Molinard's Habanita

[Izzie]

Hey all!
I'm considering a blind buy of Habanita, because I love what I've read, I love fragrances with history and I also adore the bottle.

I was wondering what you all think of it? I can handle really strong fragrances, and strong orientals, I tend to just do "the spray and walk-through" in order to keep it from being crazy overpowering, but I don't like fragrances that are sharp. Sharp like... headache warning, stings your nose kind of sharp.

So, what do you guys think of Habanita?

[Miket]

I love Habinata. It reminds me of the original Tabac Blond but you can buy it for a sane price. I wear it myself on occasion because I think it's completely unisex, but on a woman it's unbelievable.

What sort of things normally give you a headache?

[hednic]

My wife likes it a lot.

[misscasey]

I love Habanita and bought it "blindly" as well, having read intriguing reviews- and yes, the bottle is gorgeous!

That said, I would not characterize Habanita as a sharp scent at all. It is pretty strong, though, and reminds some people of baby powder. I find it to be slightly smoky and incensy. Also a little sweet. Not at all what I think of "sharp," soapy, or "perfumey." I honestly have never received a compliment on it by others, but I wear it to please myself. I think it is a wonderful scent and enjoy it quite a bit, though I have to be in the mood for it. I found it pretty cheap so it was definitely worth it for me. Give it a try!

[Diamondflame]

Honestly? I don't like it. It's pretty rough - like a mixture of stale cigarette smoke and baby powder.

[Izzie]

I love Habinata. It reminds me of the original Tabac Blond but you can buy it for a sane price. I wear it myself on occasion because I think it's completely unisex, but on a woman it's unbelievable.

What sort of things normally give you a headache?

The opening of Coco Chanel, for example. And just the really sharp orientals like that, I sometimes have problems with Opium too.

[ahpucha]

Honestly? I don't like it. It's pretty rough - like a mixture of stale cigarette smoke and baby powder.

I agree.

[Kagey]

Love it. Just based on what you said, I wouldn't call Habanita "sharp." I get nothing screechy in it, but I do get the baby powder that other people mention. The drydown is a lovely animalic leather on me.

Also- you know it's been re-launched and reformulated recently. The new one gets a lot of praise, but I only smelled it once briefly. It's in the sharper square bottle so easy to tell the difference.

[Larimar]

If you want the smoke and 'roughness' with lots of powder from reading all the reviews, be sure to get the EdT (the one with only a golden cap and not gold on the upper part of the bottle as well) and not the new EdP. Some think it is great. I think it smells of Habanita, but as if as she was now a non-smoker and way too tame and therefore a bit dull.

[Bigsly]

It's not especially strong (I've got a recent EdT version).

[teardrop]

l adore Habanita for the rich, smokey incense l get in the drydown. l would get the EDT while it's still available & reasonably priced if l were you. The projection & longevity are phenomenal on me, & it's definitely not sharp.

[donna255]

I own both parfum and edt(mine does have the gold shoulder, but is from the early 00s).

The parfum is very smooth and not so powdery, more leather.

The edt is big on powder with leather and very long lasting. Not sharp or rough in any way.

[iris_983]

It's not sharp. It's dry and dusty - powdery... Great scent, give it a try.

[Izzie]

My blind buy bottles (had to get both edt and edp) arrived in the mail today and I am in love. This is perfumery heaven. I have found the one. Thanks for persuading me to get it!

[teardrop]

Thanks for reporting back, lzzie! l wonder, which one do you prefer??

[Izzie]

I love them both for different reasons, really, though I do find the edp more wearable. For some reason, on my skin the edp dries down into less of a sillage-monster than the edt. The edt is a little dirtier and more gritty, which I prefer scent-wise, but I don't think I could get away with wearing it day-to-day, it would probably take over a lecture hall fairly easily.

[iivanita]

omg.....this Habanita EDT (sample from dear BNer ) smells almost like more sweet, less raw version of Onda perfume by veroprofumo

i was so surprised to find out they were leather relatives! becasue lethaer scents do tend to be very different!
As if it has vetyver a bit hidden by benzoin and powdery vanillic notes, with characteristic dirty/animalic notes...and some orris root that gives it powdery touch..simmilar to this musky one in Onda just all a lot sweeter...i would not have expected this at all!!

[Curly11]

I'm wearing Habanita today as a matter of fact. I get a powdery, incensey, oriental feel from it and like it a lot. Very easy to wear.