Havana

[savage_rose]

Date palm, dried tobacco, snakeroot, and leather.

In the imp: Sweet, yet sharp and a little more cologne-like than most BPAL.

Wet: The cologne smell is stronger.

Dry: I never smelled the leather at all. I can smell a hint of the tobacco. But...do snakeroot and date palm smell sweet yet earthy? I guess so.

I normally gravitate toward the moderately masculine scents, but this one kind of fizzles out on me. The throw is good, don't get me wrong. I even like the scent, but it's a lot sweeter than expected. Hmmm. I think it would smell wonderful on a man though.

[slittlecrowrussell]

This one is a party on a tropical night with load of great dancing, copious rum, damn fine cigars, and a constant undercurrent of sensual possibilities.... It's not a morpher and it's not a super-sweet fragrance, but its very sexy in a bad boy/girl tobacco-leather kind of way... definitely not girly-girl and certainly not nicey-nice (which is why I can get away with wearing it ). The leather notes (which sometimes smell like gym sneakers on me, but smell great in this blend) are nicely balanced by the light woody-fruity sweetness of date palm, the musky richness of tobacco, a dab of earthy roots, and I do believe I smell a touch of rum (could just be a Pavlovian reaction cause what's Havana without rum after all?). It has medium to low throw and lasts a pretty long time - though it's fairly faint at the end of the day. Tested it on both the BF and the teenage son (both with very different skin chemistries) and discovered that it does exceptionally nice things to male chemistry... Teenage son is now banned from wearing it...

Edited September 21, 2007 by 13magpies

[edenssixthday]

Havana – When I first apply this, it doesn’t have much scent, but as it warms up on my skin, the date and the tobacco become the dominant notes and it is very fresh, warm, and slightly sweet. There is a touch of something soapy, which I’m going to guess is the snakeroot because I’m not familiar with that note and none of the others ever turn soapy on me. I only smell that soapiness when I sniff up close. When the breeze catches the perfume and swirls it around me, it smells so gorgeous I can hardly stand it. After about 45 minutes, I notice something that smells a lot like gasoline, and I realize it’s actually the scent of the leather coming out and combining with the other notes. That gas smell goes away in about 5-10 minutes, but that’s when the rest of the scent dissipates, as well. So it only has a wear length of just about an hour on my skin and the first 30 or so minutes is really the only time it smells amazing. Still, I do want to keep an imp of it on hand because for a few minutes, it really is a spectacular blend and while wearing it, I definitely get the feeling of what it must be like to sit on a rooftop garden in the center of Havana, sharing tea with Fidel.

[slave1]

HAVANA

 

In Bottle: Earthy plants

 

On Skin: This is very dark and very earthy. It has a patchouli feel on me which sadly is not good. In the background though there is a slightly clean note, sweet and pretty. It stays in the back though… if it would swap places with the earthy note I’d love this scent. The leather comes out after a while, adding to the dark worn in feel of the scent. Interesting, and intriguing but not really me. It has a masculine feel to it as well. I’ve never been to Cuba, but the tobacco really captures what I’ve envisioned of it. Moderate throw and average to long wearlength.

[shadesong]

In bottle: Mostly tobacco,with the sweetness of date palm.

 

On me: The tobacco comes out, rooted by something dark and planty. The snakeroot? There's a sharpness here.

[clover]

Sniffing from the imp I get a fresh, damp greeness - what I'm guessing is the palm. Upon application that scent sticks around for a while, but is gradually replaced by a slithering dark muskiness. I'm not sure what that is, but I really like it. I don't really think it's the leather (which I don't smell at all) - and if it's the tobacco, it's not the kind I'm usually used to. It's very earthy, slightly sweet, a little bit bitter and surprisingly animalistic. I love it.....but would really love it on a man.

 

The wear length is good - I've been wearing it for about eight hours and I can still smell it floating around me.

