Christian Dior Cuir Cannage

This is the last of the samples/decants from my (fairly) recent parcel and it’s nice that things are finishing with a sort of bang … because Cuir Cannage is both very good and a bit unsettling. But … it appears to be discontinued (would I have started writing about it if I’d known this from the get-go? Probably – as I really enjoyed the ride). So, if you love it I expect you’ve already got a bottle and if after reading this post you are curious, you’re going to have to do some digging or find something that approximates its feel.

Anyway, what do I mean by ‘unsettling’?

First off, this has a lot going on, though I expect what I detected isn’t what François Demachy intended with his composition. But, such is the way of things regarding perfume.

The second ‘aspect’ that struck me about this is the refined cloaking the rough. It’s like that person who looks elegant and well put together on the outside but hides some sort of maybe somewhat dark secret or part of their being.

In any case, I really enjoyed making up all kinds of weird stories based on how it smells.

Cuir Cannage was released in 2014 and was part of the La Collection Privée. I have to say I really like the bottle design in this higher end part of Dior. Like someone thought less is better here and was right. Nice solid rounded, simple labels, good cap – available in smaller (ie, 40ml) sizes that aren’t cheap but don’t cost the earth (when I finally finish my decant of Eau Noire I will most likely invest in the small bottle [which is currently £125 – eminently bearable for something so glorious]).

Portia wrote about Cuir Cannage here in 2015 and referenced a vintage feel.

The notes list flummoxed me a bit when I first sprayed this on. It includes ylang ylang, orange blossom, bergamot, leather, iris, jasmine, rose, leather, birch (not birch tar), tobacco, juniper, violet and cade oil (per perfumesworld.com cade smells resinous and smoky, like birch tar but finer with less petrol).

On first spray I get leather, camphor and violet. It’s really compelling and doesn’t last long in that phase. So, I kept respraying it just to re-experience that.

As it warms on me, we move to a classy floral leather with jasmine quite apparent as well as ylang and a whiff of rose.

The drydown is again a conundrum, like the opening: I get a Serge Lutens Muscs Kublai Khan skankiness but all dressed up. I so wonder if that was just in my head though because I got an email from Lutens a few days ago inviting me to buy the re-issued MKK belle jar (not happening).

So, ‘refined’, ‘vintagy’ and ‘conundrum’ would be my watchwords for this overall. But that doesn’t really matter because it’s gone.

In the end, sampling this did lead me to remember that I really do need to invest in a bottle of Knize 10 at some point soon, which on me is a more definite floral-leather vs leather-floral – and doesn’t have that extreme skank in the drydown. I’ve been meaning to for years and it’s far far cheaper than CC. However, it’s no longer stocked by the place in London that used to have the brand so it’s going to be either an order from Europe or a bottle found on a discounter site.

But that diverges from CC. In the end, this is the refined leather coat over the exceptionally well cut trousers and cashmere sweater on an exceptionally compelling someone who is also clearly hiding some aspect of their being. You’re not sure it would be healthy to get to know them better but you sure do want to anyway.

Pics: Pexels and mine