Cuoio dei Dolci
From: € 28.00
“Cuoio dei Dolci (Sweet Leather) was composed for a customer who specified castoreum, tonka and tobacco in that order, followed by cocoa, vanilla, ylang, and mandarin. Dubrana rose to the challenge and produced a delicious confection, a sort of gingerbread ottoman that hits all the buttons as required, yet works nicely as a whole. Luca Turin Continue …
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Description
From Kafkaesque blog:
Cuoio dei Dolci (“Sweet Leather”) is another scent that was originally made as a custom creation for a client. It’s now available for sale to the public, which makes me very happy because it is my favourite of the fragrances covered today. Its description on the Profumo website is a simple one:
“Cuoio dei Dolci (Sweet Leather) was composed for a customer who specified castoreum, tonka and tobacco in that order, followed by cocoa, vanilla, ylang, and mandarin.”
AbdesSalaam told me that there were other elements in minor, subtle doses as well, like sandalwood and an accord from his Amber Chocolate fragrance. He says there isn’t ambergris in the scent, but it really smells as though there is to me and on my skin. Nevertheless, the official note list is:
Castoreum, Tonka, Tobacco, Cocoa, Vanilla, Ylang-Ylang, Mandarin, & Mysore Sandalwood.
Cuoio dei Dolci (hereinafter sometimes referred to as “CDD” for reasons of convenience and speed) opens on my skin with boozy cognac poured in heavy waves upon rich, dark chocolate that is semi-sweet and semi-dry. It’s similar to the accord in Amber Chocolate, only this is not herbal, it’s less bitter, and the liqueured note is very different. It’s the macerated fruit of aged cognac with an elusive, almost ghostly whiff of the saltiness that you’d find in whisky, no doubt the result of the ambergris that lies in a thick haze over everything.
The chocolate is a really beautiful, addictive note. Its slightly bitter, dark cocoa powder is juxtaposed next to vanilla that is silky, dark, sweet, dry, and with almost a boozy Bourbon quality to it. It also bears quite a few of the woody vanilla aspects of Peru Balsam as well. (AbdesSalaam’s Peru Balsam was one of my favourite essences that I worked with during his seminar, and the material that I always turned to when I sought the best “vanilla” aroma, so I wouldn’t be astonished if a bit of it were used here as well.) But the chocolate is also offset by other elements as well. There is tonka cream and also caramel from the ambergris. A touch of spicy, buttery sweetness licks its edges, but I can’t say it’s redolent of ylang ylang flowers on my skin in any clearly delineated, tangible, and concrete way. Only its spiciness hints at ylang, and only if I apply a lot of the Cuoio dei Dolci. Instead, there is a different sort of buttery plushness and spiciness that is more evident, one that stems from the sandalwood in the base.
Cuoio dei Dolci shifts quickly. Less than 5 minutes in, the castoreum stirs in the base, initially wafting a quiet, musky darkness that slowly, gradually, turns into something smokier and more evocative of castoreum-style leather. Roughly 20-30 minutes into the fragrance’s development, it seeps up to fuse with the boozy cognac and chocolate, turning Cuoio dei Dolci darker and muskier. The level of smokiness slowly accelerates as well, but I can’t determine its source with any certainty.
In fact, it’s difficult to pinpoint several of the notes in Cuoio dei Dolci as a whole. I’ve tried the fragrance five or six times now, but I can’t say that I’ve ever detected a clear, unquestionable tobacco note on my skin, something that I can point to and say, “Aha, this is a tobacco scent.” There is a definite gingerbread-ish sweetness that, if I focus hard, suggests tobacco, but it is a light brush stroke that is enveloped within the other spicy and dark notes, and nothing like the clear, profound, multi-faceted tobacco in Profumo’s fantastic Tabac on my skin. The mandarin must be partially responsible for the cognac booze note since, after all, cognac is derived from macerated fruits, but I can’t detect that clearly either. And, as I explained up above, the ylang is equally abstract in nature on my skin.
