Cuiron Pour Homme EDC by Helmut Lang

Year: 2002
Nose: Françoise Caron

The opening of Cuiron is mind-blowing for me, I received my bottle today after years of search and I'm happy like if it was Christmas. I tried this scent sometimes back when it was available, then forgot about it, then started looking for it, but the prices were always too high for me, and I stupidly missed some good bargains – this time I "nailed" it instead. And I am so amazed and happy to realize it's indeed the great scent I remembered. Together with Moschino pour Homme this is perhaps one of the very few "hyped" and "cult-like" discontinued scents which to me are actually worth the hype – had quite some disappointments with other ones. Well however... the opening of Cuiron: a salty, plummy, white musks, soapy-clean accord with bergamot and lime, violet petals, a silky, unperceivable suede-like base, Iso E/cashmeran-like cozy aromatic and soft woods, and a sort of tobacco dustiness which emerges better after a while, and a hint of spices (cloves, cinnamon, pepper). Daim Blond dressed in Lang. Can hardly think of anything more essential, refined, cozy. The name can be deceitful, as there is hardly no leather here, or at least surely no raw/dark/lived-in/tanning leather accords, not even "suede" as it is often rendered. Is just something completely on its own, it is a sort of ultra-thin, satin leather, which has undergone so many industrial treatments that it looks like plastic, or PU, but it's genuine. The silky, ultra-flat leather of a glossy lounge... but not even that, because there is so much abstraction and uniqueness here, that the only thing I can think of is "leather in Helmut Lang's world". Deeply and brightly post-modern in its completely new and innovative approach to the leather accord. What amazes me – apart from the scent itself, which smells just heavenly – is the fact that Cuiron manages to stay bold, dense, sharp, with a good projection and a good sillage, still being so minimalist, understated and essential. It's the same visual sharpness and boldness of constructivist architecture: few bold lines, but still a majestic presence. Utterly sophisticated in its own total way. Plus, it has a really peculiar sort of '80s fougère subtle aftertaste, which I am not able to identify, some sort of slightly salty/creamy density, which together with the suede note conjures this sort of feel. A really true and smart example of post-modernism in perfumery – taking an accord and a bunch of notes, cut them in pieces, re-pasting them with a minimalist détournement, giving it a complete but consistent new meaning. Brilliant. And as I said, jibber-jabbers aside, it smells irresistibly good, sharp, distinctive, quite linear but that's definitely part of the concept. I may be a voluble hype-victim but all this deserves a ten to me. Sadly it's most of the times insanely overpriced, and for me, despite the "10", not worth the pathetic greediness of sellers selling it at X times its original cost. Be patient, sometimes good bargains happen and you can still grab a bottle at a decent price.

10/10