The Louvre, photo by Nagi Sakai for Vogue Paris
I’m into leather. Yeah, baby, from the vinyl and pedal-on-the-metal -smell of a new black bomber to the worn mellow tan of 70s vintage leather trenches, from the smoky rawhide of a fringed cowboy jacket to the refined floral elegance of suede elbow gloves, I love it, crave it, all. When it comes to perfume, my ears prick up at the sound of a new leather or suede fragrance hitting the market (And I’m a lifelong vegetarian. Go figure). But, like the dessicated restaurant critic of the film Ratatouille, who loves food so much he is pained at the taste of the mundane or overdone, leathers that go overboard with birch tar, cade or oud can cause me such profound disappointment that I am always a bit jittery when sniffing a new one. Thank heaven 2018 turned out to be a great vintage for modern leathers. The last twelve months saw the introduction of some truly gorgeous new exemplars of the note, including what is probably the best oud leather I’ve ever smelled: Parfums MDCI’s Cuir Cavalier.
The Charging Chasseur by Théodore Géricault, 1812
Parfums MDCI Cuir Cavalier is one of three fragrances inspired by paintings that are personal favourites of Parfums MDCI creative director Claude Marchal. The Painters and Perfumers Collection, launched in 2018 with three masculine-leaning scents, also includes Cecile Zarokian’s verdant, bergamot-centric Bleu Satin, spurred by the famous Blue Boy by Gainsborough, and a warmly spicy, earthy offering from Nathalie Feisthauer based on L’Homme aux Gants by Titian. A fourth perfume, centering on the portrait of M. Sériziat by Jacques Louis David, will be released later this year along with four feminine scents. Marchal explains, “As a child, I often went to the Louvre Museum and became acquainted with a number of objects or paintings that have from the start been special to me. Decades later, they are still there and still have the same effect on me. Each painting evokes a particular character, epoch, ambiance, location … on which each perfumer can express herself or himself.”
Parfums MDCI Cuir Cavalier and Nathalie Feisthauer of LabScent
The movement of Gericault’s painting is startling: the cavalry officer’s body twists as he swashes his sword backwards with an expression of almost bored confidence, his dappled horse rearing on a smoky, flaming battlefield. In Nathalie Feisthauer’s olfactory rendering, saffron, rose and sweet citrus create a burst of intense red-orange notes that flare from the bottle like muted fireworks. These bold opening notes increase in brightness until, at their apogee, the intertwined aromas of fine suede and a high-quality, medium-bodied oud arrive together and take their place at their heart of Cuir Cavalier.
Suzy Parker in leather gloves, photo by Dan Wynn, 1950
The suede note lingers and heightens, joined by a honeyed iris. Together, they begin to smell of the most elegant, elongated elbow gloves. But, step away and breathe in again, and a different leather, less refined, comes through; that oily, burnished, wood-polish aroma high-end saddles and riding boots often have. Oud here acts as an anchor for not only the leather but the cedar in the base, giving Cuir Cavalier its slightly masculine dimension. But these notes are counterbalanced by satiny florals, particularly rose and iris, that shift the fragrance squarely into genderless as the fragrance deepens.
Anke Eve Goldman, stock photo
The smoky oud has a soft-edged richness I don’t come across very often in this frequently crackly note. Oud’s old-fashioned apothecary savor is there, certainly, but so neatly tempered that leather gets equal billing without either of these powerhouses becoming so loud that it feels like we’re on Gericault’s battlefield. As time ticks by and I revisit Cuir Cavalier, I find the secondary notes are more marked: rose comes forward one moment, cypress the next, then iris, all the while hovering like film transparencies over the oud and leather centerpiece. Tiny paint strokes of honey and tonka add welcome, subtle touches of garden sweetness. Even a full hour later, I am bowled over by how each listed note makes its presence felt before interlacing with its fellows in complete harmony. This is one great leather oud, and its balance is so perfect that it will smell equally fetching on a man or woman.
Now excuse me while I dab on a touch more Parfums MDCI Cuir Cavalier, slip into my leather catsuit, and head out to do the shopping.
Notes: Red tangerine, saffron, rose, iris, cypriol, white honey, oud, leather, cedar, tonka bean, vanilla, musks.
Disclaimer: Sample of Parfums MDCI Cuir Cavalier kindly provided by Parfums MDCI. My opinions are my own.
– Lauryn Beer, Senior Editor
Painters and Perfumers masculine collection photo courtesy of Parfums MDCI
Thanks to the generosity of Claude Machal, we have a sample set of Parfums MDCI Cuir Cavalier, L’Homme aux Gants, and Bleu Satin for one registered reader in the EU, USA, or Canada. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what appeals to you about Cuir Cavalier based on Lauryn’s review, where you live Parfums and whether you have a favourite Parfums MDCI perfume. Draw closes 4/3/2019.
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