Christian Dior Eau Noire

Wearing Eau Noire today reminded me of all that can be good about the Christian Dior line. I like a lot of Dior perfumes, including many of the mainstream ones, but one that sent me into a right old tailspin was Leather Oud, which is gorgeously sensuous and sexy. Eau Noire doesn't quite reach the giddy heights of Leather Oud, at least not for me, but nevertheless it is a lovely perfume. 

What can be said about Eau Noire that hasn't been written before? Probably not much, to be honest. What you get here is essentially an Immortelle-focused perfume, with vanilla and woods, lavender and a hint of leather perhaps. Immortelle tends to be a divider of opinion - some like its maple syrup and curry-ish accord, while others despise it. I certainly like it in Eau Noire, when it is evident, but not like a whack over the head. I found the same sort of thing in Chanel's Coromandel for example, where the patchouli was presented in such a way that you were left in no doubt as to the primary ingredient, but it didn't overwhelm. 

Eau Noire has decent lasting power and smells very good. I suspect it would perform better in cooler weather, when I could sense it being more of a comfort scent, but I will need to test it in a few months time and report back. 

Scent of the day - Dior Leather Oud

Leather Oud is one of those perfumes that never fails to stir my emotions. It's a delight every time. How often does that happen with perfume? In my experience, quite seldom.

I've reviewed Leather Oud in detail before, here, but suffice to say that it is a wonderful fragrance. It still strikes me as being ever so slightly naughty, with a hint of skank that reminds me a little of Absolue Poir Le Soir. When I say skank, it really reminds me of the smell of hot skin, that may have sweated a little and dried. Not body odour, but more like clean hot skin after love-making. There, I said it...

I haven't tried a lot else from the Dior exclusive line, but for me, Leather Oud is a winner. A must try in my opinion.

Image credit - http://www.perfumemaster.org/

Scent of the day is...

Christian Dior's Leather Oud. To me its an indicator of quality when I keep on returning to a fragrance. Leather Oud just smells great. Smoothly animalic, warm, slightly leathery. Almost rosy in a way. While oud is present, this is by no means to me an oud-centric perfume. You little beauty!

Christian Dior Leather Oud

I suspect that I might be slightly late to the Leather Oud party, but what a celebration it is! As I sample and try more and more perfumes, it seems the more special a perfume has to be to impress me. Of late there are only a handful that have had this immediate 'wow' effect on me. A couple that spring to mind are Absolue Pour Le Soir by Francis Kurkdjian and to a lesser extent Secret Oud by Caron.

Now I can add a third to the list - Leather Oud. Like with all my favourites, it is often very difficult to pinpoint why it is so good. It's much easier to point out the negatives in perfume, I find. The notes from Now Smell This include leather notes and oud, Gaiac wood, cedar, sandalwood,  cardamom and clove. I'm sure there is more to Leather Oud than that. For example there is an exquisitely rendered civet note - a skankiness that just hums beneath the surface, warm and unctuous. Leather Oud starts with a massive whiff of intensely sweet, almost burnt/caramelised sugar, which lasts but seconds. As this note fades, a smoldering, smoky oud and leather accord emerges, and this sets the tone for the rest of development. Although not listed, I think I detect a rose note that seems almost honeyed, and the leather becomes thick and buttery, for want of a more suitable description. As the fragrance develops, the leather becomes smokier and combined with what I think is civet, a brilliant 'dirty' smell arises. On my skin it feels like a wonderful combination of leather, oud, honey, light florals just here and there and that slightly dirty civet feel - all good.

There is something about Leather Oud that has a a similar vibe to Absolue Pour le Soir. They are by no means the same, but while Absolue has no oud or leather, its incense note creates a similar feel to the smokiness in Leather Oud, and both have that fabulously dirty undertone. The top and heart of Leather Oud are my favourite - I find that the base, while still very good, loses a bit of that warmth and sensuousness that thrills me so much earlier on. While the oud is lovely in this composition, this is by no means an over-the-top oud perfume. It is very well balanced, with an equally stunning leather accord.

I think what I love so much about Leather Oud is that it is such a complex and multi-faceted perfume. I've worn it quite a lot over the last three weeks (thanks to a very kind swop by Persolaise) and while it still feels mostly the same each time, there are subtle variations and the range of smells is so great. Leather Oud oozes sophistication and in my opinion, originality. While the notes themselves and in isolation are well known, its their combination that makes the sum of this perfume so much greater than its parts. Highly recommended. One thing though - why does this need to be sold in a 250ml bottle? No matter how good it is it, I do not need that much of it. I wish they could sell it in 30ml or 50ml...

Image credit - http://fimgs.net/images/perfume/

Annick Goutal Eau de Sud

I find the Annick Goutal line a strange one. A lot of the feminine perfumes are rich, floral, blowsy perfumes; think Songes for example, while the masculines are mainly citrus-based, and slightly offbeat. Then you get the really odd, like Mandragore or Sables. This is not to say that Annick Goutal is a poor line. Far from it in fact, but I would say that generally speaking it doesn't float my boat. However, Eau de Sud is one that I really like. I think if you are looking for a citrus fragrance with a twist, and more importantly, one that can stand up to a bit of heat and humidity without fading within an hour, Eau de Sud might just be for you. The notes listed include bergamot, mandarin, grapefruit, lemon verbena, peppermint, basil, persian lime and woods. If this sounds very citrusy, it is, and the opening is a brisk, mouth-puckering blast of citrus, yet to me, not like a traditional cologne. The citrus fades to reveal quite a herbal heart, what with the basil, peppermint and the sort of citrusy, yet fragrant lime. In fact, later on Eau de Sud reminds me quite a lot of Eau Savage by Christian Dior; I think it might be the combination of citrus, verbena and basil in particular. For some reason I also find there is a saltiness to Eau De Sud, but not so much a sea saltiness, but the sort of saltiness you find when you lick the cut peel of a lovely, fragrant lemon. Have you ever found that with lemon? In spirit, I am also reminded a little of Sel de Vetiver, again not in actual smell, but that sensation of inhaling a humid, salt-laden breeze at the coast on a summery day.

Eau de Sud to me is a better and more interesting fragrance than the other well-known citrus in the Goutal line, Eau d'Hadrian. As I've already said, it is a citrus fragrance, but it has more going on than the usual suspects. It has enough herbs and woods to give it some longevity and interest, yet it remains fairly light and perfect for a warm summer day. While I suspect it might be favoured by men, I can't see any reason why a lady can't wear this. It is perfectly unisex and actually comes in both the masculine bottle pictured above left, and in the more usual, feminine bottle used by Goutal. I think it is a lovely perfume and highly recommend giving it a try.