Reviews of Acqua di Cuba
by Santa Maria Novella

I have smelled this, but have never given it a full wearing, so pardon me if I miss something here. I really find this very appealing at first, but in the drydown, it goes through a rough patch on my skin in which it becomes rather harsh. After that's over, however, it goes back to being quite agreeable. I wish it lasted a little longer in the top note, which I find very beautiful; but then I think this is an EdC concentration, so there's not much hope of lingering top notes! But I do like it quite a bit, so I'll give it a Thumbs Up!

I am totally smitten by this tobacco scent—the first tobacco scent I can say that about. There’s a little – very little – citrus / spice-something in the opening accord, but it quickly settles down to its major tobacco message. At the first testing, I thought that there’s not much complexity to this scent, but since then I’ve discovered that it’s more complex than I originally thought. The tobacco note has a slight aromatic aspect to it – something like a hint of sharp lavender outlining the tobacco note. That aromatic note, with the leather note which supports the tobacco, is what makes this accord so special – it a surrealistic tobacco accord that I find compelling. The leather is very well done. Normally I would object to the presence of leather, but the way the leather is presented here, I really enjoy it. The fragrance is linear, but it is so rich, and wet, and fulfilling that the absence of movement benefits rather than detracts. Linear and very long lasting — SMN’s Acqua di Cuba lasts on my skin for over twenty-four hours. Very impressive fragrance and a must for a tobacco lover.

Very close in my opinion to the smell of a lit cigar. This has great sillage and amazing longevity. This is a very strong tobacco frag. Unfortunately my wife despises it. I love it but don't absolutely love it that I couldn't do without it. Therefore, I am reluctantly moving to my swaplist. This is one if the few she makes just a hideous face at saying it reeks of piss.

This is great stuff! Starts a little strong as a lot of quality fragrances do, but in a short while morphs into a lovely cigar and leather fragrance that is very lyrical to the wearer and totally polite to those in the vicinity, and it goes on and on much like a lyric poem. In latter stages the leather and tobacco meld into something that is so homogeneous that it is hard to distinguish the elements, and it is spicy and rich but alas rather fleeting. I may have to raid the old piggy bank again. Gentlemen, you will REALLY LIKE THIS if you like unabashedly masculine fragrances with tobacco notes. Es moy bien, verdad.

I had the pleasure of sampling almost every Santa Maria Novella fragrance yesterday but before I got their, I had in mind three to really concentrate on. They all were very nice and for me require more time in research to decide. I chose the Acqua di Cuba which was one of the three I had been researching.
The bottle I noticed first being very clean with soft lines in sculpture with the olde world lable as finishing touchÈ and the liquid is a pale champagne colour.
Fine cigars, Cuban even do not have their respective odors ñ itís the smoke that has the complex tastes. So I was very curious what was in store. Well I was not disappointed.
The tobacco and leather work very well together as if they were very olde friends chatting over subjects of a by gone past. Being both secure in who they are they do not tend to overpower each other but compliment each other from the head to the heart. As the conversation moves to the base/end notes the leather continues and the tobacco add a comment here and their.
Acqua di Cuba to me is an outstand fragrance but I think it will appeal more to the 40 and over crowd of ladies and gentleman.
It lasted a very long time on my dryer skin so apply accordingly.
Excellent!
Caboose/2005