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julia-life – :
I have this and le male. If I have le male on one hand and Cuba gold on the other , Cuba gold smells stronger.
ALILDEHENNACE – :
People are saying that this is a Le Male clone? lol this came first so who cloned who?
raq789InsuffBooni – :
Still a banger in my collection of 200+ frags and in my first initial review I even said it was in my top 3 most complimented which would still be true if I hadn’t found a fragrance that’s very similar to Cuba Gold but took place of Cuba Gold but because it had equal performance but smelled better overall. (That fragrance was Luna Rossa Sport)
On its own though this is great and because the price I’ll always keep it for running errands and for relaxing and use alumna Rossa Sport for work and going out !
To describe this scent I’d say this is a very pleasant,lavender and vanilla scent that’s powdery,slightly sweet and also fresh and aromatic ! This smells like a really high class powdery,lavender body wash that even though it sometimes smells slightly synthetic up close it smells lovely in the air and a scent that I’ve gotten plenty of compliments with ! My fiancée loves this scent and says it’s very cozy and likes when I wear this on lazy Sunday afternoons as it’s a scent relaxes her.
Performance on this is great ! It lasts 8-12 hours and doesn’t project a ton but leaves a nice scent bubble and a strength of this perfume is it leaves a very nice Sillage trail !
Overall rating —8.5 out of 10 ! An amazing cheapie but if your looking for an upgraded version I’d go with Prada Luna Rossa Sport.
alex_kiss6578 – :
A nearly picture perfect Le Male clone minus the minty opening… if you factor in price, you should never again purchase Le Male. I am not sure why vanilla isn’t a listed note as Cuba Gold is lavender and vanilla after the dry down.
kitsasha – :
For me the most important thing is how the perfume smells in the air. Noone is rubbing there nose on my hands to get the smell.
That cleared, this only smells like 2 things in the air
1) VANILLA
2) LAVENDAR
Vanilla in this is very prominent. Its very powdery.
My GF says this smells like a sophisticated gentleman.
Olegbaitsaev – :
This fragrance was a pleasant surprise. I love Le male, and this smelled almost Identical to it.
The opening is quite harsh for the first 2 minutes but then the vanilla kicks in and it smell like Le male on its dry down(the best part of Le Male).
Performance is around 2-3 hours of projection and then a solid skin scent for about another three hours. Do not be afraid to reapply. 3-4 sprays to start out and then two more when you reapply.
No matter what, this cologne can be found for $5-$7 dollars either online or at ross. It is a must buy pick up for the value you get. It does not smell cheap at all. If you are on the fence I can tell you that you will not regret buying this if you enjoy Le Male.
beenterteno – :
Huh. No vanilla listed on the notes or in the pyramid? That should be fixed. Well, to potential buyers, there is most definitely vanilla in this and I would say I think it’s the dominant note. I’m a big fan of vanilla and this one is a hit for me. It does indeed smell like Le Male but (gasp!) I actually like it better. On me it doesn’t last as long as Le Male but it dries down to a more straightforward vanilla than Le Male, which I like. Don’t get me wrong, love Le Male as well but this is like it’s younger, plainer, less complex, less focused brother with an attention span deficit. Smells very good and it’s great at being a lightly spiced vanilla. A great value but just remember to spray it more often than Le Male due to that attention span deficit!
AnyaVK – :
Vanilla on a stick.
Lovely clean scent which would attract compliments if it lasted long enough to get me into the office.
Worth purchasing as it’s very cheap so it’s ok to keep topping up and it may last longer on your skin, definitely worth a punt though just wish it lasted longer!
Aerohopleneritzn – :
I have JPG Le Male on my right wrist and Cuba Paris on my left wrist. Let me share my thoughts.
