It’s been a while since I explored new perfumery ingredients. Some time last year, in one of Sarah McCartney’s videos, she mentioned something called Fleur de Cuir that sounded exquisite—a leathery material based on osmanthus. My eyes, ears, and nose perk up at the mention of leather or osmanthus, so I went looking for it… only to find that this product from Payan Bertrand wasn’t available in small quantities from any seller.

I searched again recently and was delighted to see that Fraterworks in New Zealand carried it and was highly recommending it on their website. Shopping with Fraterworks was a positive experience all the way—the website is very well laid out and includes detailed descriptions of each product and demonstration formulas for its use in a finished perfume. My order was processed quickly and I received it in the US in 5 days. The packaging was efficient, and the 2 “high-odour” molecules I ordered (Filbertone, a hazelnut note; and geosmin, the photorealistic scent of the earth after a rain) were sealed in separate aluminum bags.

With several new aroma materials to look forward to, of course I wanted to do another sniffing session of a category of ingredients, but couldn’t think what… shouldn’t it have been obvious that it would be leather?!

The caveat is that a leather scent is created, not intrinsic the way woods or musks are. So, this designation is broader and more subjective.

I’ll get to Fleur de Cuir in a bit, but let’s start with some more common ones.

Synthetic molecule

Isobutyl quinoline (IBQ, aka Pyralone)

This is a very linear, dark, dry, smoky leather. It feels “hard” and industrial at first, like fumes from machinery. Even at 1% dilution in ethanol, the scent is powerful. However, it does let brightness through, and perhaps this is the “green” facet that often accompanies its description.

Synthetic bases

Cuir HF

HF stands for Hubert Fraysse, the perfumer who founded the Synarome Society in 1926. Cuir HF was part of a range of leather bases created to reproduce the scent of Spanish leathers favored by aristocracy.

This one took a while to grow on me, because at first it smelled powdery and reminiscent of wet wipes… however, as my nose grew accustomed to it, I got to appreciate the fresh and floral aspects, particularly a light citrus and violet character. I also detect a hint of clove. This is a soft and smooth leather with a gently musky aura.

Suederal LT

If anyone knows what LT stands for, please tell me. As the name suggests, this base from IFF is more like suede. I can imagine standing in a shoe boutique. Strong and diffusive, it’s also approachable. A deeper inhalation brings out the phenolic facet. Other characteristics that have been described include tobacco and castoreum, which I get when I smell for them deliberately. Overall, Suederal feels rounder and friendlier than IBQ and I find it complements floral and fruity notes well.

Natural materials

Birch tar (Betula pendula)

This birectified essential oil smells of smoky barbecue, savory and slightly sweet in a balsamic way. Yet it stays true to its origin of wood. A tiny amount will take over a blend. Birch tar is a component of classic Cuir de Russie (Russian leather) accords.

Castoreum

Produced from the castor sacs of beavers, this substance is affected by the animals’ diet, hence a difference between the scent of castoreum from Canadian beavers and that from their Siberian counterparts. The smoked Canadian castoreum tincture that I have smells sour before revealing floral and ripe fruit notes. Maybe dried prunes. It has a salty edge as well. The Siberian castoreum tincture is smoky, even rubbery (phenolic?), and dry by comparison. Both have that warm, encompassing, animalic-musky aura and an overall leathery effect.

Cypriol (Cyperus scariosus)

Also known as nagarmotha, the essential oil from this perennial herbaceous plant has a deep, woody, earthy, grassy fragrance. Its dry and smoky characteristic lends it well to oud or leather accords, although it has a stronger resemblance to lighter aromas such as patchouli and vetiver.

Labdanum (Cistus ladaniferus)

I wasn’t too keen on the sharp scent of labdanum essential oil when I first did a resins sniffing, but I’ve since gotten acquainted with labdanum absolute and find it warmer, rounder, and more moreish. It’s slightly honeyed, almost caramellic in a completely natural way. Ever faintly smoky, this resinous note should be equally at home in an amber or a leather accord.

Styrax (Liquidambar orientalis Mill.)

This balsamic resin absolute is sweet and vanillic, comforting and slightly animalic. Lightly floral and smoky on a moist woody background. To my nose this is on the sweet and powdery end of the leather accord spectrum.

Fleur de Cuir

Finally, my long-awaited Fleur de Cuir! This is considered a natural isolate as it is a co-distillation of osmanthus flowers into a molecular distillation of cedarwood oil. This is at once—and perhaps in turns—floral, animalic, oudy, cedary, leathery… and just downright gorgeous. It’s easy to recognize the ripe apricot note of osmanthus and the brightness of cedarwood, yet together they harmonize into something deeper and complex. There is fruit with the slightest hint of smokiness.

I could wear this on its own as a perfume. My brain keeps dancing between the different facets that my nose picks up, so the scent feels dynamic. This is one of the most beautiful materials I’ve smelled in a long time.

Osmanthus (Osmanthus fragrans)

The absolute of this tiny flower is fruity, floral, green, tea-like… with a rich, leathery undertone. It can be animalic with its ripe-fruit facets, which intensifies its beauty. This note can be taken in different directions in perfumery, but I often feel it loses something without all of these characteristics expressed to some degree.

Saffron (Crocus sativus)

Another intoxicatingly beautiful raw material, saffron absolute is a little boozy at full strength; at any concentration, it is honeyed, earthy, fresh, woody, floral—and, yes, leathery. I find it very hard to describe, and it’s so different from the typical saffron note found in modern perfumes, which is harder and sharper. The leather facet in saffron absolute is very supple.

It’s strangely satisfying to learn that some of my favorite individual ingredients can be components of one of my favorite notes in perfumery, as it wasn’t immediately obvious. The more you look at something, the more patterns you may be able to find, and that’s part of the joy of the journey.