Velvet Exotic Leather
Dolce & Gabbana (2015)

Opens with a smoky leather surrounded by fruity notes that grow bigger and bigger until they absorb most of the leather which, after the top notes takes the backstage. The fruits are sweet, but they are in contrast with darker herbal and lavender notes. There are traces of incense working in the background as well and together with a boozy note it
The bottom line is that the leather is so exotic that it's hardly detectible after the first hour and definitely this is not a leathery perfume.
This reminds me of a fruitier version of La Martina Cuero, mostly because of the leather accord used.

(From the outset, I had anticipated quite an olfactory ride as I wore, analyzed and prepared to post a review of this one. And it didn't disappoint!)

D&G's Velvet Exotic Leather is a classy, sophisticated fragrance that is not quite like any other offering from the company. It is an EdP that exudes a rich, complex character from beginning to end.

I see some similarities of VEL to Hugo Boss' The Scent, which also has that leather-fruit-spice quality to it. Also, I saw a slight resemblance to Atelier Cologne's Tobacco Nuit, i.e. the slight smoky-tangy thing.

From the initial spray-on, I get a moderately bright booze (that rum) and spiciness (the clary sage, no doubt) with a touch of woods (something akin to Comme des Garcons Wonderwood and a bit like DSquared's He Wood Rocky Mountain Wood, esp. due to the presence of labdanum "rock rose").

In about ten minutes, the moderate pungence of wood subsides, leaving a subtle spiciness along with incense, and then the emergence of a fine leather note - like a leather that is thinly coated with a slightly spicy and musky smelling oil. At this point, parallels to Coach for Men's suede note seem evident to me.

The scent eases back into a well-blended mix of light florals (i.e., lavender), spice, leather, incense, booze and even a tangerine-like citrus tang. The tanginess wears slowly away, and the result is a long-lasting, steady leather-incense-spice finish that never ceases to smell classy and sensual. The greatly copied vibe of modern powerhouses (like Ferragamo's Uomo, Paco Rabanne's Invictus, Armani's Stronger With You and Acqua di Gio Absolu, etc.) exists within VEL in mild, tolerable amounts that adds a modern twist, but this scent is unmistakably a multilayered high-end EdP that says so much more.

IMO, this fragrance is best for formal occasions esp. in colder temps. D&G's VEL is unquestionably well-made and well-behaved; whether one would pay the boutique price is another issue. Overall, I enjoyed this beautifully crafted potion and give it a strong thumbs up.

Smells similar to The One but more smooth and refined. Boozy, orangey-ambery, incense and leather in the opening. The drydown is just a soft incense and leather.

Feels formal but good for all weather except hot days. Definitely date night approved.

Projection is good to start but then goes to skin scent within 4 hours on me. The skin scent drydown lasts all workday.

The opening note are a mix of labdanum and a soft leather impressions. The leather is very smooth and restrained, with the gentle incense blending in seamlessly. Although there is a mild styrax in the background, there is no harshness, tanginess or smokiness on me throughout this phase of the development.

The second phase is characterised by a shift to the herbal, accentuated by the occasional slightly boozy whiff of olibanum, but soon this is drastically weakened and it becomes a nonspecific woodsy skin scent on me.

I get soft sillage, limited projection and four hours of longevity on my skin.

This autumnal scent is not disagreeable, but is is quite anaemic and generic overall. Whilst maybe a good choice in leather fragrances for those who dislike stronger leathery notes, it is too generic to convince. 2.5/5.

My second try from the high-end Dolce & Gabbana Velvet line (after Velvet Desert Oud), Velvet Exotic Leather is a bright, interesting mix of leather, fruity accords that are probably yielded mostly by the juniper and perhaps the labdanum, some sweetness (perhaps attributed to the rum, even), as well as some noticeable incense that comes off quite spicy rather than smoky.

The leather itself isn't particularly dominant but rather part of a reasonably-balanced ensemble, so it's not overly animalic, despite the alleged presence of clary sage, which can often exacerbate some of the dirtiness of a composition. Rather, it's quite sweet overall, not specifically boozy but there's something sweet about it that's not strictly the juniper, so I credit that to the rum. The note combination is odd, though--there's lavender, allegedly, but I wouldn't say it's very floral or fresh, either.

It seems like a solid performer, with medium/high projection and longevity. It ought to work for men and women alike, and is surely cold-weather-leaning while at the same time perhaps being acceptable in some warm weather situations if applied lightly. My inclination with leather and incense is to generally avoid them in the summer except under unusual circumstances.

The 50ml EDP bottle retails for $230 but is available on Notino at $130, and the latter price seems more appropriate, given that for a 50ml bottle, it doesn't dazzle like its similarly-priced counterpart brands like Tom Ford Private Blend or By Kilian.

It's a nice fragrance and a decant that I'll hang on to but not one I'll likely buy even at the secondary market pricing. It works well, but fails to really impress me, though it's agreeable enough.

7 out of 10