Vonna, Cuir de Russie, 'Russian Leather', 15 ml. or 0.5 oz. Flacon, Parfum Extrait, 1936, Paris, France ..

Little is known about the perfume house called Vonna, as they faded into obscurity after the war. Perhaps one would need to travel back in time to be able to further pull back the curtain that shrouds Vonna. There is at least one related perfume I recall noting in the Encyclopaedia of Perfume, a self-titled Vonna, launched in 1936 plus this Cuir de Russie.

In reading a review on Vonna's Cuir de Russie, the writer stated that it was beyond fabulous! On a label affixed to that Vonna Cuir de Russie bottle was a badge that reads 'Produits de Scientifique de Beaute de Vonna, Cachet de Garantie'.

History tells us that in 1926 the very similarly named Academie Scientifique de Beaute was born in Paris. The company, which is still family owned to this day, was founded by the French pharamcist Georges Gay, and they claim to have opened the first scientific beauty academy to train aestheticians in 1928.

Opulent compositions of woody and leathery notes in a heart of the perfume are accentuated with amber notes in a base. Warm, mysterious sandalwood, drier and sharper cedar and vetiver, resin-like and balmy exotic notes accompanied with aromatic and citrusy notes. Labdanum, musk, and patchouli come forward in the dry down.

"Without comparing it to anything, the Vonna CdR smells strongly of leather. But a side-by-side comparison of a 1930-40 era Chanel Cuir de Russie reveals the Vonna is a much softer leather scent than the Beaux/Chanel version, making the Vonna seem like an almost suede-like, more modern rendition of leather. This is indeed a softer and surprisingly supple and turn of leather."

"Vonna's Cuir De Russie opens fittingly with an over-dose of orange blossom. I say fitting because the fleshy orange blossom petals that fall from our orange trees this time of year have a naturally leathery, almost petrolish tone with an almost narcotic, honeysuckle-sweet nectar scent. Along with orange blossom, Vonna's leather seems to have been cured in a vat of violet petals .. thanks to a heavy touch of ionones, no doubt. It dries down to an ultra-smooth, almost sweet tonka-suede nougat that maintains its leather character while becoming more and more powdery; you can detect on paper 24-48 hours and long beyond. All in all, Vonna a fantastic leather perfume for the vintage collector, if you can find it." The Vintage Perfume Vault

Top notes are Neroli and Orange Blossom
Heart notes are Orange, Violet, Nutmeg, Rosemary, and Juniper
Base notes are Leather, Cedar, Vetiver, Balsam, Labdanum, and Patchouli

This has neither the pungent birch tar notes of cuirs from the 19th century, nor the polished, somewhat sweet notes of the Chanel version. It almost waffles on the fence between leather and pure chypre, sometimes leaning in one direction, sometimes the other, during its extensive dry down.

Certainly a treasure and worth searching out!

Offered here is a half ounce bottle of Vonna Cuir de Russie, almost full, but not sealed. It is a lively oriental leather, spicy and a little fruity, and still possesses a lot of character.. Very warm and strong .. delicious! Once of the loveliest and softest Cuirs from the past!