(Initial 10 minutes)
Le Male: Hits VERY strong with mint which suppresses vanilla [70%mint, 30%vanilla]
Paris: Faint mint with pronounced vanilla [30% mint, 70%vanilla]
(1hour dry-down)
Le Male: Still moderate mint but vanilla starts to surface [50% mint, 50% vanilla]
Paris: Mint note disappears and you are left with soft vanilla [10% mint, 90% vanilla]
(5hour dry-down)
Le Male: Mild mint and gorgeous vanilla [20% mint, 80% vanilla]
Paris: All vanilla [100% vanilla]
Bottom line: I had to resist myself from biting my wrist because both of them smelled so tasty.
lij499Negeltzex – :
Its inexpensive- and draws attention. Like a puppy from the dog pound. It definitely pulls in the ladies. Oh I see all these comparisons to Le Male… I F#@KING HATE Le Male. But I also do not have a sophisticated sniffer.
axvel666 – :
anyone try the aftershave or body spray
HarrietPer80 – :
to me this smells like if JPG came out with a “Le Male Mature” edition. Ithas similarities to Le Male no doubt, but the floral notes in it gives it an old man smell to it. But its not a bad old man scent, its still good. Just think of this as the old man version of Le Male.
scodal – :
Holy cow! I blind bought this after seeing all the positive reviews and OMG! This is an excellent fragrance! Yes it does smells like JPG but for 9 bollard at Ross you can’t beat the smell.
I’m so impressed that I’m getting a back up bottle asap.
Longetivity and sillage are pretty damn good as well
1jabrov – :
I truly cannot believe the value here.
Picked this up for $5 at a Fragrance Outlet at it easily makes my top 10 fragrances list. If you love lavender this one is for you. Starts out synthetic but gets better and better over time. Evokes memories of a stroll across my Alma mater’s campus at night, which is odd because I didn’t have this fragrance whilst in school.
Scent: 9/10
Longevity: 8-12 hrs
Sillage: Moderate
Value: A+
Versatility: B
Bottle Design: B-
vitslob70 – :
Better than the current version of Le Male.. Clean and subtle. Gets compliments. Cant beat it
murad444 – :
Not mention about Le male in here.
Cuba Gold smell very smooth and soft vanilla.
Longevity is good ( still can sniff after 12 hrs + )
But projection is very poor ( 2 hours project )
I’m not disappointed because Cuba Gold smell so good. I don’t mind to reapply it through the day.
gundin59 – :
Reading the reviews one wonders if there is a variety of standards of Cuba Gold in circulation. No jasmine? I certainly get jasmine… but no vetiver. I get excellent longevity [EDIT – I said it was only a skin scent – nope I was totally wrong, when the temperature goes up it projects like crazy]
But let’s get to the crux of the matter… the poor man’s Le Mâle? I can’t comment without a bottle of JPG to hand, but I can make a comparison with the rich man’s Le Mâle, Prada Luna Rossa Sport. I can see the similarities, but Cuba Gold is not in the same class and is not a vanilla scent! The fragrance notes are right, there is little to no vanilla or Tonka bean in this, it’s just the way the dominant jasmine and lavender blend with the wood. So I can’t see how it could be that close to Le Mâle? But I’m willing to be convinced.
But don’t let that put you off, it’s pleasant – it’s not particularly sweet, in fact it’s a little bit sharp and powdery but for the rock bottom price you can’t go wrong, it’s THE bargain of the century. It makes a great Sunday slob to the supermarket scent or a nice spray for your pillow before bed. Just make sure you hide the bottle, as its resemblance to a sex toy may scare your partner…
But I’ll let you into a secret – want to turn an £8 scent into something damn close to an £70 scent? Simply buy some good quality vanilla oil for £3 from ebay, add two drops to an atomiser – three at most, then a large dose of Cuba, give your cocktail a good shake et voila – you now have the missing ingredient. It doesn’t just add vanilla, it smooths and soothes the slight prickly harshness of the Cuba, it adds depth. Experiment with your ratios – but I promise you, get it right and it doubles the loveliness. I’ve tried it straight on one hand, and with added vanilla on the other and the ladies all choose my own brew and coo over it like a cake. [This will also convince you that there is little or no vanilla in this]
PS Tried my recipe on a lady I know who likes to get close to see what I’m wearing today. She knows what she likes (Fahrenheit, F Aqua, Aventus, Cool Water) and hates (Kouros, Furyo…). With this she greeted me with a hug and “What IS THAT? Oh my god, I am SO INTRIGUED!”, and kept returning for another sniff. Intrigue is always the best of all emotions to conjure in those you wish to notice you… it keeps them coming back for more…
PPS As someone said to me hours after I put this on the other day – “Oh my god you smell absolutely amazing.” Still pumping it out great guns hours after application. The sillage and longevity of this are astonishing for a bargain fragrance. I think this must be the best cheap scent ever made
I was wearing my own latest variation with one extra drop of lavender oil and two of vanilla in a 5ml atomiser – you really can mess around with this in ways that more expensive fragrances would never tolerate. It just seems to blend together so smoothly and seamlessly. It amazes me every time I wear it.
