Cuir Beluga Guerlain for women and men

Just received this, and boy can I say HIT IT OUT OF THE PARK AGAIN GUERLAIN! I guess whomever puts the notes together for their fragrances has me in mind :) I have Angelique Noir, Coquin Gourmand, Asian Brulant and whole host of the others from Jicky to Shalimar. While some other Guerlain I do get a sharp metallic bite from. When it's a hit, it's a hit! This wears very close to the skin, which for me in no problem, I don't wear perfume for others, but don't want to choke someone either. It lasts about 5 hours on me. I usually hit all the pulse points and also walk through after spraying in the air. This has all the notes mentioned. You can definitely denote that this is high quality. It's so creamy and powdery. Just a very lovely feminine scent and reminds me of my grandmother, so it has an old world smell. I don't get any leather (thank goodness) I like to wear leather but not smell like it. Also, I don't get any salt smell? If you can try it, give it a shot. It's very lovely, good for all year I might add. At least on me.

I recently went to the Guerlain boutique in Las Vegas during my vacation and purchased Tonka Imperiale. The sales person was very helpful and he actually recommended layering Cuir Beluga and Tonka Imperiale. It was simply amazing!

The Guerlain SA at Saks New York (5th Ave), a whippet-thin Argentinian gentleman who favors a theatrical sales approach, pitched Cuir Beluga to me as a warm, sexy skin scent. Although I enjoyed his presentation, I didn't come away convinced.

Cuir Beluga is not a leather perfume; nor is it particularly sexy or exciting. It smells to me of tapioca custard, i.e. a fairly simple, cozy scent. There are plenty of other, far less pricey, cozy fragrances out there.

Of the offerings in this range from Guerlain, I find Tonka Imperiale more interesting.

I tried Cuir Beluga twice and had different results each time.

The first try gave way to a soft and yummy tapioca pudding, all fluffy and vanillic and rich sitting on top of a smooth bed of white seude. This is probably how it is supposed to smell. If beluga whales smelled this good you'd see me in the arctic circle sniffing their cute little heads.

The second time I tried this, the patchouli and moss overwhelmed the initially gorgeous tapioca pudding-like scent. I detected something that smelled like cinnamon-orange spice and it reminded me of a typical "autumn" fragrance. It was also rather masculine without any of the well-rounded white seude quality of the first try.

Maybe the third time will be a charm?

Cuir Beluga - I was prepared to dislike this scent. First the name references leather (not my favorite note) and Beluga (caviar?). To my surprise and pleasure, I discovered a gem like a warmblooded pearl. It doesn't scream when light (skin warmth) hits it; it gives up its secrets like the sweet orchestrations of a choir.

So, what's with the leather? This is not the leather of dog collars, but rather a heavenly hash of amber, vanilla, touch of salt (caviar?) and a suede so soft it must have been made for contact with an angel's skin.

The vanilla is dusted by the living heliotrope. Glad to know there is a touch of timelessness in the immortelle.

My No's: no tangerine, no patchouli, no aldehydes.
It is just the best of the ambery vanillas and that's no mistake. Viva Guerlain!

more suede than cuir. more powder, no "beluga" (beluga? seriously? guessing from the name, at first i was half expecting this perfume to smell like womanity, which smells like fig to me, not like caviar). more vanillin than vanilla. guerlain seems to have followed the wisdom of "moderation in all things" here. not too leathery. not overly gourmand. not at all animalic. unfortunately my nose misses the citrus notes completely, but still better than i expected.

this fragrance is seductive i love it and i want to buy full bottle 75 ml, great job guerlain

I was dead set on purchasing Tonka Imperiale but the SA managed to persuade me to try Cuir Beluga. On most occasions, when an SA recommends me an alternative, it's a shitty product that doesn't share any resemblance to what I had in mind. But this was not the case, it was love at first sniff.

The scent doesn't project well nor does it last the whole day, in fact it has poor projection and below average longevity but it's one of the most beautiful scent I've ever smelled and I forgive any shortcomings that it has. This velvety vanilla doesn't scream for attention, it draws you in.

Mr. Polge has done a brilliant composition - very baroque - voluminous - grande - deep - soft and dominat. a basso continuo. the perfect juice to embosom mind body and soul over time.

ready for the 2nd flacon soon.

