Review: Czech & Speake – Cuba
London based Czech & Speake specialise in niche perfumery along with luxury bathroom & grooming products. Cuba is an aromatic cologne with Caribbean summers in mind, and brings an exotic twist to the barbershop accord. A bright, fresh, opening will invigorate you on a hot day with mint and citruses dominating. This is smooth without being cloying; it glides through the air rathe than punches. The rum accord smooths out the harshness of the citruses but doesn’t perform the heavy lifting through the lifetime of this fragrance. An hour in and the mint has blended into the background with a smoother spicy rose accord underpinned by woody notes and a tonka accord, common in fougeres. After three hours there’s a trace of a scent bubble but at this stage you’ll still get pleasant wafts of an earthy vetiver and woody. I don’t pick up on the frankincense in any significant way through the lifetime of this scent. By hour five, the temp...