Russisch Leder Johann Maria Farina gegenüber dem Jülichs-Platz 1967 Eau de Toilette

I was very disappointed by Farina's much praised cologne. I clearly prefer the eternal competitor of 4711. Therefore I was not particularly keen on testing the Russian Farina. And so it remained the last untested sample (before I organize new ones...) in my "colonial goods sample box". Then last night I thought with Beethoven: "Must it be? It must be!" and then shouted with Kant from "Pflicht! You sublime name!", took the sample boldly and sprayed resolutely three times on my forearm
Zabong! I would have been knocked down if I hadn't been lying there lying down (not crouched in the Russian's squat) anyway. This is really awesome stuff! Ingeniously good and beary especially! I started to write down my first and second impressions and read the comments so far. Unfortunately (or fortunately, harmony and unity are something beautiful) I found out that my precommentators, especially Yatagan and Konsalik, have already said what I felt. But since their comments are already 7 and 2 years old, it is a remake.

Without any foreplay, Russian leather will shoot a full brown and at the same time fresh spiciness through your olfactory nerves into your cerebellum within milliseconds. One of the warming (almost tingling), balsamic, aromatic variety. I (also) immediately notice a strong similarity to Tabac Original (which I love). However, I find the Farinski to be a little lighter in colour, and it has a specific menthol or eucalyptus-like freshness that I don't remember in the Mäurer. Also the barbershop (or in case of a Russian: Parjukmácher) association might be even stronger, because here the full soap-drumming is included right in the package with the (sandal-) wooden crucible, in which the soap is whipped.

Another difference is (this only became clear to me when I thought about it later) that the Farina is even further away from a classic citric cologne than Tabac Original. If the "Colonia Russa" from SMN, which was reviewed yesterday, is still completely Mediterranean cologne (with a brown spot), while Tabac is already about two-thirds "brown", there is practically no cologne left here. It is (almost) only a fresh spicy-balsamic-soapy woody scent for men. There is no lavender and citric notes are in the pyramid, but I can only perceive them in traces (and firmly built in) at best.

Thus, this fragrance is doubly on the fringes of the genre reviewed here, as it is not called "Cologne" but "Eau de Toilette", which is actually an exclusion criterion for my series. Here I allowed myself the exception, because Farina is a typical Cologne producer.

Back to the fragrance: its basic characteristics remain the same, the key note spicy fougère I would say boldly, but the "accompanying notes" change. After perhaps thirty to sixty minutes, I take on a fascinating aldehyde cloud, which for a Kerlowitsch fragrance is highly surprising and feminine in appearance, almost reminiscent of Lehmann's Sminta or even Chanel's No. 5. Then velvety suede associations are added, and in the end it gets a bit more creaky and harder, as if the leather and wood on the Russian stove has now dried.

With my generous dosage, the shelf life is more than 24 hours, which leads to the maximum value. The projection is also strong, which proved to be a drawback in that Spee's wife could only be dissuaded from having her dinner and her night's rest separately from me. Similar to Ajlen, I also had to experience that the fragrance is not necessarily an asset in the (especially female) environment. With Tabac Original this did not happen to me. Maybe because of that, but also because I find the mason a bit more clearly contoured and classically structured in the end, I would see Farina by nose length behind (unlike Yatagan, but just like him I wouldn't want to commit myself conclusively).

Conclusion: A great scent experience, a huge surprise, and a force of Russian scent. Please dose carefully and test carefully before use in interaction with the opposite sex.

Supplements: The fragrance is offered on Farina's website for 78 Euro for 100 ml and is therefore no "drugstore bargain". The label still looks as grandiose 60's ugly as in the picture above. The "Russians" specificity should have been triggered here quite conventionally by birch tar; this is probably what is meant by "leather" in the pyramid. The scent has nothing to do with modern leather scents à la "Tuscan".