I hated the first 20 minutes, it was too sharp and the oud and cloves made it smell medicinal, i was going to write a rather bad review but as the minutes go by it mellowes to a soft rich incense and amber which i like with distant flowers. so i changed my rating from 2 to 4.

Hideous, I can't believe anyone would wear this or think it smells good. I agree with the comments below that reference the tire store, the asphalt, and the motor oil but this smells worse. I can smell the leather, though. I checked yes for buy again because I am having fun smelling these Serge samples - each one so different.

If I could give two scores, I would also give it a 5 for craftsmanship. This smell is a real smell, the smell of something, i.e., it's not just a collection of notes, it's a powerful smell, and the smell has carved out its place in my brain, so that throughout the day I'd catch a whiff of something and that smell would pop into my brain, even though it was actually gone. I was proud of owning such an unusual perfume so I asked a co-worker to try it, and she said it wasn't that bad (and I was disappointed) and then she immediately washed it off. One hour later she came to my office and said the smell was getting worse and worse! (Although she had washed it off!) That is what we are dealing with here. (I offered her some Bath and Body Works Winter Candy Apple Hand Lotion to help her cover the smell since it wouldn't wash off completely). Of the 3 hideous, 1 bad, 1 not-bad-but-very odd and overpowering, and 1 kind of good but overpowering Serge Lutens samples I've tried, Cuir Mauresque is the most dramatic and impressive. (The six scents referenced in the last sentence are, in order: Cuir Mauresque, Chypre Rouge, and Chene; Gris Clair; Cedre; and Douce Amere). I will be trying some less "challenging" ones soon.

I'm extremely surprised by this scent! I hate masculine fragrances or even unisex will turn harsh on me, but not this one! It's a beautiful creamy floral leather, very dry but also warm. It's so well blended with amber and musc, and after only 10-15 minutes turns to a mellow and sweet deliciousness! Very sexy! How unexpected!

This sadly just smelled like cough medicine to me, not much leather to be found. I agree with another reviewer who said it smelled like a "disguise" for something else. Others might like it, but not for me

"Cuir Mauresque is a rich, smoky and fruity fragrance for both men & women. It's an opulent blend of leather, spices and flowers with notes of amber, myrrh, charred styrax tree, Egyptian jasmine incense, cinnamon, aloe wood, cedar, civet, nutmeg, clove, cumin, musk, mandarin peel and orange blossom."

I haven't had great luck with the Serge Lutens' blends that I've tried. I'm fascinated by Jeux de Peau and love Un Lys (such a pretty, simple lily), but other than that they haven't really been winners for me. Cuir Mauresque smells like a fishing tackle box on me + a whiff of harsh, black smoke. It's disturbing how much it smells like rubber fishing lures on me, lol. Rubber, plastic, chemicals, and smoke. I don't think I would ever have guessed at any of the notes that are supposed to be in this. It smells maybe a bit like a very dark and smoky sort of vetiver, but mostly it's rubber on me. I've kept my sample around just for the novelty of it, but this isn't one that I'll ever wear out of the house. continued >>

As a leather lover I really, REALLY wanted to love Cuir Mauresque, but like a lover you *know* isn't good for you but you stick with anyway it's hard to admit when you have to let 'em go. CM starts with a high-octane blast of an acrid gasoline/rubber scent, like the smell of an old gas station. It made me wonder if my sample had turned, especially as this phase of the scent lasted a good 2 hours on my skin. After this CM *finally* calms into a sweet-yet-smoky leather that made me want to curl into it with glee. If CM had less of the former stage and more of the latter I'd buy it with no regrets, but the difficult and tenacious opening gives me pause. Since there's so many scents on my wishlist as-is I'll hold onto my 5ml mini bottle, but more than likely forgo a FB unless I find a partial at a decent price/swap.

Notes: mandarin peel, orange blossom, burnt styrax, incense, cinnamon, nutmeg, amber, myrrh, cumin, musk, cedar, and civet.

This fragrance opens with notes of orange blossom enhanced by mandarin peel, spices and smoke. The result is a rich oriental melange in which the leather accord is not immediately seen. Only after the precedingly dominant orange blossom note has calmed down, does the leather note appear. It is unlike the leather accords seen in Daim Blond and Boxeuses, it is thicker and sturdier. I'd use this kind of leather to make a Hermes saddle or a Balanciaga biker jacket. Once the leather accord has taken its rightful throne the remainder of the herald notes gather around it to create a very sensual and soothing scent. As the fragrance progresses warmer notes such amber, myrrh and musk add a powdery clean finish to the leather accord intensifying its comforting qualities. My only quibble with this fragrance is the overuse of orange blossom and amber, to me they smother the leather accord which I would have fleshed out more. Lasts for roughly 6 hours on my skin.

Leather? Where's the leather?
When I was married to my first husband we owned service stations, one of which predominantly sold tires. Used and new. There was a big room where we kept some of the tires and on one end of the room there was a wood burning stove. Wintertime we would put a pot of water on the top of the stove to help with the humidity. When we ate oranges or tangerines we'd often drop the peelings into the water to scent the place a little. Not much help, it's all tire rubber in there. That's what Cuir Mauresque smells like. Cloying rubber tire room with the orangey potpourri vaguely scenting and simmering in the background.

The way this uses orange blossom reminds me quite a bit of vintage Bal a Versaille and, should I run out of that, I will be buying this to replace it. Both fragrances have orange blossom, civet, cedar, incense/resin, mandarin orange and musk. Complete list note for CM: amber, myrrh, burnt styrax, incense, cinnamon, aloe wood, cedar, civet, nutmeg, clove, cumin, musk, mandarin peel, orange blossom.

Wow. So I'm reading the reviews of Cuir Mauresque, and none of them resonate with the scent that I perceive when I first used my Lucky Scent sample. I'm not one of those people for whom leather works very well (Daim Blond + My Skin = FAIL), but Cuir Mauresque is one of those fragrances that I wouldn't know was "leather" unless you pointed it out to me. With my skin chemistry, the florals sing sweetly, and I do pick up a distinct orange blossom note. Cuir Mauresque is sweet, but not cloying ... I'd describe it as a "dulcet" scent, very sexy and very intimate, sort of exotic. Sweet incense. This is what I imagined Vivienne Westwood's Boudoir would be like. Cuir Mauresque did not fail to disappoint, and to think that I asked for a sample just on a lark!