[filigree_shadow]

This is much sweeter than I was expecting! I thought I'd get a very masculine cologne-y scent out of this, but it doesn't seem particularly masculine to me.

 

It's dry and smells a little leafy, and the leather is barely noticeable. It smells more like a plant scent than anything else, really. I'm not sure what date palm or snakeroot smell like, so I'm not sure what I'm smelling here. I think I can smell tobacco, but it's not like a cigar or anything.

 

Alls I can tell you for sure is that this is a sweet, dry scent.

[sookster]

straight sniff from imp is sweet florals and cedar...

 

once applied this gets leathery and gets sharp...i think

this will smell fabby on the boy so off to him it goes =D

[n0thing]

Fortunately just went for an imp of this - wasn't for me!

 

Starts out quite leathery, which is all good, but then just faded into a dusty, pale floral a lot like Shroud..which i find boring and very definately 'not me'!

 

Off to swaps!

[steffanina]

Havana-

 

In Bottle: Ooh, sweet tobacco. Fascinating!

 

Wet: A tad smoky and sweet. Nothing like the cherry pipe tobacco of Herr Drosselmeyer. There's nothing cherryish in this.

 

Dry: I'm guessing this is that same sweet tobacco scent. It's novel more than delicious, but I'll want to keep this around to sniff. It's very cool!

 

Overall: Novel and interesting!

[The_Merf]

This is a very nice warm leather (worked, oiled, rugged, sun-colored) when it is wet. It remains pretty much that way when it dries, and, like just about every leather blend I've tried lately, seems to come off like Les Infortunes. The first time I tried this there was more tobacco, but during this second trial, there's almost nothing but leather.

[stardreamer]

This is another one I've had to wear several times before reviewing it. First impression: rather masculine, but with a bit of floral/green as well. It doesn't change much on drydown. The primary note seems to be the tobacco, which is only fitting; the floral note is probably the date palm, leather is barely there underneath, and I wouldn't know snakeroot if it bit me. Staying power is on the light side -- it's pretty well gone at the 8-hour mark. Bottom line: pleasant enough, but not really me, and I think it would probably work better on a guy anyhow; it's a lot like a nice men's cologne. Some masculine scents make me feel butch, while others just feel wrong, and this falls into the latter category. Swap pile for this one.

[PurringPulsar]

Havana

 

In the imp: leather, cigars and rum!

Wet on skin: a sexy, strong leather with tobacco and a hint of sweet date. Reminds me of Pirate Moon!

Dry: mmm, this is the leather and date from Pirate Moon with extra tobacco! mmm, I like this. There’s even a splash of rum to it. The leather is stronger than PM, this is a slick black leather which is almost suede like at times. Reminds me of new shoes. The palm note is a golden, woodsy-grassy scent with a hint of dried fronds and sweet, dry dates. The tobacco is subtle but sophisticated.

After a while: mmm, now the palm is dominant. I think palm might be my new ‘note I’m strangely obsessed with’, because in here, like in PM, it is gorgeous! Golden and warm and dry, with hints of sweet, dried dates, reminiscent of Date SN but with more of a dry woodsy scent. The tobacco enhances this dry, slightly sandy note, and it definitely smells like the beach, without the salt and sea. There’s also a hint of deeper woods to it, like the woods of PM, but with no musk/ambergris/coconut.

The date note sweetens nicely over time, the soft yet dried fruit scent with the golden palm and leather, and maybe a hint of rum. This is really good! I really love the gentle sweetness this has, a slightly dusty sweetness which is more apparent on the scent’s throw.

The sweetness is so good at the end that I wonder if there’s a hidden tonka or vanilla note hidden in here. It reminds me of a more exotic version of Perversion now.