So I've tried a lot of Guerlain Exclusives at the counter and was very impressed by a few. Cuir Beluga was one of them: a gorgeous and extremely soft leathery vanilla perfume.
I love leather perfumes, that slightly animal and sensual vibe a good leather perfume has, but this is much more soft and in the line of Daim Blond and Cuir de Lancome. Not leather but suede. It's so elegant, and for a vanilla perfume not really gourmand or extremely sweet. Very wearable for many occasions.
Sadly, sillage was very weak on me and therefor I'd think I'd prefer the more daring SDV or the powderpuffy Tonka Imperial over this. But she's really interesting and really something to try if you like understated chique yet comforting scents.

This has been on my "review" plate for quite awhile. I kept tucking it away for later because description has eluded me. I do believe it's time for an attempt at it at least~

I have wanted to like this more than I do since I got it. It seemed like a good idea at the time! My husband absolutely LOVES it when I wear this....but I always feel like it's not quite me. That no matter what, it's just a bit much.

The "Vanilla Bomb" feels right on to me. This is primarily vanilla and powder. I can smell the suede quite easily too though and I think what makes it feel like a "bomb" is the aldehydes. They are cleverly woven into the fabric of Cuir Beluga. This is an exceptionaly grown up feeling scent. I'm always hearing the words "soft" and "tender" when people are referring to this perfume, but for me that's not the full story. It feels like.....a lot. It's a Grand Dame of a perfume that smells like it's from another era. Very romantic in a retro way on me.

It doesn't carry the heavy Guerlainade of creations past and that's why I am able to wear it, and enjoy it, from time to time. I would not get another bottle of this. I would repurchase Spiriteuse Double Vanille in a heartbeat, but Cuir Beluga and I were not meant for each other. She is beautiful, but a bit too formal on my skin. I could see wearing her to an event, but for everyday? I much prefer the suede of Serge Lutens Daim Blond.....

To me, this is a good vanilla fragrance. I do get a bit of bitter citrus mixed with vanilla in the beginning but that does not last very long. It then turns into a sweet powdery vanilla bomb that is a really good fall/winter scent.

I haven't found a Guerlain that worked with my chemistry, so it was with much trepidation that I opened the vial and sniffed it. I put a dab on my wrist and waited.

On me it opens with quite a bit of the sweet vanilla I'm not so in love with and a bit of tangy citrus which I do quite like, but that fades on me quite quickly and allows the suede and florals to come forward. I'm one of the lucky ones with this frag it seems, because it does develope and I can smell the heliotrope and immortelle flowers. The suede accord, on me anyway, is there from opening to end. It stays quietly in the backround never overwhelming or synthetic, but adding depth and interest to the perfume. The amber nicely rounds out the sweet vanilla so it turns into a soft and sexy fragrance that is spicy and feminine. Very alluring and great for cold weather or those little black dress evenings.

Sillage is great in my opinion. I can and have worn this to the office and not one of my patients or co-workers have complained about it. This is a scent that I can enjoy without feeling like I'm fumigating the room with my perfume. Lasting power is quite good a solid 6-8 hours on my skin, but it does linger on clothes for days if it gets on them. Cuir Beluga is soft not brash.

edit 7-2012: it does have a kind of a weird playdoh scent on me sometimes, so I do have to be careful, but when it mixes right it's just lovely.

At first, this kinda-expensive-impulse-buy reminded me of Jicky (of course, it is the vanilla, the slight leather, the mandarin, and the amber); and I was struggling to find the situation where I would want to wear this INSTEAD of Jicky...

(I don't wear Shalimar - rose notes make me gag, so Jicky was what got stuck in my mind.)

This scent conjures up an image of a leather-appointed lounge with a glass of sweet vanilla-y cognac in my hand. Amber lighting....amber liquid... winter...everything in a soft glow.The image is a bit masculine, but I am always drawn to unisex scents. Stays close to the skin, so you almost want someone to be close enough to smell your neck.

And there was my answer: Jicky is a heck of a lot more complicated - and you don't need to be touching me to smell it. Cuir Beluga on a woman is a warm sensuality with a bit of an edge.

