The Dark Heart of Old Havana

Dark Heart of Old Havana This is the scent that actually took me into 4160, along with Captured by Candlelight. The Dark Heart of Old Havana seems to be going for an idea of dirtiness, grime and heat in a classy, strange way that can only be found in the heart of a Cuban city. Something that alludes to pipe tobacco, street vendors selling fruit that may have rotted. This all sounds rather disgusting, but I ask that you bare with me. It is stunning. It's something that only needs to be tried two or three times before deciding whether or not one likes it. It's a strange encounter. One that, if you aren't used to it, you may not know if you want to encounter again. I figure, only having tried it twice now, that it's something you'll think of fondly and may even come to desire again and again. In that way, it's kind of like Opium. Kind of offputting, but there's something about it that leaves you wanting more and more until you've exhausted your savings and are lying in a ditch somewhere, wondering where you went wrong - it couldn't have been old Havana, could it? No, certainly not. Havana was a comfort. Now this was something I craved when I was on my 'gourmand only' kick, but I could never access it. Now that I have gained access to it... I'm no longer in that phase and it's a warm Australian Spring. Not exactly the best time to be trying a scent like this, as it's almost suffocating me. However, there is a comfort to it that just barely makes this alright. This is all a reflection of my current mood and weather, not on the actual scent. Sarah has created a strange and highly picturesque scent that can only be described as 'intentionally dingy, but splattered with deep red colours and warmth'. I digress, as that description has all but been repeated over and over by both myself and other reviewers. It's just the truth. The sugar in this is indeed the most detectable note, however it's more a fruity sugar. Like a strange alcoholic beverage mixed with a brown apple slice. It's not something you'd drink if you had any other choice, but it makes you feel good so you do anyway. The vanilla in this confuses me, but I can understand it from the cigar perspective. The cigar that Sarah exposes us to is a very rich tobacco cigar, probably smoked by either a rich person with horrible hygiene and manners... or a not so wealthy person who opted for cigars over proper food. The tonka in this is actually what I have so much trouble with. Tonka is already a very aromatic ingredient and when used in too high a dosage, it can be bad. My threshold for tonka has greatly reduced so, while this may work for many others and may be just the right amount, it may be too much for me. I must try this in the cooler weather to properly understand it. Having never been to Cuba, I can never truly understand it anyway. This scent does really make me feel like I'm in such a landscape, though. It doesn't have to be Havana. It can be anywhere, this just has a very personal concept that I don't think I could completely get just because I'm not Sarah. All over, this is just a very realistic scent that not every one will like. I do like it, quite a bit actually but I'm not sure if I could pull it off. I'd love to be able to but there's a bit too much going on for me at the moment and the weather is just much too hot for this to properly work. Come Winter or Autumn, this baby will get a much deserved work out.

Let me preface this by saying that this is a very beautiful Tobacco fragrance. The opening is a juicy sweet overripened Peach thats still a bit tart provided by the Sugar, Orange, & Grapefruit. That opening is immediately followed by a very pungent, moist, authentic & somewhat in your face Tobacco note. The Black Pepper note adds a nice amount of Spice that when coupled with the sweet overripened Peach gives an illusion of Cinnamon. With the Coffee adding just enough Darkness to give it an air of mystery. Theres also something in the blend giving the illusion of Coconut. A dark Coconut. I get the top & mid notes for hours. This fragrance really develops slow on my skin, which i'm very grateful for because the Top & Mid are beautiful. 10 hours later in the dry down i still pick up on Coffee & a little Tobacco, but this time with Tonka & Vanilla. I got Beast projection & Sillage for the first 2 hours. It calmed down but still gave me above average projection for another 3 hours. At the 5 hour mark projection was moderate until it became a skin scent. On clothes this fragrance literally lasted a week, & i could smell it projecting for 2 days. I wore the shirt on the 3rd day & my body heat made it project again. I cant figure out for the life of me why The Dark Heart Of Old Havana never received praise. Because if any Tobacco Fragrance is worthy of the hype its this one for sure. IMO The Dark Heart Of Old Havana tops Chergui & Fan Your Flames, & i've received the compliments to prove it. Any fragrance thats Dark, Mysterious, Sweet, Spicy, & Masculine is bound to be a hit with the ladies. Its such a hit i bought two 100ml bottles to make sure i dont run out. If Tobacco & Spiced Peach Brandy sounds good to you then The Dark Heart Of Old Havana is sure to be a winner.

I've spent the last few weeks slowly testing my way through a sampler selection of the entire 4160 Tuesdays collection. Whilst there were a couple I personally couldn't appreciate, (Shazam, The Lion Cupboard and the one about Raffles), The Dark Heart of Old Havana has jumped out at me as one of the best of the entire collection, and most assuredly my personal favourite. I can see why this would get mixed reviews. This is not a 'safe' frag. This is dark, dirty, sweaty, sweet and nasty - in the sexiest possible way. This fragrance is fighting and fucking and laughing and fighting again, without showering. The sugar here is almost black. It's crude, unrefined, boiled until it's a black, smoky syrup. The tobacco is smoky and hot. The fruits, those glorious fruits!, are overripe to the point of rot. Sitting in the hot sun, beginning to ferment in the heavy, still miasma. I agree there is an undercurrent of rotting sweet flesh here, but to my nose it makes it all the sexier. The rotten thread adds a beautiful counterpoint to the unrelenting, burnt-honey sweetness that pervades this. I am in love. Longevity on me is long-to-very long lasting. Sillage is at the upper end of moderate. Edit: Now to get myself a bottle down here in Australia. Le sigh.

I received a sample of this in a trade which allowed me a few uses. Dark Heart is a very nice fragrance overall and I would like to pick up a bottle someday. The only thing I noticed about this is there is a rather considerable difference between what comes out on my skin and what comes out on a testing strip. After a few hours everything mostly comes full circle, however. On my skin, there’s a sweet but dark opening that’s fairly strong. The scent makes a statement, but doesn’t scream in your face. I picked out coffee and the tonka up front, something that gave me impressions of cardboard, while the sugar sat alongside these notes. After a few minutes, a smoky vibe entered the fray and the coffee and tonka remained for a few hours. It’s a bit earthy, but not skanky in any way. It evoked dirt streets, but not farmland or anything like that. The vanilla also lasted for almost all of the time I could smell this on my skin. On paper, the peach and orange are easily discernible, and eventually the coffee and tonka bean catch up to what’s on my skin. The end of this is fairly heavy on the sweet with the vanilla being the strongest note. Overall, I believe it does well at evoking images of what it might be like to walk down a street of Havana.

Picture a slender, fit latino man with shiny dark mane sleeked into a ponytail...a sweet smelling tango dancer, around 33yo, wearing his tight black dancing trousers (strictly NO JEANS!!!), that drips a peachy sweat onto his cigar-smoke infused pinstripe silk waistcoat, chatting up a busty blonde girl (that works in a coffee shop, across the road) after a dance routine at the back of the old decrepit ball room somewhere in the old Havana...while his equally hot younger boyfriend looks on smiling naughtily chewing on a toothpick. ...that about sums it up from my point of view... Warm, sexy and addictive sweetness that won't give you a type 2 diabetes, but could easily get you into a trouble weather you like it or not...just don't say you were not warned about it... Totally unisex IMHO