Nicolai Cuir Cuba Intense Eau De Parfum 100ml

Product Information

Charabot, a French perfume ingredient company, says Liatris leaves also have an aroma like tobacco or hay. I’ve smoked cigars, I’ve been in humified cigar rooms, and my father keeps a cigar box, so I know the pure, unvarnished aroma of the finished product.

I suppose the tobacco note already emerges a little at the beginning, mixed with anise and licorice. It is a very intense, powerful tobacco compound from Givaudan with a subtle ISO E Super-like whiff in its undertones, and with a warm, leathery, woody, and slightly ambered warmth about it. Interestingly, the rose note from the geranium was really prominent on my left arm, and the perfume turned into a blurry haze much sooner, while my right arm wafted a hardcore aromachemical smell with the tobacco to a much greater degree than the other one. Something in Cuir Cuba Intense’s opening phase and particularly in its middle stage smells chemical to my nose, and I think it is Kephalis. In some ways, it feels more like something put out by Masque Fragranze, Naomi Goodsir, or some other house — not Parfums de Nicolai.It smells of very classy and sophisticated (pipe)tobacco with faint hints of sweet licorice and nice spices. To me though - despite the notes - this smells like slightly damp tobacco with caramel fudge and salt!

From the first sniff, I got a whiff of something I hadn't even thought of in about 10 years, but that had defined my childhood. This is a big fat NOPE for me, though it does sweeten up a bit as it dries down into something almost tolerable. An excellent Leather perfume, not at all sweet imo (and that's a plus for me), very potent and original. Manly, which certainly isn't a fault, but for me the lack of sweetness or spice was pretty disappointing. Rich, spicy, floral and animalic, Cuir Cuba Intense is such a gorgeously constructed head-turner that a more modest name would have felt like an understatement.She ended up having me try about a dozen fragrances, but she was very right to reach for that one first.

Patricia de Nicolaï is no stranger to haute perfumery, being a direct descendant of Pierre Guerlain. De Nicolai scents are always impeccable in taste, flawlessly blended and boast conspicuously natural-smelling components. I’m one of those people whose perfume experiences were shaped by the ’70s and ’80s, so lengthy perfume lists always bring joy to my heart.Up-end the vial, smear it broadly in a 2-3 inch wide patch across your arm, and repeat that about 2-3 times. I don't want to smell like a walking shisha moassel (arabian water pipes where tobacco is mixed with fruit molasses), thanks but no!

The opening is nice, actually during this stage it reminds me of a smoother (much more unisex and slightly floral) version of Creed Tabarome. I think it may come from my upbringing in the Mediterranean, where anise incense and the occasional narguile are key parts of the olfactory palate. Coumarin is one of the main reasons why so many perfume houses, particularly Guerlain, use tonka beans as they contain a lot of it, too.Side note: I think this is a fragrance for people who like perfume, and want to smell nice / luxurious but have not immersed themselves into the classy world yet. Rich and woody accords, such as cedar, tobacco, hay, civet, patchouli and liatris, create a sense of depth and elegance, enhancing the longevity and allure of the fragrance. Also, I like how many PdNs smell in theory, but I rarely feel compelled to wear the ones I own… they are a little too light for my usual tastes, I think.