This winter, I am loving spraying it on my overclothes and scarves. On the fabric, the scent lasts for days. (It stays relatively well on my skin, too. 4-6 hours.)

Cuir Beluga is neither leather nor caviar. Discuss.

The incongruous name aside, I find myself frequently turning back to my waning decant of this plush blend. That signature Guerlain vanilla works to perfection here. An uncomplicated, less-is-more fragrance. I detect a light dose of heliotrope, and the gentlest whiff of leather, lending the vanilla its crisp, distinctive, aloof charm. There is no Guerlinade here, and I detect no amber accord. The almost leather note comes through in a close-to-the-skin bouquet, and remains after I shower off the top notes; but I find none of it in the projection. I worry that the sillage may be powdery--not a quality I seek in perfume. This is my reaction to the close-vs-far performance of most Guerlain Elixirs and A&Ms.

So what's in a name?
Though it doesn't work literally, Cuir Beluga is a clever metaphor for luxury in all its sensual forms: it evokes taste, touch, sight, sound (say it out loud. It's a mouthful, and a whale of a phoneme mix for non-native speakers of French), and of course, smell.

To me Cuir Beluga summons the softness and trompe l'œil nature of microfiber. I mean this in a good way.

(previous review replaced)
I am coming back to Cuir Beluga exactly one year after first trying it.

It's still getting the love from me, so my opinion won't be changing.

I think what is interfering with people's enjoyment of CB is the designation 'leather'. At this point I've tried "leathers": Cabochard, Tabac Blonde, Sycomore, etc, and Cuir Beluga is to leather what American idol is to opera. Yes, there are some shared notes, but the tune is vastly different.

Since most people have heard of/or sampled Citizen Queen i will call on that as a comparison. Do you think CQ is a leather? Or would you call it a powdery, soft suede?

What leather can do is give something a little 'crackle', it almost acts like incense here (as it does in CQ, and Sonoma Scent's Tabac aurea)

What I love about Cuir Beluga is that it never gets too sweet, and stays in that resinous realm of earthy goodness. This is my second favorite scent from this line, and one of my favorites from the house of Guerlain.

One of my Guerlain faves - it smells deliciously warm and seductive on me.

Guerlain CUIR BELUGA is really the Emperor's New Clothes of leather perfumes. How strange that one would want to make a non-leather leather fragrance. After all, no one forces a perfumer to make a leather perfume, so he/she can always choose to create another lightly floral amber vanilla instead, and that is in fact what we have here.

I'm not saying that every leather perfume must approach CABOCHARD, but CUIR BELUGA is much closer to L'Artisan Parfumeur BOIS FARINE! It doesn't make sense strategically, either, I think. When I got out my sample vial of CUIR BELUGA this evening I looked forward with great anticipation to a new leather perfume that would be refined and sophisticated, perhaps something really out of the ordinary (given the price...). What I thought I could certainly count on was something very daring--isn't that the point of leather frags, after all? Leather is an intrinsically eccentric note--the very antithesis of most.

Instead, I find myself wearing a pleasant, but rather nondescript linear scent with a touch of the gourmandise of IRIS GANACHE and ANGELIQUE NOIRE in a floury-amber, not a leathery base! What a disappointment.

Not very leathery. I really liked the name and imagined a deeply animalistic leather. Instead, it is a very pleasant vanilla-type. Not worth the price.

it is not a leather !
but a sweet vanilla perfume, so feminine, but very much expensive ....it is a shame ! beautiful but not indispensable !

I must try this ...
you describe an amazing scent
e-bay has it at US $325.00 75ml (tester)


How do I get a hold of this Fragrance!??

Update:
The Perfumed Court
has a 5ml glass spray bottle
for $45.00

Cuir beluga smells of camomile tea with a lot of sweet honey in it. I cannot smell leather at all :( On my skin it is almost a linear fragrance and, surprisingly, it does not last at all.

Creamy vanilla and mandarin with subtle floral tones. Edible, with a leather note only at the very end. On somedays, I only get plain sweet vanilla, but it's very nice and not one of the Guerlains that goes nasty on me. (Like Shalimar.)

A powdery and woody fragrance, for me, it's reminiscence of the Shalimar base notes, but lighter and calmer.
A very tender scent of creamy white velvet leather.