Oriza L.Legrand - Cuir de l'Aigle Russe

Picture: Cuir de l'Aigle Russe
Photo: PR Oriza L.Legrand

Following my Oriza theme last week on twitter, here comes my review of their latest one.
Cuir de l'Aigle Russe is the latest creation of the great house of vintagestyled perfumes - Oriza L.Legrand.
Cuir de l'Aigle Russe has a note list longer than the pedrigree of the Tsars, and that combined with leather and the fact there is finally a new Oriza, it's over a year since the latest realeases, sets the hopes high.

Cuir de l'Aigle Russe (CdlAR) starts with a beautiful with soft powdery flowery accord in the comforting vintage, Oriza-style. It is high in the octaves on the notescale and it smells almost angelic. Soon a equally beautiful "blond"leathernote arrives, it is like leather in a very fine pair of gloves, very clear in smell and texture, there are no soft suedenotes. After a while the leather and flowery elements step backwards and a beautiful (every new note/accord arriving presents it self as very beautiful in this blend) bergamot/laveder combo appears taken the lead for a while, then the leather take some steps forward again. Also the balsamic, woody and musky notes later on seems very well.behaved, smooth, no harsh edges and again - beautiful. Some powdery notes in the Oriza tradition is present in almost the whole dry down in a very unobtrusive manner. The clear leathernote is also present in a subtle but clearly detectable way. The notes are so well blended and the accords are swirling around in a behaved but in the same time, intriguing way.

CdlAR is a classical bergamot-leather-lavender fragrance interpreted in a subtle and transparent way, it never becomes dense, cloying or "old fashion" smelling. It's like a very successful contemporary version, but still vintage in style, of this classic genre. The fragrance is classy, discrete and oozes of confidence, a perfect fragrance for negoations and other situations when the wearer needs to an authoritarian and in the same time comfortable, supporting and not disturbing perfume.

CdlAR belongs to a traditional masculine perfume category but in this version, it's lending slightly more to the feminine side. It's wearable year around, for daytime both for work and non-sporting casual. Sillage is medium and longevity for a day.

Those who like polished light leathers with flowery additions as Chanel Cuir de Russe Edt, Cuir de Lancome and Maître Parfumeur et Gantier Cuir Fetiche will certainly also like CdlAR.

Rating: 5

Notes: Coriander, lavender, wormwood, bergamot, juniper, styrax, geranium, rose, immortelle, cardamom, styrax, patchouli leaf, labdanum, incense, musk, tonka bean, sandalwood, amber, benzoin, vetiver

Thanks to Fragrance & Art for the sample to test

Le Galion - 222

Picture: The light leather 222
Photo: PR Le Galion (c)

Le Galion 222 is another reissue/reconstruction of an old fragrance from the house of Le Galion. Thomas Fontaine has reworked the old formula of Paul Vacher.

222 starts with a accord  similar to cardamon (not mentioned in the notelist) and leather, first the spicy note appears, than the leather intensifies. In this stege 222 reminds me of the cardamon infused trio Veni, Vidi, Vici by Histoire de Parfum.The leather is a natural smelling, medium strenght leather, like the leather in a pair of gloves, not the rough leather of a black bikers jacket nor the smooth leather inside a fine handbag. The leathery/spicy accord is balanced with a cold, slight nondescript  flowery accord and the fragrance as a whole is cold in texture. The base is sort of clean, contemporary mossy/woody with the leather still apperant. In the basenotes 222 reminds me of a smoother and weaker Helmut Lang Cuiron (vintage version).

222 is a gentle leather, suitable for most daytime occasion, for most season exept the warmest summerdays. Those who like light leathers like Hermès Kelly Caleche, Cuir de Lancome etc, could also appreciate 222.

Rating: 3

Notes: Violet, myrrh, styrax, lavender, geranium, coumarin, oakmoss, cedar, sandalwood, vanilla, leather

Histoires de Parfums – L’Olympia Music Hall

Picture: L'Olympia, Paris 9em, France,
Photo: KoS, ref PA00089012, (cc) Wikimedia commons,
some rights reserved

L’Olympia Music Hall is another temptating Histoires de Parfumes fragrance (this house ruins me :-) created by the house founder and owner Gérald Ghislain. As in 1889 Moulin Rouge the parfumer is inspired of a parisan musical establishment: L’Olympia Music Hall.