Orxan405 – :
So it just arrived for me and i have to say i was a little let down, the opening for me was a strong powdery smell with a hint of white floral, like a artificial rose smell. Too me this seems more of a older man smell, its pretty sweet and powdery. Too me it doesnt resemble le male all that well, not a bad smell but a cheap one. 6/10 overall for me.
axiles20082008 – :
I won’t call this a clone of Le Mâle since many have clarified that Cuba Gold was first to arrive. However, this is the closest to Le Mâle I have ever sniffed, very alike. The performance is good, sillage and longevity is there. Not quite as strong as Le Mâle but still good enough. And in no way does this scent smell cheaper or inferior to the famous Le Mâle.
Лёха0489 – :
So. I accidentally bought this. The woman at the store gave me samples of a bunch of Cuba frags and I picked what I thought was this one, she was wrong and gave me the wrong one. But whatever, it’s nice. I’m likely going to give it to a friend, but it’s not bad for $8. It’s Le Male 100% though, when I got the bottle and sprayed it, I thought it was Le Male.
Glurrybob – :
I’ve never smelled Le Male but this this is good! The sweet pear and minty is magical. The dry down is sensual, sexy. The problem is that it is not a beast. No longevity or projection. But since it’s so cheap, go heavy with the trigger. Reviews have said that current Le Male is back to it’s golden age. I want a bottle of that and Ultra Male.
BUY!
Din1x – :
Very similar to Le Male. Lasts quite long and it’s not a beast. it never lingers on and on and become that cloying sweet blah dry down. I prefer it like this. It’s not weak. It is very very pleasant and for the price… it’s steal. Women love it, they won’t be able to tell it apart from Le Male. For this price and a nice quality it gives… no need to buy Le Male which is now weaker and reformulated. Very nice opening, very vanilla dry down but what matters is’t not too sweat, and not overpowering. The only Cuba I like and if you love LE Male, you need to get this. Even more if you want to save your original and smell like Le Male on a budget. Practically the same smell. Only, this starts like what LE Male is after half an hour and it is exactly why I love it more.
Note: Tried them side by side. Very very similar, almost identical. But… Le male didn’t last. It was gone withing 2-3 hours and this one pushed 6 without a problem and was very noticeable after that time. There is NO FREAKING REASON to get Le male over this… they are so close, yet this clone lasts a whoooole lot longer. Maybe Le Male was a beast once but it’s not anymore. If you love the smell, and want some more hours out of it… get this. If you are not convinced, just simply try them side by side on your skin and you will see.
sneed2010 – :
I love Cuba Gold. Similar to Le Male, yes, but not quite as sweet. I get an effervescent cola vibe from Cuba Gold that I find refreshing. Performance may not be the best, but the scent itself is great. And for the price, you cannot lose! I cannot speak on any of the other from the Cuba line, but Gold is a winner.
lwm052Diobtetty – :
On me it is quite long lasting doe its price from 6 to 8 hours longevity with moderate sillage. Sweet lavender/vanilla reminiscent of Le Male and Joop.
kup88 – :
I call this – cologne for myself. Projection is pretty weak, but the smell is very warm. In opening I like citrus for those first minutes. I spray this creation on myself when I sit at home and for 1-2hours I can enjoy this beautiful smell, then respray and again I feel good. I bought it for 9 dollars and I will never have better cologne for such price. I will definitely buy this in the future again.
P.S. about similarities with Le Male. Indeed it is very similar to Le Male, but this have stronger citrus note and weaker vanilla and thats why I like it more than Le Male.
angel_smerti – :
YEP!! its a le male clone for sure:). I just got a 4 pack of these cuba cologne cigars and i only like this one. I hate the blue i hate the orange and i sorta dislike the red. Gold is very good and very masculine/vanilla-ee
zirom – :
THERE IS A LOT OF VANILLA IN THIS!!! I have it and the most intense note is vanilla! it has weak longevity, but a pleasant smell.
ivadym – :
A clear resemblance to Le Male is there, performance is good and the smell is fantastic and better than Le Male as its less floral with a nice touch of dry tobacco. I am not all that focused on compliments but I have noticed how women randomly make positive remarks walking by.
