Clint (1976)
by Avon

Avon had a moderate amount of success with the very unique Avon Leather (1966), so a decade later, I can see them wanting to release another leather-themed cologne for men. However, Avon was busy bebopping between fairly original masculine scents and pretty derivative ones as the 70's stretched on, with the previous year's Everest (1975) being original, so they made another "me too" fragrance with this one, just like they had done with "Spicy" from a few years before, but that copied the main accord of Aramis instead of Old Spice, respectively. "Clint!" was no exact clone on a drugstore budget however, and actually mixed in some other things that softened, broadened, and warmed the mix enough to make it more approachable to casual interest guys. I'm definitely not going to try snowing any of you into thinking this is superior to the trend-setting and unique Aramis (which is often called the "Chanel No 5 of men's fragrance" for a reason), but as a respectable homage to it that could very well serve in it's place as an interesting alternative, this one serves fantastically. It's quite literally an Aramis for outdoorsmen, shedding the city boy finery and replacing it with jeans, boots, and flannel. American guys from the segment Avon catered to lapped this kind of advertising up like dogs, so it was bound to work, and it did.

Clint opens much the same way as Aramis, and it almost makes one think that it's a clone until the distinct decrease of sparkling aldehydes makes it clear that it's taking a different path to the drydown. Lemon and bergamot open, with that toned-down aldehyde display display sharing space with a resinous balasam fir note and sage. Patchouli and some woodsy notes like cedar find their way in the heart, but the same leathers and slight dry florals like geranium form the core of this as they do Aramis. The base is obviously the big carbon copy leather note, but is saddled with oakmoss and vetiver as backup. For those who found Aramis a little too burning on the nostrils, a little too sheer, this seems a smoother, milder, less chemical treatment of the same general theme, to the point of almost being a flanker to it. I also detect some more airy qualities in this, so I feel like it has a more outdoorsy vibe too. I like Clint, and despite it's clear riffing along well-worn lines, it does have enough uniqueness unto itself to qualify it as a distinctive fragrance. It wears closer to the skin like most Avon, and that only helps make this a milder and more friendly fragrance than what it mainly draws inspiration from, which causes this to be friendlier for work as a consequence. Clint was likely constructed under the idea that most loyal Avon customers only bought Avon, and that guys in their camp had never smelled anything outside of their catalog, so it makes sense to create such a parable since nobody would likely fact-check them to discover it borrows most of it's structure from a designer leather scent released over a decade before.

What's more interesting perhaps than the smell of this (also read: Aramis Lite), is the fact that it was supposedly named after Clint Eastwood, making it an unofficial progenitor to all the celebrity-branded scents of the 80's, 90's, and beyond. Avon wasn't the inventor of this precedent, but they would become one of it's greatest abusers in time, and here in this earliest example, whether they were going after Mr. Eastwood's first name or not, it would coincidentally become associated as his fragrance to those who saw it, and that probably helped move units. Ultimately, this is an old, very long-discontinued take on Aramis (and maybe a drop of Pino Silvestri) with a bit more of a rugged feel replacing the urbane sophisticate aesthetic of the original. I feel it's a quality niche scent these days for those who love leather fragrances, but otherwise can be passed on by most for a bottle of something still being made. I simply love Aramis myself, and having a softer and fresher alternative to it is a godsend for me, so I couldn't help but give this five stars, (with a second bottle in reserve) but otherwise wouldn't rate it so kindly for mainstream fragrance fans. Clint ultimately ends up being the leather scent for the weekend warrior in the back yard on an early spring day, and has better warmer weather performance than one might expect due to it's more-restrained vibe. I wouldn't use it in summer or under romantic pretenses, but if you decide to hunt a bottle, keep in mind that if you already own Aramis, this might come across as the Mounds to it's Almond Joy.

Take the leather aspects of Aramis but remove most of the florals and aldehydes. Now make it more of a citrus scent, and add a touch of patchouli and a hint of woods. That's what I get from this, and it's quite pleasant. This could be a niche version of Aramis. It's funny how some "experts" are saying things like there should be a niche version of Old Spice, when you can just get some old Avon scents for little more than a song and you've got better than "niche-quality ingredients" as well!

A copy of Braggi meets Aramis for sure, still it is pleasant and cheaper than the other two, easy to find still.

Not bad alone, but AMAZINGLY more approachable when combined with a few drops of vetiver and sweet grass.

The scent is a similar to Aramis and the packaging is typical 70's. I read somewhere that it was named after Clint Eastwood. That would make sense. Buy it if you feel lucky, punk!