Parfums MDCI
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
Immediately, the saffron blazes with almost metallic brightness whilst pink pepper crackles across the skin—a genuinely spiced introduction that catches you slightly off-guard, as if walking into a market rather than applying cologne. The nutmeg adds weight, tempering the pepper's initial sharpness into something more intriguing than merely hot.
The leather emerges with surprising depth around the ninety-minute mark, enriched considerably by the oud's resinous backbone and papyrus's dry, almost woody whisper. The rose surfaces not as a softening agent but as a velvety undercurrent, creating an almost chamois-like tactility that makes the leather feel articulated rather than flat.
What persists is a warm amber-leather base, the bourbon vanilla and frankincense creating an almost incense-tinged finale where leather takes on the patina of something well-loved rather than pristine. The composition becomes increasingly intimate, settling into skin chemistry rather than projecting outward.
Cuir Garamante announces itself as a leather fragrance with genuine backbone, refusing the decorative restraint many modern perfumes employ when approaching hide. Richard Ibanez constructs this as a spiced leather narrative rather than a mere aromatic study—the saffron and pink pepper in the opening establish an almost peppery heat that prevents the leather from reading as austere or one-dimensional. What distinguishes this composition is how the heart unfolds: rather than allowing the leather to dominate monolithically, Ibanez introduces oud and papyrus as textural counterpoints, creating an effect akin to aged leather bindings alongside sheets of papyrus in some ancient library. The rose doesn't soften so much as it contextualises, offering a floral genealogy to the animalic elements at play.
This is a fragrance for the individual who views scent as a second skin rather than an accessory. It suits the creative professional, the architect or writer who favours worn leather jackets and considers a fragrance wardrobe as carefully as one might a bookshelf. The woody base of sandalwood and labdanum—deployed here with restraint rather than saturation—provides earthiness without veering toward typical woody-amber comfort. The bourbon vanilla and frankincense prevent the composition from collapsing into darkness, instead suggesting warmth beneath surface complexity. Wear this in autumn, in evening contexts where its leather-forward character won't feel ostentatious, or during transitional hours when the air itself seems to shift toward the contemplative.
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4.0/5 (85)