Chanel Cuir de Russie

What a revolutionary perfume Cuir de Russie must have been in its day! It is so masculine, so gender-bending, that I imagine it even would make a huge splash today--and ruffle some feathers. This is classy, classy, classy woman-as-man scent, and it has a certain theatricality to it, a sort of "I'm pushing the limits" cigarry, almost urinous, edginess, but then the florals swoop in, and it says, 'I'm only kidding; I'm just a woman, after all.' Like all classic Chanels, for better (Bois des Iles) or worse (No. 5), this is a super complex thing; it tells a very upper-class story. I imagine one of those virago femme fatales that populate Wodehouse novels wearing this; brassy, horsey, masculine, yet deeply feminine, with hidden urges towards female role-playing that need only the right situation to bring them out. A tour de force, truly, something that both sweeps one's imagination into the past and fits in perfectly into our own postmodern world.

Comments

  1. Love Cuir de Russie -- it has such elegant line and such a seamlessness to it. Much is made of its plush leather quality, and though that's there, I feel it's balanced out extremely well with a clean musk that makes the whole thing feel very well laundered. Exquisite, classy, and a perfect unisex scent, if not even a tad bit more of a great masculine. Love it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I want a bottle unopened, I am getting a half full bottle 1/4oz. but I want the vintage form. in unopened package, anyone??? Thanks. Brad.
    transformed50@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

what thinkest thou?

Popular posts from this blog

book and fragrance giveaway: Rebecca

A Perfume Riddle

Tauerama!: Tauer perfumes discovery set giveaway