Cuba Gold Cuba Eau de Toilette

Defeat has a bad reputation. Those who fall quickly become a thing of the past. Those who lie on the ground see the world from below. Perhaps the second place can still rejoice. But the fourth is already punished by life.

Yet losing has its own beauty. When the spotlight turns away, life makes room for quiet colors. And those who manage to see them can achieve a life of great abundance.

But then there are the crooks. The impostors and blusterers who lay their hands on the throne. Those who rise without effort, without skill, and at best with the sweat of cunning. The good-for-nothings who carve their way through with smoke and mirrors. They see the field from behind, but their boldness takes them to the finish line in a taxi. They could have accomplished something of their own.

So this is about a clone. The issue with imitators is actually banal. Riding on the coattails is not forbidden, and everyone should be able to enjoy dupes. On the other hand, clever folks like those from Cuba could also just create their own scent or at least apply a new brushstroke in the copying workshop. Instead, they decode the DNA of well-known perfumes with pliers and clamps and brew them up again.

That Le Male is the blueprint is evident from the first spray. It is a sweet-spicy overdose of mint with lavender and vanilla. The original is a bit sweeter, the imitator a bit spicier. There seems to be a hint of tobacco. But after just 20 minutes, hardly any difference can be discerned. Cuba Gold is just flatter and less clever. It lacks clarity. And the surprise of a real discovery, anyway.

The homoerotic gesture of Le Male was a big deal back then. It reached the masses and could be smelled in clubs and at supermarket checkouts. Even today, the scent is still respectable. However, its spectrum has aged a bit. A bit like a tattoo that one hastily got before the Love Parade.

Why so many still copy this scent is obvious. Like the box shifters of discount stores, you can still make good money with it. It’s easier than taking a risk.

But like with all imitation products, there remains a stale feeling. Dupes are like painting with watercolors and eventually blurring the tones in the paint box. Clarity is lacking, the prism of colors is covered by a veil. Le Male, despite its minty-vanilla sweetness, has these clear peaks, as if the fragrance notes are fanned out. You don’t have to like it, but it is interesting. This scent here is just a petty thief.

“And why do you put yourself through this and even write about it?”

“I don’t know either. I wanted to write something about the beauty of losing. And now I at least know that gallows birds can never fly.”