Leather Scent | The BEST Leather Fragrances for Women
The Top 5 BEST leather fragrances for women! Explore how the rich, smooth, and warm scent of leather can be used in a feminine way. You’ll be surprised at how versatile and wearable a leather scent is, even in women’s perfume!
There’s nothing quite like the smell of high quality leather. It’s got a powerful depth and mystery to it and yet it’s comforting at the same time. It’s also probably one of the strongest scent notes tied with memory; whether it’s the smell of your father’s leather jacket when he used to hold you as a child, or the smell of your first new car, leather has a way of getting to us emotionally…and that’s exactly why it’s often used in perfume!
But there are many facets of leather, going from soft powdery suede, unadulterated rawhide, to an almost tar-like black leather biker jacket, and everything in between!
Often leather notes in scents are reserved for masculine fragrances and colognes, but that’s not the case any more.
Exploring more of the butter soft nubuck of leathers or fuzzy suede, these notes have found their way into women’s perfumes and are surprisingly feminine!
Leather also makes for an excellent base note as it adds a rich depth to a scent without using typical amber or sandalwood.
But how do they extract the smell of leather?
Now getting a scent to smell like leather is an art form! Unlike a plant you can’t extract the leather accord from a piece of cow-hide the same way you would a flower petal! Instead, perfumers use other notes to create a leather facet that gives the impression of leather. This is why one leather fragrance may smell like a shiny new car, another like a new Hermes Birkin, where another may smell like a hot sweaty horse saddle.
This intriguing facet in perfume is one of the most interesting and effective accords used in perfume!
Listed below are my TOP 5 BEST Leather fragrances for Women
1. The Different Company Adjatay Cuir Narcotique
Alexandra Monet, the perfumer creator was inspired by the idea of carrying tuberose flowers home in a worn out leather bag, the juxtaposition of a heady feminine white flower and the stark animalistic black leather. The power of the living flower willing the animal to come back to life!
Adjatay Cuir Narcotique is a real black & white kind of fragrance! A powerhouse of carnal desire and mystery but yet with an air of softness that draws you in.
Tuberose is a force to be reckoned with in it’s own right. A strong, heady, and creamy white flower that has the potential to overpower anything in it’s sight. But here it’s matched by the shiny stark black leather accord which keeps it in check as the two keep the balance.
I say black leather here because that’s what it gives the impression of. This leather isn’t a soft powdery suede, instead it’s a shiny brand new black leather motorcycle jacket that still squeaks when you put it on! What this translates into scent is something more sharp, stark, cool, and perhaps a little tar-like. This is accomplished by the use of animalic Castoreum (which smell leathery to begin with), sterile-like Styrax (smells like a floral-leather but sharper almost like vinyl), and dry Papyrus.
(don’t let this description put you off though because the warmth of the tuberose balances this nicely)
The reason why Adjatay Cuir Narcotique is included in this list, and is #1, in my books, is not only because of it’s intoxicating combination of Tuberose and Leather but because of it’s ever-evolving development from first spritz to the morning after!
I have rarely experienced such a scent journey as I have with Cuir Nacotique!
At first spritz I get a fresh citrus floral jolt with vinyl-like crisp Leather, and unlike most scents, these top notes hang around for ages!
Over an hour later the scent deepens to a seductive Tuberose and Leather dance, a powerful and almost dangerous concoction reminding me of a woman wearing a pair of sky-high Louboutin heels!
Throughout this development there is a sweet fruitiness that seems to mysteriously linger in the back which fascinates me but I haven’t been able to put my finger on what exactly it is. It almost smells like a grape soda pop and that entices me to smell my wrist every 20 seconds!
But after a few hours the sharpness of the fragrance has dissipated and powdery Heliotrope and Jasmine seem to smooth it out into a cozy dry-down.
It keeps getting better the longer it’s on the skin!
The warmth of the skin seems to draw out the rich smooth and creamy floral facets with the addition of Musk and glowing Sandalwood. It gives a hot leather accord, almost as if warmed by the sun. It ends off becoming a real deep skin scent that is major sex appeal!
Because of it’s ever-evolving scent development, I like to put it on first thing in the morning so by evening cocktails it’s a perfect smooth jazz kind of scent.
Although a unisex fragrance, I believe this tends towards the feminine side.
Available at Lucky Scent here:
2. The Different Company I miss Violet
Rare that two scents from one company can make the Top 5, but The Different Company continues to impress perfume experts with their incomparable creativity when it comes to inventing new fragrance combinations. And I miss Violet is no exception.
If Cuir Narcotique is the femme fatale of scents, then I miss Violet is the dainty darling!
Another exceptional pairing of the sweet lipstick nature of Violets and buttery soft Leather, Bertrand Duchaufour evokes a feminine leather scent that aims at freshness and hints at green accords like violets growing in a dew filled garden.
At first, it’s almost sparkling, a fizzy effervescent mix of metalic Violet Leaf, aromatic Basil, sweet leafy Champaca. These when combined with the Violet flower give it it’s green nuance. This freshness associated with a leather scent is almost never done, which is why I miss Violet is so unique.