There are similarities to Versace Dreamer because of that soft tobacco smell but this one smells a lot better than Dreamer as there is no harshness at all while dreamer has a harsh opening which in a lot of cases prevents people from hanging in there to reach the nice drydown.
qmp358speagoessenda – :
I’ve never smelled Le Male but I get a Givenchy pi smell when I take a whiff. The last bottle of pinOnhad a gave to my dad because I didn’t like it but this smells a little different.
nik2485 – :
Real smooth le Male Feel and real nice lavender ! 🙂
k_yaron – :
This smells just like everyone says/Le Male clone.I own Bogart Pour Homme and theres something in Cuba Gold that has the same DNA.One of the longer lasting Cuba scents.
Batyushin – :
@Carlitos, how did your experiment with Cuba Prestige go?
Hacok – :
I don’t have many doubts that “Le Male” is the original fragrance and that Cuba Gold is a very well made clone of JPG bestseller, although some people claim that Cuba Gold preceded JPG Le Male. I own both of them.
Usually I don’t like to review clones just because they are clones, but now and then I may give an opinion like “This fragrance X is a very good clone of fragrance Y” (or a bad clone…).
Having said that I would like to make a statement and to tell you a story:
Statement: Cuba Gold is probably the best market clone of a very well known designer fragrance called “Le Male” by Jean Paul Gaultier.
Story: I sprayed Cuba Gold this morning, twice in my chest and twice in my hair above my ears. So, a total of 6 sprays.
My wife told me during breakfast this morning: “Today you’r wearing Le Male. I do like it. You are a lot more yummy with the real thing. Just put aside that Cuba thing you have”.
Today I had a day off. I wandered a bit and went to the bank, to a mall and to a Leroy Merlin shop. I received 8 compliments and two of them identifying “Le Male”.
I never said to my wife that I really prefer Cuba Gold over JPG Le Male. But I really consider doing so today.
I will try the same trick tomorrow with Cuba Prestige… It will be an harder chalenge as my wife loves every drop of juice produced by Thierry Mugler.
leksej07 – :
This fragrance is legendary and just plain manly. It absolutely smells similar to JPG Le Male, but I actually prefer Gold over Le Male. The most shocking thing about this fragrance is that you can find it for $5 and this scent could easily be re-packaged and sold for $60+
vlados412 – :
It’s truly similar to JPG Le Male except the only difference between them is that Cuba Gold’s smell is more powdery and Le Male’s smell is more soapy. Either way both fragrances are great!
svh760bedyWelty – :
It depends: on my skin it lasts for a good 8 hours on cooler temps and 5/6 on hot. Gold is the inspiration of Joop Homme and Le Male not the other way around, since it precedes both by more than 15 years, and it should be honored as a landmark, the origin of sweet male perfumes.
alexx_anna – :
not very long lasting & smells like tobbaco & newspaper
Sangartigunny – :
Bought this for 5€ in Berlin.
Amazing!
The note breakdown must be wrong.
I get an ultra heavy tobacco and a slightly present cinnamon note, which aren’t listed above.
wahetz – :
This was friday classic scent. They loved the retro smell.
Николайтрифонов – :
Cheap and sweet, and does get some compliments. Starts of powdery and sweet, ends sweet and powdery. Could see it as unisex.
Opening: 7/10
Development: Pretty linear 3/10
Drydown: 6/10
Longevity: 4/10 (2-4 hours)
Sillage: 7/10 – 4/10 (after 1.5+ hours)
Price: 10/10
Casual, year round night time, fall and winter day time, clubbing/party/bar scent. Not for formal events. Dirt cheap. Can be cloying/overly sweet under certain conditions.
Overall: 6/10
Just not my kind of scent, but good nonetheless.
vol1950 – :
The smell is good. But they only stay on my skin for 1-2 hours
druna4 – :
At first it seemed too sweet and powdery for me, so I’ve decided to dedicate a few weeks attempting to understand this fragrance better. I now like it because I think it does it’s thing for it’s price. Has a sweet jasmine and lavender scent that I now enjoy more.
