Les Exclusifs de Chanel Cuir de Russie Chanel for women

On me, this Chanel is so different than as described. The initial notes are just slightly leathery, the middle notes are smooth and buttery and what really surprises me - the drydown stays on my skin forever. And it's sweet! Not cloyingly sweet, but sweetly tempting enough that I'm wondering 12 hours later, what smells so delightfully sweet and warm? It lasts forever on me, the sillage is excellent and I am saving up for a full bottle. I've gone through one sample and I know the second won't last long.

Cuir de Lancome, which I was prepared to love, is another story. On me it's loud and fractious, the drydown is a little better and the sillage is good, but I'll only be wearing it when I'm a little too mellow (or sleepy)- to smack me awake.

For me there is nothing in the Chanel that even hints of the smell of horse manure, or a barn, and I grew up on a farm and enjoyed ample contact with horses, cattle, rabbits, chickens, ducks and geese, both feeding and cleaning cages and stalls. Perhaps the Chanel appeals to me because I love the scent of a hay or horse barn and the smell of newly hatched fowl?

Fragrance is memory, and memory is mystery.

This smells like horses washed in a soap, it becomes better scent after 2 hours, recommend trying before buying this cant appeal to everyone, i have noticed parfumes with oak moss and leather can be stinky to half the people some like it and some cant stand it. I like leather scent like kely caleche very much although first 2 days i thought its not a nice smell at all. But this here is just too much animalic and horseslike,although it gets better with time
And yes this could be for men too!
and yes i can imagine this is like russia smelt at the begining of 19th century :)it does smell luxurious after several hours..and not after horses...and stays 12 hours!! the longest from all les exclusifs....

EDT
It is a leather scent with fruit and floral notes. With top notes of orange blossom, bergamot, mandarin, and clary sage; middle notes of iris, jasmine, rose, ylang-ylang, cedarwood, and vetiver; and base notes of styrax, leather, amber, and vanilla.

Whereas most perfumes seem to have close relatives, Cuir De Russie really seems to be an orphaned of any family; is there really any correspondence between this and any other 'leather?' I get an image of darkest blue-black when I smell this, which is at once the leather note and in turn a night sky across which the fireworks of the florals and the iris root explode. There is a lot of space within this fragrance which allows that to happen, and it means that it feels less like the smell of something but more like a landscape in which you can walk around, marvelling at the detail. There is nothing that compares with this in either type or execution.

I am so impressed with this sent. Until now, I have not found a chanel that I could love. I also never thought a leather sent would work for me either. I dont really smell but a slight hint of leather. Lovely. Simply lovely. A must add to my collection.


Edit. I finally purchaced this fragrance. So glad I did. I moved to the chicago area from the warm south. Ive had trouble adjusting to the cold. This fragrance will help keep me warm over the cold winter nights.

As much as leather is one of my favorite scents, of the (limited, I admit)leather-featured scents I've tried most have gone into plasticky-PVC-bondage leather rather than butter-soft leather gloves passed down from a chic female relative. Cuir de Russie, however, was love at first sniff. It opens with a dirty animalic note that's borderline fecal, but the soft, creamy, spicy florals seep in and smooth out this animal's shaggy fur until Cuir de Russie becomes this heart-achingly beautiful blend with an undercurrent of barely-bridled danger; a lady in leather and lace, a sleek panther at repose in a meadow. I feared the bergamot and mandarin might ruin CdR as citrus is my skin's nemesis, but the two are either nonexistent here or (more than likely) thankfully so well interwoven with the other notes that I can't make out their presence.

I have the current Exclusifs EDT, and so cannot compare to past formulations or the parfum, but I can imagine those are as beautiful if not more so. For an EDT sillage and longevity are quite long, and I only regret buying the smaller EDT. Ah well, more wiggle room in my budget to save for the parfum!

