CHANEL Cuir de Russie bottle and collage by Neringa

Coco CHANEL is famous for many things – her style, her fashion empire, her extraordinary life, her love affairs and of course her perfume. Just as important were the people she surrounded herself with: an eclectic mix of aristocrats and artists.

Le Train Bleu Ballet in one act. Music by Darius Milhaud. Argument of Jean Cocteau. Choreography Bronislava Nijinska. Sets by Henry Laurens. Curtain by Pablo Picasso. Costumes by Coco Chanel 1924

Mademoiselle CHANEL was surrounded by Russian émigrés – friends and muses: The Ballets Russes’ impresario Sergei Diaghilev, composer Igor Stavinsky, dancer Serge Lifar but none of the Russians in her circle would prove to have bigger impact on Coco’s life, both professional and personal than the Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich – cousin to Tsar Nicholas II. Pavlovich introduced Coco to his friend and fellow émigré, Ernest Beaux – that one meeting which was bound to change the history of fragrance forever.

 

Ernest Beaux via Fragrances of The World

Ernest Beaux, a French perfumer born in Russia, was classically trained and understood CHANEL’s vision. Trained in Moscow at Rallet, thefragrance purveyors to the imperial court, Beaux was as devoted to his art as CHANEL was to hers, and in 1921 the world saw the birth of N°5 –  perhaps the most revered and  recognized fragrances  of all time. Beaux and CHANEL fittingly introduced No. 22 in 1922 – a jumble of white petals that take flight, like a frothy cloud of tulle. Next was CHANEL Gardénia in1925, a stunning and avant-garde evocation of the magnificent flower with green notes, a creamy heart and a trail full of fantasy. 1926’s Bois Des Îles is an exotic invitation to a faraway destination redolent of ylang-ylang and sandalwood.

Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel and her lover Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich Romanov of Russia (photo CHANEL)

1927’s CHANEL Cuir de Russie captured the very essence of Coco CHANEL’s passionate romance with Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich – the lingering scent of N°5 on the sheets they made love  in their shared apartment, and the birch tar polished boots of the Grand Duke that stood at the foot of their bed. Coco CHANEL wanted to capture all the scents of this love affair and Beaux  more than succeeded with a luminous, scintillating flurry of aldehydes atop a restrained iris floral heart -the unapologetic birch tar drydown — both elegantly refined and slightly debauched.

 

Neringa with her bottle of Cuir de Russie extrait de parfum

CHANEL Cuir de Russie as reformulated by Jacques Polge for the Les Exclusifs collection in 2007 clearly references both  M. Beaux and Mademoiselle CHANEL. Beaux’s olfactory scent stamp is still intact – an aldehydic flurry over the floral bouquet of creamy ylang-ylang, sensuous rose and abundance of intoxicating jasmine leads to the intensity of orange blossom indoles lends a warm, honeyed aspect perfectly contrasting with the melancholic aloofness of iris.  Cuir de Russie is at its most scintillating at its drydown with its sensual tactile plush leather as supple as well-worn gloves wrapping around wisps of sweet blonde tobacco smoke and soft, decadently powdery orris. The darkness of leathery birch further intensified by scorched-styrax is dominant and melds with streaks of myrrh, resinous and woody. CHANEL Cuir de Russie is intimate and unapologetically sensual, just like the affair of Coco CHANEL and the Grand Duke. CHANEL Les Exclusifs Cuir de Russie is one of the best fragrances I have ever smelt.

Official Notes: Aldehydes, Clary Sage, Orange Blossom, Bergamot , Lemon, Mandarin Orange, Iris, Ylang-Ylang, Vetiver, Carnation, Jasmine, Rose, Cedar, Leather, Birch, Tobacco, Musk, Amber, Heliotrope, Vanilla

Disclaimer: CHANEL Cuir de Russie EDT and Extrait de Parfum bottles from my personal collection. My opinions are my own.

-Neringa Svobutaite, Contributor (with contributions from Michelyn Camen, Editor-in-Chief)

 

 

 Chanel Cuir de Russie photo by Neringa

There is a draw for a 5ml decant of CHANEL Cuir de Russie Eau de Toilette and 2ml Extrait de Parfum from Neringa’s personal bottles for a registered ÇaFleureBon reader in USA UK and EU (if you are not sure if you are registered click here (you must register on our site or your entry will be invalid. To be eligible please leave a comment with what you enjoyed about Neringa’s CHANEL Cuir de Russie review, where you live, if you are familiar with Les Exclusifs by CHANEL and if you have a favourite.  Draw closes  May 2, 2021

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