The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Mahsam Raza composed Poisoned Leather 03 in 2025 as part of The Dua Brand's Inspired Expression line, a collection credited as being inspired by Cuir Venenum 03 by Pierre Guillaume. The name does the work up front: leather, but compromised. Something has gotten into it. The note structure presents a leather-forward base pulled sideways by white floral sweetness and resinous depth. Citrus zest and orange blossom carry the opening, bright and almost candied, before the leather surfaces, supple and warm. Myrrh threads through the composition with a smoky, ancient weight, while honey sweetens the leather without softening it. Cedar and musk settle into the base, anchoring the whole arrangement.
What makes the composition worth attention is the friction between orange blossom and leather. Here, the white floral opens the door, then steps aside. Myrrh adds the resinous counterweight, smoky and ancient, while honey does something unexpected: it sweetens the leather without softening it. The orange blossom keeps its presence even after the first bloom fades, lending a waxy, almost indolic sweetness that lingers at the edges of the leather. Myrrh pulls double duty, resinous and slightly medicinal, pulling the leather away from anything too clean or too sweet.
The evolution
The opening belongs to citrus zest and orange blossom, a bright, almost candied first impression that has no business being this cheerful. Then the leather surfaces, supple and warm, honeyed at first, almost edible. As the composition settles, the white floral sweetness burns off gradually and what remains is the architecture underneath: myrrh's smoke threading through cedar, musk settling in close. The drydown is quieter than the opening suggests, a skin-level warmth where cedar and musk do the heavy lifting. On fabric the next morning, the honey-leather trace lingers like a memory of someone who left the room an hour ago. The citrus opening gives way to a more contemplative midphase, then settles into a close, resinous finish that stays present without overwhelming the wearer.
Cultural impact
As part of The Dua Brand's Inspired Expression line, Poisoned Leather 03 draws from the architecture of Cuir Venenum 03 by Pierre Guillaume, a leather composition known for its tension between floral sweetness and animalic depth. The fragrance itself leans into a specific sensibility: leather tempered by honey and orange blossom rather than the smoke-and-tobacco route some leather compositions take. The honey-orange blossom opening is a quiet provocation, sweet enough to confuse anyone expecting something heavier, complex enough to reward staying through the drydown.
