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Cuir de Russie by Chanel

For: women Designer: Chanel Olfactive Group: Leather

Cuir de Russie, or Russian leather was a theme modern at the end of the 19th century. Many perfume houses were creating perfumes for women who smoked cigarettes. Today exclusive, Chanel's Cuir de Russie was created in 1924. The fragrance is provocative and shocking, and that exactly was its purpose, because it was created for a woman who dared to smoke cigarettes in public. It was a kind of encouragement and approval, because at that time a woman who smoked was a scandalous and inconceivable symbol of emancipation.

The composition starts with aldehydes moderated by mild nectar of classical trio – rose, jasmine and ylang-ylang. The ending comes as smoky, animalistic note of dark leather. The main notes are: orange blossom, bergamot, mandarin, sage, iris, jasmine, rose, ylang-ylang, cedarwood, vetiver, styrax, leather, amber and vanilla.

The nose behind this fragrance is Ernest Beaux.

Fragrance Notes

top notes
Orange BlossomMandarin OrangeClary SageBergamotLemon
middle notes
CarnationIrisJasmineVetiverYlang-YlangCedarRose
base notes
LeatherAmberVanillaHeliotrope

Cuir de Russie Fragrance Reviews:

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soupygirl3
My sister gave me this scent as part of a gift set almost 20 years ago. I was young and daring and LOVED it, I had the nerve to splash it on during the hot New York City summer! I wore it to bed, I sniffed the bottle constantly and kept asking my husband if he liked it (he refused to comment) eventually he broke down and told me the smell drove him nuts, and not in a good way--he absolutely hated it! Sadly, I gave the bottle away. Recently, my daughter and I smelled HdP's #1740 Marquis de Sade with its smokey-burnt leather (I liked that too) but I think Cuir de Russie is much more sophisticated.
07/21/10 17:33:10
slave for scents
this reminds me of leather and bondage. like a heady, heavy session of s&m. i can't help but be aroused by a woman who wears this. alas, very few do....
07/05/10 02:15:38
systeme_d
systeme_d
This is gorgeous. A leather floral.

The aldehyde and citrus opening is typically Chanel, with bergamot most prominent.

The jasmine and rose are most noticeable to me after the first brief minutes, as the fragrance blooms. I perceived the leather quite clearly in the heart as well as the base.

It is still present in the lovely vanillic drydown,

This is a fantastically well-crafted fragrance -- a classic for a woman of sophistication.
05/07/10 18:18:08
 
tessture
tessture
I'm another woman who this doesn't work for. It goes on bitter and dry, with notes almost of galbanum, green and sharp.The leather has been tanned with harsh chemicals they didn't get entirely off. For the first ten minutes, this is all I get, a harsh, chemical composition. Then some spice creeps in and a sensation of beeswax, which is much nicer and sweetens the whole thing just enough to mellow it out. In the end, it is still very organic and odd. Not for me. Try this before buying it because it's a strange one.
04/08/10 15:41:41
Sissi
Sissi
The scenerio Black and White themed Concert Salon Circa 1875 with Black Leather chairs white Marble fireplace
the eatherial glow of the Candelabras
A glass chandelier hanging from it's
Sistine like Angels from it's statly
celling Black vases with White Roses
and a black grand piano The concert
Pianist with it's black and white Tuxedo Playing
Chopin's Nocturne for Piano in C sharp minor. sitting amongist the audience
is a young woman no younger then 18
Slender with Long dark hair wearing A white Bustlle Gown Overcome with the music Tears sreamed down her long face
she quietly Leaves and slowly walked down it's hallways and comes to a room
with large framed windows and Snow is falling down she approches the window
slowly and gently opens the window and
with her long white Gloves touches the snow and realize that there life out there then getting married to a stuffy
old accountant or Baron who has been Married for 45 years and left a windower Going though Predicable
Social Hierarchy like that. she yearns
something for herself so out of the Blue got her black velvet cape and walked out of the gilded mansion and walked down the snow lined forest
And the rest Is History

This perfume is diffinly for brave Women.
03/12/10 11:25:30
Lady Venomtongue
Lady Venomtongue
what i can say that hasn't been already said ? i assume nothing .
a Beautiful elegant haunting leather / floral scent . for leather die hard fans out there , so mellow so realistic.
brilliant !!!
01/23/10 10:19:26
Leimomi
I've only tried the Vintage Extraits & I am hopelessly hooked! I never thought I'd like a leather & smoke scent! Come-on! What genius! First off it reminds me of my hubby's Harley & the sweet scent of his leather jacket & mysterious scents that waif from his garage & cling to him. The sweet Rose & Jasmine Incense is so heady & the vanilla dry-down to die-for! I salivate at the first whiff & am shaky at the knees. I am like an addict always looking for my next "fix"! I haunt e-bay sites searching for every drop just incase . . .
01/21/10 20:38:21
angel73
angel73
Beautiful perfume, so chic, so Chanel....
a leather with beautiful flowers...this one is the mind ,the heart and the style of Coco Chanel ..
12/09/09 04:10:19
 
Tarya
Tarya
I've been exploring leather scents recently, but this has been the worst I've tried. I don't know how they managed to get this result out of these notes, this smells dirty. Horrible. Be prepared for surprise with this one.
10/29/09 03:57:24
 
guest_M Schlesser
Cuir de Russie by Pivert was the best cuir fragrance ever formulated, before it was reformulated in the 90s
09/21/09 19:26:15
Mals86
Mals86
I tried this Chanel classic after finding out that I really like the floral-leather combination of Jolie Madame.