L’Olympia Music Hall starts up with a beautiful, sparkling leather accord where the citrus notes are glimmering and makes the very true leathernote uplifting and captivating. The leathery note continues to be present during the whole dry down of L’Olympia even if teken a step to the background in the later parts of the fragrance. There is the scent of fine leather, as from the inside of an elegant handbag, an impression that deepens when the flowers and a quickly glimpsed accord of powder, occours. There is also a distinct, cold flowery, almost, green note that is present from early on and which also remains in the basenotes. Probably this note appers from the crisp “watery” flowers of lilac and freesia that is listed in the middlenotes. This accord, together with some of the peppery peony accord of Histoires de Parfums Vert Pivoine,   counterbalances the wellblended classical rose-saffron accord and adds additional sparkle to L’Olympia even in the later stages of its dry down. When L’Olympia reaches the basenotes the spicy aspect of saffron is reinforced but counterbalanced with dark patchouli and also with sweet, dark notes as licorice. There is also a  hint of a mouthwatering berrynote present. The leather in this part is tuned down and almost like velvet in texture ie like suede. A pleasant but distinctive musk is finally linking the basenotes together.  The musky, flowery facets that still remains in the base, reminds me somehow of the musky basenotes of the Vert Pivoine mentioned above. Also when L’Olympia lingers for multiple hours in the basenotes, it’s a beautiful fragrance, even if not as original as the opening with the leather accord which is so true to the real scent of leather. To me L’Olympia appears to be a successful mix of a good feminine leather fragrance as for example Cuir de Lancome and a dark, spicy, rose patchouli as for example Midnight Oud by Juliette Has A Gun and Agent Provocateur (by Agent Provocateur).

If L’Olympia embodies the establishment as well as 1889 Moulin Rouge captured the fin d’siecle mood of that establishment, I’don’t know as I don’t know anything about L’Olympia. But I trust the perfumer and assume there were rumbling and colorful shows going on there as very much is going on in this fascinating, distinctive and wellcrafted perfume.

L’Olympia is a perfume of high volume which is acting out its energy underscored by all the interesting notes. It’s appearance reminds me vaugly of the aura of the grand perfumes of the 80s, which is a pleasant discovery in the stream of beautiful, wellbehaved, subudued, powdery, musky, florals we are used to at the present. Under these conditions there is necessary to apply L’Olympia sparingly, a spritz too much and it becomes overpowering. L’Olympia is perfect for evening wear but could also be worn daytime during the winter. Great sillage and stayingpower.

Rating: 4 

Notes: Mandarin, lemon, bergamot, orange, pink berries, black pepper, saffron, rose, freesia, lilac, peony, blond wood, patchouli, frankincense, styrax, suede, vanilla, chocolate, licorice, white musk

Frapin - Speakeasy

Picture:This building at 1223 Connecticut Ave, NW, (the MCCXXII Club)
 was known as the Mayflower Club. It was considered the swankiest Prohibition-era speakeasy in DC
Author:dbking, Wikimedia commons (cc) some rights reserved 

Speakeasy was the nickname of more elegant illegal establishments selling alcoholic beverages during the Prohibition era in the United States. What could be more appropriate name for a fragrance from the old congachouse Frapin which since aboust ten years also has perfume as one of its businesslines. Speakeasy is a creation by perfumer Marc-Antoine Corticchiato who usually works for his own perfumehouse Parfum d'Empires.

Speakeasy starts with a clean and pronounced leather accord. The leather smells new and fresh, the image is of light cognaccolored leather of a good quality used in a fine handbag. The leathersmell is very natural to my nose and mot mixed up with so many other notes as it often is. In the opening stages there something similat to the leather in Montale Aoud Leather but the Frapin leather is smoother, better balanced and  lacks the almost aquatic note in the top notes of Aoud Leather. In its texture and appearance, even if different in the leathery smell, Speakeasy reminds me of a masculine Cuir de Lancome. After a whlie a minty note appears and it or something else, adds a metallic vibe to the fragrance which becomes even  more masculine than in the first accords. Here a bold 1989s maco tobacco-leather comes to my mind and will stay there during the whole dry down as the metallic leather will be there more or less also in the coming stages: Gianfranco Ferre Man. Speakeasy is a tuned down, smoother, rounder and contemporary interpretation on a similar theme with GF Man. As Speakeasy reaches the basenotes, suddenly it gets warm and the metallic note steps a bit aside in favor of a round, mouthwatering, boozy, ruhmlike note (which I think is davana) supported by some light tobbacco. A certain tamed sweetness helps to ground the delicious boozy accord, it's almost as a cognac barrel. In this stage there is similarities to the boozy davana of  L'Oiseau de Nuit by Parfumerie Générale but less sweet and subtler in Speakeasy. Somewhere in the middle of the basenotes suddenly a very clean, almost airy immortellenote shows up, it's not the dense syrupy version that sometimes is too dominating in leather/tobacco fragrances. The shift from the clean, light leather over the very masculine metallic stage to the round, delicious ruhm and cognac barrel notes accompanied by fresh tobacco base is very interesting, something happens during the whole dry down. The final accords evokes the picture of well used leather clubchairs in which gentlemen has lighten their cigars and sipped their cognacs for decades.

Even if a bit more on the masculine side in the middlenots of the unisexspectra, I think Speakeasy is genderless and I think it was pleasant to wear on a quite chilly Octoberday. It's a perfect fragrance for autumn- and winterdays as for chilly spring evenings. Sillage is medium and longevity more than 12h.

Rating: 5

Notes: Ruhm, orange, lime, geranium, mint, labdanum, styrax, tobacco, leather, musk, immortelle, tonkabeen