Ocean Leather

I was gifted this masterpiece over the holidays and I shamefully accepted this quite underwhelmingly. My lady bought this for me on a final sale from a boutique. Previous to this, I had tried this at a Neimans and while I thought it was nice, it didnt seem unique enough to consider paying for myself, especially since my first impressions reminded me much of ADG Profumo which I already had and was happy with at half the cost. After having the opportunity of wearing this for some time now though, I can safely put away any fears I have for a potential future discontinuation of Profumo. While I love the marine burst I get from the open in Profumo, the Incense/Smokiness was always a bit peculiar to me and the dry down was never as impressive to me. Ocean Leather takes the qualities I love that remind me of Profumo and replaces the parts that I didnt care about (Incense) with a medley of other notes that imo make this more well rounded, smoother, deeper and much more satisfying. Scent wise, Ocean Leather is much more preferable from opening through dry down. Performance is the area where I wish Memo was a little better, especially given the pricetag. Projection is average at best. While this scent sits closer to the skin, the longevity on skin is respectable. Spraying more, and on fabric boosts the aura. I feel no shame bathing in this juice - it is the furthest thing from cloying, artificial or offensive in any way. Wore this to a holiday party shortly after receiving it..I bathed in it and got a number of questions/compliments.

I usually write my "reviews" at least 8 hours after I've applied the fragrance I'm talking about, this time I'm doing it barely 3 hours in because it's already completely gone. From the moment I sprayed it I had a really hard time smelling this at all and so did other people. I purposely stood close to my mom (less than 3 feet) for around a minute and she said nothing, only until we were in the car and a strong wind hit us did she say what I was wearing smelled nice (which I agree). Sillage is basically nonexistent and so is projection. Longevity is horrible, being completely gone off my skin in less than 3 hours. This is the first time I've ever rated a fragrance anything below "moderate" for both longevity and sillage. I suppose a fragrance like this also has its uses, it's definitely good for the office or for people who don't like even moderately strong fragrances, but then the price becomes a big issue for what you're getting. I don't rule out this just being a skin chemistry issue though, it might perform "normally" on others.

Not one I thought I would enjoy, as I generally don't care for aquatic aromachemicals, but Memo Ocean Leather's blend feels very balanced. There's no animal bite in the leather and no seaweed funk in the ocean. I get a warm/cool juxtaposition with delicate spices supporting soft suede and a hint of calone (or something similar) contributing a breezy edge, before fading into a very pleasant faintly floral dry down - surprisingly free of prominent ambergris/ambroxan. AdG and all of his flankers place their pool-watery aquatic accords much higher in the blend and also partake of some particularly annoying synthetic 'ambery woods' - I find none of that here. As for versatility, I could not wear OL in high heat, and it's not forceful enough to push out in deep cold, so mild Spring evenings and Autumn days would suit best, IMO. Definitely uncertain about the value of a full bottle at retail, but discounters rarely let one down.

I respectfully disagree with @JuliaToothFairy on the comparison of Ocean Leather to TF F'ing Fabulous. The two are nothing alike. I own both. FF is spicy; an evening fragrance. OL is smooth, citric, and the leather is barely detectable; a daytime freshie. Despite the fact that "leather" is in its name, if you're looking for a leather fragrance, this isn't it. The orange accord is what comes through the most. The leather seems meant to tamper down the acidity of the orange rather than stand out on its own -- an accessory instead of a centerpiece. I won't pretend to have the most sophisticated nose, but I don't notice any of the other notes. To me, though, that's a tribute to how well blended OL is. The Memo rep at Neiman Marcus said this is Memo's "safest" leather fragrance. So it's meant to be more mass appealing than niche.

Mandarine, mandarine, mandarine! I don't find it overly aquatic, it is not one of those 1990s calone bombs. The effect is more "airy mineral". There is a ginger fresh spicy heat going on. The leather note is faint in the sillage, but more present on my skin and clothes. The citrus-mineral-vetiver combo does remind me a bit of Terre d'Hermès Eau Très Fraîche, but Ocean Leather lasts far much longer and with a good projection. So overall because of the citrus it would make a great summer fragrance. And because there is more going on than in your overage eau fraîche (+ lasting power), OL makes a great office/daytime scent. Casual elegance.