Polo Black (2005)
by Ralph Lauren

The bottle gives me an image of something smokey, deep and maybe a little boozy. The actual juice is disappointingly nothing like what I had assumed. The opening is rather exotic, with the mango and what not, but once those notes blow away, we are left with a thin ho-hum blend.

Ever since the original Polo, I've been a fan of Ralph Lauren. I even finished two bottles of Polo Sport! So it was with high hopes that I sampled Polo Black, yet another best seller from this great house. Like many other 'unenlightened' customer I was hooked by the 'amazing' top notes and promptly made my full bottle purchase within 5 minutes of smelling it. How bad can it be? It's a Polo from Ralph Lauren! As I discovered later the development to the drydown leaves much to be desired; I can't remember the last time I felt like wearing Polo Black. Now whenever I open the drawer to pick a scent, the still-heavy 4.2oz bottle serves me yet another reminder of those 'dark' days before joining Basenotes.

not even as an air freshner. poor construction. poor judgement and a poor mainstream fresh scent. double black is much better.

Absolutely hideous to me. To me it smells like fruity licorice supported by a watery accord. I find it to be nauseatingly unpleasant with no redeeming qualities for the several hours I endured it!

Smells like a watery, synthetic, mixed-berry Pixy Stix. It has
some of that watermelon fron KC Reaction and some Paco Rabanne 1 Million feel to it as well. The drydown has some woodsy (ie: dark, teak) elements to it, but very little though. Like a Boss (or Bod) spray or Kool Aid, dries down to a more plasticy and rubbery smell (ie: rubbery woody). Has that Ralph Lauren signature note to it. Meh. Not bad, but so what?

I'm a little confused by all the reviews saying this has no sillage or staying power. The first time I wore it to work, two girls walking in at the opposite side of a fairly large room commented that "someone remembered their perfume today" - This was with only 2 sprays. About 6 hours later I was wishing it would disappear. I think it's actually overpowering and a little headache inducing. Not a bad smell but something about it feels quite old and it certainly lacks any sort of sophistication you might be hoping for based on the name and packaging. I get a peppery spice almost immediately which dies down after a while but as others have said, it seems fairly generic and certainly there is nothing "special" about it. I'll give it a thumbs in the middle just because it is quite nice, just not what I look for in a fragrance.