Perfume Review: L.T. Piver Cuir de Russie

L.T. Piver’s Cuir de Russie, a fragrance inspired by “the leather smell of Cossack riding boots protected against the wet with silver birch bark”, was originally created at the end of the 19th century. By L.T. Piver’s own admition, the current version has been adapted to today’s market. My guess would be that a certain degree of intensity and richness has been lost in reformulation, however the new version is still incredibly attractive. Having said that, I am not sure that I can be entirely objective or rational, when speaking of Cuir de Russie. As soon as I smelled it, its citrusy-fruity-spicy-nutty accord reminded me of a scent that a person very dear to me used to wear. Nothing is capable of bringing the past alive more than a scent. The flood of memories hit me; I was in love with Cuir de Russie at the very first sniff. To try and describe the fragrance dispassionately, the first thing that must be said about Cuir de Russie is that those who might have been scared by the image of Cossack boots, should not worry. There is nothing brutal, harsh, animalic or indeed overly leathery about this scent. Even though leather is in the name of the perfume, it is not the most prominent player here, to my nose. Sure, it is present, but it is more of an understated backdrop for that incredible fruity, spicy, almost nutty accord I mentioned above. Mandarin and bergamot are among the notes of Cuir de Russie, however, even though the citrusy quality of the scent is unmistakable, with mandarin bringing a certain fruity-honeyed sweetness to the scent, it is not overwhelming. There is another note here that I cannot identify, a dark, sumptuous note with slight nuttiness to it, that I think may be hawthorn. Whatever it is, I absolutely adore it. It is possible that the fans of leather in fragrances would be disappointed by the timidity and the lack of prominence of the leather note here. Apart from that, this is a smoothly blended, elegant, rich scent that would eminently wearable on all sorts of occasions and in all seasons. It might prove to be emotionally challenging for me to wear Cuir de Russie, but I will be buying a bottle nevertheless. Cuir de Russie is available at Escentual.co.uk, £35.00 for 100ml (standard delivery to USA is £9.50). *The image is from Piver.com.