Cuir Beluga is the unisex Eau de Parfum that Olivier Polge composed in 2005 for Guerlain, one of the first three opuses in L’Art & La Matière conceived by Sylvaine Delacourte. A leather as supple as white suede, the house says, refreshed with mandarin, brushed with immortelle, melting into a sillage of amber, musk and vanilla. In 50, 100 and 200 ml, refillable bottle inspired by the Flacon Carré of 1870.
Guerlain does not tier Cuir Beluga into a pyramid. The house describes a leather accord refreshed by a mandarin accord, supple and luminous, which brushes against a note of immortelle before melting into a velvety sillage of amber, musk and vanilla; its Belgian page adds heliotrope.
Aldehydes and mandarin at the top
Delacourte describes the rising note that dresses the leather: aldehydes and mandarin; envie2parfum tiers the top the same way. Now Smell This perceives a soft and moderate citrus opening, Faliu the shimmering thread of mandarin stitched onto the elastic weave of sudéral.
Immortelle and patchouli at the heart
Delacourte places immortelle and patchouli between the heart and the base, with heliotrope and vanilla. The house calls immortelle intriguing; Faliu keeps it muted, a warm and ambery tint of finishing touches, over a satin lining of heliotropin and velvety trims of vanilla.
Vanilla, suede and amber at the base
The base holds vanilla, heliotrope, suede and amber, which the house, envie2parfum and Delacourte all name. Now Smell This perceives a creamy cloud of vanillic suede; Faliu highlights a natural vanilla with leathery facets, through which Polge ennobles a popular material; ÇaFleurBon a rich suede, without edge.
What remains outside the declared accord
Musk, which the French page cites in the base, and patchouli, which Delacourte and the field retain, do not appear on the house's Belgian page; the ingredients list declares patchouli oil. Faliu rules out any smoky, dry, bitter or animalic facet: this leather is a pastel.
What the label declares
The house publishes a coded list of thirteen lines: alcohol, the word Parfum, water, vanillin, patchouli oil, linalyl acetate, coumarin, a UV filter, linalool, beta-caryophyllene and three colorants, yellow, blue and red.