Leather Oud by DIOR

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

  • DIana says:

    I really like Oud and Bergamont from Jo Malone, but it only lasts about 20 minutes on me before disappearing.  If they could come out with a version that lasts I’d buy a full bottle in a nanosecond. 
     

  • Ariel says:

    Ensar Oud’s EO No 2 EdP is, perhaps, my favorite perfume (except for all the other ones that are my favorite for completely different reasons.) I don’t think I’ll ever be able to afford a whole bottle at a go, but I plan to keep buying sample after sample.

    • Portia says:

      Hey Ariel,
      nice to see someone who likes their oud. I never did smell Ensar’s work. How lavish to even have samples.

      Portia xx

      • Ariel says:

         I keep trying to find another oud that is (a) available and (b) less expensive-but everything I’ve tried is more burnt leather (esp. looking at you Tauer) or “oudish”. 
        I really, really, really recommend getting to smell either No1 or No2…the richness of ingredients and the sillage and warmth, oh my.

  • HeidiC says:

    Not so crazy about oudh, though I loved Kilian’s Rose Oud and am sad it seems to have disappeared or been discontinued. I do love Dior’s Cuir Cannage, and also sad that it was also discontinued! 

    • Portia Turbo says:

      Hey there HeidiC,
      Cuir Cannage is gorgeous. So glam.Has Kilian really DCd Rose Oud? WOW! I thought that might have been one of his super popular ones. Interesting.
      Portia xx

  • March says:

    “Band Aid and poop”  hehe perfect description of oud!

  • Tara C says:

    I used to love oud but I’ve gone off it. The only ouds I wear any more are the Kilians and the Lancomes, which have no real oud in them and are dominated by other notes. I have tried Leather Oud and I just can’t.

    • Portia Turbo says:

      Hey TaraC,
      As a driving force oudh has started to take a back seat, the new molecules and accords have softened the dark, dirty, challenging aspects and helped spur its integration and ubiquity. Those Kilians are so smooth and luxurious, I get why they would be more appealing to many perfumistas.I like both ways. DIOR really went out on a limb to create this dark, naughty fragrance. Not everyones cup of tea, to be sure.
      Portia xx

  • Maya says:

    Oud is out. A touch of it here and there is fine but a mainly oud fragrance kills all other notes on my skin. If *oud* is in the perfume name, I will rarely bother sampling it. The one exception is Ex Idolo Thirty Three. I love the dark rose, the patchouli, and the cold metal aspect that shows up here and there. The oud is a main component of Thirty Three but is mellow and soft. Definitely works for me.
     

    • Portia Turbo says:

      Hey Maya,
      I think you might be saying what a lot of perfumistas are thinking. LOVE a rose/patchouli/oudh combo. I think my favourite of the genre is still the abrasive Rose Oud by Juliette Has A Gun.
      Portia xx

  • Musette says:

    you know….. I have had such a hard time with oudh!  I feel like I should turn in my perfumista credentials but it really has never floated my perfumed boat!  This one, Leather Oud, did come close, though – but I’m thinking it was because of the leather. 😉
     
    xoxoxo

    • Portia Turbo says:

      Hi Musette,
      Oudh is not for everyone. I do love that at the time it became ubiquitous we were losing so many of our longterm base notes to regulation and overfarming. Suddenly there was a new ingredient that gave our fragrance a ground note, a base, something to earth the whole scent. For that along I will love oudh.Did you ever try the oud Caravan range from La Via del Profumo? You’ll hate them but I think they are the gold standard.Portia xx