Mon Cuir – floral and leathery and exciting

Photo: perfumeniche

Lately, I've been obsessed with leather fragrances. In perfumery, the "leather" note is a fantasy note. This means it isn’t made from leather, like flowers and spices in perfume are made from plants. Leather notes are complex olfactory accords created by blending various ingredients like birch tar and cade, styrax, agarwood, labdanum and immortelle to create the perceived scent of leather. Most perfume houses have a leather fragrance in their stable. This allows them to make a fragrance that defines their ethos and sets them apart from the competition.

And, I have a new leather crush: Mon Cuir, Spanish indie line, Ramón Monegal Parfums. Ramón Monegal was born into a family of perfumers. He is the fourth generation of the founders of the house of Myrurgia, Spain's leading fragrance house – ever heard of Maja? He started working for the family business in 1972 and then trained in perfumery under Artur Jordi, Marcel Carles and Pierre Bourdon. In 2000, Myrugia was bought out by Spanish fashion and beauty company, Puig. In 2009, Ramón left Puig and launched his eponymous line. Mon Cuir was released in 2011.

It opens with a burst of sweet, prim orange flowers. As they slowly bloom, they go from prim to indolic. At this stage, I start to notice the resinous, camphourous note of birch tar – the smell of leather. The orange flower sweetens it, and it’s the interplay between the two that makes Mon Cuir so exciting and unique. The leather note deepens as it develops, thanks to leathery, animalic labdanum. Nutmeg gives it spicy warmth, bringing a note of sweet, dark, woody patchouli. The leather doesn’t fade or disappear, but it is softened by creamy sandalwood as musk keeps the animalic vibe going.

What I love about Mon Cuir is that the leather gets more nuanced and more interesting as it evolves on your skin.

This is a new kind of leather scent for me and I’m happy to share it with you.

Check out Mon Cuir in our Shop.