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Cuir de Chine 2016

7.5 / 10 140 Ratings
A perfume by Les Indémodables for women and men, released in 2016. The scent is floral-leathery. It is still in production.
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Main accords

Floral
Leathery
Fruity
Spicy
Green

Fragrance Notes

Chinese osmanthusChinese osmanthus Chinese osmanthus absoluteChinese osmanthus absolute French clary sageFrench clary sage Turkish light tobacco absoluteTurkish light tobacco absolute Egyptian jasmine absoluteEgyptian jasmine absolute

Perfumer

Ratings
Scent
7.5140 Ratings
Longevity
7.0103 Ratings
Sillage
6.5104 Ratings
Bottle
7.381 Ratings
Value for money
5.961 Ratings
Submitted by KingLui · last update on 02/13/2026.
Source-backed & verified

Smells similar

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Reviews

6 in-depth fragrance descriptions
Chrysoptera

105 Reviews
Chrysoptera
Chrysoptera
Helpful Review 3  
Osmanthus and loose tobacco
Osmanthus is the star of the show, and it's giving apricots and leather. So beautiful. Underneath there's a hint of tobacco, more loose tobacco than smoke. Like some of my other favorites from Les Indémodables, Cuir de Chine's appeal is in the simplicity, elegance, and high quality natural ingredients. I think this is quite masculine but that won't stop me from wearing it because it's just that good.
0 Comments
Ninamariah

316 Reviews
Ninamariah
Ninamariah
2  
It's all about Osmanthus, dirty leather, not so much Apricot like aroma
Besides Oriental Velours , Cuir de Chine is one of the simplest scents from Les Indemodables. There is a leather note which is typical from Osmanthus and there is a fruity kind of aroma which is a little bit dirty and not so attractive. An utterly light tobacco is lurking in the background but it's not smoky. For those who are not so familiar with Osmanthus, main accords look really misleading - this is definitely not traditionally fruity nor even traditionally leathery (like Osmanthus never is). The scent is made of good quality ingredients like all from LI but I'm still disappointed with this and it's a way too simple and boring. I realize that I'm not the right target group, because either I miss a little power and complexity in fragrances made from such natural ingredients, or the scent has to be a solifore of one of my favorite notes. I think this is more masculine and it's really great for work where you can't smell much, because the scent is completely intimate. Longevity is moderate.

Osmanthus alcoolat Chine Grand Cru 10%,
Jasmin absolue Égypte fin de récolte Grand Cru 1%,
Osmanthus absolue Chine 1%,
Tabac blond absolue Turquie 0.2%
Contient de l’essence de Sauge sclarée des Alpes*

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Updated on 11/25/2025
0 Comments
Kurai

388 Reviews
Kurai
Kurai
2  
Fruity-tobacco osmanthus
An osmanthus from Les Indemodables. Not just any osmanthus from the IFF catalogue, but "Chinese Osmanthus alcoolat Grand Cru 10%". Just so you know. Admittedly, I was pretty excited to get acquainted with this one after being blown away by Ambre Suprême. In anticipation of my first wear of Cuir de Chine, I figured this could either go far out with insanely twisted ratios or stay "true to nature" and end up overly timid.

The opening is a soft fade-in of fruitiness. It just keeps getting stronger until one finds him-/herself in apricot jam galore. This eventually settles down again and then transitions nicely into a grey-brown shade. Not so much leathery to me, but I do clearly get a tobacco note and even some clary sage. From here on, everything stays very mild and yeah more "true to nature" than insanely twisted. A fresh-fruity floral with a brownish base.

A fine view on the osmanthus note without any surprises, really. Lacking a bit of excitement even, so I am not really convinced so far. I do suspect this may work better in warmer days, though, so I am not giving up on this one just yet.
Updated on 11/10/2022
0 Comments
dangniceman

12 Reviews
dangniceman
dangniceman
2  
Suede Gloves on Apricots
Personal Notes: Imagine soft suede gloves resting on a dish of apricots. The leather isn't sharp or smoky, it's gentle and powdery. The osmanthus shines with that apricot-leather quality. The tobacco note doesn't really register for me. Well made for sure but quite boring. Nothing grabbed my attention.

Rating: 7 - Doesn't have anything that REALLY stands out to me, does what it sets out to do and doesn't have major problems. I wouldn't mind wearing it but would rather wear something else.

Who it's for: Osmanthus fans who want something soft and approachable.

Value for full bottle: Not worth it imho. Too expensive for something pleasant and unremarkable (to me despite it being very well made).

If you found these useful at all I'd appreciate a follow on TikTok/IG (let's talk frags!) @dangniceman
0 Comments
ClaireV

969 Reviews
ClaireV
ClaireV
1  
Herbal Essences shampoo over surprisingly gamey leather
This is an interesting one. At first spray, an explosion of apricot-scented shampoo bubbles and Galaxolide musks comes spilling out over me like I’m in one of those Herbal Essence ads, so I shuffle the index cards in my head until I find the slot where I’d file the sort of clean, fruity-soapy osmanthus tea thing that Jean-Claude Ellena would classify as ‘un parfum d’après midi’ and wish he’d thought of it while he was at Hermès (except, he did, and it’s called Osmanthe Yunnan).

But not so fast, lady! A surprisingly gamey leather accord quickly elbows its way past the pretty apricot, and lest we make any mistake about it, this is the pungent odor of raw leather rather than the smoothly-shaved and powdered pudenda of Tom Ford lore. For a while there – an hour tops – Cuir de Chine lurches between peach shampoo and grimy chaps until I feel like I’m Faye Dunaway in Chinatown (‘She’s my sister’ *Slap* ‘She’s my daughter’ *Slap* ‘She’s my sister…’ *Slap*). The scent eventually gentles itself, the pungency of the leather burning off into a soft suede accent that might be mistaken as a naturally occurring feature of osmanthus oil, whittling down into a tandem of equal parts suede and osmanthus (‘She’s my sister and my daughter’). I like Cuir de Chine a lot; it adds something new to the genre. I do wish it lasted longer, though (this is the case for most of the Les Indémodables line, by the way, apart from Vanille Havane and Chypre Azural).
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Statements

44 short views on the fragrance
2 years ago
2
I love osmanthus but this is missing something- it's very safe, cutesy, and pretty much just mid notes without an opening or base.
0 Comments
2
Leather note which is typical from Osmanthus, w/ a light tobacco lurking in the background. Top quality like all from LI, classy + intimate
0 Comments
2
Only the faintest of leather. Mostly fruity floral that's on the sweeter side. Linear, pleasant but not much character
0 Comments
1
Opens fruity; settles into a delicious, dark mélange of a tad stuffy osmanthus and jasmin, with a vaguely tobacco - leather base. Feminine.
0 Comments
1
Fair execution with top materials.
0 Comments
1
Cuir de Chine by Les Indémodables blends rich leather notes with hints of spices and warm woods, creating an elegant, timeless scent
0 Comments
1 year ago
1
First bit of this is a love — creamy apricot leather, hint of smoke ... feels perfect. Then falls comparatively flat in its sweet roundness.
0 Comments
1
Sweet, fruity osmanthus with slight leathery facets. Alas, there’s no good osmanthus on the market. This too is shampoo-y and fleeting.
0 Comments
1
Leathery osmanthus tobacco. The soft, sweet, fruity-floral osmanthus top is clearly separable from the dusty, green, slightly bitter base.
0 Comments
2 months ago
Tabac-coloured vegetable leather, not bad
0 Comments
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