Floral Leather is subfamily G2 (Cuir Fleuri) of the Leather family in the SFP table. It sets a dry, smoky leather note beside a clear floral layer: orris, jasmine, ylang-ylang, rose, carnation, violet. The flowers do not hide the leather; they make it softer and rounder.
The SFP describes the Leather family with top notes that have floral inflections. In G2 the floral part does not stop at the top but runs down into the heart, and it often carries the powdery facet of orris or ionones.
The leather sources are those of family G in general: rectified birch tar for smoke, styrax for resin, labdanum for warm leather, isobutyl quinoline for a bitter leather note, castoreum or a reconstitution for the animalic note. Orris and ionones give a dry powdery facet; jasmine and ylang-ylang add body and a slight animalic note; carnation adds the spice of eugenol.
Chanel's Cuir de Russie, composed by Ernest Beaux, is usually dated 1924; Auparfum and some other sources give 1927. Bois de Jasmin describes it with orris, jasmine, ylang-ylang and rose over a leather base from isobutyl quinoline, with a light thread of tobacco smoke; according to that site, Jacques Polge reworked the formula in 1983. Knize Ten (1924), the perfume of the Vienna tailor Knize, has rose, orris, jasmine and carnation softening its leather and smoke.
The floral layer of G2 carries many rules. IFRA has restriction Standards for jasmine absolutes (grandiflorum and sambac) and for ylang-ylang extracts. Regulation (EU) 2023/1545 adds jasmine oil and extract, ylang-ylang, rose and narcissus to the allergen list. Birch tar may be used only in rectified form under IFRA PAH limits; styrax has its own IFRA Standard. Quinoline is prohibited by IFRA, but that prohibition does not apply directly to isobutyl quinoline.
The SFP website publishes only subfamily names; perfume lists per subfamily are in the printed Classification officielle des parfums. Perfumes named here are commonly cited examples, not official SFP placements.
G2 borders D4 Leather Chypre, which also has a heart of jasmine, rose or orris. The difference lies in the base: D4 keeps oakmoss and the damp bitterness of Chypre, while G2 takes smoke and resin as its axis. G2 also borders the Floral family when the leather is reduced to a faint background.
| Layer | Materials |
|---|---|
| Top | Bergamot, Bitter orange, Clary sage |
| Middle | Iris (orris), Jasmine, Ylang-ylang, Damask rose, Carnation, Absolute hoa violet |
| Base | Birch oil, Styrax, Labdanum, Castoreum substitute, Isobutyl quinoline, Beta-ionone |
A natural version can use orris or orris resinoid, jasmine absolute, ylang-ylang and rose for the heart; labdanum, styrax and a very small amount of rectified birch tar for the leather base. True violet flower absolute has almost disappeared from the market, so the powdery facet usually relies on orris.
The bitter leather of isobutyl quinoline has no natural equivalent; a castoreum substitute is a reconstitution, not a natural material. Allergens from the floral layer must be added up under EU labelling rules and IFRA limits. This page gives no formula percentages.
| Name | House | Year | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cuir de Russie | Chanel | 1924 | Ernest Beaux. Orris, jasmine, ylang-ylang and rose over leather. Some sources, including Auparfum, give 1927. |
| Knize Ten | Knize | 1924 | Perfume of the Vienna tailor Knize; rose, orris, jasmine and carnation soften leather and smoke. Perfumer credits disputed. |
| Leather note and floral layer molecules · Isobutylquinoline · Ionone beta · Ionone alpha · Eugenol · Indole · Benzyl acetate | Bitter leather, powdery iris, jasmine, carnation. |
| G2 floral layer · Orris · Jasmine · Ylang ylang · Rose damask · Carnation | Florals soften the leather note. |
| Sources of the leather note · Birch tar · Styrax · Labdanum · Cade rectified | Smoke and resin. |
Updated 09/2026. Figures follow the year stated in each source.
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