Part of the difficulty is that Cuoio dei Dolci, like so many of the Profumo scents, is seamlessly blended, while the rest of it is the AbdesSalaam aesthetic style. Some notes are clear, but flow one into the other, while others are subsumed within a cloud that feels like an artist painted in broad, abstract brushstrokes. The only things that are clear on my skin and consistent throughout the fragrance’s development is a central bouquet of chocolate-vanilla slathered in thick layers over musky castoreum leather, then streaked with boozy cognac, smoky darkness, and sandalwood-like spicy creaminess, before the whole thing is subsumed within a rich, heavy cloud of ambergris goldenness, muskiness, and gingerbread spiciness.
Cuoio dei Dolci doesn’t change in any dramatic or significant way throughout its lifetime on my skin. Its notes and nuances merely fluctuate in their strength or prominence. Sometimes the chocolate gives way to let the castoreum shine with its musky leather tonalities. At other times, a mixed vanilla/tonka and buttery Mysore sandalwood accord overtakes both the chocolate and the leather, particularly from the 7th hour onwards. On other occasions, the ambergris and the gingerbread-ish spiciness take turns as the central note. The boozy, macerated cognac generally ripples over everything from the sidelines. Roughly 2.75 hours in, it becomes virtually impossible to dissect the layers beyond the broadest accords. Everything is a haze of perfectly balanced oriental notes with gourmand sweetness, darkness, and buttery creaminess, but it’s never cloying or gooey. It’s also never dry, too musky, or particularly smoky, either. I think all of it is cozy, gorgeously delectable, enticing, and addictive from start to finish.
It’s also a strong, rich scent with greater projection, sillage, and longevity on my skin than other Profumo fragrances. Using two good sprays from my small bottle, Cuoio dei Dolci typically opened with 4 inches of projection and about 5-6 inches of sillage. It took a while for the numbers to drop. After 3 hours, the projection was roughly 2-2.5 inches, while the scent trail was about 4. It generally took between 5.75 to 6 hours for Cuoio dei Dolci to turn into a skin scent on me but, even then, I could detect it up close without major effort. Things tend to become harder after the 9th hour. In total, Cuoio dei Dolci lasts between 11.5 and 12.5 hours on my skin.
Luca Turin really liked Cuoio dei Dolci as well. On his blog, Perfumes I Love, he wrote about AbdesSalaam’s bespoke or custom perfume business, its affordability, and the appealing fragrances which ensue. CDD was one of two examples that he used. His post reads, in part, as follows:
Dubrana’s approach is much cleverer and less onerous, but requires a little more knowledge from the buyer. He asks you to chose and rank 7 materials you like best from a list of approximately eighty. He then composes a fragrance for you, mostly from those seven materials. He charges €240, and the process takes two weeks. He did a violet-iris one for me several years ago which I liked very much. The two he sent me are Cuoio dei Dolci (Sweet Leather) and Nicolaya. CdD was composed for a dentist who specified castoreum, tonka and tobacco in that order, followed by cocoa, vanilla, ylang, and mandarin. Dubrana rose to the challenge and produced a delicious confection, a sort of gingerbread ottoman that hits all the buttons as required, yet works nicely as a whole. The whole idea is fun and, given his skill, will smell good no matter how cockeyed your list is. [Emphasis to perfume name added by me.]
I agree, Cuoio dei Dolci is a “delicious confection.” In fact, it’s pretty much my ideal sort of “gourmand.” I have a very low tolerance for sweetness but none at all for saccharine excess; Cuoio dei Dolci hits the perfect balance. It’s something that I really enjoy as a “cozy comfort,” bedtime scent and I plan to wear it long after any review. If you love any of the notes or accords described here, I strongly recommend that you try it yourself.
NON-VEGAN
7 reviews for Cuoio dei Dolci
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Tony –
Cuoio dei Dolci is unbelievably smooth and balanced fragrance where every note sings the same beautiful song in totally harmony. On my skin I can smell tobacco, castoreum, tonka, cocoa and vanilla with some freshness. Delicious and smooth animalic gourmand with a nice sensual twist.
I can imagine that Cuoio dei Dolci is at home with cozy sweater and relaxed atmosphere where you can take it easy and enjoy life (and food!) in good company. But because of animalic side, Cuoio dei Dolci would be fine with leather jacket and jeans too. I recommend you to try out where you enjoy Cuoio dei Dolci most, because you will enjoy!
travelscentsibilities –
Cuoio dei Dolci is just what my nose needed after emerging out of a sea of selfsameness. I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I had no prior knowledge about La Via Del Profumo but ended up going down a bit of a rabbit hole trying to learn more about the house and its perfumer, Dominique Dubrana or AbdesSalaam Attar, the name he goes by on his website. I recommend reading the NYT article written by Jim Lewis, if you haven’t already, to provide more perspective. It’s truly fascinating. Dubrana is self-taught, uses all-natural ingredients, makes bespoke scents, and apparently, Luca Turin is a fan.
