All of me: Ramon Monegal Perfumes Cuirelle

Anyone who has been even remotely paying attention to my blog and Tweets knows that when Barcelona-based Ramon Monegal Perfumes came into my life, I was swept up in the romance of the brand, the perfumer's history, the fragrances and the unique inkwell bottles, and even the refreshing correspondence with the exceedingly kind and funny brand manager, Francisco Gratacos. I'm still smitten, and I'm ready to dish on my favorites.

Cuirelle is one of the three perfumes from Ramon Monegal that I wear almost every day (the other two are Impossible Iris and Mon Cuir)-- it's my nighttime/bedtime perfume. Cuirelle is a seamless combination of leather, vanilla, tobacco, incense and honeyed musk with a subtle flash of acidity that carries the scent out and away to create to-die-for sillage, while the coziness of the gourmand and leather notes hunker down  close to my skin. The fragrance was meant to be a sort of loose, abstract version of leather, and I think there are enough unique vista points here to make that idea true for me.

notes list: Somali incense, Indonesian patchouli, vetiver bourbon, green cedar wood, cinnamon, extract of beeswax

Even though I primarily wear this fragrance at night, it would definitely be one of my "desert island" picks. It's a scent I consistently and frequently have the desire to connect with and it provides me with the kind of comfort that can only come from affection from the people we love or the fragrances we cherish. It's a universal and utterly indelible stamp on the psyche of the devoted, of which I am one.

Cuirelle can easily be worn by both women and men (though oddly, the folks at Luckyscent have it ranked as completely masculine), and even though one of the words I've used to describe it is gourmand, it's not very sweet at all. After wearing for about 20 minutes, I can really start to sense the complexity of the leather and incense, and it's joined by just a touch of the stark earthiness of patchouli. The longer Cuirelle is on my skin, the better it smells to me. I'm enamored with all stages of wear, and because of this, my wrist might as well be glued to my nose. In fact, I usually fall asleep with one of my arms not far from my face. It is the most gorgeous anesthesia you could imagine. The persistent base of soft, honeyed musk and incense is still detectable in the morning.

Um, that makes me think of a question for the medical community at large-- when will there be scented anesthesia, or at least some form of aromatherapy available in hospitals? I think my pal and fellow fragrance blogger Barney Bishop would either think that's a genius idea or that I'm cuckoo. Hopefully he'll chime in on this.

The Bottom Line: Cuirelle is a scent of strength without the need to display brawn. It's smart, supremely well-rounded and it outshines other fragrances in the same category (such as Diptyque Eau Duelle). This is a perfume you can rely on, and I do. Heavily. It's become my comfort during hard times, my sexed-up imaginary chess partner for the good ones as well as  my enduring sleeping tonic. Cuirelle and I have a good thing going.

[Cuirelle can be purchased and/or sampled at Luckyscent.com and Scent Bar, Bergdorf Goodman in-store, Neiman Marcus in select stores and online. A 50ml bottle retails for $185]

Sample provided by RMP, Barcelona for my consideration.