Private Collection - Cuir d'Iris fragrance notes
Head
- bergamot, cardamom
Heart
- iris, patchouli, cedarwood
Base
- old black leather, vetiver, rizophora tannin, amber
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Latest Reviews of Private Collection - Cuir d'Iris

Add to this Pierre Guillaume’s signature amber-musk combo that smells uniquely intimate, like the sweet, yeasty folds of skin under a baby’s neck or the two-day scalp of a loved one, and you have yourself a result that stands less with the Cuir de Russies and the Knize Tens of the world, and more with the L’Air de Riens. And yet, step back, and this is still clearly leather – freshly cured, curdy, a bit raw and thin. But leather is just skin after all. And human skin is still animal skin. In the series ‘Hannibal’, his therapist tells him that while she admires its construction, what he is wearing is a well-constructed person suit, suggesting that his humanity is something one can slip into (or out of) as easily as one would a pair of dress pants. Cuir d’Iris, with its organic, lived-in human-ness, is the ultimate parfum de peau. Robots and psychopaths, take note.

This is not just leather,this is skin leather, it's leather being uaed in contact with the skin in high-intensity activity.iris provides some creaminess and refinement,and incense together wit amber take this juice out of the obvious, and repeated leather-iris compositions.it has some sweetness, but not directed to create gourmand nuances,but amplifying the effect of warmed uo bodies.as it dries down the leather with animalic notes becomes a bit more powdery,but keeps it's overall character. good projection and longevity.
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Okay, but how does it smell? Like uncured leather combined with some rooty vegetation, a hint of tobacco and the darkest, richest, bittersweet chocolate money can buy.

P.S: dry down is mostly incensey-chocolatey and frankly somewhat boring.

Cuir d'Iris has a smoky harshness to it (the Oud, Patchouli, and Cedarwood), which reminds one of coal tar. It is not warm, sweet and enveloping as a great leather needs to be. It balances a line between a rough, uncured leather and uncured tobacco leaves. The use of the iris is very restrained but constantly present. A warm leather requires some violet in its make-up, but that is not present here.
Some of the early "cuir de russie" scents from the late 1890s and the early 1900s had this harsh, smoky, uncured effect, which made sense in those days of unhygienic body odors permeating society on all levels. This doesn't work for me, but it's a perfectly fine scent for those who want their leather this strong.
