Everest
Avon (1975)

Starts out as a kind of cross between Cool Water (without much if any dihydromyrcenol) and Brut but quickly transitions into a Kouros type of scent (though this came first, of course). Quite strong for an aftershave and ingredient quality is great for a "super cheapo."

Stardate 20181009:

Starts out pine-y and green. Reminds me a bit of Pino. But then it takes classic route and settles to a nice musky powder. A nice classic green fragrance. I would buy it if cheap.

Everest exists in stark contrast to not only other Avon masculines of the decade, but also other popular selections from any house of the time. It's angled bottle and blue liquid feel like the presentation of an aquatic, but this was 1975 and we were more than a decade away from that genre being born. Avon, who were still on the nearly one-a-year launch of their masculine scents at the time, snuck this one in after the aromatic Deep Woods (1974), before the big push of the leathery Clint (1976), and were in the practice of squeezing something unique in between it's more derivative but ultimately more popular scents. A lot of folks now don't even realize this was from the 70's, because outside of it's opening, it doesn't even smell very 70's; it's not aromatic, it's not spicy, and not full of aldehydes, heavy musk or tons of moss. Everest is a true fresh fragrance, and probably some sort of forgotten unsung pioneer of the trope that simply saw no recognition for being from Avon. This stuff won't blow anyone away in terms of quality, but here we have a very cool, crisp, minty and fresh fragrance flying in the face of period convention which stuck to dark, dense, and deep as the mode of operation. Everest is just a weird prototype of the watery crisp scents of the 90's made of conventional perfumery ingredients years before it was cool. It's the Edison Cylinder to Cool Water's (1988) phonograph, and surprisingly holds up well against actual aquatics from the modern era.

Everest wears decently well in the winter, which is the only thing that betrays it as not actually being an aquatic, but it's kind of odd and makes it very likeable for something over 40+ years old, especially to the guy in love with cool and fresh but disappointed at winter time performance. The opening of this one instantly dates it due to it's very powdery bergamot that immediately references English Leather, which is what most folks sniffing this bottle without wearing it compare it to quite unfairly. Actually wearing Everest is an entirely different matter, as those powdery citrus notes instantly give way to something very sweet, fresh, very anachronistic for it's time. There's some lavender going on here, some violet, mint, muguet, freesia, maybe a touch of the ever-present Avon stable of amber in the base, labadum, a dusting of moss, just a melange of things that mix with something soapy like laundry detergent with a slight plonk of white musk, bringing this slightly into Wings by Giorgio territory but not with that severity, and drying down to something with sandalwood and musk just barely hovering. It's closest comparison is Grey Flannel, which came out the same year, but in a more "blue" direction. Outside of maybe Aqua Velva Ice Blue (1934), but without the overly mentholated "after shave" feeling, since this is meant to be a fragrance that lasts all day and not just something smelling nice to take away the burn. Nobody really thought like this in 1975, and Everest seems to be one of the least talked-of Avon masculines from this era alongside Blend 7 (1973), and it's probably because of how strange it must of been then, and out-of-time it is now.

Everest is great on a rainy Pacific Northwest day because it's warm and arid enough with it's old-school ingredients to ring through the damp chill, but cool and breezy enough to lighten up your personal environs whenever you catch a whiff. It's not a true aquatic because the chemical ingredients needed to bring that about wouldn't really exist in the perfume business for some time yet, but it's the most aquatic-smelling thing from this period I have seen. It's almost like whatever they were onto with 1968's Windjammer was refined further, but sadly it probably was not as appreciated in the day as it could have been, and now too old to be given much thought (Avon never reissues anything anymore). I'd dare say give it a try if you want something like Royal Copenhagen but even lighter, bluer, and without as much floral flutter, just be aware it's hard to find and can be pricey for a drugstore scent. I just love putting this on and playing guessing games with my friends, as all of them think it's something from the 90's when it's actually 20 years older than that even... just hilarious. Coty's Gravity would revisit this theme in 1992, but is a lot richer and heavier on the bottom end than Everest, which stays in the "fresh" pocket for longer before drying down to a skin musk. This one's just a total trip!

I was given what appears to be a very old bottle of Everest by someone who didn't like it. It's an interesting smell. It goes on as a very dense green minty smell, with slashes of lavender and pine and violet leaf, dusted with nutmeg while sandalwood hovers in the background. This opening is clearly inspired by Brut, which I consider a good thing while appreciating that others may find that problematic.

Fairly quickly, it dries down to nutmeg and dry tobacco with a hint of sandalwood in the background giving it at a little richness. In the end, the sandalwood, sweetened with a little vanilla and patchouli is all that is left.

Frankly, this is a cheap scent, so I don't have expectations of fantastic ingredients or longevity, though the sandalwood (thought not abundant) is considerably nicer than I would have expected. But taken as is, it's a fun splash cologne that smells manly and decent. I'd personally stick with Brut, but I'm still happy to have my little bottle of Everest.