Carrington (1985)
by Charles of the Ritz

This is excellent.

First of all the history. This was made by "Charles on the Ritz," an old fragrance company that was part of the Yves Saint Laurent brand. This particular fragrance was themed around the television show Dynasty, and it - this fragrance - won the FIFI award in 1986 beating out all men's colognes. In 2002 Charles on the Ritz went away completely, and the company that purchased its remains - Revlon - stopped making this for some inexplicable reason.

So while you used to be able to get this at K-Mart (along with Bloomingdales and other stores) for a reasonable price, now you can only get it on Ebay, and it costs a ton. Why does it cost a ton? Because it smells good. Here's why: It's unique and inexplicable. I've smelled hundreds of frags, and this was completely new to me. It's both an 80s powerhouse, but also transparent and subtle such that you might think a man naturally smells like this. It's slightly dirty but also clean smelling. You can't reduce it to any note and that's why I can't tell you what this smells like, other than to say it's a gentlemanly and refined 80s style scent. I like this much more than Aramis, Kouros, Tiffany for Men and the other big 80s scents.

Definitely grab this if you see it somewhere at a reasonable price, and Revlon, seriously why did you stop making this?!

17th November, 2011.

Lots of notes but fortunately it doesn't lead to the "blob effect," as I call it. It's like a smoother Azzaro Pour Homme, and it's got an animalic quality that APH doesn't have (is it the "dirty" jasmine?). This is very nicely done. I bought a lot of fragrances and included in it was this plastic bottle of Carrington that was about 1/3 full (splash style) so I don't know if it has lost some of the top notes or potency, but the quality is there. If you've got the money to pay the current ebay prices and you want a smoother APH with a touch of the animalic, this one is worth considering.

29th January, 2011.

This is the unlikeliest winner this side of Beckham Intimately. This was my first after shave, back in the mid-80's. In the early 90's I found some, which I still have, at MacFrugal's (in the US-later called Big Lots). This was a celebrity tie-in with the horrendous, yet vastly popular, TV show "Dynasty."

What about the scent, then? Of the 80-odd colognes I own, this one, by far, has received the most compliments from the distaff members of society. Great projection, but go easy. It also lasts a good 12 hours. The lavender, bergamot and lemon stand out and this was, at the time, a poor man's alternative to Eau Sauvage and 1881. Ironically, now Carrington is a collector's item and goes for more than Eau Sauvage and 1881 combined.

I prefer the after shave to the EDT; it's subtler but mighty. If you can luck into a bottle, I highly recommend it.

30th September, 2009. (Last Edited: 16th January, 2011.)