Irranttum – :
On me this lasts for 6 to 8 hours with a 3 ft sillage, and is really like Le Male, I gave to a friend and on him Cuba Gold lasts for over 8 hours projecting like crazy for 4 hours. It is his fav among all other perfumes. Perfumes have different performances on different skin/noses .
solovey1975 – :
I bought this since I was looking for a cheap alternative to Le Male by Jean Paul Guetier and this one kept getting thrown out there so i figured what the heck amd bought it. First off it opens nice very warm notes can definetly smell some spice notes cardamom but my main issue with this cologne is it silage, it lasts around 1-2 hours, granted I did use this like crazy 5-7 sprays so that may have caused me to go nose blind to it, I asked some friends if I smelled like anything and the main notes they were left with was Amber. For irrespective I bought a 3.4 oz bottle for 5.00 and it lasted about 1 month and that was with spraying 5 times 2 times daily. So if your looking for a super cheap fragrance to use and abuse this one is a good choice, but don’t expect people to notice it on you, it does tend to cancel out odors, but as a smoker I need something stronger to help hide the tobacco scent that sticks to my clothes. Last thing I have to say is be careful where you spray this cause since it’s loaded with alcohol if you spray it after shaving for example it will burn worse then aftershave, I’m serious, don’t get this near your nose, I would never spray this directly on my neck I spray on my palm and massage it in. Okay scent but still makes me miss my candies for men cologne.
PRYANIC – :
(Jun 2017)
Opens with a chemical/plastic blast.
Dries down into a fairly good, if somewhat cloying scent (tested at 24 celsius, which is about it’s limit)
It’s worth the dime, MAYBE even two, but it certainly wouldn’t hide it’s price bracket to any discerning nose.
Doznanie – :
– Cuba Gold – Launch date: 1979
– Le Male for women – Launch date: 1993
– Le Male for men – Launch date: 1995
So who cloned who? Do not talk when you’re uninformed!
omonya – :
I have Le Male’s new formulation and they are so similar. Just save the money and get Cuba.
Use 20 sprays and spray your shirt too. Or just keep a bottle in your car or at work. Its 100% innofensive even immediately after spraying
gerr – :
This is the Original Don Dada of the cuba paris line!! Love this stuff i used to biy this early 2000’s before i even heard nor smelt J.p.g. “le male” great juice!! Sweet,woody
denis.gerasimov – :
In a nutshell this is a clone of Le male that to my nose is 90 % accurate and I honestly like this better ! It’s like they took that minty,lavender freshness but took out those notes that caused Le male to be cloying and harsh.
To describe this smell id say this is fresh,minty,slightly powdery and very appealing. It’s funny because my gf loves this smell as she says it’s a very relaxing smell but she HATES Le Male as she said it was too strong and smelled girly and couldn’t believe Cubs gold was a Le male clone.
So on my skin anyways this works way better !
Performance is very good for the price !!! It lasts on me 6-10 hours and projects above average.
Overall rating — 8 out of 10 ! This is a fragrance I personally love and for the price this is an absolute steal as it smells great and performs great as well.
——
Updated review ! This scent has grown on me as I personally love it but wow this scent has gotten me a ton of compliments and has cracked my top 3 most complimented scents in a 200+ collection.
My girlfriend has also noted that this is her favorite cuddle scent as it’s appealing but also gives her an instant state of calm.
New rating — 9 out of 10 ! This stuff is a steal for the price
nisan apr – :
I loved Cuba Gold long before I found out that it was a clone of Le Male. I bought this for my dad about 16 years ago. After a few years I smelled Le Male, and it instantly reminded me of Cuba Gold. So ever since then, I’ve been buying Le Male for my dad, as that one is the real deal. But recently I spotted Cuba Gold at my favorite online store and I thought, why not? I just can’t ignore how inexpensive it is, so I’ve decided to go for it again. This time I’m getting it for my husband. I’m generally against copies, however the fact that I’ve known Cuba Gold longer than Le Male, makes me softer and somewhat nostalgic. And as I said, you just can’t ignore the price gap between them. As far as I can remember, Cuba Gold is a bit simpler than Le Male but nonetheless very good.
