Perfumes with leather

One note, several names

Leather on an ingredient list can mean different things. A leather accord is the plain term for a composed impression of tanned skin. Russian leather and Tuscan leather are names for particular styles, and suede points to something softer and matte. None of them is extracted from a hide. They are built from birch tar, resins, woods and other materials, which is why the same word can read smoky in one perfume and almost powdery in another.

Heart or base

The tier tells you how loudly leather speaks. In the heart it shapes the fragrance while it opens. Byredo Bibliothèque has plum and cinnamon on top, a leather accord with violet in the heart, and birch woods, patchouli and vanilla underneath. Byredo Black Saffron also puts a leather accord in the heart, between black violet and cristal rose. In Xerjoff Tony Iommi Monkey Special, leather sits in the heart with cinnamon and Singaporean patchouli, after a top of bergamot, geranium, passion fruit and rum.

In the base, leather is what remains. Stéphane Humbert Lucas Soleil de Jeddah ends in Russian leather, iris butter and vanilla from Madagascar. Tiziana Terenzi Spirito Fiorentino lists Tuscan leather in the base with oakmoss, sandalwood, birchwood, musk and amber. Amouage Honour Woman is labelled a white floral by Amouage, and leather is the last name in its base, after vetiver, frankincense, amber and opoponax.

Argos Bacio Immortale uses both positions. Leather appears in the heart with violet, jasmine and pink peppercorn, and again in the base with musk, oud, birch and vanilla.

What leather does to its neighbours

Leather dries things out. Next to vanilla or tonka it takes the edge off the sweetness. Under flowers it draws a darker outline. With woods it adds a tanned tone, and with iris or violet it turns powdery. In Roja Parfums Elysium Pour Homme, leather is one of a dozen base notes, among them vetiver, cedarwood, vanilla, labdanum and ambergris, so it works as one voice in a large chord rather than the lead.

Finding the leather you want

Decide first how present you want it. A leather accord in the heart is easy to notice, while leather in the base is a quiet floor beneath everything else. Then look at the neighbours: birch, oud and tobacco darken it, iris and violet soften it, vanilla and amber warm it. A very long list of notes usually means leather is one part of a blend. If you enjoy the note, the same thread leads on to oud, birch, tobacco and iris in the collection.