Leather

Group: Animal Sources

The distinct smell of leather is soft on the nostrils and yet so exciting. The rich leather scent evokes memories of the best moments in life, it comforts by its proximity to the body and excites at the same time, being so primitive, so natural, and again so sensual.

The scent of leather lies in the midline between masculine and feminine tones. Historically, leather is one of the earliest notes in perfumery, rooted in the tradition of Gantiers Parfumeurs, a guild of Parisian glove makers who made leather gloves for the aristocracy. According to the fashion of the 16th century, the gloves were perfumed with oils, musk, ambergris and civet, to mask the nauseating breath of animal skin. Due to the tanning process, the raw skin doesn’t smell so good, and this re-odorized scent is actually what today describes our notion of the smell of leather.

The first officially documented leather scent was worn by King George III - The Royal English Leather. This fragrance, still available today, was the first fragrance created by Creed, a royal glove maker. The king was so fond of the smell of scented gloves that he asked Creed to make it a body fragrance.

The roots of leather perfumery reach all the way back in the past to the tradition of leather scenting, when the flowery fragrances were used to mask the organic odor. Historically, the leather fragrances emerged from two major schools, dividing into the Russian leather types and the Spanish leather types.

Russian leather scents are inspired by the smell of the military garments and their strong impression of virtue, authority, and success. The Russian leather scent has a very sharp and characteristic aroma, owing to the birch tar, which was used to make the leather goods waterproof and elastic. This note became very popular as women’s scent, at the time of women’s emancipation. In the history of perfumery, the early 20’s are marked by a large number of fragrances, launched by different homes, called Cuir de Russie.

But it was the Spanish leather scent that emerged from the 16th century practice of scenting chamois with the essence of herbs, flowers and fruits, in harmony with civet and musk. Peau d’Espagne (Spanish skin), a fruit of traditional practice of leather scenting, remains a prominent notion even in the modern perfumery. The leather note used in perfumery is therefore, an artificial scent, created as a crossbreed of flowers and skin. The genuine leather, a material treated by perfume, is an organic compound made of animal skins that normally has an unpleasant smell.

Today, the reproduction of the leather odor is achieved by using naturally derived scents as well as those synthesized in a lab. Natural sources include birch, juniper and cade oil, styrax, cassie, castoreum, myrtle, and cistus labdanum. To achieve this strong animalistic note, perfumers also use notes created in the laboratory: quinolines, safraleine, aldehydes, and synthesized suede nuances. For warmer and smoother tones, such as the soft deer leather smell, the birch scent is dissolved in vanilla or floral notes.

Today the nuances of leather (powdery, light, dusty, sharp, woody, floral, etc.) are hard to classify into the distinct categories. Russian and Spanish leather are just echoes from the past. Even when the perfumes are named after these smells, the inspiration is driven from the old days. In our day, there is no obsession for leather neither in Russia nor in Spain.

When Arabian ingredients came into fashion, we became acquainted with the variant of Arabian leather, which is typically associated with strong and sharp spicy nuances. Perfect examples are Serge Lutens, Parfum d`Empire and Montale.

Leather fragrances of different brands, especially those in the leather industry, are very much appreciated and often used to promote the brand and its products. One of the most prominent examples is the house of Hermes and their leather fragrances.

This house was first established as a harness workshop that created the finest leather accessories specially designed for riders. It was not until later that the company shifted to production of handbags and other pieces of ladies’ and men’s gallantry. Their leather fragrances smell just like their fine line of products. Trussardi fragrances share the same savor.

Guerlain also came out with an interesting variant of a leather scent – Guir Beluga – light and powdery leather fragrance, whose animalistic notes melt into the finest flowers. Variations of leather fragrances are endless, but their essence is always recognizable. It contains something that attracts people, not only as a scent but also as a notion which, at different times and in different cultures meant both diverse and the same things – freedom, prestige, power and sensuality.

RUSSIAN LEATHER: