Skive will def. become more popular over time. I like the fact it is soft leather and, thus, something that may be wearable even in certain formal events. I like leather because they are rarely pleasant but they have certain seductive elements. Leather notes also usually evoke strong memories because all of us have gone through experiences such as smelling the interior of a new car, the smell of a leather jacket. the leather smell of a shoe..thanks so much for the lovely draw. Very excited about it. I am in the US

  • First off, congratulations to Pam, on getting married! I’ve been intrigued by Skive since I first heard about it (here?) and this lovely evocative review makes me even more intrigued. I’ve not yet found a leather scent that I love, so I can’t answer the question, but the description of Skive has made me think that it might be The One. I love the smell of leather “in real life” but no fragrance has hit it right for me. . .so far! In the US.

  • What a beautifully written review from the start to the ending. Such wonderful images of the old barn the leather strips and fringed leather jacket of Dennis Hopper!
    I usually don’t like leather scents as they are heavy but Skive sounds beautiful
    Thank you and congratulations to Jessica !

  • I love soft leather scents, and congratulations on your marriage! I love comforting leathers, because they feel “natural” and easily part of your own scent (depending on hte leather). I am in the US, thank you!

  • I like leather scents most when they are naturals. This sounds lovely and I like the notion of working with a leather artist to create it. How fun.

    Nice review! Love the vintage Easy Rider pic!

    Thanks so much for the draw.

  • Leather scents are comforting and reassurng. I wanted to try Skive since I first read of it last month. 🙂 USA

  • What I like about leather scents is that they almost always feel like a combination of edgy, cozy, and classic.

    I am in the US. Thanks for the draw.

  • colourshifted says:

    Oh, i really, really want to try this! I love leather scents … they give warmth and heft to a scent, but aren’t necessarily cloying in the summer months. Cuir de Russie is my warm-weather staple. 🙂

    Thank you for the draw! I’m in the U.S.

  • I adore leather scents, it’s the oily earthy softness that attracts me. I would obviously love to win this award winning scent. Enjoyed very much reading the review and the creative journey that took place, always so fascinating and well expressed here, I am a registered reader and live in the US. Thank you for the draw.

  • Valentine Girl says:

    There is a movie & a Judas Priest song, that pretty much sums up how I feel, called “Hell Bent for Leather”! I have 2 favorite jackets; one, a black motorcycle jacket – Ramones-style, hand painted with punk graffiti & the other, a brown, fringed suede leather jacket (like the one Dennis Hopper is wearing except darker brown) that I did find at a flea market sale for only $10!
    While both are leather jackets, there is a distinctive and unique aroma of the “leather” smell in each & one is punk & chaos; the other is hippie & peace. Capturing the aroma of the studio of an artisan leather maker sounds stunning and I have also wanted to try Skive ever since I first heard of it on CafleureBon + I am very curious about Choya Loban, as that is a note I am unfamiliar with. USA resident.

  • sandipants says:

    the combination of clary sage, choya loban, spices, vetiver & tobacco sound fantastic & unusual! thank you for this opportunity!

  • MikasMinion says:

    I love the smell of leather but very few leather perfumes smell much like the real thing to me. I have been wanting to try Skive since I first heard about it but haven’t tracked any down yet. It sounds better with each review. I’m in the U.S.

  • I really want to love leather scents. I *really* want to – so far they all come out quite bandage-y on me, but maybe this one would be different. I love that it sounds so soft and worn in, comfy and inviting. Thanks for the draw, I’m in the US.

  • Elizabeth T says:

    This perfume first came to my attention when I read about Jessica on this site, and I’ve been interested ever since. I love soft, worn-in leather scents, and really love clary sage and myrrh in perfumery. Thank you so much for the generous draw… here’s hoping my name is drawn out of the hat!

  • I got a chance to experience Skive at FRAGments on Saturday and was blown away. Jessica is super talented and the other fragrances she presented were equally beautiful. Wishing Jessica best of luck as she embarks on her new life on the West Coast and hope we meet up again. No need to include me in the giveaway, I just wanted to voice my support for her work and thank Michelyn for helping promote the amazing talents of my fellow artisans.

  • The idea of a “shared olfactory experience” says so much more than a mere scent and that really resonates. I want to try Skive because I do love the “feeling of sweet warmth and age” with leather scents.

  • I want to try skive because I like that it tells a unique story. The animalic quality of leather scents is appealing to me. I am in the US, thanks.