Cuoio dei Dolci which translates to “Sweet Leather” was originally an aforementioned custom fragrance for a client that has since been made available to the general public.
Thank goodness because Cuoio dei Dolci is absolutely delightful.
The journey begins with leather steeped in what smells like bourbon and also like you’ve been hanging around the barbecue grill.
It’s bright, tangy, smoky and very animalic. There are swirls of slightly bitter dark chocolate, nutty tonka and nose tickling spice that permeate through while aromatic sweet ylang ylang and vanilla add puffs of softness.
It’s an outstanding fragrance that starts off intense but finishes sweetly.
・
// Perfumer: Dominique Dubrana or AbdusSalaam Attar
First seen on Instagram
ThePerfumeChronicles –
Siamese sweetness of balms and spices. To the brightul orange hues, a heavy leather tonka bean adds its lively sparkles.
Copper coloured, like a tanned skin and the pale sunset of a midsummer’s dawn, “Cuoio dei Dolci” is the scent of a gently perfumed oil lathering the skin heated by the summer’s sun.
Paternal comfort, the spirit of a vanilly tobacco, warmth of a pipe burning in your palm, an irisless iridescent halo and the leather binding of waxen books, of their scarlet and gilded covers ageing in the shadows of forgotten bookshelves.
The scent of a manuscript, of a parchment almost, once again the proof -unneeded- of AbdesSalaam Attar’s measure and mastery.
First published on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/p/BuosrF1BBLE/
Isaie –
AbdesSalaam Attar or The Art of Being Blown Away.
I never thought I’d have another favourite -mine being Mecca Balsam- and somehow, I am not surprised that I do.
I fell in love. Instantly. This is how addictive and precise this perfume is. I didn’t have to analyze it, to let it set on my skin ; I could have but did not care. For Cuoio dei Dolci is an absolute delicacy. Whether you are a spice lover, a tonka lover, a leather lover or simply a lover of real gourmands -understand gourmand perfumes that are not cloying or heavily relying on maltol and such- then you can dare a blind buy.
Nothing here is misplaced, nothing is out of touch, nothing is irrelevant. Comfy with its tonka-castoreum base, fabulously sensual with an ylang-ylang and vanilla chord displaying a hint of aniseed on my skin, which is all the more “à propos” with the subtle bitterness of tonka bean.
What is beautiful in this perfume is that everything blends so perfectly it is almost hard to put words on what you are smelling. The mandarin oozes into an ambery liquor, not stealing anyone’s thunder but rather bringing happiness, smile and light to an otherwise cognac looking and feeling perfume.
For it smells like holding a beautiful glass of vintage cognac. Assurance, quietude, the scent of a gentleman as he greets his tailor into his study. An old Elizabethan manor in the Kent countryside, waxen libraries and a sun-bathed horizon surround a man happy of a live well lived and worth living.
For this scent truly brings happiness and comfort to those who need it. It reminds one, unspeakably, that life is indeed worth living. Cuoio dei Dolci is the leather that makes the bodies of good-hearted men and women, ones who were wounded in the battles of life but kept going, hope at heart, until they finally enjoyed sheer bliss…
A gem in any collection.
Darvant –
If you are generally in the mood of cozy (oriental/ semi-oriental) creations a la Arabian Oud Kalemat, Il Profvmo Chocolat, several Serge Luten’s spicy appointments, La Via del Profumo Amber Chocolate or Milano Caffè (which exude anyway a basically diverse kind of coziness), or if you even appreciate the brighter (creamier) heliotropic-vanillic Farmacia SS Annunziata Cara or Kiori by Kiori, well you will surely enjoy the warmly animalic Cuoio dei Dolci’s sultry tobacco.
Actually, I borrow the word “cozy” since the vanilla-ylang-ylang’s remarkable presence (as usual on my synapses) provides me with this sort of “far lands exotic” twist but at same time since a superb castoreum’s presence elicits in here this wide sense of carnal (kind of salty-yummy, dusty sweet, luxurious and liquorous) aromatic warmth.
