Scandal
Lanvin (1933)

After having had the pleasure of smelling the vintage versions of both CdR and Scandal, I can only say that while both are stunning works of perfumery, I still find Cuir de Russie a bit more interesting. Scandal, while rich and leather-laden, warm and slightly indolic, is not quite as dark and layered as the Chanel, plus, it is a bit soft and fleeting. This doesn't mean I wouldn't pass on the chance to own it, but I'm not going to be selling my left kidney to do so. The Cuir de Russie, on the other hand...

Given the age of the vintage perfume sample it was no surprise that very little citrus was left in the opening phase. The leather was the main player; a rich, smooth darkish and sumptuous leather, with a rich rose note underneath. Civet with moss and a touch of vanilla - without being really sweet
- were added in the base, with the leather remaining the main player throughout. Amazing quality of natural ingredients, and the touch of benzoin towards the end fits in nicely. Flattened by age but still impressive, with adequate sillage and projection and six hours of longevity on my skin. 4.5/5.

I am reviewing a vintage parfum.

This is a most interesting leather. It is first and foremost a dark, bitter chypre but with a sweet leather note that intertwines about the base notes and lifts it slightly to an intriguing see saw balance of dark and light, much like one of those spring days when at one moment the room is full of sunlight and the next darkened by swiftly moving clouds.

The civet, musk and olibanum are the dark players here, aided by the dry hrebal clary sage. The rose is dark as well. The citrus top notes have disappeared with age. Poor Ylang hasn't much of a chance.

One of the great chypres and in my estimation one of the great leathers, to be experienced by anyone interested in those two genres. Beware of the new Scandal, which bears no resemblance to the classic. Buy vintage only.

Somehow I haven't dared to write a review for my holy grail LEATHER (a cuir-de-russie to be precise). This is Scandal for me, no doubt! It was also one of the very first vintage extraits I hoarded (they somehow seemed to float my way naturally as this is normally extremely hard to come by) and finally stayed after I had a fair part of my vintage stuff traded away again. Scandal is to stay... over the time, I managed to procure a really old, what looks like wartime 1930/40s 'economy' packaging bottle, still sealed and wrapped in its paper with very little evaporation as well as several tester bottles from a tester set for the Lanvin classics what could be 1950s (I'm guessing) and finally fairly new ones, possibly before its discontinuation in the late 1960s / early 1970s.
The WWII Scandal is extremely smoky and animalic leathery, yet smooth, rich and luxurious on skin. Cuir-de-russie leathers are sort of by definition skin scents. It clearly evokes images of smoky bars, fur coats, alcohol (liquors) and worn leather, heavily used leather seats etc. How you achieve smoothness, richness and glamour in this composition is probably the biggest asset of the old Scandal. Of course, an extrait this old will not or hardly present the floral notes as they were originally, no matter how well preserved it is (sealed, wrapped in original paper and very little evaporation).
Naturally, the newer Scandal is clearly more floral (jasmine is a big player). The smoothness and richness is present, it is just the overall vibe that is less butch, less animalic. My guess is that both factors come in here... age - the animalic components are enforced in the very old jus, but still, I think that the 1940s jus could be more 'scandalous' as life was simply dirtier and smellier in its time compared to the 1960/70s.
I think what distinguishes Scandal most from the vintage Cuir de Russie from Chanel is a certain 'warmth' and 'richness'. There is no other like Scandal and I will treasure it dearly...

Wow. All leather, all the time. Serious leather. There are other notes, beautifully described already by other and better noses, but on my skin this wears as much more intensely leathery than anything else I've tried, from Lancome Cuir (new) to Chanel CdR. It's a gorgeous one, longlasting and smooth, but my personal preference is for something with more floral and green in the mix.

Review of vintage extrait formulation:The drydown and development of Scandal is an incredible journey.It begins with peat-infused whiskey, indolic but not sweet florals and a bite of civet. A touch of spice, possibly clove or carnation begins soon thereafter, along with damp, fresh-cut orris. Then comes the leather, and I mean real leather, naturally tanned with plenty of animalic scent remaining. It's the assertive leather of of well-worn saddles and harnesses of the gentry, not delicate handbags and gloves. In fact, you are taken into the stable, with the introduction of grain, hay, damp and slightly sweaty hair, and even a touch of liniment in the form of what I think may be castoreum. There is also a bit of tobacco, not sweet, but slightly biting and tart. This assertive leather stage softens and sweetens, going from stiff saddle leather to fine kidskin. The powdery orris intensifies and the florals return, albeit subtly, never getting in the way of the now-refined leather.The final act is pure magic. The musk-heavy base pulls in a slightly astringent incense, complete with the burnt ashes in the censor. The leather becomes damp, mossy, and eventually gives way to costus, oakmoss, vetiver and more musk.I know that the word 'masterpiece' is tossed about rather casually on Basenotes. I contend that Scandal is the real deal.