white whale leather

originally posted in lachendwolf on Thursday, December 22, 2005.

i am relieved to be wearing my new favorite Guerlain. i was so upset about puppy stuff and work stuff today i decided to wear Cuir Beluga. my application began at 9:45 am; at 5:24 pm it's still going strong. as a matter of fact, it's almost stronger. i'm not exactly sure why Guerlain named this Cuir Beluga; 'white whale leather' really doesn't sound appealing. however, i can certainly imagine someone searching for the best leather scent in the world as though it was Moby Dick. this smell is really delicious, as though a soft leather shirt (not a jacket - the leather isn't that strong) was left packed in a box of vanilla beans, then dusted with a smidgin of talc and then polished to a buttery finish with a tiny bit of violin bow resin. i only get the faintest hint of mandarin in the top notes, enough to give the leather an edge, and no everlasting flower. the heliotrope does a bit of hide and seek in the middle of the drydown, but otherwise this scent is wonderfully consistent and i don't find myself even remotely disappointed in the lack of variation there. the endurance of this fragrance makes me very happy.