Description
Creed Cuir de Russie, one of the oldest Creed fragrances, belongs to the Creed Private Collection, which consists of perfumes originally created for famous clients. The Private Collection scents, when available, are offered in large 250 ml tinted glass flacons with ground glass stoppers, covered in natural hide and sealed with gold thread.
It was originally created in 1854 for King Napoleon III and Empress Eugenie, who appreciated masculine fragrances. Cuir de Russie is a captivating blend featuring the essence of a Birch tree found only in Russia by the Black Sea.
The notes of Cuir de Russie consist of sandalwood, leather, silver birch, styrax, bergamot, ambergris, lemon and neroli. Cuir de Russie was launched in 1953. The nose behind this fragrance is James Henry Creed Fifth Generation.
Siwolobow – :
Creed Cuir de Russie strikes me mainly as a leather laden with green and woody notes as well as some lemon/bergamot in the opening. I agree with Karl below on the existence of the salty ambergris Creed DNA—it takes the leather from a heavy winter fragrance to a four-season citrus leather.
Not quite as acerbic and intense as the Chanel fragrance of the same name, Creed Cuir de Russie is smoothly-blended and, as an EDT, far more year-round-friendly. Not especially impressive on projection or longevity (not that that would be expected from a mid-century Creed EDT)
Unfortunately, it’s scarcely available as a discontinued item that was only ever offered in flacon form. Still, one I’m glad I was able to try via ScentSplit.
7 out of 10
zaxxx77 – :
Styrax Heaven. Cuir de Russie is a gloriously smooth, understated animal hide, clean and luxurious, yet always a touch bitter and wild. The pine/bergamot/neroli accord in the top note is fizzy, spicy, and fresh. The fruity-neroli element becomes birch, and the pine becomes styrax, with considerable mossiness and a light amber accenting it all. This has the “Creed water” note, namely salty ambergris, which stands in stark and intriguing contrast to the usual dry-woody leather aspect one finds in your usual dry-woody leathers. In other words, this is an unconventional leather, not a traditional one, but it smells amazing. It’s somewhat linear, but its main accord is delicately composed and nicely blended. For a fresh, clean, first-class leather, Creed’s is hard to beat.
denisleha – :
Far more agreeable to me than Royal English Leather. Agree with citrusy start and can find the neroli scent there. Birch very nicely ties that together with a smoky leather scent. Over time the neroli reduces but doesn’t vanish, emphasizing a smoky leather… as if someone opened a hundred year old leather bound book, with some of the scent of aged paper and placed it on a table next to oranges. An hour later, there is even less citrus but the reminder blends with the leather to remind more of antique paper with a beautiful complexity. To me, the ambergris is the strongest component.
Highly recommended. On a continuum between Orange Spice and Royal English Leather, this is in between and perhaps the most pleasing out of the three. The note in Royal English Leather that some find disagreeable is present and adds depth, but it’s distant – the neroli is in front of it. You can tell that this is one of the more classic Creed perfumes. If it ever gets reissued, I am signing up for a large flacon.
Bogdan kol – :
You may have to resort to a decant. I use the Perfumed Court, which appears to have many scents. I have yet to locate it. It is supposed to be superior to Chanel’s. I don’t know if I’m allowed to display website. Here goes:
theperfumedcourt.com/Default.aspx
FriendSavannah – :
Does anybody know where I can get his current discontinued fragance other than the person selling on E Bay at ridiculous greedy prices