Verdict: this is a truly gorgeous scent which, along with Pirate Moon, makes me realise how much I love date palm notes. This brings to mind a sexy Cuban guy inviting me to dance to the joyful Latin beats of the band playing in a bar filled with the scent of cigars and rum cocktails, overlooking the sea, palm trees waving in the sunset. But it also smells very similar to Pirate Moon, which is a good thing, since I love PM. It’s a lot more straightforward, not as complex as PM, but the leather, tobacco and palm are the same. And they smell warm, dry, soothing, sweet but not cloying, and quite seductive. This is a keeper!

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? When I run out of Pirate Moon, I’ll get a bottle.

If you like this, try: Pirate Moon, Bachelor’s Dog, Santo Domingo, Perversion, Krampus

[tinyvulture]

on me, this smells mainly of tobacco and rich leather. also, i’m not sure what snakeroot and date palm smell like, but i smell something really dark and earthy, and some kind of woods/resins. a polished, masculine scent, powerful and sexy. i love the tobacco note in this; it’s so strong and spicy.

[Little Bird]

I was hesitant to try Havana because I generally hate anything with tobacco in it and have a hard time wearing leather notes. Leather tends to smell smoky and odd on me, as it does in this scent. This is actually a rather nice blend though, and I think I might like it on a man (though my boy doesn't like it on himself).

 

This is a dry scent without being dusty or powdery, so I actually don't mind the dryness. I suppose it's the dry tobacco actually smelling spicy and pleasant to me. There's also a slight element of dry woods (snakeroot?). I think the date palm is what gives it a pale green, grassy, fresh sort of smell to my nose, but it's very light. In the drydown, a smoky leather begins to dominate the scent, with the spicy, dryer notes lingering in the background.

 

This has a very desert/western feel to me. I like it, especially at first, but probably wouldn't wear it much, if ever. The smoky leather note puts me off a bit in the drydown. If this didn't have any leather in it, I think I might get a bottle.

[Ina Garten Davita]

Havana is warm, golden and gorgeous, it has shot right up to the top of my "new favorites" list.

 

Leather is one of my dreaded notes and was so surprised to see it listed in the description because I don't get even the faintest whiff of leather ! The tobacco reminds me exactly of the tobacco note in Formula 54 and this is a very good thing.

 

Havana is dry yet a bit sweet at the same time. The tobacco is dry and slightly smoky but blended with the date palm and with my skin chemistry, Havana comes through as sexy, smoky, woodsy and slightly musky-sweet.

 

I can't wait until my bottle arrives, my imp is nearly empty.

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

i honestly was expecting cigars.

sniffed from the bottle: really don't smell much of anything - something that faintly reminds me of Quincey Morris and that's about it.

on skin: old leather - like a leather jacket that's been worn until broken in jusssst right. by somebody that smokes - a lot

there's a teensy bit of something... almost green/sweet that i'm guessing is the date palm. but mostly it is cigarettes and leather. very nearly identical to villainess' AntiHero.

[Trish]

In the imp: Oh that's nice! Sweet tobacco and leather, and a bit cologney but a damn good cologne!

 

Wet: More cologne now, along with tobacco. I need Ray to try this one!!

 

Drydown: Mmmm the leather's coming out now. Not an overly strong leather (but my skin tends to soften it a lot at times), but a soft warm sweet leather, mixed with tobacco and date palm. I have no idea what snakeroot smells like. Definitely on the masculine side, but not so much that I can't wear it, and more than just a bit sexy!

 

Dry: Not nearly so cologney or sweet now. Damn but this is good! The tobacco is dominating, but there's enough of the other notes present as well. Warm, smooth, sultry, smoky. A bit musky and woody too. It makes me want to sit in a crowded, dark, smoky bar with a strong drink and a cigar, and eye up attractive strangers. And I don't like crowded bars or cigars!!!

 

I can't stop huffing my wrist. Neither could Ray when I stuck it under his nose! It's only got very soft throw, but that's ok. It's the sort of scent that you want people to just get the slightest whiff of, just enough to intrigue them and draw them in closer...

