Sous le Manteau Cuir d’Orient, visual interpretation by Cristian©
“Since the ancient times, the recipes of love potions were secretly preserved. Ancient formulas and centuries-old legends, they were meant to create desire that the other one could not resist. In the 19th century, these potions were recorded in pharmaceutical books and discovered in 2016 by Sous le Manteau”, Olivia Bransbourg, Creative Director, introduces her most recent foray into the world of perfumery. The recipient of Fragrance Foundation UK 2020 award for “Best Newcomer”, Sous le Manteau enlisted the genius of Master Perfumer Nathalie Feisthauer (Givaudan, Symrise, and now independent with her company LAB scent) to revive centuries’ old love potion recipes and reinterpret them for a contemporary audience. In other words, creating a new “old world” through scent!
Visual interpretation of Sous le Manteau Cuir d’Orient by Cristian©
My personal initial “coup de foudre” was Sous le Manteau Poudre Impériale, but the more I allowed myself to be entranced by these neo-elixirs, the less I filtered them through my preconceived binary of ‘like-dislike’, and the more profoundly I fell under the spell of each potion – of which Sous le Manteau Cuir d’Orient is my latest captor. Cuir d’Orient is a warm and swathing philtre: an ambery and aromatic concoction teeming with opulent yet mellow spices. A powdery and comforting vanilla is the protagonist, supported by luscious resins such as benzoin and opoponax and what I perceive to be a delicious tonka bean facet. The fragrance opens with an alluring and subdued freshness coming from the bergamot. This introduction is brief and it momentarily makes room for the powdery floral notes of heliotrope and orris. The sweetness is discreet and it pulls you in a game of hide and seek, revealing itself in gentle waves of balmy reassurance, then hiding behind soft, tamed leather.
Coeur de cuir paper piece and visual interpretation of Cuir d’Orient by Cristian©
A trove of delectable textures, Sous le Manteau Cuir d’Orient is at once delicate and unabashed, silky and possessive. The suede accord adds a toned-down carnality to the fragrance without contributing with any sort of dissonance. In fact, it skillfully amplifies the “desire” factor. Out of the current five offerings from Sous le Manteau, I find Cuir d’Orient to be the warmest: torrid in an inside-out way, as if the sun spent its existence within human bodies – the skin being the only barrier keeping it contained. Still, it makes its presence known by way of trepidations, quivers and an acceleration of the rate of heartbeats and breathing.
Coeur de cuir, original kirie piece by Cristian Marianciuc, directly inspired by Sous le Manteau Cuir d’Orient by Cristian©
The synesthetic image that appears in my mind when smelling Sous La Manteau Cuir d’Orient is strangely Sisyphean: a person sitting down in a suede armchair, carefully taking off their cashmere sweater. But this mundane task takes a mythological turn when the sweater doesn’t seem to come to an end. Piles and piles of infinite cashmere start to form hills, then mountains around our unlikely hero, until he is swallowed up in a sea of never-ending comfort.
Notes: Bergamot oil, Orris, Heliotrope, Suede, Patchouli oil, Ambrette, Vanilla Abs, Benzoin resin, Opoponax resin, Musk
Disclaimer: A sample set of the fragrances was gifted to me by Sous le Manteau, for my personal enjoyment. All opinions expressed are my own.
Cristian Marianciuc, Senior Contributor
Cuir d’Orient via Sous le Manteau
Thanks to the generosity of Sous le Manteau and Creative Director Olivia Bransbourg, we have a draw for a 14 ml travel spray of Sous le Manteau Cuir d’Orient for one registered reader in the EU, UK or USA. You must register or your entry will not count. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what sparks your interest based on Cristian’s review of Cuir d’Orient and where you live. What is your favorite Sous le Manteau perfume? Draw closes 6/4/21
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