Cuir Garamante Parfums MDCI 2013

As a student of biosciences, one often faces identity crises and existential fears, especially during very frustrating times like writing a bachelor's thesis.
Somehow, I then came up with the idea to write to Claude Marchal and simply ask him how he came up with the idea of creating perfumes or having them created, becoming the Creative Director of his own brand.

The short version of his answer was basically that while he earned well in his previous job (he worked for a company that builds private jets if I interpreted that correctly), it eventually became too much for him. And since he had always liked perfume in some way, he wanted to do that!

"Sometimes, you have to make very risky choices in life. They can either fail or reward you a lot."

Well, that's certainly universally valid, but still motivating.

The connection to Cuir Garamante is as follows: By chance, I found out through a post in a Facebook group that MDCI is launching 2 new fragrances at the end of November.
So I thought I would email Claude Marchal again, just to know when it would be available for purchase. And of course, to ask how he came up with the idea of creating a leather scent.

He said he wanted to create a leather fragrance because he never really liked leather scents and therefore never dealt with them much, but it would be a good addition to the fragrances that had already been created.
Since I argued exactly the same way during my interview for the Master's in Plant Biology, I found that sympathetic.

Based on the previous fragrances, I was convinced that the scent would be a hit anyway. I then received samples of Nuit Andalouse and Cuir Garamante and was very surprised by Cuir Garamante.
At first, I thought I would be greeted by a leather scent like 1740 - Marquis de Sade or Cuir Ottoman, but Cuir Garamante is only relatively leathery at the beginning.

It's more of a gentle, soft leather accord that is accompanied by spices and oud.
The leather is quite subtle and identifiable, but without smelling tarry (compare Cuir Ottoman) or fermented (compare Aoud Cuir d'Arabie or the first seconds of 1740 - MdS). Nevertheless, the leather accord has that feeling described by Chandler Burr in his review: a sun-warmed leather sandal that has fallen from the perfumed foot of a pretty harem girl.
Saffron, nutmeg, and rose seem to make up the spicy part here; this accord vaguely reminds me of the one from Terry de Gunzburg's "Terryfic Oud," but without cumin and thus without any hint of unwashed armpits.
I can hardly identify other components right away, but since oud is missing from the fragrance pyramid, I'm not sure if it's trustworthy. So there could be cumin in it after all, or at least something that can be interpreted as cumin.
Up close, Cuir Garamante smells less like a leather fragrance and more like a gentle oud and spices with a slightly animalistic touch (from the leather).
The scent trail, however, is phenomenal; here, all three components seem to be equally represented, making the leather more recognizable and conveying that feeling described above.
The longevity is spectacular; when I tried to wash it off after the first test, it didn't work despite soap. I could still perceive it on my wrist the next morning. Anyone who has smelled all the other MDCIs will notice that these fragrances are inconspicuously powerful and possess a perfect balance between strength and control.
And Cuir Garamante is a bit of everything, but not too much of anything. And yet the overall composition is polarizing, but coherent in itself.

Claude Marchal said Cuir Garamante has more power than what has been released so far (IB, AT, and CP), hence he was a bit skeptical. Additionally, he expected more criticism since every good perfume house has a good leather scent and everyone is currently launching an oud fragrance.

However, I believe that Cuir Garamante does not smell like hasty work; I am sure Claude Marchal searched long enough until he smelled what he wanted:

"I am happy with my (risky?) choice!"

So am I.