Review: Week-end À Deauville from Nicolaï (2011)

Generally speaking, there are two types of perfume labelled with the word ‘leather’: those which take their inspiration from the stench of a tannery and those which aim to evoke the smell of the tannery’s end products. I am, of course, simplifying the matter and ignoring the many leather fragrances which exist between the ends of the spectrum, but in broad terms, those are the main categories. What’s interesting is that the former appear to have retained an air of timelessness, but the latter seem to have veered into realms that are dangerously – and unfairly – dismissed with the phrase ‘old ladies’. Think of the smell of belts, purses and wallets that have absorbed the scents of their owners and of the items (lipstick, cotton, coins, denim, banknotes…) with which they’ve been in contact. For some reason, this is an odour which Western sensibilities have come to associate with the past. Try Estée Lauder’s Azurée and you’ll see what I mean: you’ll probably appreciate the way it’s put together, but you may struggle to wear it without thinking you’ve stepped inside a time warp and emerged on the set of a Douglas Sirk movie.