Leather is family G, the smallest in the SFP classification with three subfamilies. The SFP describes it as compositions with dry, sometimes very dry notes that aim to reproduce the characteristic smell of leather: smoke, burnt wood, birch, tobacco.
The leather note in perfume does not come from leather. Finished leather smells of its tanning agents and surface treatments. Perfume rebuilds that impression with birch tar, cade oil, styrax, labdanum, quinoline molecules and animalic notes.
This page records the origin of the Leather family, its three-layer structure, the key materials and the IFRA Standards on wood tars, the three SFP subfamilies, landmark perfumes, and how the structure can be approached with natural materials. The library's Families and Facets page treats leather as a facet; the SFP table treats it as a family.
| SFP code | G · 3 subfamilies (G1–G3) |
| SFP definition | Dry, very dry notes recreating the smell of leather |
| Core materials | Rectified birch tar, rectified cade, styrax, labdanum, isobutyl quinoline |
| Key regulation | IFRA: only rectified birch and cade oils, with PAH limits; crude cade not used |
| Edwards equivalent | No family of its own; sits within Dry Woods and Mossy Woods |
The perfumed glove trade in France tied tanning to perfumery for centuries; the library's Grasse page records this history. Leather was scented to cover its own smell, and the smell of leather became part of the scent of perfumed gloves.
Cuir de Russie (Russian leather) was leather treated with birch bark oil, which made it water- and mould-resistant and gave it a characteristic smoky smell. According to Nez magazine, Aimé Guerlain had a Cuir de Russie in 1872. In 1919 Ernest Daltroff composed Tabac Blond for Caron, combining leather, tobacco and flowers; Nez regards it as the perfume that truly opened the Leather family.
Chanel's Cuir de Russie by Ernest Beaux is usually dated 1924; Auparfum and some other sources give 1927. Knize Ten, the perfume of the Vienna tailor Knize, dates from 1924. In 1944 Germaine Cellier composed Bandit for Robert Piguet, using isobutyl quinoline at a very high dose. Isobutyl quinoline gives a leathery, earthy, slightly bitter note.
The top of a leather composition is usually citrus and herbs: bergamot, orange, clary sage, sometimes aldehydes. It lightens a structure that is dark by nature.
The heart decides which way the leather leans. Flowers such as orris, jasmine, ylang-ylang, carnation and violet soften it, leading to subfamily G2 Floral Leather. Tobacco, honey, hay and coumarin lead to subfamily G3 Tobacco Leather. Saffron gives a dry, slightly metallic leather facet.
The base is the core: rectified birch tar oil and rectified cade oil give smoke and tar; styrax gives a sweet resin with a rubbery facet; labdanum gives warm leather; isobutyl quinoline gives a bitter leather note; castoreum or a synthetic substitute gives the animalic note. Vetiver, patchouli, oakmoss and musks join them. Molecules such as guaiacol and cresol are the source of the phenolic smoke in tar oils.
Wood tar oils such as birch tar and cade oil (from Juniperus oxycedrus) are made by pyrolysis of wood. Crude grades contain polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), including benzo[a]pyrene. The IFRA Standards allow only rectified grades and limit the combined level of the marker substances benzo[a]pyrene and 1,2-benzanthracene in the finished product to 1 ppb. IFRA recommends that crude cade oil not be used as a fragrance ingredient in any product.
Styrax, labdanum and oakmoss each carry their own rules: oakmoss is subject to the atranol and chloroatranol prohibition under Regulation (EU) 2017/1410 and the IFRA Standard on oakmoss extracts. Castoreum is a beaver secretion; most current formulas use synthetic substitutes for reasons of supply and ethics.
Regulation (EU) 2023/1545 adds several materials that appear in leather accords to the allergen list, including patchouli oil and cedarwood oils. New products placed on the EU market after 31 July 2026 must be labelled according to the new list.
The SFP divides the Leather family into three subfamilies: G1 Leather (Cuir), G2 Floral Leather (Cuir Fleuri) and G3 Tobacco Leather (Cuir Tabac). Outside family G, leather notes also appear in D4 Leather Chypre and E6 Spicy Leather Woody.
The border between the Leather family and Leather Chypre is not fixed. Bandit is often described as the first leather Chypre, yet it is also frequently cited within the Leather family. Michael Edwards' wheel has no separate leather family. The SFP website does not list perfumes per subfamily; examples here are indicative.
| Layer | Materials |
|---|---|
| Top | Bergamot, Bitter orange, Clary sage, Petitgrain |
| Middle | Iris (orris), Jasmine, Ylang-ylang, Carnation, Saffron, Deertongue, alpha-Ionone |
| Base | Birch oil (tar), Rectified cade oil, Styrax, Labdanum, Vetiver, Patchouli, Oakmoss, Guaiacol, Cresol, Benzo[a]pyrene (PAH marker), Isobutyl quinoline |
A natural leather accord needs a source of smoke and a source of resin. Rectified birch tar or rectified cade gives smoke; styrax and labdanum give warm resin. Tar oils must be dosed very low, since their odour overwhelms everything else and they are under IFRA PAH limits.
To soften it, orris and jasmine pull the structure towards Floral Leather; deertongue, tonka and hay absolute pull it towards Tobacco Leather. Saffron adds dryness. The bitterness of isobutyl quinoline has no natural equivalent; vetiver and low-atranol oakmoss only suggest part of it.
Natural animalic notes such as castoreum are no longer common; ambrette and labdanum can replace part of the warmth. This page gives no formula percentages.
| Name | House | Year | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tabac Blond | Caron | 1919 | Ernest Daltroff. Leather, tobacco and flowers. |
| Cuir de Russie | Chanel | 1924 | Ernest Beaux. Some sources, including Auparfum, give 1927. |
| Knize Ten | Knize | 1924 | Perfume of the Vienna tailor Knize; perfumer credits disputed. |
| Bandit | Robert Piguet | 1944 | Germaine Cellier. Isobutyl quinoline at high dose; also cited as a leather Chypre. |
| Code | Name |
|---|---|
| G1 | Cuir |
| G2 | Cuir Fleuri |
| G3 | Cuir Tabac |
| Guaiacol, cresol · Guaiacol · Cresol | Phenols giving the smoky odour. |
| Benzo[a]pyrene · Benzo a pyrene | PAH markers in the IFRA standard. |
| Wood tars · Birch tar · Cade rectified · Cade unrectified | The smoky source of the leather note; only rectified grades are used. |
| Styrax, labdanum · Styrax · Labdanum · Cistus | The warm resin of the leather note. |
| Deertongue, tonka, saffron · Deertongue · Tonka · Saffron | The tobacco leather subfamily and dry leather tones. |
| Iris, jasmine, carnation · Orris · Jasmine · Carnation | The floral leather subfamily. |
Updated 09/2026. Figures follow the year stated in each source.
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