Since I was a small child I loved the smell because it IS my daddy. Every colleague he’s worked with or student he has taught forever associates him with the scent that remains long after he has left the room. Despite the reformulations through the years and new Polo flankers he insists on his green bottle that to him represents the ultimate man’s man, the ideal gentleman in every sense of the word. Some say that it was a fragrance of its time, and is hard to wear nowadays. It is a powerful antidote to watery, fresh scents; wholly masculine with a unique register of notes.
I’m not sure what the perfumer originally intended to evoke with this scent but in the light of typical colognes these days I smell a pipe smoking hairy lumberjack. Not a pansy rich polo player with palm olive hands. Kinda makes me wish I was in high school in the early 80s when this was a normal everyday scent. Today’s version of Polo Green only lasts about 2 hours on me and then it’s a skin scent. The OG lasted for 12 or more hours and it still projected and had great silage through the day.
When I was in my teens, I loved it. To me, it smelled like nothing else. However, as I recall there was a sweet aspect to it back in the day. I have no idea what notes I smelled.
The heart is strong and masculine as conifer woods, decorated with notes of patchouli, oakmoss and vetiver. The base contains leather, tobacco and thyme, which create a wonderful, intensive trail. Polo is one of the two first perfumes by Ralph Lauren and it was created by Carlos Benaim in 1978. A scent with a strong, spiced woodsy concentration that offers a burst of flavor. Most likely to people who haven´t ever inhaled British Sterling or Canoe.
A classic as other people have stated . My father wore this scent so I have memories associated with polo original. ralph lauren t shirt It’s a heavy hitter and should be worn properly . definitely for a burly and confident man to wear .
A traditional man, a loyal man, a good father and a loving husband. I am wearing it today for the first time after almost 4 months and what an awesome fragrance! I am not sure if it is my imagination but it smells much more pleasant that what it did in December. It could be that the contents had to settle or mature in the bottle as is the case with my Aventus and other fragrances.
The 2019 bottle I tried yesterday seems to have sorted that out. It was much more of a fresh-pencil-shavings cedar/pine opening and quite pleasant the whole way through. All the nastiness was gone and replaced with a smooth, creamy, earthiness that progressed logically into the drydown that we all know and love.
The drydown is dark – heavy leather with woods and tobacco but still with pine note infused. The opening is quite harsh and reminds me of Paco Rabanne Pour Homme. I get mainly a synthetic pine note that seems to become more natural smelling as the fragrance evolves. While Paco Rabanne Pour Homme turns sweet and musky, Polo stays more green, mossy and earthy, more outdoorsy and crisp. I definitely get some caraway or cumin, and tobacco . But there is also just a hint of sweetness in the background that binds together the green, earthy and spicy notes.