Havana Lounge

Anecdote Fragrances is an interesting brand. It is owned by Belcam (not Maison Martin Margelia), known for their Classic Match line of clones (including the Polo line, Drakkar Noir, and Obsession), Geau and the flankers (all copying Acqua di Gio) and countless other clones. The boxes are designed like the Maison Martin Margiela Replica line (which is where Fragrantica got the confusion with the house) with the name, notes and explanation and an explanation of the brand. The bottles are nice and have some heft to them. That said the fragrances are clones. Rather interesting I must say. I have seen the Anecdote fragrances in Walmart for some time. I didn't buy any for about a year or two, until I saw that all five Anecdote Fragrances were discounted in Walmart back in October. I picked up the two masculine leaning ones based on the notes listed (and also the two being discounted under $10), After Hours and Havana Lounge. After Hours was about $7.00 while Havana was under $6. Havana Lounge's box reads "A Cuban evening... rich cigar smoke, a hazy bar, rum on the rocks and Latin Dancing. Havana Lounge is a seductive night remembered." Look at that and the notes, this does give you the idea that it maybe a Pure Havane clone or it may be a Jazz Club clone. We all know there are not enough of the Havane since it is often discontinued and Jazz Club still really doesn't have a whole lot of clones beyond oil based parfum extraits. I don't know how the other reviewer got that this fragrance is tropical from that. We know what it is, a Cuban cigar with booze and is a date fragrance. I can say that Havana Lounge does live up to that hype. It feels like Insurrection II Wild and Mahogany Woods, which both give a Havane feel along with the boozyness of Jazz Club. I actually used this for my Thanksgiving scent the past two years and made Mahogany Woods my Friendsgiving scent. Upon first spray, you do get the pink pepper and the spicy notes with the rum. This somewhat sets it apart from Insurrection II Wild as it isn't boozy and more into the Jazz Club territory. This makes it stand out quite a bit from the pack of Havane clones. Mahogany Woods has a slightly boozy quality from the cognac note that is in the underbelly of the fragrance, but it isn't as pronounced as the rum in Havana Lounge, nor is it as strong. As it sits you get a feel of the tobacco, but it isn't so much a cigar feel. I should know, when I worked at Disney World I couldn't walk past the cigar bar and shop without smelling the lit cigars and gagging on them. The fragrance then goes vanilla in the base which makes it fit with Mahogany Woods more even if the vanilla isn't bourbon like in Mahogany Woods. Havana Lounge performs great, especially for a Belcam fragrance. Belcam isn't a bad performing clone house mind you, it just gets crap because it is a clone house that does a lot of "me too" marketing. As mentioned, there is Geau which is the Acqua di Gio line, Nitro which is Hugo, Gladiator which is Invictus, various Classic Matches and Primitive Man which is a mostly wearable Sauvage for me. I can get six hours from it with it projecting good for about two hours. That said, the sprayers for Belcam are not the best and often the typical packaging is meh as it tries to copy the look of the other fragrances to trick the buyer into thinking it is the OG. I've broken the Classic Match of Drakkar Noir's sprayer by dropping it. It popped off and wouldn't go back on. Anecdote's are fine and more secured, but the sprayers as mentioned with After Hours are meh. That said, unlike my Insurrection II Wild, it isn't off balance at times. Havana Lounge can be worn during cooler fall and winter days along with nights. I feel it performs better at night, but it is doable in the daytime. It can work for parties, dates and bars. I cannot say clubs since the performance isn't great and will get eaten up by the likes of 1 Million, 1 Million Parfum, 1 Million Elixir, 212 VIP Men, Ultra Male, etc. Overall, Havana Lounge is a great cheapie. I can't rate it higher than 8, but it is a good clone fragrance. You can easily buy far worse and it copies a less than common scent. Lord knows, there are not enough Pure Havane clones out there. If you find it, especially at $6 or under like I did, get it. If you need to pay $20 or so like it sells for on the website or eBay at times, maybe go with Insurrection II Pure. Just know, the rum note makes this stand out a bit in the typical Pure Havane crowd.

Best Walmart pick up of all time. $20, a very gourmand/leaning chocolate tobacco situation. Had about 2 1/2 years now. Lasts decent, great for layering. I use to hit it on my scarf in the winter around whatever else I was wearing, and I fully endorse that move. First time sniffing it really took me into a lounge, it's not necessarily smoky - but a tad sultry. So, there is a lounge/cigar impression you get. It's pretty wonderful, it's a gem, buy it.

I was actually shocked to find out this s supposed to be a male fragrance. I bought it thinking it was for women, I've had it for about two years now. 😂 I would definitely consider it unisex, but leaning more towards a female fragrance based on all of the vanilla notes.

Molasses-sweet vanilla'd tobacco with just a touch of sugary rum. The rum is almost juicy and thirst-quenching, like a good rum and coke, minus the carbonation. Not complex but so pleasant! It is far smoother than Jazz Club (has a strong synthetic amber tang) or Pure Havane (with the signature A*Men patchouli). Far less woodsy than Nirvana Bourbon, and of course no floral aspects to speak of. However, if you enjoy/own these other scents, you will appreciate Havana Lounge. I own bottles of all of them but can still find a spot for HL as it is sufficiently different. HL is soft in strength and throw. It is more along the lines of Bourbon. For others who also love sweet tobacco, I recommend Alkemia Miel de Sauvage. I would rank them as follows: Miel de Sauvage, Pure Havane, Havana Lounge, Bourbon, Jazz Club.

This is very easy to review. If you expect to have a clone for Jazz Club by Maison Margiela you will ve disapointed. On the other hand... This to are related, Jazz Club is a more mature and strong scent, like a mature man who knows he is sexy. Havana Lounge is like a young man, inmature but willing to learn how to get the deal done... but, with class. It is a good scent for his value and smells more like Bath and Body Works Whisky Coffee. Dont get me wrong this for the price is a really nice buy, but you have to be a secure men to wear it. Is a Sexy fragance, you can smell the vainilla and the Rum with spices, but more like a white rum. I didnt feel a tobbaco note, i feel a cigarrette note. It is weird but it works.