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Montana Parfum D'Homme vs. Havana

post #1 of 8
11/21/07 at 9:15pm
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  • KMF
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As a birthday present to myself, I recently decided to buy Montana Parfum D'Homme blind. Initially, my impression was very different than what I expected. I read the reviews and read a lot of the reviewers describing it as "musky" with a powdery dry down. I was expecting something more along the lines of a Royal Copenhagen or something of that ilk. I was pretty shocked that I got way more spice than musk. If there was a powdery dry down, it was very much in the background behind all the spices. After wearing it to work for a few days, I got accustomed to it and quite enjoy the scent. I've also read that this scent is quite similar to Havana for Men by Aramis. I've heard that they are almost the same minus Havana's rum & tobacco notes. I have to admit that I'm quite intrigued by Havana. I know the scent is discontinued and will probably cost a fortune, so my question to you all is which of the two do you prefer? Also, if you have one of these scents in your collection, do you really need the other one???

Thank you in advance!
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post #2 of 8
11/22/07 at 12:36am
I bought Montana couple weeks ago and wasn't impressed. It smelled quite synthetic and cheap to my nose, didn't know what to think of it. I can see the similarities with Havana in the top notes but the drydown is very different imo. I decided to sell it..
As for Havana, I don't think it's that expensive at all. Pops up on ebay all the time I even doubt it's been completely discontinued. Last time someone sold 50ml BNIB for £17, 100ml goes for btw £30-35 (I bought mine for 32GBP) which is less than retail prices of many designer frags in production.
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post #3 of 8
11/22/07 at 6:14am
I find nothing cheap about Montana Parfum d'Homme -- nothing whatsoever. It's basically Havana with less tobacco and more incense, really -- perhaps just somewhat sweeter than Havana, and considerably more so than Havana Reserva. For the price difference, though, I'll go with the Parfum d'Homme every freakin' time. I'm SO glad they brought this baby back into production!
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post #4 of 8
11/22/07 at 6:17am
I have and like both. I don't get much connection between the two. When my Montana runs out I probably won't replace it - even though I like it a lot. I will NEVER let myself run out of Havana. Havana is the best of the best...an amazing scent.

Best regards,
Mike
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post #5 of 8
11/23/07 at 7:14am
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Quote:
Originally Posted by phibess View Post

I bought Montana couple weeks ago and wasn't impressed. It smelled quite synthetic and cheap to my nose, didn't know what to think of it. I can see the similarities with Havana in the top notes but the drydown is very different imo. I decided to sell it..
As for Havana, I don't think it's that expensive at all. Pops up on ebay all the time I even doubt it's been completely discontinued. Last time someone sold 50ml BNIB for £17, 100ml goes for btw £30-35 (I bought mine for 32GBP) which is less than retail prices of many designer frags in production.

I'm a little wary of buying fragrances off of ebay. I've heard too many horror stories about people getting fake stuff. Right now I think my best bet would be to get a mini, and if I like it then maybe buy a bottle from a BN'er... I noticed a few bottles have been available in the past...
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post #6 of 8
11/23/07 at 8:54am
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Originally Posted by KMF View Post

I'm a little wary of buying fragrances off of ebay. I've heard too many horror stories about people getting fake stuff. Right now I think my best bet would be to get a mini, and if I like it then maybe buy a bottle from a BN'er... I noticed a few bottles have been available in the past...

Yeah, get a mini or a decant and see whether you like it. Never heard of a fake Havana bottle though (Creed's a different story).
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post #7 of 8
11/23/07 at 9:30am
  • kbe
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Quote:
Originally Posted by phibess View Post

I bought Montana couple weeks ago and wasn't impressed. It smelled quite synthetic and cheap to my nose, didn't know what to think of it. I can see the similarities with Havana in the top notes but the drydown is very different imo. I decided to sell it..
As for Havana, I don't think it's that expensive at all. Pops up on ebay all the time I even doubt it's been completely discontinued. Last time someone sold 50ml BNIB for £17, 100ml goes for btw £30-35 (I bought mine for 32GBP) which is less than retail prices of many designer frags in production.

To my knowledge Havana for Men is not retailed in North America but is available in Europe and other countries and is still being produced. If so, it shouldn't that unusual to see for sale on overseas e-sites and retail outlets at far more reasonable prices than the USA marketplace, where demand for a regionally unavailable and great juice drives up prices when listed for sale.
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post #8 of 8
11/23/07 at 11:20am
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Originally Posted by kbe View Post

To my knowledge Havana for Men is not retailed in North America but is available in Europe and other countries and is still being produced. If so, it shouldn't that unusual to see for sale on overseas e-sites and retail outlets at far more reasonable prices than the USA marketplace, where demand for a regionally unavailable and great juice drives up prices when listed for sale.

To my knowledge it's not retailed in Europe either, at least I haven't seen it in shops here for some time. Some German ebay sellers sell Havana for $200 (100ml). I'm just not willing to pay these silly prices if it can still be bought for around $60 when it's placed for an auction on ebay - which happens quite often. Perhaps there's still a lot of the old stock left here, I really don't know. If it's been indeed discontinued sooner or later it might become scarce (and hence pricey) as, say, Patou PH, so if you like this frag I'd say stock up before it's late.
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