1
Soft vigor
I'm somewhat of a freshie hater. The appeal of these often fleeting scents is lost on me, and if I simply want to "smell clean", showering and doing laundry typically suffice. Citrus-heavy fragrances are often an olfactory assault to my nose: Nishane's much-hyped Wūlóng Chá smells like someone knocked over bathroom cleaner at an upscale hotel, and Francis Kurkdjian's Petit Matin—rated with 7.8 stars on this site at the time of my review—made me wince, reeking as it does of urinal cakes.
Enter Crème de Cuir. A fragrance that exudes freshness without being a dreaded freshie. A strong citrus-forward opening, but without the usual shrieking harshness. An addicting pineapple note and a dash of pepper. Brightness and vigor in a bottle.
If I had to assign a gender to this fragrance, I'd go with "soft butch". The birch and leather notes read as conventionally masculine, but they've been brightened and sanded and softened, bringing to mind the pale wood of Scandinavian furniture and the suppleness of an ivory suede handbag. The presence of vanilla contributes a certain a cuddle factor but forgoes any girlish sweetness. The citruses are delightfully unisex, as is the fragrance as a whole (for what it's worth, however, my husband finds it "very masculine").
The softness of Crème de Cuir extends to its behavior on the skin: this is not a loud perfume by any means. I would deem it suitable for professional settings, travel, dentist's office visits and other situations where you want to smell exquisite without choking out the masses. I've enjoyed sampling it during a cold Swiss winter, but I suspect it shines even more in warmer temperatures. Performance is respectable for a fragrance of this kind, with three sprays from the sample atomizer yielding a soft bubble that lasts around five hours and dies down to a vanillic skin scent. With that said, I do wish it packed more of a punch—that and the price are the only things holding me back from acquiring a full bottle.
Enter Crème de Cuir. A fragrance that exudes freshness without being a dreaded freshie. A strong citrus-forward opening, but without the usual shrieking harshness. An addicting pineapple note and a dash of pepper. Brightness and vigor in a bottle.
If I had to assign a gender to this fragrance, I'd go with "soft butch". The birch and leather notes read as conventionally masculine, but they've been brightened and sanded and softened, bringing to mind the pale wood of Scandinavian furniture and the suppleness of an ivory suede handbag. The presence of vanilla contributes a certain a cuddle factor but forgoes any girlish sweetness. The citruses are delightfully unisex, as is the fragrance as a whole (for what it's worth, however, my husband finds it "very masculine").
The softness of Crème de Cuir extends to its behavior on the skin: this is not a loud perfume by any means. I would deem it suitable for professional settings, travel, dentist's office visits and other situations where you want to smell exquisite without choking out the masses. I've enjoyed sampling it during a cold Swiss winter, but I suspect it shines even more in warmer temperatures. Performance is respectable for a fragrance of this kind, with three sprays from the sample atomizer yielding a soft bubble that lasts around five hours and dies down to a vanillic skin scent. With that said, I do wish it packed more of a punch—that and the price are the only things holding me back from acquiring a full bottle.