Habana 500

In honour of Cuba, this is a limited edition gem. Daniel Josier did an exceptional job for Renier and I was lucky enough to get a bottle as there are only 500 worldwide. This is easily the best coffee scent I own. I get very little citrus in the opening but it is bright, then quickly becomes darker as clear cubana quality coffee surfaces before that note is sweetened with warm amber and then the woods stabilize everything. But I think that is the point, all the notes are blended to create primary and secondary accords. The primary accords are coffee and amber, woods and citrus take backstage to create a surprisingly dark but smooth amber. For those that would like a comparison, I think it is basically Oajan from PDM with a rich, dark authentic cuban coffee. If you get a chance to sample it, don't miss the opportunity. 4.4/5

I'd rate this one as okay. It opens with a barrage of milky coffee with woods and powerful minty fresh green apple. As it progresses into the drydown, the woodiness deepens. A smooth amber accord emerges, along with smoky tobacco (not listed), leather and a faint booziness. The coffee merges with the woods, the lactones with the amber, while the whole composition remains bright and fresh from the apple and maybe the sea accords? I'm not getting much of the sea accords, but there is a breeziness to the whole thing despite the heavier notes. As such, it doesn't read as a pure gourmand or coffee fragrance. Smelt close to the skin, I get more of the coffee, woods, and lactones, but smelt in the air the apple freshness is dominant, with lashings of coffee. As this is an extrait, performance is superior to some of the other offerings I've smelt from Renier, lasting around 10 hours on skin with decent projection for the first handful of those. It's warm, sweet, a bit spicy, fresh. In a word: pleasant. In another word: boring. It does indeed have a designer vibe, almost like a higher quality Armani Code flanker without the tonka. That's not necessarily a bad thing - after all, I think everyone needs at least one mass appealing, playful 'n' sweet designer in their collection. But I'd much rather pay $50 for Armani Code Absolu or Pure XS on the discounters than $150+ for this. I don't really have that much to write about this one, because like the aforementioned designers Habana 500 doesn't excite me. It doesn't take me to the heart of Habana al lado del mar, doesn't give me the minty rummy zing of a mojito or the whipcrack of a good cafecito, so strong it could stop a freight train. It doesn't even take me to Little Havana, much less to la Habana. It really just takes me to Macy's. Still, it smells pleasing, which is more than I can say of Renier's Crystal Rain. 6/10 P.S.: I will echo previous reviewers' comments about the caliber of Renier's customer service. I reached out to them about a minor shipping issue and they responded quickly and succinctly. What's more, even though I only ordered samples of the Rain line and De Lirius, I was lucky enough to receive samples of Behique and Habana 500 as well, allowing me to sample the entire house. Even if I'm not in love with all of the fragrances from Renier Perfumes, it's this kind of quality service, and quality artistry, that makes supporting small niche and indie brands like this worth it.

I have recived a small sample of this fragance. When i first smelt the perfume from the decanter i thought...WoW! This Will be very nice! It seemed like a creamy mojito. Without having seen the notes i could imaginé fresh mint, something alcoholic like rhum, and a creamy sweet basement... But when i applied on skin...nothing to do with that! With the Contact withy skin It became totally generic and the mojito un my mind was totally gone... The smell is nice...is sweet but fresh but i have smelt It thousand of times before... It is supposed that renier has only made 500 bottles of Habana 500 but you can have thousands un the shop because there are many similar perfumes in all brands. This is like a capuchino (rochas man...) Observa musky and Woody background... What is original is the blue colour of the liquid. This is nice but...careful! It Paint the sking and of coirse...the clouths! Scent: 8 Longevity: 8 Sillage: 6 Quality/price: 4 Originality: 5 Versatility: 7 Global: 7.5

Throughout the wearing of this scent, I get a musky earthy sexy leather tobacco experience. Despite the fact that tobacco isn't actually listed, the scent starts and ends with tobacco but transitions from rich warm dry and musky tobacco. . To a softer slightly fruity tobacco with hints of the marine vibe just skirting about the sides. It carries that rich earthy dense DNA that many other Renier fragrances have, particularly Behique. Perhaps it's a mix of rich dry coffee mixed with leather that's giving me tobacco vibes. I also get Rum nuances in this, but again, not listed. The milk and sandalwood bring a lovely creaminess. It's a lovely rich complex scent which I'm enjoying very much. (I've a video review on YouTube if you'd like further thoughts. . Review by Rose and Jones).

I sampled it, sorry will not talk about the smell itself but does this juice stain?! I sprayed my wrist and it was stained blue? Anyone else or is it just my sample?