La Yuqawam pour Homme Rasasi 2012

Ah yes - I actually don't like leather fragrances. I often find these scents too old-fashioned, rough, and dry. However, I have refrained from this so far. An exception was actually the long-standing Mercedes-Benz Black Leather, which is mainly young and sweetened up, making it quite mass-appealing. Now, Rasasi La Yuqawam (LY) is also in my collection and represents the second Rasasi in my collection alongside Hawas.

I actually came across La Yuqawam through research on well-known perfume clones. This fragrance is said to be a very convincing clone of Tom Ford's Tuscan Leather (TL). I had heard about Tuscan Leather several times before but had never tested it. At least I simply believed that I wouldn't like this type of scent simply because of the name "Leather." How wrong I was...

As fate would have it, about a year ago, I visited a perfumery that happened to sell both Rasasi La Yuqawam and Tom Ford Tuscan Leather at the same time! This fit perfectly into my research on perfume clones. So I seized the opportunity to test both in direct comparison, each on one arm. More on the comparison later.

From the very first spray of LY, I knew that this would be a scent like no other. It will have uniqueness. Of course, the leather is already noticeable, and it can quickly assault the nose. But the beast is immediately tamed by a fruitiness, complemented by oriental spiciness. La Yuqawam feels distinctly more oriental and not, as TL might suggest, elegantly Italian. Fruitiness and leather engage in a duel at eye level in the first minutes. However, I find that the berry in the top note is more of a blackberry than a raspberry. This note really lasts a long time and is always perceptible throughout the fragrance's development. Although - sometimes a hint of raspberry does come through, but it feels as if it has been candied - yet this raspberry holds back quite a bit.

When the top note fades, there is a continuous interplay between spiciness, smokiness, and really pleasant leather. The leather does not immediately overshadow everything around it but steadily accompanies the other components. And that is probably why this leather scent is more than bearable for me. I don't just smell dry, rough leather. I constantly smell the blackberry in the background, incense, and slightly charred wood. Very masculine, a bit animalistic but not too aggressively intrusive (maybe just a little) but still really noticeable.

Speaking of perceptibility: I believe there is not a single fragrance in my collection that I smell on myself for as long as La Yuqawam when I wear it. I'm talking about around 7-8 hours, during which I inhale a little cloud of scent repeatedly. Honestly, I think it's great because it constantly confirms that this perfume easily carries you through half the day. Overall, the scent is perceptible on the skin for more than 10 hours, so I can only agree with the other comments regarding this. Such longevity is, of course, a dream.

Now for a brief comparison with Tuscan Leather. In the top note, I find the most significant difference. The fruitiness of the blackberry/raspberry in La Yuqawam is much more pronounced than in Tuscan Leather. There, the berry is noticeable, but much more subtle, so the scent in Tom Ford focuses more on the leather accords. However, these appear somewhat softer and more refined from the start than in Rasasi. Nevertheless, after a while, these two scents are practically indistinguishable (or only marginally so). Rasasi has done a good job when it comes to copying. But its stronger fruitiness is what I actually prefer a little more than in Tom Ford.

I can recommend the perfume if you are really looking for a powerhouse for autumn or winter, best for autumn. La Yuqawam is more casual to wear, as it appears a bit less elegant than Tuscan Leather. However, I would only consider a blind purchase if you have the Tuscan Leather DNA firmly in mind and want a scent that comes close to it, pushes the berry more to the forefront, and also offers a very good price-performance ratio. Then I think you can't go wrong. I, for one, am more than happy with La Yuqawam!