Ok, start to save your money now because you "NEED" to buy Cuir De Russie. This is absolutely fantastic and it's one of the richest, most lascivious and elegant leather scents around. Perfectly balanced to be at the same time wearable and " risky", it runs in that tiny, thin line between glory and precipice and it does it with an incredible awareness. Floral- animalic-leather at their best. Magistrally crafted, this is pure perfumery virtuosism. One of those scents that you encounter once every 100 years (i.e. Knize Ten). Buy it!

Cuir De Russie has been reformulated since 1924, but despite that, it's still one of the most luxurious and terrific iris/leather around. That's how reformulations should be!

Rating: 10/10

After having worn the so called butch leathers for several months now, I had to revisit Chanel's Cuir de Russie, and I must say the leather here is something else entirely.
In comparison to many of the leather fragrances I've worn, CdR starts off on a very plush, feminine, almost floriental accord. It's all about powder and spice, with a good dose of ylang and fleur d'orange, and just an odd drop of tar that at first seems as if it doesn't even belong among all these pretty things. However, as it melds into skin, the leather takes on a more assertive voice, and animalics start to make their entrance, turning what seemed an utterly innocent composition into a sensual, luxurious and altogether very grown-up skinscent.

Sillage seems to diminish with introduction of those sensual elements, making this scent quite deceiving. The beauty will be noticed by many, but the darker, sultrier, more dangerous side will be visible to only those allowed into the intimate space.

Other reviews have covered all the bases. This is a most beautiful, smooth perfume and to me more gently spicy than leathery (thank goodness, after having experienced the brutal Cuir d'Iris by Parfumerie Generale). I cannot pick out any distinct floral notes so this is obviously a clever blend. This is quality in a bottle and next on the list for me to try is Sycomore. In the Exclusifs range though, IMO you cannot beat Coromandel. Chanel = class.

I think this fragrance is so rich and luxurious. I definitely get that brand-new-leather smell, and it's heavenly. It's sultry, seductive, and smooth. Sillage is excellent (considering it's an EDT). The dry down smells like honey and incense. I want it, but the Chanel store only carries a 6.8 oz. bottle!

I'm male and discovered this a few years ago. Its amazing that on a female it smells female and on a male its very male. I often get asked what's the amazing smell. Its exclusive enough to be confident you will be the only man in the room wearing it. The classic takes a bit of time to run in but you still get hints of it the next day. I've just bought the EDT 200ml and look forward to using it for a long time to come.

Chanel Cuir de Russie in the Exclusif version is a great tailored leather fragrance. While the leather aroma in cuir de russie is dry, raw, it doesn`t get as animalic as in other fragrances. Also, here the leather lacks the smoky aspects, which are usually emphasized using vetiver, patchouli and some resins, or the usual amber aroma, which sometimes can distort the leather accord.
Cuir de Russie seems like a modern vintage, where they tried to preservate the original aspect but using new parts. It`s less floral or aldeihidic as the previous version of Cuir de Russie that i tried. This one is more unissex, subtle, with a proper longevity but a close sillage, which may transform it in a fragrance more easier to wear.
The leather aroma is detectable since from the first moments of the fragrance, and all the other notes develop on the leather aroma.At first you have a citrus-flower opening, which develops to a creamy-subtle animalic flower heart. The ylang-ylang is very subtle, only detectable when you get your nose close to the wrist or the part were you applied it. The rose and jasmine seems serious, not so intensive or sensual as this two notes usually are, and their quieter, drier floral here fits like a glove the overall composition.
If you like leather fragrances, Cuir de Russie is one of the best ones, easy to wear, elegant, not ofensive, a black piece in a fragrant wardrobe.

I was preparing myself for a strong leather scent, bigger and bolder than what I've previously tried. I was amazed to discover that this is a feminine and soft leather, nothing like Bandit by Robert Piguet or Cabochard by Gres.

This is leather with pretty floral and soapy nuances. I find nothing like what some have described; there's no animalistic qualities, (at least to my nose), no saltiness and no bitterness.