However, the opening smelled not of finished leather to me, but distinctly of barnyard. I live on a cattle farm, so I do have a real-life reference for that smell, with its manure-dirt-raw cowhide odor. I do not want to smell of barnyard, but I thought that if I could struggle through the opening, then that rich, elegant iris common to all of Chanel's classic fragrances would take over and bear me on its soft, powdery wings. Alas, the iris element that serves to smoothe and underpin the other classic Chanels, with their focuses on other notes, is musty and dusty on its own. I could not sense any other florals, although it may be that I was still too traumatized by the barnyard to notice them.

I begin to realize that iris-focused perfumes turn musty-basement on my skin, and other people have different experiences. If you can wear this one, lucky you.
09/09/09 13:22:24
Review below viewing threshold.
 
harajukulovers
Love this classic original x
07/24/09 04:53:53
ferrari
ferrari
Opened very similar to the Guerlain Chant D'Aromes, only added the skin. I can just say - it is elegance, it is gentle as a luxurious silk on the skin.
Thin leather handbag lying in a flowers field,on the cedar shade. Near sit a man and smoking.
Not sweet, but warm. It's perfect scent.
06/16/09 00:47:29
iMaverick
I managed to snag a 1/2 ounce of the Parfum at the Chanel boutique. I tried the old version of the EdT, before it was reformulated to even a sheerer version for their Exclusifs line. The old EdT was somehow too harsh and too brash for me to appreciate.

The parfum version of this fragrance is excellent, smooth, albeit rather animalic for many I think. But this is a leather scent! You can't deny what this scent is all about.

I've smelled other leather scents, but this one mimics the scent of leather without fault or flaw IMO. I'd like to look at the face of those who are into fruity-florals try a sniff of Cuir de Russie.

For those who can appreciate Cuir de Russie, but find it too animalic at times, they should try Arpege which is more restrained, but definitely carries sensual leather notes much like Cuir de Russie.
06/08/09 20:51:07
Review below viewing threshold.
 
MoietToi
MoietToi
I would love to try it. I haven't seen Cuire de Ruisse around but it sounds like such an interesting scent that I must try it.
04/15/09 10:17:44
eskarina62
eskarina62
My second choice of next Chanel-must-have!
Never realized it was made almost a century ago!
The leatherly sensation is almost lost to me
The richness of sensations developing from a surprisingly fresh blend of florals into a more feminine jasmine-rosy blend interwined with the cedar whiff and a slight trace of vetiver - almost indiscernible among the variety of flowery scents, to rest on the warm flavour of vanilla and amber...
Lovely and mysterious!
04/13/09 11:16:38
veruska
veruska
i guess i like CDR as much as the other gal. I admire it, i recognise it as a masterpiece and the one that made eligible for a lady to wear wood and leather on her skin, but i don't need it often.So it's not a love affair but it's a good and rewarding acquittance.This is abstract leather with not much leather on it, still it reminds to many of us highly fragrant leather gloves by the rich vintage of a 30's lady.This starts with a classical orange blossom and it slowly becomes spicier with a smidge of carnation. Ther's also a deep grassy resiny cedar. As it dries down the warmth of vanilla envelopes the senses. A highly elegant scen that smells like diamonds and a old red pinot by the fireplace!
12/09/08 12:26:09
Carla
Carla
Love It! It's rare, very hard to find. The leather note tapers off to an exotic drydown. It's risky and a dab goes a long way, but on the right skin it's "class" in a bottle. One of Chanel's finest!
10/27/08 10:06:20
woogyjones50
woogyjones50
I was a little confused by the leather note at first. I had not tried very many 'leather' scents besides Bvlgari Black so I really didn't know what to make of it. I'm glad I gave it a chance, though, because it is a lovely perfume. All I can smell at first spray is leather and not so much any citrus notes. The perfume has excellent staying power and the vanilla and amber that stay on the skin are beautiful. I found myself sniffing my wrists all day the last time I wore it because it is an interesting perfume. I would suggest giving it a try if for no other reason than to try a rather unconventional and sexy scent.
10/17/08 06:30:48
guest_Belinda, Sydney, Australia
I tested this today, quite a strong leathery start 'hits' you, then lightens out though still off putting, as it reminds me of wesring leather gloves, which would have been popular in the 1920's... I am not sure who this would appeal to today in 2008?!
09/14/08 10:24:01
Sherihan
We love this perfume.Hard to finde the same igredients again.My sister say: When I wear it I feel like I came from PARADICE.
09/12/08 00:05:01
newgabe
Actually I don't like this. I thought I would, but I don't so much smell leather as a rather nasty horse.
08/14/08 05:48:10

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