Cuba Orange
by Cuba Paris

Cuba Orange, like the rest of its Cuba stablemates, relies more on its novelty elements thanks to its cheap but creative packaging that combines several disparaging and contradictory elements. A Cuban cigar body with the face of an American inventor and statesman from Pennsylvania raised in a world of Quakers and German immigrants, Benjamin Franklin, manufactured in France and given a name referencing pastoral tranquility? Maybe Thomas Jefferson and images of Tobacco fields would have been more fitting for the entire affair, but for its embracing of pure tackiness, Cuba fragrances are synonymous with fun.

Orange begins with a fruity and overpowering synthetic blast of orange peels, tobacco, amber, cream and a touch of spice. To call it overwhelming and abrasively cloying would be a bit understated, and this is when most already lay a justified negative verdict on Cuba Orange.
Then something quite remarkable happens. The tobacco note starts to assert itself into the middle notes and transforms the fragrance into a better balanced and more wearable scent. The modified scent that stays linear from the middle notes on balances itself more into a peaches and cream (possibly vanilla?) desert being eaten in a smoked filled Andalucian flamenco bar. In the background of that bar orange peels are being burned to honor its Syrian Arab/North African roots, the two cultures that originally brought the orange to Spain in the ninth century and transformed the culture into a citric growing paradise. This is what Cuba Orange smells like. Granada in the old gypsy quarter on a warm summer night.
Previous reviewers are right on about the similarities to Rochas Lui and Dunhill Desire, this serves as an interesting compromise that bridges both. The tobacco note doesn't really fit with the fruitier elements. It has a hard time mixing with natural skin scents and can imply the smell of sweat during the dry-down. Very sweet and synthetic and a bit too much amber and cream for sensitive noses.
There is no real occasion or place for a fragrance like Cuba Orange, but it's still interesting. This one projects more than most Cuba fragrances, still as far as life-span, you shouldn't expect to get more than three hours but it grows on the wearer once you get past the richly synthetic opening.
A flawed but still enjoyable compromise between Rochas Lui and Dunhill Desire. Not as bad as the reputation that proceeds it. Cuba Orange is a viable, affordable alternative to more expensive fruit and tobacco fragrances and despite its lack of class and attention to detail in the mixing, still fun and enjoyable and a perfect transporter to Andalucia !

26th October, 2011.

If you are giving this one a chance, do it for the mid and base notes for they are quite similar to that of Rochas Lui. The top notes are, simply said, off putting.

24th October, 2010.

Orange (how appropriate!), amber, and tobacco. That's all I get here. I'm sure there's more to it than that, but there are my two scents. It's not bad at all, and I can see the resemblance to Dunhill Desire (aren't all the cigar frags just copy scents?). Nothing wrong with this one, but it doesn't establish itself too well. A self-pleaser for sure if you like it. If you enjoy this one but want more, try Guess by Marciano for Men.

23rd July, 2010.

What's interesting about these negative reviews is that this is clearly an attempt to create a Dunhill Desire for men (red)/Rochas Lui type of fragrance, which have been greeted at least fairly well by BaseNoters. Neither of those two is very expensive, of course, but this one is ridiculously cheap. I don't think it is as good as either of those others, but it's certainly not bad at all for the price (if you like those other two). I don't understand this idea of "plastic oranges." This has strong neroli in the top notes (like those other two), so that may be what they are responding to, but I'm surprised so many interpreted it as "grapsicle" or "plastic orange" when neroli is not exactly an exotic note. It also has a strong wood note and some minor sweet one (perhaps a touch of amber and vanilla). In Rochas Lui and Desire, there is clear patchouli, whereas CO may not have much if any. Desire has the strong rose floral note, which Rochas Lui does not have so I'd say CO is closer to RL. However, the vanilla and wood are more "articulated" in RL, whereas in CO it's more blended. I wouldn't be surprised if those who like RL or DD prefer CO to them, at least once in a while. It is like you are getting most of RL, but with a little missing, and on some days you might want a lighter version of RL (I can certainly say that about myself), so CO would likely fit the bill on those occasions. I think I like this the best of the Cubas I've tried so far (red, gold, black, and blue), actually, because it it's got everything: dynamism, balance, and pleasantness (to me, obviously), without having any negative attributes. Red would come next, but can grow a bit boring after a couple of hours. The others I don't like much for various reasons.

17th February, 2010.

I purchased Cuba Black, Cuba Brown, Cuba Gray, Cuba Red, Cuba Blue, Cuba Gold and Cuba Orange for my teenage son. Of course, I had to sample them before gifting them to him.
Now, I am pretty tolerant of most fragrances but, Cuba Orange -I had to throw away. It is awful, obnoxious, relentless, plastic sickening orange. I tested it three or four times but, found no redeeming qualities. I even decided against using it as a garage air freshener. I hope I have not offended anyone.

11th January, 2009.

Cuba Orange is one of the few complete losers in this house of economical fragrances. Its main note is a super sweet plasticy orange note – I think it has some lavender and some spices in it too, but the synthetic orange note takes total control. EricM is right in that the accord doesn’t develop; it just stays on as cloying linear boredom.

22nd August, 2008.