It almost smells inky to my nose, like a room filled with regal, black leather armchairs, big red cedar tables and ink-wells, with a vase filled with jasmine, ylang ylang and rose sitting near a window overlooking a courtyard.

I also don't get the masculine references, to me this particular scent is very feminine, pretty almost. I think it would work well in a casual atmosphere too.

I recommend Cuir de Russie as a leather scent for beginners, the perfect subtle leather before the transition into the bigger, harsher and stronger leather scents. Strange as it may sound, this fragrance is more romantic than dominatrix in my opinion. If you want sexual, animalistic leather try the men's department or douse yourself in Bandit.

Cuir de Russie has great lasting strength, however the sillage is extremely intimate and subtle, making it somewhat difficult to detect at times. All in all, a beautiful powdery and floral interpretation of a leather classic from Chanel.

This has got to be one of the most outstanding amazing perfumes i've ever smelt. It's not particularly "girly", but then neither am i. it smells absolutely great on my BF too. i think it's got something timeless about it, when i smell it i've got no idea it's from the 1920's, although i believe it has been reformulated for the new collection of exclusifs. what i love about it is the clean soapiness of the topnote. when i was a kid we always had Cussons Imperial Leather soap in the house and it reminds me a little bit of that, with lovely warm leathery smokiness in the drydown. i first smelt it in the Gum in Moscow but didn't buy it till i got home to Amsterdam. but for me it's a memory of my lovely holiday in Russia. this is so special that i wonder why it ever disappeared from general sale. in short a wonderful, amazing, timeless classic with a sort of edgy attitude about it. Definitely here to stay in my collection. i haven't smelt any beef in it yet, but i'll keep looking!! This one did get the thumbs up from my cat, who has a very discerning taste in perfume!!

Chanel CUIR DE RUSSIE is a full-fledged leather perfume. No idea why they've placed it in the oriental floral category, as this creation opens as dark leather conditioned with something like railroad grease and evokes images in my mind of black leather whips and Catherine Deneuve's afternoon lover in "Belle du jour". Not a flowery fragrance at all!

In the drydown, CUIR DE RUSSIE becomes lighter, more akin to soft suede, but it takes a while to get there. In the meantime, this is a dark leathery, yes, large-bovine-animal-roaming-free-through-the-prairie kind of scent.

I definitely would not recommend this for your wedding, among other occasions. Perhaps CUIR DE RUSSIE would work well--and even seem feminine--at a rodeo or a bullfight.

Layered with a rose perfume along the lines of Guerlain ROSA MAGNIFICA, I imagine that CUIR DE RUSSIE could be very beautiful, but I do feel that, as this composition stands, the florals have been entirely overshadowed by the dark leather and railroad grease. CUIR DE RUSSIE might very well appeal to fellows who like to don Dior FAHRENHEIT...

The smoothest richest softest leather ever! This is a pair of soft leather gloves, holding a bouquet of flowers with lots of jasmine, in a private library with glowing polished wood shelves and leather armchairs. After 8 hours it becomes a sweet vanilla, amber woody dream.

Eau de Bovine? Chanel Cuir de Russie is the "beefiest" leather scent I have sampled so far.

I like it, but it has a pronounced animalic aroma that doesn't exactly stink, but is not especially perfumey, either. I am surprised at the number of fruit and floral notes listed here, as my nose cannot smell any of them. This one comes across as fine, freshly tanned leather on my skin, with just a touch of meaty "beef jerky" scent. (Truly!)

It is 100% linear and stays close to the skin, with average persistence. I enjoy wearing it, but I save it for my days at home, as I can see how others might find this one a bit unpleasant.

Cuir de Russie is definitely unisex, as are most leather fragrances I have tried. It is one of the most unusual aromas in my collection and worth a try for fans of leather scents or unique perfumes.

(Please note: this review is for the new Les Exclusifs version of this scent, in EDT stregnth. I have not tried the "classic" version and can make no comparisons there.)