 

I love this!!

[Ajila]

In the bottle – A slight hint of green tobacco, but on the whole it’s barely there

 

Wet on me – Warm, slightly soapy tobacco

 

Dry on me – Soap powder, pure and simple soap powder

 

Overall – I don’t know what it was, but something in this blend turns to soap powder and then completely dominates it

[Cati]

I got this as a freebie imp in my order, which I'm quite glad for since I don't think it would have occurred to me to try it for a long time.

 

In bottle: It smells very perfumey or cologney, but not in a bad way. I can smell a little spiciness to it. I'm not good at notes yet, so I can't name exactly what I smell.

 

Wet: Still perfumey, and the spicy smell is coming out more.

 

Dry: Yum! The perfume smell is gone. Now it smells a little like good wood smoke, and makes me think of reading old books in front of a fireplace. Maybe the leather note smells like leather-bound books? It lasts for a good while; I put it on yesterday afternoon and I could still smell it, faintly, this morning when I woke up. Seems to get a little bit sweeter as it fades, but stays generally the same. It's definitely a more masculine scent, but not so much that I can't wear it.

[galleywest]

I was very excited to try Havana, but wondered if the date palm would be too sweet on me. I needn't have worried.

 

In the imp: tobacco-y, slightly spicy. I can't smell anything really sweet, and the spiciness is not like cinnamon or a warm spice, but kind of an earthy smell, kind of like walking into a shop that sells tobacco and liquor.

 

Wet, on me: still a lot of tobacco, and the slightly sweet smell of the dates coming out now. It's at it's warmest on me here.

 

Dry, on skin: dry, exactly like the faint smell of cigars. The one word I just can't get away from when I use this is "papery." It smells just like old paper. I mean, that's not it's only note and that's not necessarily a bad thing, but definitely dry and crackle-y. Maybe old paper that's been hanging around in that cigar and liquor shop I mentioned earlier.

 

Overall, I won't get rid of it, but I do wish it were a little sweeter. My skin just resonates with the tobacco note, but it's a grounding scent.

[Gwydion]

It goes very sweet and womanly. It smells like my Mom’s purse when I was little.

[Christine Daae]

In the imp: tropical tobacco! :\

 

Wet on my skin: like chewing a cigarette! (Tobacco does not agree with my skin chemsitry.)

 

As this dries, this definitley conjures up images of...well, places I've never been but have seen in movies and read about, and this is how I would expect Havana to smell if I went there. It's certainly evocative, and actually quite lovely.

 

This makes me think of how Havana would have been like back in the 50's, some sultry raven-haired woman dancing with an American man...

 

This perfume does not suit me very well, but it's really quite sultry. Which might be why it doesn't suit me. Ah, well.

[greenranger]

I had tried this at the Will Call, and thought I liked it.

 

What I liked, though, was the dry down. Apparently trying all the different scents at will call distracted me though the two hours it takes to get to a nice warm tobacco smell that lasts about two hours past that point. Trying it on its own, though, I discovered that the first two hours, aren't to my taste. I'm still learning what the different notes smell like, so I couldn't really tell you what it was that I didn't like for hours one and two. Hours two through four, on my skin, I like. I'm not certain that putting up with the first two hours is worth it, though.

 

Looking at the listed notes, I am beginning to think I need to be a little wary of things with leather. I know I like some, but, some other scents with leather seem to be problems for me.

[Mamacat]

I just got an imp of this one! Thank you, morphmouse!

 

Wet: oooooooOOOOoooooh! I'm going to like this one. I can smell the leather and tobacco leaf. Fresh tobacco leaf smells soooooo nice.

On: oh yeah. oh yeah. So sexy. I smell something else . . . plant like. Maybe it's the snake root? It just adds another dimension.

Dry: It develops this pretty perfume smell, the leather fades a bit and the tobacco leaf comes out more.

One of my new faves. I NEED a bottle!