Acqua di Cuba

Acqua di Cuba by Santa Maria Novella
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7.7 / 10 73 Ratings
Acqua di Cuba is a popular perfume by Santa Maria Novella for women and men. The release year is unknown. The scent is sweet-spicy. The longevity is above-average. It is still in production.
Pronunciation
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Main accords

Sweet
Spicy
Citrus
Woody
Smoky

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes Top Notes
Citrus fruitsCitrus fruits CardamomCardamom
Heart Notes Heart Notes
HoneyHoney TobaccoTobacco SpicesSpices
Base Notes Base Notes
Dry woodsDry woods Clary sageClary sage Sweet notesSweet notes
Ratings
Scent
7.773 Ratings
Longevity
8.464 Ratings
Sillage
7.662 Ratings
Bottle
7.754 Ratings
Value for money
7.515 Ratings
Submitted by Apicius, last update on 15.04.2024.

Reviews

4 in-depth fragrance descriptions
9
Bottle
7
Sillage
8
Longevity
7.5
Scent
FvSpee

249 Reviews
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FvSpee
FvSpee
Top Review 34  
Colonial Goods XXI - Honey Bay Invasion
Santa Maria Novella is a brand with colognes in what feels like 2 million scents, very beautiful bottles and just as many fans on this forum. I have so far tested and reviewed the Russian and the Sicilian Cologne, both have pleased me, but did not sweep me off my feet (8 points each).

Now then Cuba. To this island, many have an extremely intimate relationship, buena-vista-musical, snorkel-touristy, che-guevara-revolutionary, erotic (there everyone must think himself an addition), havana-cigar, cubalibre-alcoholic, or maybe here are also old-timer friends or covertly operating Santería priests in exile with (close your eyes, Pollita!) bloody chickens on the road, who knows.

None of this applies to me, for me Cuba as a place of longing has the same status as Haiti or the Dominican Republic, namely none at all. Therefore, this fragrance must score with me 100% micht real intrinsic fragrance qualities, and he succeeds quite neatly.

With a cologne, this fragrance has rather marginally to do. I would say it is primarily the name and secondly a kind of cologne quote, namely a touch of bright yellow kitchen lemon with a fine strong green-kitchen herbaceous overtone (probably the clary sage from the base note, which peeks cheekily up). There is, funnily enough, not at the very beginning, but after a few minutes noticeable, like a shot of my beloved 'yellow' Alvarez Gomez in it.

Otherwise rather no cologne: a very considerable durability (over six hours all times), a decent projection and very little summer freshness.

Instead, a lot of honey. Very much honey. Perhaps the cologne with the most honey in the whole world. Now I didn't know what honey had to do with Cuba until yesterday either. I geecosiat the combination of the two search terms times and came across that Cuba is becoming a major honey exporter. Because the country is so poor that it has no money for pesticides, so that many bees still live on the island, which have otherwiseo fallen victim to the great species extinction. So there is also a lot of honey, quasi in organic quality, and that brings foreign currency. Whether the makers had in mind when naming this Colognes, I do not know of course.

This honey is also not a tart dark forest honey, but some tropical honey, in which the floral heaviness of its original raw materials has congenially lifted. Quite sweet and quite lush, almost voluptuous, or is that written with two l, never mind, voluptuous actually sounds more voluptuous.

Otherwise, there's also men's soap and leathery-spicy tobacco, claro, but here images of neither smoked tobacco nor dry leaves suggest themselves to me (though I'm no cigar expert), but, because of the sweetness and soft warmth, rather of freshly harvested leaves of a mild variety, and of tobacco blossoms perhaps.

Besides the aforementioned "shot" of Alvarez Gomez, another scent similarity that pops into my head is Rappelle-Toi by L'Artisan Parfumeur, because of the honey-flower combo (no tobacco there though).

Conclusion: Clear buy recommendation for all honey mouths, Cuba- (not Kaba!) Fanatics and people who want to have a cologne in their collection, but hate Colognes.
25 Comments
8
Sillage
9
Longevity
8.5
Scent
NuiWhakakore

62 Reviews
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NuiWhakakore
NuiWhakakore
Top Review 34  
On dry land
The Miss Fortune had been lying in the small bay in crystal clear water for a week. A small, uninhabited island north of Trinidad. The captain lay on the bridge deck under an awning watching his crew.
The vast majority of them were on the nearby beach. One group was playing a ball game with a coconut. Nothing out of the ordinary. However, it had been going on for an hour and no brawl had yet occurred, which again was very unusual. The captain turned back to his drink, something with citrus and honey. With a homemade umbrella. Cute, in a way.
Shouts from the booth drew his attention back to his crew. Well, finally, he thought, about time. But it was the happy cries of the kitchen crew, frolicking in waist-deep water and splashing each other wet. Cook O'Connel, a surly Irishman, was there too. Now he even submerged himself and came back to the surface shortly after, snorting and laughing. O'Connel had only come near water to boil potatoes in the last 10 years. That's how he smelled and that's how the food tasted.
So something was very wrong here and the captain knew when it had started too...

Coming from Cuba, they had run out of rum. Unforgivable for the provisionmaster, who was also promptly keelhauled. After that, they still had no rum (and also no more Proviantmeister), but the mood improved briefly. This didn't last long, of course, and after a few days the crew was on the verge of mutiny and so irritable that they could massacre each other at any time.
In the mess who the mood as well as the air to cut. Fortunately the tobacco was not out too, or they would not have lasted so long. Then one-eyed Pete remembered a box they had captured on the last trip. It contained small clay vials. In desperation he took one and greedily poured the contents down his throat. After he had stopped coughing and retching, he hurled the bottle against the port wall, where it shattered. Instantly the room was filled with a sweet and spicy smell and a smile crept onto the unwashed faces of the pirates present. One-eyed Pete was still a little green in the face, but everyone agreed that his bad breath had gotten a lot better.
The mood among the crew improved instantly. So enthusiastic were they about the smell that they used the remaining bottles to clean the whole ship, all the decks, the sails and even the guns. A miracle; it was the 24th of December. And so they had been lying here for a week now, and the rum was forgotten...

