Memo Paris – African Leather – Not much to write home about. 3/10.
Memo’s African Leather is often compared to Andy Tauer’s L’Air du Desert Marocain. Even though I’m not the biggest fan of the Tauer, it still beats this one, hands down. African Leather’s cardamom/faux leather combination lacks depth and fails to convince as either a leather or an exotic African-themed scent. Overpriced, overpowering, and on the nose.
Memo Paris – Irish Leather – Decent opening but soon falls apart. 3/10.
The zing of herbs and spices in the opening stanza of Irish Leather hints at something intriguing. Soon, the air comes out of the balloon. The dry iris (not a listed note) and cheap leather accord, which seems to be the Memo signature, lack the requisite oomph for a niche scent, especially at this price range. It feels like a cheap deodorant mixed with cigarette smoke. Not my bag.
Memo Paris – French Leather – Rose leather. 5/10.
Memo takes us all around the world on their “leather tour”. France might be my favourite landing point. The appealing rose and lime combination in French Leather makes for a lively, fresh summer-style scent. The suede leather accord is soft and inviting. Pepper and musks give able backup. Decent, but unlikely to have my credit card trembling in anticipation.
Summary
The hype proceeds the brand, the bottles are stunning, but ultimately I feel let down. Strangely, this “Leather Line” is characterised by underpowered leather scents. The leather accord feels and smells cheap in most of them, and the majority are dominated by other notes entirely. African Leather is more cardamom than leather, Irish Leather is juniper and herbs, and French Leather is all about the rose. Of the ones I haven’t reviewed here, Ocean Leather has very little Leather, and Russian Leather is mainly pine. Perhaps, Memo went to the Le Labo school of perfume naming?
There are new additions that I need to try. However, the thin dry downs and top-heavy style compositions from the ones I’ve sampled fail to induce me into purchasing any of their fragrances. So, on the whole, I struggle to recommend any of them.
Do you have a favourite Memo?
Note: Bottle images courtesy of Fragrantica.