Royal Leather
Kilian (2015)

Form the opening on the leather is indeed present, a leather that is more on the soft and mellow side; but this leather is given a distinctly smoky characteristic by a black tea note.

This tea bears reminiscences of Oolong, but milder and with less edge. It is much more subtle that the famous black tea note in Bvlgari Black. Similarly, the leather this tinnier, less complex and much less creamy than the leather note in the great Royal English Leather from Creed.

In the drydown tinges of herbaceous moments and whiffs of heliotropes are present, but soon a softish patchouli as well as a pleasant oud note develop in the base. The oud is weak on my skin but blends in nicely.

The leather is the ever present leitmotif of this fragrance, and with time is loses the accompanying smokiness more and more, but the latter never completely disappears.

I get moderate sillage, strong projection and eight hours of longevity on my skin.

This is a peasant autumnal leather composition, but is is quite synthetic on the whole but well crafted and blended. It just - by the skin of its teeth - warrants a positive score, but is is not outstanding in the genre of leather fragrances. 3/5.

The final boutique exclusive (so far) that I needed to try, the relatively new Royal Leather By Kilian is a much-needed leather-dominant fragrance to add to their otherwise diverse collection, and it does not disappoint. Slightly refined, slightly dirty, and slightly chocolatey (I get that from the lavender/oud combination, I believe), Royal Leather is pretty pleasant to my nose while still being provocative, an expected combination for the standard retail price of $295 for 50ml. Again, the lavender is mainly what I get that plays alongside the dominant leather, and the oud is in the mix too to further dirty up the leather aspect. Overall an interesting mix.

Performance is pretty solid, not a powerhouse like Pearl Oud but not fleeting like Vodka on the Rocks. And given the notes breakdown, this is unsurprisingly a cold-weather-leaning fragrance, though of course the bold could try it in the summer if they so choose. It's masculine enough that I'd probably rule it out for women, but the lavender brings it sufficiently into the unisex area that I believe some women may like wearing it.

Likable but not lovable to my nose, Royal Leather is an interesting option for By Kilian fans to explore, and I've not smelled a leather quite like it, so leather fans might enjoy it too. A recommended try, if nothing else.

7 out of 10

The primary listed notes for Royal Leather are: hawthorn, black tea, heliotrope, leather, oud, patchouli. Royal Leather is a dry, dark leather scent that smells distinctive and impressive and stays dry, powdery sweet and darkly cool in character. Perhaps the most original leather scent I've tried in some time. The dry black tea opening has that smoke aroma of black tea and this is paired with a cold flinty smell of hawthorn strengthened by patchouli for a harsh but true leather scent that is warmed up half way by big powdery warmth of heliotrope. The heliotrope adds some round sweet warm powder however sweetness is always outplayed by the dry aspects of the tea and hawthorn. This is a simple, very rich dark tea stained leather. The name "Royal" might better have been "midieval" for the dark dryness of character here. I will only occasionally enjoy a leather fragrance and often I don't care for them, but I like this one for its independent spirit and dry distinctive aroma.