Old Havana

Old Havana commandeered my attention shortly after I discovered Solstice Scents via a reddit chat on Foxcroft. It was spring, and Foxcroft is only available in autumn, so I perused the catalogue. I'm a tobacco lover and this one naturally fit the bill. Old Havana is a definite morpher. I agree with the Solstice Scents forum folk who describe the opening as tangy. There is an immediately evident lime. Some days the lime is mysteriously strong. If you apply heavily, the lime stays awhile and is almost too much. My favorite part is the transition into the drydown, when the tangy lime is still onstage but waving farewell. The drydown is sweet and woodsy and I wish would last longer. It makes me feel like a swaggering buck with a healthy supply of testosterone. But here is the catch-22: if you apply heavily, you get an intrusive lime that extends into the drydown. If you apply lightly, the drydown is short-lived. Still, I love it, and it is one of my favorite Solstice Scent fragrances. Perhaps my overall favorite. As a guy, I think it leans masculine. I've associated this scent with myself for so long that it would catch me off guard to smell the lime on a woman. The drydown is more unisex. I have both the oil and the EDP. The EDP overall feels softer, and has a relatively quieter lime to make it smoother to me. The EDP has a lower longevity. I get about 3-4 hours with the oil before I have to press my nose in, and 2.5 with the EDP. The ones that are fleeting are great, because they don't have time to get cloying and I continue to crave them. For a reference of whether your nasal inhalatory preferences are similar to mine, my favorite solstice scents are Old Havana, Vanilla Pipe Tobacco, White Fox, and High Noon. My least favorite are Pinyon Truffle, Sacred Vow, and Devil's Tongue.

On its own it’s lovely but layer it up with Tether and By The Fireplace and it is the most amazing fall scent you have ever smelled. Super masculine. Im addicted to this combo. I keep sniffing my wrist. Fair warning, it is a pretty heavy scent.

Old Havana smells like what I think a nightclub in old Havana would smell like: quality cigars, Cuban rum cocktails, carved mahogany booths, fresh ocean breeze. This perfume definitely feels and leans masculine, but I still enjoy it even though it’s not something I’m likely to purchase. In the tropics, I imagine this could easily be overpowering, and if anyone could pull it off, this would be an evening scent only. Places that are more seasonal—like Seattle where I live—would make this perfume is a cold weather scent. I’m sampling from a Solstice dauber vial, I’m not getting the distinct stages that the reviewer below me is experiencing. After the strong Bergamot opening, Old Havana stays linear, only growing softer over time.

I really love Old Havana. It’s definitely a strong scent and the tobacco and lime are dominant notes for me. I find this to be a really sexy masculine fragrance that pairs really well with a leather jacket! I think it can be worn anytime but it’s especially effective in the evening or for going out on dates or on the town.

smells like coca cola in the opening, the tobacco / sweet vanillic smoke. spices and lines in wood.