Cuir Béluga Guerlain 2005

This fragrance has pretty much achieved cult status by now and the many reviews speak for themselves :) But since I've decided to write down and formulate my fragrance impressions a bit more (both as a little exercise and to reflect on my collection), I'll now also write something about it.
I got to know the fragrance as an addition to a souk - and unfortunately I didn't like it at all back then. It was far too "old-fashioned" for my nose and I didn't know what to do with leather in any form back then. With some practice and many, many fragrances later, the tide turned (fortunately) and Cuir Béluga was allowed to move in with me.

Cuir Beluga starts off incredibly velvety and soft, almost like a veil that covers you. Not a dark, black veil - but one made of soft, flowing silk. I can smell the suede from the very first moment and it remains discreetly present throughout the fragrance, but without becoming too "bitter" or "dry" - rather "smooth" with a pleasant sweetness. The aldehydes in the opening are rather subtle and very finely interwoven. The vanilla is simply beautiful and becomes even more intense in the drydown. I hardly notice any patchouli - to my nose, Cuir Béluga is simply a leather-vanilla fragrance that couldn't be more beautiful! :)
I don't notice any significant development, the fragrance remains quite constant and balanced over time. But that may also be due to my non-professional nose.
The longevity on clothing is very good, on my skin unfortunately not quite so... The sillage is good, but compared to other winter fragrances I'm currently testing (e.g. Ôud Bouquet or Hermessence Ambre Narguilé), it's rather mid-range. But I think that's a good thing - if the fragrance were any stronger, it would perhaps be annoying again and cause headaches.

Guerlain simply has wonderful fragrances and the whole concept of "l'art et la matière" fragrances is high-quality and luxurious - and therefore also quite dangerous, especially if you look at the pricing policy of recent years.

I look forward to wearing the fragrance more often in the coming season and can only emphasize again and again - test fragrances that you didn't like in the past. Because tastes are constantly changing.