Sort of anisic is the sudden approach with this semi-gourmand intimate scent, a sort of “across the board” coniferous aromatic aura surrounding all the straight to follow unveiled elements.
Cuoio dei Dolci actually opens its run with an adamant assault of castoreum, dried orange, dry almond, cocoa beans, spices (may be hints of nutmeg or clove) and coniferous resins under my grotesque nose.
Sugary, boozy (kind of cognac’s presence evoking), warmly yummy, “wooden nuanced” Christmas holidays conjuring. Castoreum is immediately notable in a sort of fresh-aromatic (somewhat minty-piney), surely mouldy and just barely honeyed way (I mean somewhat sugary, almondy-heliotropic and “sweet liquorous pastries/Christmas cakes/icing sugar/dried orange/sweetmeat/white-sugary molasses-ideally conjuring”). An evocative approach due to exhume the most arcane of your childhood memories.
Anyway this sort of almondy-aromatic-vaguely talky castoreum is the main initial presence on my skin with its salty-sugary (talky-resinous and vaguely “truffley”) provision. Tonka, vanilla, may be cypress and ylang-ylang are clearly quite notable in this exotic phase while gradually tobacco jumps up with its pipe vanillic (and at same time salty-humidor-acid-“agricole”) feel. Honestly is hard to retain along dry down “the cocoa beans-presence’s perception” which is indeed throughout heady in (more straightforward on cocoa beans-temperament) scents as Amber Chocolate or Milano Caffè (which is far spicier) while the yet notable tobacco is anyway surely more heady in diverse La Via del Profumo’s creations as Don Corleone or Tabac.
Castoreum (especially along the first minutes) and a sort coniferous almondy/heliotropic presence are the most relevant presences on my skin throughout. I don’t detect any buttery or particularly intense ambery feel which somebody claims to pick up from this blend. Repeat, the honeyed feel is moderate and never thick. Dry down is more than vaguely woody (seasoned mild woods) and musky under my “deceitful” nose from the far southern lands.
“About the leather” actually Cuoio dei Dolci could not be properly defined a leather-dominant accord (the juice does not claim to be a straightforward leather-manifesto a la Aramis classic) but frankly you could notice a subtle (gradually emerging) leather’s final presence along the dry down and the “leathery feel” jumping up from the dominant castoreum.
To conclude…, ealued on its whole array of nuances Cuoio dei Dolci is surely a fully satisfactory “natural in approach” intellectual fragrance with a sheer sense of literary manneristic decadence, “golden age cheerful bacchanalia” and bourgeois inexorable debauchery. Moderate sillage (or better, somewhat faint sillage) and longevity on my skin (just my personal alchemy on this perfume while I enjoy a greater longevity and projection with scents as Don Corleone, Mecca Balsam or Muschio di Quercia).
First seen on Basenotes on 28th February, 2017
Celestino –
Salve
Ho ricevuto questa mattina il profumo e posso dire che è STUPENDO !!
Hoschhti –
CDD is a beautiful fragrance. It’s very warm, cozy, animalic (but not too much) and very easy to wear. It’s a perfect autumn scent.
The ing of CDD is very surprising as it smells a lot like absinthe (the anise-heavy ones like the Francois Guy). I would have never expected that by just looking at the notes. This sensation fades away after half an hour.
What comes after that is a wonderful mix of Castoreum, Cocoa (semi-sweet), Tobacco, some additional Vanilla/Tonka-sweetness and I guess a little bit of Sandalwood.
Although the perfume has the word “sweet” in its name, it’s actually not that sweet.
I would even say that it’s more masculine than it is feminine.
The Castoreum is strong, but just like in Gringo it’s nicely softened by the other notes, so it never becomes too animalic, though CDD conjures up images of horses and hay at times in a very gentle way.
The deion on the website says that CDD contains also Mandarin and Ylang-Ylang, but to me they are barely detect, especially the Mandarin is non-existent to my nose.
The longevity is quite good for a natural perfume. All in all CDD is a great perfume.
I think it’s the best from La Via del Profumo’s latest offerings.
First seen on Basenotes on 14th November, 2016