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Musicandarts
1
A nice incense fragrance but with mediocre longevity
I like the way Bon Parfumeur thinks. Use three dominant notes and use other notes to add color to these dominant notes. This review was written initially for a sample of 603 Leather, Incense & Tonka Bean that I bought from Bon Parfumeur. Subsequently, I bought a full bottle. The perfumer behind this perfume is Mylène Alran, who is not familiar to me other than 603. You can see her discuss this perfume on YouTube. This perfume has recently been rebranded as Cuir Sahib according to their website with some small differences in the minor notes. But I am not sure if the perfume itself has changed. This review is about the 603 Leather, Incense & Tonka that I bought in June 2024.
A few years ago, the notes listed on Bon Parfumeur website for 603 were lemon, nutmeg, violet leaf, incense, cypress, clary sage, leather, tonka bean and cashmeran. Bon Parfumeur 603 opens with leather and incense notes, though the manufacturer lists the leather much lower on the olfactory pyramid. According to Mylène Alran in her YouTube interview, the objective was to magnify the incense accord using notes that embellish its character. My nose couldn’t detect any of the top notes (lemon, nutmeg and violet leaf) listed on their website and discussed by Alran. Perhaps a better nose than mine can detect them. This is not a detriment because the leather and incense can hold the fort on their own. As “incense” is already a melange of notes, it is possible that nutmeg and cypress are all rolled into it. Within an hour, tonka comes to the forefront, though it is listed as a base note. The overall effect is very lovely for the first few hours. The notes mentioned in the name - leather, incense and tonka - are clearly the pillars that hold 603 up. Keep in mind that the leather note is mild, so 603 does not resemble Fahrenheit from Dior. Just for the sake of completeness, new notes added in 2025 to the olfactory profile on the website are labdanum, cypriol and patchouli. Someone could comment if these exist in detectable quantities in the Cuir Sahib.
The challenge with Bon Parfumeur 603 is the longevity. It disappears from my skin almost completely in 6 hours, leaving only a vaguely pleasant dry down. But it stays longer on clothes. 603 would have been a classic if the dominant notes stayed alive for a few more hours. This is the best perfume among the many Bon Parfumeur samples I have tested so far. I have reviewed a few others on Parfumo.
In summary, Bon Parfumeur 603 is a good incense perfume, though it is a rather monotonous incense throughout its life. Despite the longevity issue, I would buy it if I can get a 100 ml/3.4 oz bottle for under $100. It is good value at that price, especially if you want a perfume that is primarily incense. Unfortunately, it is currently listed at $220, though you may be able to snag one for under $75 from the grey market sellers.
Top Notes 
Violet leaf
Nutmeg
Lemon
Heart Notes 
Clary sage
Cypress
Frankincense
Base Notes 
Tonka bean
Cashmeran
Leather
