Cuir / Cuir de Russie
L.T. Piver (1939)

Just a word of warning:

The reviews here are a jumble of reviews about two different scents, and as such, they talk past each other.

Piver makes _Cuir_ ga somewhat modern, "updated" scent. However, they also still do make _Cuir de Russie _ - with all the honey, animal funk (tending towards the animalic-ness of Givenchy Gentleman and then some).

Personally, I love the Cuir de Russie. It's not an "easy wear" - but then more are new Tricker's boots, or real wool dressing gowns. But f*-+ me, it's worth it. For anyone in a scent journey, Cuir de Russie is a honey, civet, castoreum bomb that will take you straight to paradise when you detonate.

Stardate 20190130:
Vintage Version:
A nice musky/animalic sweet top. Pyramid says honey but I get something more.
Then it develops to birchy floral goodness. I like it more wearable than Chanel's version.

Recommended

Honey & warm sweet Leather... gorgeous!!
L.T. Piver is a very old French perfume house comparable to Guerlain in that it served the Royalty of France in the 18th & 19th Centuries.

The perfume Cuir was inspired by the French fascination with all things coming from Russia and the East, this included the smell of "Russian Leather" or "Cuir de Russie" made famous by Chanel and previously Guerlain. This is the smell of "Cossack" boots, which were meant for horseback riding, and in which birch tar was used to give the leather a less "animalic" smell.

This is such a beauty for me because it has an unusual combination of honey & leather, followed by warm spices, oakmoss, amber, woods and resins... what more could you ask for? In fact, every time I spray this it makes me smile! Such a warm and happy vibe!

The honey note is done very tastefully and is sweet but also dark and spicy at the same time. The whole fragrance actually reminds me of hot black tea with honey and spices... as I sometimes drink tea without milk and just with cloves and cinnamon, and sweetened with either sugar or honey! I can imagine a scene in old Russia of a noble soldier who is returning home after a long journey with his horse tired from riding many dangerous miles through forest and snow... he reaches a typical wooden house not far from the forest which is warm and has a fire... and on the fire there is hot tea waiting ready for him, and maybe some meat, bread and honey for him to eat after his long and exhausting journey. It is the smell of warm, genuine hospitality and human comfort against the bitter cold of nature outside. To me this is the perfect winter fragrance but could be worn on formal occasions at other times of the year.

The whole fragrance has a "refined" and "classic" quality which is good for many different occasions. I'm grateful to the person who allowed me to sample this because without it I probably wouldn't have discovered this perfume house on my own! I'm very grateful to them!

I'm recommending this one to all who love the smell of warm, winter spices and honey, with a touch of leather. I'm very impressed by this creation from L.T. Piver., and will try more from them in future... well done!

First Edit: My iniitial review was of the re-issue (see text below). I gave it a neutral because it was merely a wood, not a leather. I have just purchased a bottle of the 1939 vintage and what a world of difference.

The original is true Russian leather: birch tar with animalic civet, castoreum and ambergris, tied together with the darkest of musks, and only slightly lightened by tonka and amber. Truly masculine and truly great. By all means seek out vintage on this one. Avoid the re-issue at all costs.

Initial review of the re-issue follows:

First, a blast of cedar wood with a light, pleasant turpentine moment, then it settles down to be a very light wood scent with a touch of bergamot.

In other words, I get no leather at all.

The great leathers in my book are: SMN's Peau d'Espagne, Chanel's Cuir de Russie, Knize Ten and Parfums d'Empire's Cuir Ottoman. These run the gamut from strong to light, from tough masculine to elegant gentlemanly sophistication. If you had these four on hand, your leather moods would be secured.

L. T. Piver's Cuir is a pleasant wood, not a leather. Okay, but no prize winner.

The first sensation i felt in a while few instants after the first inhalation of this fragrance was the laundry smell of clean and wiped hotel rooms of the old city. Someting clean, soapy and talky-fresh whirls  in the air. This is the first effect of the combination of bergamot, aromatic resins and honey few instants after the  spray. With the time the soapy laundry feel evolves towards a soft ad aromatic leathery smell with some mildness made of balsams and  powdery woods. There is a boise', resinous and aromatic vibe exuding from the juice, may be coming out from  birch resin. A luxurious leathery  and honeyed fragrance very discreet, balanced and restrained.

Well, I don't get a birch note and I don't get a leather note.
What I do get is a very -- very -- sweet, powdery fragrance. Aromatic at first, develops a tinny/metallic twang.
Certainly does not ring my chimes.
This is the vintage version: Cuir de Russie.