Cuir de Lancome

When Jen from This Blog Really Stinks dropped by my Lancôme Trésor review and recommended Cuir de Lancôme, I decided it was time I stopped being afraid of the Lancôme machine and find myself some of this mythical juice. The quest for Cuir de Lancôme was not as easy as I thought it’d be, but it was worth it in the end.

Cuir de Lancome

Cuir de Lancome

In Bottle: A slight hint of citrus with a strong saffron presence and this buttery leathery scent that’s very attractive.

Applied: Once again, slight hint of citrus up town and the saffron rolls in giving the fragrance this extra bit of luxury as Cuir de Lancôme takes on this creamy, buttery leather scent. You know the joy of getting a new, leather handbag or jacket? That awesome warm, comforting smell? That’s what Cuir de Lancôme reminds me off–except better. There’s a floral wave that comes on in the mid-stage and helps smooth out the leather further. I get mostly jasmine tempered with ylang-ylang from the florals. The flowers give the fragrance a more feminine and delicate quality and they blend beautifully with the saffron. It’s like I’m smelling a vintage perfume that’s been modernized for appeal. It’s one of the nicest modern leathers I’ve smelled in a while! As Cuir de Lancôme dries down the leather evolves and blends with a soft sandalwood and vanilla and this green note that I hadn’t noticed before. This fragrance is fantastic, it’s like a light floral perfume dressed in a soft leather jacket. It’s longevity is actually quite good while it’s projection tends to stick closely to the skin.

Extra: Tracking down some Cuir de Lancôme was ridiculously difficult. I had done some research on it before hand, knew it was a part of a collection called–rather aptly–La Collection. My first mistake was assuming that because it seemed to be a part of an exclusive collection that a Lancôme counter would be more than happy to push off a spray on me in the hopes I’d shell out the premium cash for a full bottle. I mean, that’s how Chanel and Guerlain and pretty much every other fragrance house with an exclusive collection seems to work. Apparently not even Lancôme counters know what La Collection is never mind what I mean when I stand there and mangle the French pronunciation for what I want.  Long story short, I bought a decant online and everybody was happy.

Design: The bottle design for Cuir de Lancôme and other La Collection bottles are just beautiful! They have a clean shape for the flacon and cap with a band around the bottle’s neck that’s a little reminiscent of vintage perfume aesthetics. The labels even remind me of vintage perfumes. I just love the design.

Fragrance Family: Modern Chypre

Notes: Bergamot, mandarin, saffron, jasmine, ylang-ylang, hawthorn, patchouli, iris, birch, styrax.

So here’s what I don’t understand with Lancôme, they have this beautiful perfume sitting in a collection. Only they’ve made it near impossible for you to buy the perfume from them directly and you actually have to go to a discounter in order to procure a bottle at at average of $40-60 a go. What happened with Lancôme’s La Collection? Why isn’t it being proudly displayed and sold at counters? It’s just a perplexing mystery to me. But I suppose paying $40-60 for what should be a highly sought after exclusive fragrance is nothing to complain about.

Thanks again go to Jen for convincing me to try this out. If anyone has any suggestions for fragrances I should smell feel free to leave a comment! I’m always looking for new smellies.

Reviewed in This Post: Cuir de Lancôme, ~2007, Eau de Parfum.

11 thoughts on “Cuir de Lancome

  1. Is Cuir de Lancome still in production at all? According to Basenotes it is, but I could not see it on the Lancome website now. (Maybe that was because I was blinded by Emma Watson’s lipstick.) Anyway, that would explain why it is not at the counter.

    Nice review. Sounds like a not-too-scary leather.

    • It’s really hard to say if Lancome’s still making Cuir de Lancome or not. I tried to look for it on their website too and all they had were their newer, mainstream perfumes. Other people looking for this fragrance also think it’s weird that Lancome’s not selling it at their counters. It’s like they don’t even want to acknowledge that they have this beautiful collection of complex fragrances. It’s a real shame. 🙁

      In the end, this stuff seems to only exist at discounter sites where they always seem to have some stock kicking around, which makes me think it’s still being made–I just wish I knew where the discounters were getting it. I’m sorry, I wish I could be of more help regarding whether or not it’s discontinued.

      • No matter, it is not hard to find at the discounters, and eBay is flooded with it. Gaia, the Non-Blonde, speculates that it went straight to the discounters. Seems very odd. Anyway, it is on my try list for sure.

        • I’m kind of glad this went straight to the discounters. It’s a great fragrance–even if how it ended up at the discounters will be a mystery. I hope you like it when you try it. 😀

  2. This is a very beautiful fragrance. Unfortunately on my skin it quickly fades into a white musk.
    Regarding the fact that despite being part of special “La Collection” and being easily found only on ebay, well how many leather scents, trully leather scents, are they out there sitting on mainstream shelves? We are living in the era of fruitchuli and fruity oriental feminines and woody-nutty-fruity masculines.

    • Too true, MemoryOfScent (love that username, by the way)! That’s very likely why Lancome pretends its La Collection doesn’t exist. They’re too busy pushing off the easy sellers. 🙁

        • I think you’re very right. The right scent can draw people closer together. Can’t forget about the most important one, to me, where perfume can make or bookmark memories.

          The smell of petrichor and smoke reminds me of my childhood in a little farm house made out of tin and straw. While the smell of plastic and sweet fruity perfume reminds me of my childhood too, but tucked away in a basement somewhere in suburbia.

  3. Woot! This is the first time I’ve been name-checked on a review. 🙂

    I’m glad you like this. I think it’s so smoooooooth and lovely. Your handbag comparison is accurate, in my opinion, and I am also confused as to why something this beautiful went straight to the discounters. BAFFLING.

    xoxo

    • I loved this fragrance. Thank you again for recommending it! I kind of like that it was pushed right to the discounters because it’s a bit easier to afford now. 😀

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