Romance for Men (1999)
by Ralph Lauren

Another day, another bathroom cabinet raid.

Today I have ransacked my fathers forgotten cologne drawer filled with sample sizes of various mens' fragrances. Amoung them was an adorable little bottle of Romance for Men.

Wearing it on my wrists I can understand why many men do not like this. Its very feminine! (Why exactly is the lavender in a mens' frag "iced?") I was confused by the dark, slightly rank scent when I opened up the bottle, but after ten minutes the alcoholic overtones (which also contained a blast of that awful "aquatic" note that's in perfume these days. I think it's pretending to be mandarin.) faded away and I was left with a woody, lavender basil scent that wears very close to my skin and reminds me of the womens frag. (I was light with the application, but even so, many women's scents are stronger than this.) After 20 minutes, it's like it's not even there, except for the odd sharp "pine" note.

This scent would be much better if they had left out the "mandarin" note and took the "icing" off the lavender. (What is this, a cake?)

I am hopeful that this can be layered under the women's scent which is in desperate need of the "deeper" notes that were put into this "men's" concoction. (If those awful topnotes don't ruin it...)

This one had the "blah" effect on me. It really didn't leave a lasting impression and was a little too floral for me. Came off smelling very synthetic. It really didn't have any distinguishing notes that I could tell, so this one definitely isn't one of Polo's best.

Boring, insipid offering from the same house that gave us such greats as Polo, Tuxedo and Lauren.

Strong, synthetic wood notes with loud lavender over an annoying pine note that lasts and lasts and lasts to the point at which it outlives its welcome.

Thumbs down.

Not a very strong smelling scent and does not last long at all. That could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how you look at it. I bought this blind and was so upset with the power of the scent and lack of longevity that I thought I got a bad bottle. I ran out to find a tester in the store and apparently they are all bad bottles. There are many better choices out there.

pig sweat... EXTREMELY CLOYING when worn with anything more than 2 sprays from far away... however I've found it's very nice with a couple sprays in the dryer with a fresh load of clothes... as far as the notes are concerned... forget about it you will not be able to discern ANYTHING... just sweet syrupy mess... but you can get it for cheap and it saves money on fabric softener

Nothing special, not too bad either. Use it when you want to smell fresh but don't wish to stand out.