Cuir de Russie () is a fragrance from Parisian couturier Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel. (The term may also refer to other Russia leather perfumes, most notably Creed Cuir de Russie.)
History Coco Chanel had worked with Ernest Beaux on her original perfume, Chanel No. 5, which debuted in 1921. In 1927, they released Cuir de Russie, which means "Russian leather" in French.CUIR DE RUSSIE , museudelperfum.net. Accessed 4 May 2011Picardie, Justine, Coco Chanel: The Legend and the Life, London: HarperCollins, 2010, p. 121 In the 1920s, one of Chanel's lovers was Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia, the cousin of Tsar Nicholas II, and, according to Chanel's biographer Justine Picardie, Cuir de Russie was the "bottled ... essence of her romance with the Grand Duke."Picardie, 2010, p. 137
Notes According to the Chanel website, the fragrance of Cuir de Russie is of "wild cavalcades, wafts of blond tobacco and the smell of boots tanned by birch bark, which the Russian soldiers would wear".Cuir de Russie, chanel.com. Accessed 4 May 2011 The scent contains frankincense, juniper wood, mandarin orange, bergamot, rose, jasmine and ylang-ylang. Les Parfums Cuirs. All perfume houses had a perfume with the name: "cuir de Russie" The perfume is said to be gender-free, meant for all, with smoky, sandalwood, amber and a mix of leather.
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