Just because someone hands you a bottle of perfume and states that it smells like leather is no guarantee that it does. Rien by Etat Libre d’Orange is described in all its PR glory as a potent leather fragrance, but to me, it’s more peat bog and kerosene than anything resembling a tanned animal hide — which is a pity, as I really like the smell of tanned animal hide.
Rien is also a near exact clone of Fumidus by Profumum. Lots of boggy, smoky oakmoss that overpowers the rest of the ingredient list (though a few floral gasps manage somehow to escape its vice-like grip).
The name Rien means “nothing” — which is exactly what I felt upon experiencing the stuff, but it’s possible that if I hadn’t already smelled the whole shebang in Fumidus, I might have been more appreciative of the performance.
