Leather in perfumery does not come from any particular plant or animal. No material on a perfumer's shelf is called "leather". The note is an accord, meaning a blend of several materials that together recall the smell of tanned hide: birch tar, castoreum, labdanum, saffron and synthetic molecules. Depending on the dosage, leather can smell of smoke, suede or flowers.
A note without a single material
Leather itself smells of very little. Its recognisable scent comes mostly from tanning: barks, oils and tars. So the perfumer is not trying to extract anything from leather. Instead, the perfumer rebuilds an impression by combining smoky, animalic, resinous and spicy notes.
That is why perfumers speak of a leather accord. Each house has its own recipe. A product page that lists "leather" in its pyramid does not tell you which materials make up the accord. It tells you the effect the perfumer was aiming for.
The perfumed gloves of Grasse
Grasse, known today for its flowers, was first a town of tanners. The leather gloves made there kept the strong smell of tanning.
During the Renaissance, the fashion for perfumed gloves spread through the courts of Italy and then France. To hide the smell of tanning, glovemakers soaked their skins in flower essences, musk, ambergris or civet. Perfume plants grew well around the town, and the glovemakers learned how to process them.
In the 17th century, these craftsmen were granted the title of master glovemaker perfumers. Later, tanning declined in Grasse, weighed down by taxes and competition, while perfumery grew.
Russian leather and birch tar
The other root of leather in perfumery lies to the east. In Russia, hides were treated with an oil drawn from birch bark. This treatment made the leather supple and water resistant, and gave it a smoky, tarry smell. In Europe it was known as "Russian leather".
That smell became a style of perfume. Several houses released a "Cuir de Russie". The best known is Chanel's, composed by Ernest Beaux in the 1920s. Ever since, birch tar has remained the material most closely tied to the idea of a smoky leather.
Birch tar is obtained by strongly heating the bark and wood without air. What comes out is a thick black material that smells of wood fire and raw leather. In its crude state it contains unwanted compounds, so perfumery regulations require purified tars, known as rectified tars. Perfumers use it in very small doses.
The materials of the leather accord
A leather accord usually brings together several materials. Their proportions steer the leather towards smoke, softness or animalic depth.
Birch provides the smoky, tarry side. In the same register, perfumers also use cade oil, a juniper tar that is drier and more phenolic. Birch grows across northern Europe and Russia.
Castoreum is a secretion produced by the beaver, in North America and Eurasia. It smells of leather, smoke and birch, partly because beavers feed on bark. Long taken from the animal, it is now almost always rebuilt in the laboratory from synthetic molecules and plant materials.
Labdanum is a resin obtained from cistus, a Mediterranean shrub whose production is concentrated in Spain. It smells of amber and leather, with a slightly animalic note. It brings warmth to the accord.
Saffron adds a dry, metallic and slightly leathery facet. Its main odorant molecule, safranal, and related molecules made by synthesis are often used to suggest leather without tar. Iran supplies most of the world's saffron. Because natural saffron is expensive, most saffron notes rely on synthesis.
Isobutyl quinoline is a very powerful synthetic molecule, used in tiny doses. It smells of green leather and earth, with a bitterness close to that of roots.
Finally, suede refers to a velvety leather. The word comes from the French "gants de Suède", Swedish gloves tanned to keep a soft touch. In perfumery, the suede accord relies on powdery notes, iris and musks, with a more discreet touch of leather. It smells of soft skin rather than smoke.
Smoky leather, suede leather, floral leather
Leather perfumes fall into a few main styles. Smoky leather, the heir to Russian leather, is built on birch, cade and wood fire notes. It is dry and dark. Castoreum and civet can add an animalic dimension.
Suede leather is softer. It pairs the leather accord with iris and musks, sometimes with violet or saffron. It evokes pale, supple skin.
Floral leather combines the accord with flowers: rose, jasmine, violet, iris, ylang-ylang. The classification of the Société Française des Parfumeurs treats it as a separate subfamily, alongside tobacco leather. The flowers soften the hardness of the leather, and the leather gives the flowers staying power.
Leather also pairs well with tobacco, oud, incense, vanilla and honey. With vanilla it becomes rounder, almost gourmand.
Leather perfumes from our catalog
Every perfume below lists leather, suede, birch or a tar in the pyramid published on its product page. Some make it the subject of the perfume, others use it to add relief to a flower, a fruit or a gourmand note.
Smoky birch leather
Leaves in the wind, by Adi ale Van, brings together almost every material described above. Birch, smoky notes, frankincense and a leather accord in the heart, then a base of oud, amber, civet, castoreum, labdanum and vetiver. Michele Marin composed it with 60% natural materials, as a tribute to Muscel, a region of the Romanian Carpathians. Our introduction to Adi ale Van tells the story of the house.
Kama, by Pernoire, places birch tar right in the top notes, with blackberry, violet and orris root. The heart combines leather, cotton candy, cypriol and dry amber, over a base of moss, cashmere wool and musk. The perfume lets a smoky leather live alongside a confectionery note. Our introduction to Pernoire covers the Swiss house in detail.
