Hey, Hey Posse! I’m going back through my collection a bit lately to wear things that have sat unworn and unremembered for a while. One of the major problems in having such a large collection of bottles is that once they get put in their box, in another box they have less chance of being noticed and sprayed. My DIOR Prive bottles are mainly in a box on top of the perfume cupboard and I forget them. Granville, Mitzah and La Colle Noire are displayed on my bureau but the boxed away ones get forgotten. I’ve just retrieved Leather Oud from up there and brought it into the rotation. YAY! I forgot how deliciously wearable it is.

Leather Oud by DIOR 2010

François Demachy

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Amber, Balsam tree wood, Beeswax, Birch, Clove, Cardamom, Labdanum, Leather, Oud, Patchouli, Sandalwood, Vetiver, Cedar, Civet

Over the last decade or so oudh has become as ubiquitous as bergamot and sandalwood in fragrance. With many of the more traditional base notes being pulled from use or the amounts allowed to be used cut enormously it has become a mainstay to ground and base the scents we wear. Most mainstream fragrances are made with a few synthetic oudh accords that lean medicinal, poop, wood, animal, humus or cheese but some of the better ones display a couple or more of these oudh facets.

One of the more interesting oudhs to me is the DIOR version here in Leather Oud. That DIOR would produce such a fragrance, and have it in their price range is astounding to me. The 12 fragrances that were a part of the La Collection Couturier Parfumeur from 2004/12 were their best releases by far in my eyes. They were bold, interesting, fun and different; reflecting the niche offerings they were so desperately trying to keep up with. It worked. Given the deft hand of François Demachy’s crew they were an incredible bridge between indie, niche and mainstream. Though I didn’t love them all I was impressed enough to pay full retail for bottles of Ambre Nuit, Bois d’Argent, Cuir Cannage, Grand Bal, Eau Noire, Granville, Leather Oud, Mitzah and Oud Ispahan.

So, how does Leather Oud smell and progress?

The opening is quite medicinal, band aid and poop with a dark woodiness. The clove offers a bright spiciness and my nose smells cinnamon and the cool green softness of cardamom pods.

The heart has a beautiful smooth labdanum/amber and beeswax that sweetens the whole fragrance in an animalic way, very glamorous yet leaning manly and hirsute. My girlfriend Anna Maria is utterly feminine but wears Leather Oud with great aplomb. It’s a fabulous dichotomy between her look and her scent, sexy and provocative.

Dry down is a sheer waft of waxy woods, sweaty and funky, well worn leather work boots and the dust of the trail. Resinous like a well cared for saddlery room. Beautiful and still beautifully fragrant for hours and hours.

Surrender To Chance has samples

Oud? Are you in or out?

Portia xx

Portia also writes for Australian Perfume Junkies