It was clear to the captain, of course, that this could not go on. This is no pirate's life, after all; they would soon have to go on another privateering expedition, robbing, plundering, pillaging. But not today, he thought, maybe tomorrow...

-----------

Acqua di Cuba is once again a very fine one from Santa Maria Novella. Fresh lemony start and then immediately a lot of cardamom and honey. It is quite a spicy forest honey with honeycomb / wax and not so extremely sweet. With more spices (cloves, aniseed, allspice?) it's somewhat reminiscent of honey cake, but before the impression becomes too culinary a good portion of tobacco spice is added. As it goes on, not much changes, sage adds a touch of freshness and the whole thing gets a touch sweeter, the wax note gets stronger. The shelf life is really good, 8-10 hours.

Even without rum a great fragrance for pirates, thanks to Anne "Toppine" Bonny!
26 Comments
8
Pricing
8
Bottle
8
Sillage
8
Longevity
9
Scent
Toppine

8 Reviews
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Toppine
Toppine
Top Review 22  
Cuba = one love
Cuba, the largest of all the Caribbean islands, still triggers head cinema in me. Sun, beach, joie de vivre, warm people, salsa and son, American oldtimers and the magic of the capital Havana with its wonderful old architecture. Plus the best rum in the world and a landscape that has not yet been completely destroyed by the blessings of Western culture. That's how I imagine it - I am a master in fading out a possibly not so perfect and romantic reality!

Without a doubt, Cuba still provides us with the best tobacco products in the world. The reputation of a Cohiba cigar (Coronas Especiales = Fidel Castro) is still legendary, as are Romeo y Julieta and Montecristo and a few other manufacturers. No one is easier to give a gift than a cigar-smoking Cuba connoisseur, there is no need to think twice before birthdays....

But the choice of gifts can easily be increased, because the wonderful scent of Acqua di Cuba is pure seduction, even for non-aficionados. It begins with a soft citric opening, but soon gentle spices are added. Then everything mixes with a perfect tobacco smell, not sharp or scratchy, but rather full-bodied but reserved. The same is true of honey, which from now on blends harmoniously with tobacco. I find the honey to be sweet, but this is not the sweetness of normal sugar, but - due to the light smoke - rather of icing sugar, good honey just....The scent is warm and deep, but still has the lightness of a fresh scent, a paradox!

The ingredients make a high-quality, almost expensive impression (matching the above-mentioned cigars). This scent accompanies me for hours and gives me a very soft, muggy feeling. During the first test I probably sprayed a little too much, because it was still present after 24 hours! In any case a phenomenal durability! The radiation is also perfect, I don't have to stick my nose to my arm to notice it.

A beauty I never expected, a big shot! It will be perfect when I watch the "Buena Vista Social Club" movie and enjoy the slide-guitar game by Ry Cooder. Acqua di Cuba is clearly unisex, but I imagine him to be even more great on a man.
So: Men with this scent: Zuuuu me! If not, I wear it alone..
20 Comments
8
Bottle
8
Sillage
9
Longevity
9
Scent
Bloodxclat

30 Reviews
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Bloodxclat
Bloodxclat
Very helpful Review 12  
On the roofs of Viñales
This morning I was sitting in the car, in my linen shirt, already 27c outside temperature, and from the speakers Rey Cabrera purrs something of Santa Clara and Che Guevara. I am also surrounded by this legendary scent from Florence. I must confess, I had a Cuban influence on the scenery.

A long time ago we were a few days ago in Viñales, rural Cuba, in a small red house in the middle of the tobacco fields. Our two women had run off with the 17-year-old farmer's son next door and three horses. What else could we do but sit on the flat roof of our one-storey house? Smoking cigars. Drinking rum. Look at the fields. Listening to the sounds of the Guajira from the crackling transistor radio from somewhere. We drank the rum as Canchanchara, 6 parts Santiago de Cuba Ron, 1 part lime, and fresh honey. All day long.
When the Cuban youth took pity on himself and brought back our women at sunset safe and sound, but sweaty, dirty and smelling like horses, the feast on the roof continued of course. That's how you can spend days in Cuba.

Acqua di Cuba, a simple interplay of leather, tobacco, lemon soap and honey. The tobacco is different, different than in Czeach&Speakes Cuba, different than in Feuilles de Tabac by Miller Harris, different than in Aramis Havana. The tobacco is green, fresh, no dark fermented tobacco, not smoky, but light green grated tobacco leaves. The honey is beautifully beeswax-like, never too sweet and very present. The leather saddle is highly polished, but damn old, already innumerable years it carried its owner on the tobacco fields around. And this interesting animalism - generated by the interaction of these few ingredients is very attractive.

For me personally, the theme of Cuba was perfectly captured by Santa Maria Novella here - as you can easily see. A summer scent, loud, conspicuous, special, sexy. Above average Sillage, extremely good durability (+12h). I'd advise against blind buying. This is very individual.

If you have riding friends in your circle of acquaintances, put them on and enjoy the reactions. Priceless!
7 Comments

Statements

1 short view on the fragrance
FrankcrummitFrankcrummit 4 days ago
A suffocating honey bomb unredeemed by a feeble tobacco note. Sickeningly sweet.
0 Comments

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