# Clive Christian — C for Men Woody Leather With Oudh Intense

> C Woody Leather With Oudh Intense is the 2017 renamed/reimagined successor to Clive Christian's 2010 "C for Men" (Private Collection), a high-concentration parfum built around smoky-sweet leather, ref

## Essence
C Woody Leather With Oudh Intense is the 2017 renamed/reimagined successor to Clive Christian's 2010 "C for Men" (Private Collection), a high-concentration parfum built around smoky-sweet leather, refined tobacco, dry woods and a restrained oud, lifted by a brief citrus opening of mandarin. It is repeatedly described by wearers as the house's best leather and as a richer, more expensive-smelling cousin to Tom Ford Tuscan Leather.
## Scent Profile
A surprisingly bright, "isolated" burst of juicy mandarin opens the composition and cuts through what follows, before the fragrance settles into its core: a warm, smoky melange of tobacco and leather edged with saffron's spicy-leathery facet. The brand's own copy describes the first impression as "dry, smoky, and warm, with tobacco accented by hints of maple and caramel," and that maple/caramel-tinged sweetness is what many wearers mean when they call it "round," "sweet" and "soothing. The leather is rich and smooth rather than raw; the oud, though engraved on the bottle, is subtle - a textural enrichment more than a barnyard statement, with reviewers noting "class and realness through the roof" but low obtrusiveness. The drydown is a "rich leather workshop" of corpulent woods and resinous, incense-tinged oud with a persistent smoky thread. Linearity is high: one critic (The Scent Stories) notes "C keeps going in much the same form," unlike comparators that lose their leather over time. A dissenting reading finds it "spicy-sharp, almost too sharp," even bitter at the start, with oudy sweetness offsetting the rawness - a "raw and spicy" leather with minimal adornment. Signature accord: sweet-smoky tobacco-leather over dry woods.
## Performance
Sourced claims are above-average but not monstrous. Data summary marks projection and longevity "above-average," and one owner reports it remaining "very round and soothing" at ~6 hours and performing even on a summer day in the high 80s°F despite being a cold-weather theme. Enthusiasts describe walking "around with a gorgeous cloud surrounding you" and "extrait-like behaviour on 2 puffs. However, a notable critic dissent (The Scent Stories) found sillage only "moderate to strong, certainly not enormous.
## Wearing Context
A quintessential cold-weather, evening and formal/business scent. Owners call it a favorite fall/winter fragrance, ideal "with a suit at dinner," for work trips and offices where its smooth richness reads mature and luxurious. Social-perception skew is decidedly grown-up: reviewers repeatedly frame it as for the 35-70 mature wearer, "rich, dark, masculine, elegant. Practical reading: autumn/winter, evenings, formal and professional settings; too rich and warm for hot, humid daytime use for most.
## Comparisons & DNA
The dominant comparison, asserted across, and Substack, is Tom Ford Tuscan Leather - most call C the richer/bolder, "extrait version of Tuscan Leather," "better than Mr. Tom Ford Ombre Leather comes up as a sweeter, cheaper adjacent leather (one reviewer "reminds me of Ombre Leather but with a darker tone"). The Scent Stories likens it to Mercedes-Benz Le Parfum but sharper and less sweet, and to Rasasi La Yuqawam Homme (a frequently named budget stand-in, alongside Lattafa Toscano-style Tuscan Leather clones around $20-60). Within the niche-leather tier, one enthusiast ranks it on par with Memo, Roja, Widian and Tom Ford leathers. Note that retailer and AI-leaning sources sometimes list a different (juniper/cedarwood/geranium/sandalwood) pyramid; the documented/wearers-confirmed core is mandarin-saffron-tobacco-leather-oud.
## Reception
Among those who've smelled it, sentiment is strongly positive - notes a ~ from its reviewer base, and a recurring theme is that the fragrance is excellent but under-discussed because Clive Christian rarely sends out free samples to YouTubers, so most buyers go in blind. Praise centers on smoothness, quality, and a "top 5 leather" status. The criticisms are almost entirely about value: even fans concede it is "extortionately priced" and "overpriced - 100%," and detractors point to cheaper near-equivalents (Rasasi La Yuqawam, Tuscan Leather clones). A vocal minority dislikes the scent itself - finding it sharp/bitter, "diluted previous Clive Christian," or even animalic in an off-putting way (one memorable pan: "smells like when your cat catches a mouse. Hidden in the bushes").
## Versions & Reformulation
There is a documented lineage and an unresolved reformulation debate. The original "C for Men" launched in 2010 (Private Collection, Christian Provenzano), debuting at Fortnum & Mason on July 19, 2010 and in the US from August 1, 2010, with a much longer, more complex pyramid (saffron, elemi, thyme, jasmine, rose, orris, labdanum, oud, tonka, amber, tobacco, olibanum, styrax, guaiac, cedar, musk, vanilla, moss). The 2017 "C Woody Leather With Oudh Intense" is the renamed successor, officially framed as a "wholly reimagined release." Wearers testimony conflicts: one reviewer who tested old vs.
## Acquisition Notes
Top luxury pricing tier. Per Clive Christian's official US site, the parfum/extrait retails at $430 (50 ml) and $690 (100 ml); UK authorized retailer Les Senteurs lists the 100 ml Extrait at £550, and authorized US retailer ZGO Perfumery lists it around $415 (50 ml). One user reported seeing it "for around £600 retail" with a 10% discount offered, consistent with official UK levels. Authentic channels include the brand site and named authorized retailers (Les Senteurs, ZGO, Harrods/Selfridges-tier department stores); discounters (FragranceNet, Jomashop) and the gray market also carry it at lower prices.
## Notable Facts & Lore
- The fragrance is wrapped in Clive Christian's heritage marketing: the house descends from the Crown Perfumery Company (founded 1872), the only enterprise ever granted permission to use Queen Victoria's crown on its bottles - per the brand's own heritage page, the privilege dates to 1872, and by 1879 the firm was "exporting half a million bottles of 49 different scents to 47 different countries.
- The brand promotes C Woody Leather as composed with "a complexity of 208 ingredients," a phrase that appears verbatim on Clive Christian's official site ("Celebrating the creativity and artistry ingrained at the heart of the Clive Christian brand, with a complexity of 208 ingredients") - a brand artistry claim, not independently audited.
- It was conceived as the masculine counterpart to the feminine C Green Floral.
- A separate, unverified wearers accusation circulates that perfumer Christian Provenzano's work (including the 2010 C) leans heavily on existing hits - the 2010 C being likened to Tuscan Leather - but this is enthusiast opinion, not documented fact.