halfwhiteboy

I first owned the newer edition of Aramis Havana —the one that's part of the house's reissue of its classics called "The Gentleman's Collection"—before scoring a vintage bottle. I didn't really know what to expect, whether or not there was any significant difference, but the prospect of copping a vintage instantly appealed to me. The conga-shaped bottle, obviously an ode to Cuba, succinctly captures the essence of what the fragrance tries to achieve. While there's definitely more to the country than just cigars, this of course is a tobacco fragrance. By the way, this should not be confused with Havana Reserva , which is a different Aramis fragrance but with an identical bottle.

So far, so good. With my blind buys, I mean. After Guerlain Habit Rouge and Armaf Club de Nuit Intense Man , here comes Aramis Havana . I'm on a roll! Released in 1994, Aramis Havana is undeniably masculine. It's in-your-face masculine. I understand that there are purveyors of the thought that fragrances shouldn't be defined by gender. However, by all these marketing standards that have shaped our perceptions over the decades, Havana is definitely a men's fragrance.