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Acqua di Cuba

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By shamu1
If you're accustomed to tobacco fragrances that smell dark, aromatic, and spicy (e.g., Vermeil For Men, Burberry London, Cuba, Cigar Aficionado, Quorum), then Santa Maria Novella's Acqua di Cuba will surprise you.  Acqua di Cuba is probably the most hardcore tobacco fragrance on the market, yet it smells rather mild compared to what usually passes for a tobacco scent.  Whereas most men's tobacco scents depict the smell of lit cigars or cigars in a wooden humidor, Acqua di Cuba represents the scent of a tobacco leaf.  There's a difference.  The tobacco in AdC smells smooth and golden, sort of like this:


Rather than this:


Acqua di Cuba's tobacco is sweet and smooth, similar to the tobacco in Creed's original Tabarome, and that smoothness is enhanced by a heavy dose of honey.  The tobacco and honey blend well together, and they are both prominent for several hours.  Later on in the drydown, the tobacco starts to fade and Acqua di Cuba becomes primarily a musky leather fragrance, with an oily, animalic dark leather smell, similar to the leather in Trussardi Uomo.  The drydown seems to be the love-it-or-leave-it stage for many people - the leather smells very musky, almost sweaty, and I've read many reviews that say Acqua di Cuba smells like urine.  I think that's absurd.  Why, just because this frag doesn't go the safe route and smell like clean dry cedar?

Overall, however, I find Acqua di Cuba to be a restrained and classy fragrance.  Many people talk about this having brutal strength, but I don't get that at all.  It does have excellent 12+ hour staying power, but Acqua di Cuba, on my skin at least, never really projects far; it remains a discreet skin scent on me.  Because this scent is so warm and smooth, as well as subtle, it's an appropriate fragrance for any occasion.  Its golden warmth gives it an old-school feel, which is also helped by the fact that the fragrance comes in a splash bottle.  There's a separate sprayer that comes with the bottle that you can use, but half the enjoyment in wearing this comes from splashing it on.  It's very refreshing and uplifting.

If you enjoy old-school classics like Tabac Original, Knize Ten, Tabarome, Boss Number One or Moods Uomo, then you really ought to sample Acqua di Cuba.  It's excellent.

MY RATING:  8.5/10
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Comments

  1. AnonymousSeptember 1, 2011 at 6:25 AM

    If you find Acqua di Cuba to be "restrained and classy", what tobacco scents would you consider as exempifying just the opposite (as a point of comparison)? Warm Regards, Mike

    ReplyDelete
  2. shamu1September 1, 2011 at 8:49 PM

    Vermeil For Men is the polar opposite of restrained - it's dark, spicy, loud and aggressive. Also Cuba by Czech & Speake is a spicy, very bold tobacco scent that is not at all smooth or discreet.

    ReplyDelete

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