French niche line Parfums de Nicolaï has launched Baïkal Leather Intense, a new woody spicy leather fragrance.
The leather aspect of Baïkal Leather Intense is essentially created by blending two dry, woody notes: essence of guaiac wood and essence of smoked pine. This powerful duet is revealed by a fiery start of spicy citrus with yuzu, pepper and saffron, while the aromatic touch of spearmint completes the top note. The floral hart [sic] of rose and violet envelops the leather, softened by an iris butter, Tonka beans and white musk background.
Additional notes include sandalwood and vetiver.
Parfums de Nicolaï Baïkal Leather Intense is available in 30 and 100 ml Eau de Parfum, and in a 250 ml bottle with 15 ml refillable spray.
(via pnicolai)
Sounds really great, as long as the smoked pine doesn’t overwhelm.
Glad to see she’s still doing the 30ml bottles!
Me too!
Another manufacturer that discontinued a longtime favourite of mine, Le Temps d’Une Fete – oh well, at least I got to wear it over two periods of time, in its original form & then a reformulation which wasn’t that different, before its eventual demise – the story of my perfume life!!
There are several I wish they would bring back!
I have it. Let me be the first dissenting voice. As a big if not huge fan of Nicolaï (owning multiple bottles of most of their lineup), I am really really disappointed in and even infuriated by this Baïkal Leather.
An Exsence report on Cafleurebon mentioned this new release already and called it a “modern spicy fougère” that should appeal to the “younger generation”. At the time I was worried already and actually commented that I hope it wouldn’t turn out to be another of those disgusting sharp woody ambers so popular nowadays.
Imagine your worst nightmare came true. That’s what happened with Baïkal Leather. It has no relation with the Cuir de Russie genre whatsoever, contrary to what PdN said as being “inspired” by this genre. It has nothing to do with leather. It’s just a big slug of those disgusting rubbing alcohol-like synthetic woody amber molecules (disguised as all those different kinds of “woods” they listed), bundled with a giant dose of dihydromyrcenol omnipresent in toiletry products for men (what they call “yuzu” I suppose). Yes, it should appeal to young generations who love Sauvage et al.
I’m even more angry because this is supposed to be their celebratory perfume for their 30th anniversary. Celebrating your anniversary with such an atrocious thing?! This coming from a house that prides itself as not succumbing to market trends, as having free creativity? Patricia de Nicolaï, president of Osmothèque, who knows so well all those beautiful creations from the old times, made this disgusting thing? It just pains me to think that from now on all their boutiques are going to reek of this woody amber.
I am hurt.
With feeling! Thanks for sharing. I own several 30mLs but would not consider myself a fan girl. Whatever I consider myself, what you’ve described would be a real turnoff and it basically killed my desire to procure a free sample.
I wonder how many reviews we will see of this? ?. Silence would be pretty damning. Your unfettered review is refreshing. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you! I know I’m harsh with this perfume. That’s probably because I had so much hope for it, leather being my favourite genre (Cuir de Russie, Bandit, etc.)
I had a perfumista friend blind-smell it. He didn’t have such strong emotion as I do, since he’s not attached to the brand as I am. But still he finds it to be a very generic masculine perfume that smells like “supermarket deodorant aisle burning”.
Thanks Bill. What a shame.
I qualify as a Nicolai fangirl and was looking forward to this one. Hugely disappointing. I wonder how much influence her son Axel had in the design of this one – perhaps that’s why it’s going in the generic masculine “Sauvage” direction…
In some interviews they say that her son Axel installed himself as evaluator. If it’s he who’s responsible for this thing, that’s very unfortunate.
Baffled by this as well.
I was given a “preview” sample from the Nicolai team in person at a perfume shop awhile back and just politely gave a “hmmm” response. I was really shocked that this was their anniversary scent, and of course hugely disappointed. It lingered on my wrist for all of 5 minutes. Odd scent and the sample is currently somewhere in a pile of dozens of other rejects.
Hope there are some fans out there for Nicolai’s sake.
Oh, dear. I am hurt, too, that if it is indeed this much of a disappointment, they’ve also gone and wasted the Baikal association. That is an extraordinary, precious place, and I would probably blind buy any halfway decent perfume that carried its name. Sounds like this one doesn’t make the cut.