Cuir Venenum by Parfumerie Generale
November 14th, 2006
Leather in perfumery, while employed, has certainly not been exploited. Understandably so, as this note doesn’t seem to be for mass appeal. It is, however, my favorite note, and I’ll never let a leather scent go unnoticed (although I certainly haven’t tried them all). It’s fascinating to see how leather has been conveyed in fragrance. Representation can be realistic when a scent smells exactly like leather goods (handbag, gloves, saddle) as seen in such scents as Aoud Cuir d’Arabie by Montale, Peau d’Espagne by Santa Maria Novella, Yatagan by Caron. Or it can be experimented upon creatively with often successful results - be it the sawdust circus leather of L’Artisan’s Dzing!, the balsamic iris leather of Cuir Ottoman, the smoky campfire leather of Kolnisch Juchten, the violet suede of Cuir Amethyste, the medicinal take on leather in Le Labo’s Patchouli 24 or the ultimate femme fatale, robust leather of Robert Piguet’s Bandit. Whichever it is, it’s all good. The most recent leather I’ve tried is Cuir Venenum by Parfumerie Generale (still swooning over the line), and I must say the take on leather here is unprecedented.
In Latin, “venenum” means “drug”, “poison”, “potion”. In this case, it’s more of a brewing potion with transformational powers than a lethal substance. With notes of leather, absolute of orange blossom, myrrh, citrus, cedar, black coconut, and honeyed musk, Cuir Venenum is extremely unconventional, sort of a rebel of a scent. The leather here is thrown into a pot of coconut flavored, honey loaded orange chutney where it manages to survive by sticking its dirty head out every once in a while. The whole mix is stewing and brewing relentlessly to the point of getting borderline overcooked and intolerable, yet strangely appealing. The musk is not animalic to my nose as the scent is very much gourmand in character. It’s unbelievably tenacious, so a little goes a long way. I can see myself reaching for it when I need a cuddly type of leather.
Cuir Venenum is available at the lovely Luckyscent as well as directly from the Parfumerie Generale online shop.
Image source: www.parfumerie-generale.com
Entry Filed under: Perfume Reviews
22 Comments Add your own
1. chaya ruchama | November 14th, 2006 at 7:32 am
Good morning, Petitska !
Olfactory meanie here, I fear.
I so wanted to love this, because it’s novel and innovative, but it didn’t work on me.
Just one lousy, caramelly mess- and the irony is, I’ve nothing against either caramel, or leather.
Please reassure me that the MM I’ve ordered unsniffed from luckyscent [foolish girl !] won’t disappoint…
It’s supposed to arrive w/ Andy’s Orris !
I’m hoping for gourmet comfort with added longevity [as the MM is supposed to be an EDP]…
2. Elle | November 14th, 2006 at 7:56 am
Wouldn’t it be lovely if leather became the new fruity/floral? OK…maybe not, since I would hate to see PH’s name on a leather scent, but I’d still like to see it utilized more than it is now.
Definitely will have to retry CV. I don’t believe I fell to my knees in a swoon when I tried it, but I don’t recall having loathed it either. I only occasionally like coconut in scents and that may have put me off.
3. March | November 14th, 2006 at 8:12 am
Oooh, Elle — Paris Hilton Spank Me!! (Or Skank Me.) It could have flankers… Spank Him.
No c*l*ry.
It’s that leather time of year… why don’t more people love it? Too manly? Sigh.
This one didn’t work on me a la Chaya, but was interesting.
4. Marina | November 14th, 2006 at 8:42 am
This is my venenum of choice
Love it. No, LOVE it. 
Thank you for a great review.
5. Cait | November 14th, 2006 at 11:29 am
OOhh, this sounds fascinating. I can’t wait to try. PG has so many I haven’t tried yet. Coconut entrances and yet it’s sort of difficult. Thanks for the review. Off to Luckyscent!
6. Ina | November 14th, 2006 at 11:58 am
Chaya, you mean Musc Maori? I can’t recall what it’s like but I did like it quite a bit.
7. Ina | November 14th, 2006 at 12:01 pm
Elle, I’m willing to accept the fact leather will still remain a not so popular note in perfume as long as Paris Hilton isn’t in the picture.
8. Ina | November 14th, 2006 at 12:03 pm
March, I’ll have to put a Paris Hilton radar on this blog!
Beware!
Yeah, why don’t more people like leather?? Beats me.
9. Ina | November 14th, 2006 at 12:03 pm
Marina, you and your venenums of choice!
10. Ina | November 14th, 2006 at 12:03 pm
Cait, I highly recommend trying all the PGs. Report back!
11. Judith | November 14th, 2006 at 12:16 pm
Well, I originally liked this, but I sent my mini away to someone abroad who wanted it desperately. Now, trying a sample that someone generously sent me, I am liking it more and more! This is my first case of swapper’s remorse (made worse by the fact that the mini–and one of Intrigant Patchouli that I also liked–were lost somewhere over the Atlantic). Now I’m contemplating a Chapitre 1 mini-set purchase so I can get Coze, too. Sigh.
12. Ina | November 14th, 2006 at 12:49 pm
Judith, I’ve been contemplating that mini set myself. Oh, swapper’s remorse… yeah, I know whereof you speak.
13. Leopoldo | November 14th, 2006 at 12:50 pm
I too forwarded my sample when it didn’t match up to my measurements. I’m in the Chaya / March camp. No surprise there. Cozé is still top marks for me in this house, although I own a full bottle of Harmatan Noir (big summer favourite).. I still need that full bottle of Cozé don’t I?
I guess when I want a bit of a sweet quality to leather, I opt for Cuir Mauresque - or as I call it, Glue Superiore…
14. Ina | November 14th, 2006 at 1:13 pm
Leo, you still need that full bottle of Cozé! You find Cuir Mauresque sweet?
15. Leopoldo | November 14th, 2006 at 1:46 pm
Yes I do. Is that weird? Not in the dry down, but that floral carry on in the beginning does make it smell a little sugary to me. well, that and gluey. but I like gluey!
and I know. But I think I want a couple of things more urgently, and I’m sticking to a budget.
and I still haven’t given you my impressions of the l’Artisans, have I? What a schlemiel!
16. Ina | November 14th, 2006 at 1:53 pm
Schlemiel! I like that!
I’ll have to revisit my Cuir Mauresque decant then. Gluey! I like that, too.
What’s budget? Somehow, this word got completely erased from my brain…
17. Victoria | November 14th, 2006 at 3:34 pm
It is incredibly sweet, as most of the PG fragrances. I do like it, but I prefer it in a candle form.
I would say that leather is very common, but mostly in masculine fragrances. I agree that it is not as easy to find in feminines.
18. Ina | November 14th, 2006 at 4:21 pm
Vika, you’re right, it’s more common in masculine scents.
19. Tom Pease | November 14th, 2006 at 11:30 pm
I tried this one this past weekend (luckyscent has it backordered, and ScentBar is out of it, but they let me try it anyway) and I was very happy. I hope they get more soon…
20. Ina | November 15th, 2006 at 12:28 am
Tom, I’m surprised they ran out so fast but that just means it’s a great scent.
21. Judith | November 15th, 2006 at 7:54 am
Well, OK. Update. Someone offered me a bottle of this for my bottle of Bois d’Orient (which I am not liking or using as much I thought I would) so, although I am possibly setting myself up for more swappers’ remorse–I’m going for it!:)
22. Ina | November 15th, 2006 at 10:15 am
Judith, go for it! Awesome!
Leave a Comment
Some HTML allowed:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <code> <em> <i> <strike> <strong>
Trackback this post | Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed