Carlo Corinto Classic by Carlo Corinto, 1986

I've done a "180" on this one and find it quite unpleasant. I think I just don't like the leather, amber, cardamom, and patchouli combination. If you have no idea what this combination is like, then I strongly suggest sampling first. By comparison, Devin by Aramis is an ambery leather as well, but it's smoother and considerably more pleasant. Both are a bit simplistic, compared to something like The Knize Ten, which is the one to try before derivative ones like CC, in my opinion. If you love leather smells in all forms and you have hardly any money, this might be the one for you, however.

My old review:

or me, there is an anisic quality about this one, and the leather comes through loud and clear. But it's also nicely blended, and certainly wearable if you don't apply too much. One spray is enough for me. I couldn't imagine spraying this one three or four times per application. Why complain that this juice is too strong, when it means you can just spray once and save money? There's absolutely nothing "wrong" with this fragrance, though it may not be to your sense of taste, of course. I like it as a "change of pace." It was very inexpensive, and definitely more wearable than Jacomo de Jacomo, Quorom, and some of the other "old school" ones I've tried.

This is a fantastic woody, resinous oriental fragrance where pine is the main attraction. The pine is overshadowed in the opening by sharp lavender and citrus notes, but within 15 minutes or so, the pine notes come to the forefront, and thankfully they remain prominent for hours into the drydown. The pine becomes a bit sweet and spicy as Carlo Corinto evolves, and this is probably due to its blending in with the patchouli (which is also very prominent) and amber in the base.

I own the current formulation of this, and I have to wonder if this version has more prominent pine notes than the vintage version does. Pine is very prominent in this wonderful fragrance, and I am very surprised the other reviews don't make more mention of it. Carlo Corinto is a very resinous scent, and as such the pine notes more resemble sap or pine needles, rather than a Pino Silvestre type smell of warm air blowing through a pine forest. The nice strong patchouli in this adds a welcome earthiness to the scent, and really complements the pine, rather than bludgeoning it.

Despite what other reviewers say, I do not find Carlo Corinto to be particularly strong or a "Power Fragrance" at all. I get moderate sillage and good longevity from this, which is fine with me. I don't smell any leather at all in Carlo Corinto, but the scent doesn't suffer because of it. Carlo Corinto is simply a delight to wear, always managing to lift my spirits when I wear it.

Well, Ill weigh in to the spirited discussion in progress! First, a visit to the Carlo Corinto website (a particularly well-designed one, BTW) revealed a fragrance pyramid different from that here in Basenotes. Here is Corintos list:
TOP bergamot, basil, thyme, lemon
MID sage, cedarwood, olibanum, raspberry
BASE patchouli, vanilla, leather, vetyver
I suspect this represents a current tinkering with the 80s formulation; the fruity note in the middle (a feature of all CCs current line) suggests that is the case. Given that, the bottle I have may be the previous version. Heres what I found. First of all, lets have some common sense and approach these old-school scents with caution. Apply it lightly, and writhing on the floor and banishment from the workplace wont happen. Even in small doses, this is powerful stuff. I find it to be a cool-weather scent: it really came alive when I went outside in the early morning and worked in the garden. In hot weather and in an office, it might not be the best choice. There is a brisk citrus-herbal opening. The middle is excellent, containing good pine notes with woody spice. Everything smells fresh, natural, and balanced at this point. Discretion pays off in the dry-down, which gets rich and substantial. Leather, patchouli, amber notes are there. The cardamom interacts well with these for a while. In sum, I liked the opening and middle best, the dry-down is OK. I like CC, but will carefully pick the times when I wear it.

I believe that this complex and interesting scent was one of the few perfumes that the reclusive dandy Jean Floressas Duc des Esseintes took with him when he chose to retire from the world to his house at Fontenay on the outskirts of Paris.
His reasons for this choice were noted in his diary: "Since Carlo Corinto contains echoes of so many other scents, perambulating from the sublime and serene to the grotesque and ridiculous, it is obviously more economical, in an aesthetic rather than a merely commercial sense, to encapsulate all these variegated odours and atmospheres within a single perfume. The serene minty abstraction of the slightly bourgeois Azzaro Pour Homme, the aristocratic weight of Van Cleef & Arpels Pour Homme, the poetic autumnal smoke of Leonard Pour Homme, the masculine ruminations of the underrated Quorum, the almost criminal vulgarity of the noxious messes that are One Man Show and Krizia Uomo, the metaphysical peregrinations of Oscar Pour Lui and Zegna - plus a certain flat monotony that is all its own - they are all there. I am convinced that Carlo Corinto will memorialise for me the whole gamut of joy and sorrow, beauty, ugliness and boredom which pervades the world I am abandoning!"
His experiment with Carlo Corinto could, I suppose, be called a success. On occasions, the two elderly servants whom he had brought with him from his ancestral home at the Chateau de Lourps would find him quietly sniffing his wrists, an appreciative look in his eye. At other times, they found him writhing in anguish on the carpet, gasping for breath, as if suffocating from some unspeakable stench from the sewers.