ctd193Bessinepome – :
I’m surpised no one has posted this yet…
The official note breakdown according to the parent distributor is:
Top: Pink pepper, grapefruit
Mid: Vetiver, lavender
Base: Vanilla, amber
So yes, there apparently IS vanilla in this, hence the strong comparison to Le Male. However, I certainly don’t get pepper, grapefruit or vetiver. This is a sweet lavender BOMB, plain and simple. And I love it.
ekfy – :
Gave someone a hug and was asked if i was wearing jpg le male because her husband wears that cologne. On another day i applied cuba gold @1:30pm before work, then @8:00pm (yes 6 & a half hours later) received a compliment saying and i quote “when you passed by i got a whiff of you, and you smell absolutely amazing”. That was from 4 feet away because i was behind the counter and the customer was on the other side. I went to Ross the next day and bought a back-up bottle.
путтфвшн – :
Got this with a few other colognes to bring up my bill to get free shipping on an online order(Cologne was $8 bucks). I read good reviews about the scent, but longevity was an issue. I let it sit for a few weeks on my cologne shelf before opening it and smelling it, I was too interested in the other colognes I purchased with this scent. My girlfriend had asked if I bought her a dildo when she saw me pull it out of the box to smell it. When I did finally smell this, wow what a nice initial scent, it flat out smells great. I’ve only smelled it on initial spray. I’ll probably wear it towards the end of the week. Update will follow later.
Initial scent though is very nice 8/10. Thankfully I don’t get the vetiver smell, I believe that would have killed this very pleasant opening scent.
Update June 1, 2018. I’ve had a chance to wear this for a year now, the scent is still outstanding, the longevity is rough. At most with 6-8 sprays I’ve gotten 2 – 2 1/2 hours in a calm, cool air-conditioned environment where I wasn’t moving or sweating.
Still a great scent, keep it handy to reapply, it’s a keeper. Glad it’s cheap, as you’ll need 6-8 sprays every time.
Scent 8
Longevity 4.5
Sillage 6
Quality 6
skachko80 – :
Great for everyday use! Really nice perfume.
nik9ogar1 – :
Definitely like this one better than le male. I can say I’ve probably outgrown it, but this is one of the best scents for people from 18-30 that don’t want to spend a lot of money on a fragrance.
cs1971 – :
This is one of the very few clones I have absolutely no problem wearing. It outperforms Le Male on me by 6+ hours, it’s $7.99 at Gordmans and it smells wonderful.
ruslan valkevich – :
7-8 hours on me so amazing. I have to say that Le Male is a rip-off of Cuba Gold. Bottle is really classic. Buy it on Amazon for only $10. So good. Using Le Male for years and now change to Cuba Gold.
alex.torren – :
I agree with you, Alex, but on me Gold’s longevity is quite good (7 to 8 hours) with moderate projection. Le Male is a more complex perfume but also a much more expensive one.
Cuba Royal, the 1 Million clone, has much less longevity but I find it more interesting than the original scentwise (not a fan) and though on me its longevity is 3/4 hours with moderate sillage on a friend it has 9 hour longevity with huge projection.
megarob25801 – :
Today I put away my fall/autumn rotation and took out my winter rotation which includes Cuba Gold. I’m still amazed how great this smells, and to my nose it’s literally identical to Le Male. The only difference is Le Male has a slightly better projection and longevity. However, I found by spraying my shirt with Cuba Gold I get similar performance to Le Male. However, on my skin Cuba Gold does have a little synthetic-like vibe, but that should be expected for a $12 cologne. The synthetic smell is only noticed when smelling directly on my skin. My solution was to spray the shirt and I no longer get that synthetic smell, which is a problem I have with many colognes due to my skin chemistry. In fact, that was my issue with another cheapie Nautica Voyage. Nautica smelled like a chemical mess on my skin, but it was amazing on my shirt.
All in all, Cuba Gold by Cuba Paris is unquestionably the best value in my entire 100+ fragrance collection. It taught me an important lesson…when it comes to any fragrance, don’t let a low price fool you. Some of the best colognes are extremely affordable. Love this juice!
v017xx – :
How can you do a review of Cuba Gold without comparing it to JPG LeMale? In my opinion you can’t.