Birch and tar in conceptual perfumes
Jeffrey, the second chapter of Spiritica's Crime Collection, uses birch in the base, with amber, vetiver, a melted plastic note and a damp cellar. Here the birch keeps its burnt, industrial character. The house is introduced in our article on Spiritica.
Labels of Feelings, by Adi ale Van, composed by Antonio Alessandria, uses juniper tar in the top notes, with passion fruit, blackcurrant bud and plum. The heart of lily of the valley, magnolia, jasmine and saffron rests on a base of cedar, frankincense, labdanum, leather and smoke.
Labdanum, oud and leather
Oudian, by Pernoire, pairs cistus labdanum and frankincense in the heart, followed by a base of oud, leather and vetiver. The top brings together durian, saffron, tropical fruits and Sichuan pepper. Labdanum forms the bridge between the leather and the oud.
Saffron leather
Kxxt +, by Aaron Terence Hughes, opens on raspberry and saffron. The heart combines jasmine, iris and leather, over a base of cedar, patchouli, Tonkin musk and oud. Our introduction to Aaron Terence Hughes explains the house's concentration.
Delma, by Widian, places saffron and leather in the base, with patchouli, vanilla, marshmallow and guaiac wood. Peach, mandarin and heliotrope open onto a heart of jasmine, freesia and geranium. See our introduction to Widian.
Suede leather
Night Tempo, by Tada Parfumeur, is inspired by a night in Tokyo. Sugar, metallic notes, lime and vinyl in the top, then a heart of suede, iris and rose, over a base of ambroxan and leather. Our introduction to Tada Parfumeur looks back at the perfumer.
Yuzuyakuza, by Spiritica, tells the story of the back streets of Tokyo's Kabukichō district. Yuzu and sudachi open onto a heart of sakura blossom, petrichor, ink and asphalt, then a base of incense, suede, mahogany and cedar.
Floral leather
Rose & Thorns, by Tada Parfumeur, is a clear example of floral leather. Violet and sugar in the top, iris, lipstick and rose in the heart, then a base of leather, amber and musk.
Leather with honey and vanilla
Gurza, by House of Atropa, places leather in the heart, with honey, immortelle and vanilla. It opens on durian, champagne and cherry, and ends on oud, patchouli, vetiver and cedar. Our article on House of Atropa introduces the house.
Notorious, by Aaron Terence Hughes, pairs leather with tonka bean, vanilla, ambrette seed and heliotropin, after a citrus opening. The base brings together patchouli, cedar and rum. Its product page describes it as a leathery gourmand.
Leather and tobacco
Adiere, by Adi ale Van, opens on a Cuba Libre accord, cola, lime and thyme. The heart combines tobacco absolute, a whisky accord, leather, ink and pine wood. The base pairs smoke, patchouli, vanilla absolute, tonka, cocoa and oud.
Deer leather
Tonkin Tonka 3, by The Unleashed Apothecary, stages the meeting of cold and animal warmth. Fresh snow, icy pine and cold steel in the top, then tonka bean, warm skin and bitter almond in the heart. The base brings together Tonkin musk, deer leather, fur and benzoin. See our introduction to The Unleashed Apothecary.
Leather, ink and mineral notes
The Print House, by Tada Parfumeur, was born from a collaboration with a fanzine workshop. Coffee absolute, an ink accord and saffron in the top, paper, a metallic note, incense and iris in the heart, then cashmeran, patchouli, musk, leather and oakmoss.
Principalities, by Cæleste, composed by David-Lev Jipa-Slivinschi, places leather in the heart with mineral notes, petrichor, assafi oud, galbanum and immortelle. The base brings together ash, elemi resin, saffron, incense and sandalwood. Our article on Cæleste introduces the house.
You will find more leather compositions in our selections of woody perfumes, oriental perfumes and spicy perfumes.
Frequently asked questions
Does a leather perfume contain real leather?
No. No perfume is made from leather. The leather note is an accord rebuilt from plant, animal or synthetic materials, such as birch tar, labdanum, saffron or isobutyl quinoline.
Is castoreum still taken from beavers?
Hardly ever. Natural castoreum has become very rare in perfumery. Perfumers now use reconstructions that imitate its leathery, smoky smell without any animal material.
What is the difference between leather and suede?
In perfumery, leather often refers to a darker, smoky or tarry note. Suede evokes a velvety leather, softer and more powdery, built with iris and musks. Night Tempo and Kama show the gap between the two clearly.
Is a leather perfume always dark?
No. Paired with flowers, vanilla or honey, leather becomes softer. Rose & Thorns and Delma are good examples. How dark it feels depends mostly on the share of birch and smoky notes.
Is leather a masculine fragrance?
No. The leather family was long associated with men's perfumes, but it also includes many floral and powdery leathers. The effect depends on the composition more than on the note itself.
Further reading
Leather is one of the materials covered in our Perfume materials guide, along with oud, sandalwood and vanilla. To compare a smoky leather, a suede leather and a floral leather on your own skin, the perfumes mentioned are available as 2 ml samples, depending on the house, on our samples page.