Having a green nuance to a leather fragrance really perks it up and stops it from becoming too heavy or too overwhelming.
But the freshness doesn’t last forever, after a while it dissipates and that’s when the warm soft Leather and powdery Iris come in. This is a more traditional use of notes here and when mixed with the sweet candied Violet it creates such an exceptionally “girly” scent. And that’s the reason why I miss Violet made the Top 5!
I miss Violet is one of the Top 5 leather scents because it has managed to take such a mature and sophisticated note such as leather and make it fresh, feminine, and dainty! A young leather fragrance.
The combination of effervescent greens, candied Violet, and powdery Iris and Leather is like fairy dust for the nose!
Available at Lucky Scent here:
3. Berdoues Russkaya Kozha
A sophisticated and classic leather scent for those of the more decerning tastes.
Berdoues Grand Crus collection is based on world travels and sourcing the finest ingredients to represent our most loved places. As the name eludes to, Russkaya Kozha is inspired by the strength and boldness of Russia.
A warm, spicy, aromatic, and raw leather fragrance, Russkaya Kozha is as serious as a Russian diplomat!
Timeless and elegant, Berdoues really wanted to highlight simplicity and let the true nature of Leather take the spotlight. As there is Soliflores for floral fragrances (a scent featuring a single floral note), then this would be considered the Soliflores of Leather scents.
This singularity and minimal nature makes Russkaya Kozha one of the Top 5 leather scents for women!
To create a deep red thick rawhide kind of leather, Berdoues calls upon Cade from Spain which has a smokey, tar-like smell that when combined with sweet Benzoin gives a very accurate smell of rich leather!
The other unique aspect of the fragrance are the use of aromatic notes of spicy Cardamom, and fresh green Juniper. These notes add a sharpness and slightly herbal nuance to the scent. Very unusual but the combination with the Leather makes it almost smell like spilled gin on leather!
Once it’s lingered on the skin though, the end result is a real sweet and soft leather fragrance which is refined and mature.
Russkaya Kozha is available at Twisted Lily here:
4. Tom Ford White Suede
White Suede is considered one of the Top 5 leather fragrances for women because it’s one of the most accessible and wearable leather scents for women due to it’s soft cozy use of the Suede facet. As it name suggests, it’s a very pure, innocent, soft and fuzzy scent that is comfortable, unpretentious, and cozy.
One of the best examples of a “soft” leather scent!
White Suede is the kind of fragrance you wear to bed or while cuddling on the couch wrapped in a cashmere throw.
Delicate notes of Lily-of-the-Valley, sweet Tea Rose, and smokey Saffron mixed with Tea, start you off on the right foot. Pretty, feminine, inviting.
The heart of the scent though lies in the cuddly combination of soft Suede, powdery Musk, and cozy Sandalwood. These notes are so comforting that it makes it feel like you’re being hugged every time you wear it!
White Suede is available at Sephora here:
5. Dzing L’Artisan Parfumeur
One of the most famous leather fragrances of all time is the cult favorite Dzing by L’Artisan Parfumeur.
Inspired by the circus, this imaginative scent brings you back to your childhood with all the wonder and awe under the big top: saddle leather, sawdust from the ring, fur of the lion, and the caramalized smell of candy apples.
Fierce and fun, this makes the Top 5 list because of it’s highly creative and genius concoction that transports one to a magical moment! It made the list because of the feeling/mood/memories that it conjures. While the other scents on this list are gorgeous, none of them are as powerful as eliciting a feeling than Dzing!
But because of it’s unusual mixture, this is one of those love or hate it scents.
At first spritz you’re eyes are open to a dry hay-like smell and sharp animalic nuances, somewhat of a caged animal. These top notes are probably due to the combination of dry White Woods, hot Ginger, and fragrant Saffron.
But before your nose starts to turn up, a softer side peaks in with powdery Musk and warm Leather, evoking the smell of a horse being saddled up and ready to ride.
Before long you are captivated by the show, and after getting used to the strange smells around you, your mouth begins to water for Candy Apples and Cotton Candy created by these notes along with Toffee.
Tonka Bean plays a key role in this fragrance as you journey round the ring, as it acts as a staple and a binding note that grounds everything.
For those who may be reading this thinking that this has to be one of the strangest scents ever, trust me….after a few hours of wear this is an addicting sweet caramel apple leather that you won’t be able to get enough of!
Dzing is available on Amazon here:
Below are some other Leather fragrances that are worth trying, including the cult favorite Tom Ford Tuscan Leather. They may not have made MY Top 5 but they are certainly in my Top 10!
About the Author
The Perfume Expert The Perfume Expert is an online Perfume Blog, Beauty Blog and Skincare Blog all rolled into one so you can stay looking good, smelling nice and feeling great all in one place! Written by an expert you can trust, I provide you with Perfume reviews, Best Perfumes, Beauty reviews and Makeup trends that are all written with passion and an eye for excellence.
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