I don’t currently own LeMale and I haven’t smelled it (firsthand) in about 20 years, but if scent memory serves me correctly Cuba Gold is almost a dead ringer. To use an analogy: LeMale is showing up to the movies and getting a large bag of popcorn and a huge drink, sitting through all of the previews,and watching the whole movie from title to credits until the lights come on; where Cuba Gold is getting your ticket to the same movie , sitting down as it starts, and leaving as soon as there is any inclination that the movie is over.
It’s basically LeMale without the mint and herbal spice in the opening or middle, and less wood in the dry down. There’s still lavender, although it’s a little bit plastic-y for the first 5 seconds or so. There’s still a little bergamot, jasmine, and woods , but they’re definitely lighter. And there’s definitely vetiver, which is the most prominent in the dry down in my experience.
I’m on hour 8 of 5 sprays (winter, which is when I’d recommend to wear it) and it’s still going strong as slightly more than a skin scent.
It’s not one of my favorites, but it’ll get some use in the cold months by me. I’d definitely recommend it if you haven’t tried it. For the price it’s a relatively solid and inoffensive blind-buy.
**UPDATE**
My wife, who is about as fragrance-fickle as women come, has commented that she likes when I wear this about every time I’ve worn it. That raises this one up several notches in my book.
zoovet – :
Cuba Gold is Le Male just a town down version at the dry down. For $10 it’s worth it.
Le Male is still best. It’s starts spice and stay that way for 8 hours and projects. For $30-$40.
sveta28 – :
You know, I was debating with myself for like 7 months about purchasing this stuff. There have been so many reviews about how this one smells super synthetic, cheap, too sweet or nauseating, and I respect and resonate with everyone’s perceptions and opinions. They are ALL VALID. But all the negativity aside, there really is something to be said about nostalgia points…
I remember first smelling Le Male in a European fragrance boutique in 1999. Back then, it was literally all the rage, and people were going ape sh** for the stuff. Personally, I didn’t find it TOO appealing, but still ended up getting a bottle several years later. After noticing that I wasn’t reaching for it that often, I gave it away in favour of the original D&G pour home.
But in my last haul, I finally decided to throw in Cuba Gold for a couple extra bucks, and this is what happened:
After unscrewing the tube and letting the bottle fall into my hand, I caught a whiff of that soapy lavender and WHAM. The memory of being back in that boutique in Europe with my grand dad hit me like a freight train. There he was, still alive, full of vigor and smiling at me like it was yesterday. The sheer force of the emotion left me in tears.
Somewhere in the past, I must have unconsciously associated that smell with my grandfather and his gentle demeanor, his apartment, his workplace – his presence. And that’s how I found out just what an apparently super synthetic, cheap and sweet smelling fragrance can do. It can literally bring back a piece of someone we lost a long time ago.
I didn’t expect it. I wasn’t prepared for it, but it happened. And now, every time I wear Cuba Gold, it’s as if my grand dad is standing right beside me, giving me an encouraging nod, letting me know that things will be alright.
So yeah, I’d say that’s $5 well spent, wouldn’t you?
Datell – :
Good Buy it. smells just like jean Paul Guntier Le Male at the dry down just softer last long not longer then Le male.
ovyzxmsgmq – :
Yea, definitely reminds me of Le Male, but definitely some differences between the two. The heart of both are very similar, but there are some notes within each that differentiate them and take them in different directions. Surprisingly, I get a lot of compliments from women on this one. Even though I think it’s average, I love it due to the memories that are attached to this fragrance. It’s a cheaper alternative to Le Male so if you are short of cash and like JPG LM, buy this as an alternative.
homimaster – :
cheap and cheerful clone of jpg le male. lots of bang for the buck.
production – :
Cuba Paris’ Cuba Gold is a scent I purchased at Burlington for 7.99 last night I cannot comment how close to Le Male it is because I never really had tested it at that point. Now that I have, Le Male is a sharper Cuba Gold due to the mint and vanilla.
Like in my review for Cuba Royal, I find Cuba Gold is very linear and you’ll get your notes through out. You get a little bit of vanilla and a slight tobacco even if either aren’t in the notes, bergamot, heavy lavender (almost as much as the vanilla), jasmine and even a trace of woods. It is kind of reminding me of 212 Sexy Men if you remove the overly spicy smell to it.
The length of smell is really good to it. I find that the scent projects about 2/3 hours before becoming a skin scent. I find the s