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ColinM
Helpful Review
3
Solid leather
Easily one the nicest leather scents on the market at the moment, at least for the “straightforward leathers” part of the family. What I enjoy more in Cuir 28 is the perfect, “round” simplicity of the leather accord, which has basically nothing around “disturbing” it: it is indeed a bit tending towards freshness more than “dark harsh heaviness” like other leather scents, but overall it smells really bright, realistic, “purely leathery”. There’s vetiver, cedar, darker woody notes to provide a stout base with also a slight medicinal feel (like oud), then spices (cloves), a subtle veil of warm and dusty vanilla adding the right amount of “softness”, the usual aromachemicals used to build leather accords, a sprinkle of bright citrus, and that’s it. These notes are tightly blended to create “the” leather accord par excellence: a sharp, neat, meticulous “figurative” depiction of leather. A really well-balanced scent which is not too harsh, not too dry, not softly suede-ish, not excessively “smoky”, not “openly” synthetic... yet a bit of all of them: just soft, rich, high-quality finished leather. And ironically, Cuir 28 is so austerely simple, that (for the almighty power of “less is more”) it smells more interesting and fascinating than most of other contemporary leathers which almost always try to “add” something to leather (tobacco, fruits, flowers, oud...). It does not resemble to any leather scent; yet it does a bit to all of them, as if it was “a leather of leathers”, a sort of patchwork of all the leather notes taken from all leather scents (I get I am starting to write nonsense, be patient, it’s almost over). Plus, note that “simple” here doesn’t mean minimalistic or thin: Cuir 28 is rich, complex, fulfilling, almost “materic” in its realistic power: it smells solid and full of nice nuances, all perfectly connected to leather. Literally providing that feel you get by wearing and touching your favourite high-quality leather jacket: that warm, “masculine”, elegant, soft feel. It is obviously a bit dark, but dont’ imagine anything gloomy or dry: it’s dark in a warmer, laid-back, yet sophisticated meaning. Anyway: really good. Two flaws: much linear, and quite costly. But a must try for all leather fans.
7,5-8/10
Hermesh
