I’m a bit sparse with reviews, but since a flanker to my favorite scent Habana 500 has come out, I felt I had to make an effort to compare the two. This review probably only makes sense if you know the other one.
So my expectations were naturally very high, but unfortunately, they were not met.
The scents are somewhat similar; I get the same associations (Kaiserschmarrn in an old cast-iron pan with plum compote, slightly fruity and creamy) as with the 500, but everything is unfortunately too muted for me to feel any enthusiasm. It feels like you have your nose almost closed and only catch half of the scent.
The opening - terrible! The first 5-10 minutes smell to me like Uhu glue, but thankfully that fades away quite quickly. After that, the scent is okay, but it can't compete with Habana 500. When I wear one scent on my left arm and the other on my right, the Havana Rain simply gets overshadowed, and I could have saved the sprays. The longevity isn’t even the problem; yesterday after about 9 hours, I could still perceive the scent, albeit very faintly.
What I am glad about is that the honey is not too intense (Bee) for my taste; you have to like that. Here, I only perceive the honey very lightly in the drydown.
The Habana 500 evokes a scent memory in me that simply makes the fragrance special. I don’t know if the Havana Rain would have achieved this if I didn’t know the 500. Perhaps I am being unfair to the scent, but I can’t really remain objective here.
Since I have worn the scent repeatedly over the last few days, I would say that the scent is by no means bad, but unfortunately also nothing more. If I had bought a full bottle instead of just a sample, I would keep it (to not run out of the 500 too quickly), but for special moments, I would definitely still reach for the 500. And if I run out of the 500 and haven’t found an alternative by then, I would probably get the Havana Rain just to indulge in memories... unfortunately with a tear in my eye.
If I were to attempt a rating, I would give the Havana Rain a 7, while the Habana 500 was a 10. But I also think that both scents won’t suit everyone’s taste, so it’s better to try them out first.
