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Very disappointed with RL Polo Original

post #1 of 24
2/3/13 at 1:46pm
Thread Starter 
Just "blind" bought a 4 oz. bottle of Polo Green (I say "blind" because I haven't tried this new formulation; I've been around and smelled the old formulation a lot) and I must say... it's pretty bad. Smells nothing like I remember it smelling. Even got second opinions from family and they agreed. It's not the same.

I read reviews here on BN and it was a toss up. Some said the reformulation was good and it smelled the same as before. Some said it was completely different. I guess it's all up to the individual person ... to me, it's horrible. I don't usually say that about fragrances, because I'm easily pleased and lenient. I give fragrances a few chances, in fact, most of my collection is blind buys. And I love every single one of them. Except this one.

This has probably been beat to death, I know. I was just so disappointed in this fragrance, I felt compelled to write about it.

-Sergius
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post #2 of 24
2/3/13 at 2:00pm
No, you're absolutely right.

I had it years ago and wore it back in the late 80s, early 90s. It was so-so to me but popular, so I wore it. It had somewhat of a menthol kind of smell to it.

Last year, I was looking at colognes and decided to smell it again. It was a burning wood kind of smell, VERY different than before. I loved the change! After buying a bottle of the new formulation, a friend of mine said it smelled different from before, as well as my mother.

RL does everyone a disservice by not releasing the new formula under a new name, because it is an entirely different fragrance.

Steve
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post #3 of 24
2/3/13 at 2:03pm
Polo does one thing well, it will cover up BO. The smell of pine and a forrest is there and strong.

I wish I had a bottle of the original to compare to the new. I would love to have an original bottle in my collection.
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post #4 of 24
2/3/13 at 2:03pm
Thread Starter 
I like the smell of burning wood. I love sitting around campfires or bonfires at the beach and having that scent in your face. But this isn't something I could wear all day, I don't think. Shame.
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post #5 of 24
2/3/13 at 2:04pm
I am surprised this one hasn't been deeply discounted as other reformulations. Even newer frags like HM are deeply discounted, but RL Polo is not.
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post #6 of 24
2/3/13 at 2:20pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by smellgood4u View Post

I am surprised this one hasn't been deeply discounted as other reformulations. Even newer frags like HM are deeply discounted, but RL Polo is not.

I agree, what gives? If it's discounted, it's maybe $10 off the department store retail price. Not much of a discount.
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post #7 of 24
2/3/13 at 3:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sergius View Post

I agree, what gives? If it's discounted, it's maybe $10 off the department store retail price. Not much of a discount.

I paid close to $100 for a bottle of HM at Nordstrom. A couple months later I found HM online for 75% off. HM is a nice frag, but not worth $100 in my opinion. At $20 it is a great frag. I feel the same way about the current Polo. At $20 I would buy a 4 ounce bottle and add it to my collection for the occasional spray. But I don't want to spend close to $100 when I can buy GIT online for a little more.
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post #8 of 24
2/3/13 at 3:14pm
I enjoy this one, but the mossy dry down bothers me.
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post #9 of 24
2/3/13 at 3:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sergius View Post

I agree, what gives? If it's discounted, it's maybe $10 off the department store retail price. Not much of a discount.

I have to assume what gives is that RL manages to sell enough of it at full price that there's no need to try to boost sales via discounting.
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post #10 of 24
2/3/13 at 3:34pm
I purchased a bottle of this about a month ago - it was much different from how it smelled to me once upon a time.

The other day I was in Nordstrom getting Bleu de Chanel & Grey Vetiver, and I happened to spray Polo Modern Reserve on a strip and took it with me. That actually smells closer to the original Polo than the new Polo does IMO. It was pretty good. If I hadn't just bought a bottle of the new Polo, I probably would pick up a bottle of the Modern Reseve stuff - I would at least be more interested in going back for a closer sniff...
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post #11 of 24
2/3/13 at 4:05pm
Vintage Polo is a masterpiece but the current juice is just alright. That said I would still take it over most of the current designer offerings.
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post #12 of 24
2/3/13 at 4:10pm
You are right on the money, bro. It has changed, and not for the better. I got a small bottle about 2 months ago. The scent is different than the old, not too terrible, but the longevity is awful. The old stuff was great.
I wouldn't recommend the latest formulation to anyone!
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post #13 of 24
2/3/13 at 4:12pm
I did not like the Polo that was around 12 years ago, but do like the current one.
Unfortunately, my wife doesn't.
Cheers,
Renato
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post #14 of 24
2/3/13 at 4:17pm
Not surprised by the OP's reaction. Not pleasant IMO.
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post #15 of 24
2/3/13 at 5:26pm
What are the differences in the 2, as far as bottle and packaging goes? How can you tell the reformulation from the vintage release?
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post #16 of 24
2/3/13 at 5:54pm
For a cologne with a similar feel to the original Polo, try Tom Ford Italian Cypress. They don't smell the same, but they're in the same ballpark. Italian Cypress actually smells just like vintage Z-14, which woul also be a good Polo substitute.
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post #17 of 24
2/3/13 at 6:40pm
I'm not even interested in sampling the reformulation. Good luck to those who can't tell the difference; some times I think I wish I couldn't either.
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post #18 of 24
2/3/13 at 8:34pm
Interesting. I will have to sample it to see what the difference is. I do like the Modern Reserve, however.
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post #19 of 24
2/3/13 at 8:40pm
To me, it's not a great deal different than the original, but whatever they've changed really leaves it feeling way rougher around the edges than it used to. Like they took something away that really held it together.
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post #20 of 24
2/4/13 at 4:57am
I seem to remember it being more piney. Now it's more of an ashtray scent (which I still like, and the original still had), not as fresh and bracing as I remember it. I agree that the Modern Reserve is closer to the original Polo than the current reformulation.
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post #21 of 24
2/4/13 at 5:05am
When I first tested this scent, it seemed strong yet complex to me, truly powerhouse and with a conspicuous, luxurious wealth of mossy, woody, resinous, even slightly leathery, slightly herbal and slightly citrus-astringent notes, all of them particularly well blended together. Quite straightforward and brash, but still not overdone so and still retaining a skillful composition.

I only hope the current version is not excluding/denying/overlooking at least some, if not all of the aforementioned notes.
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post #22 of 24
2/4/13 at 5:50am
It's crazy that fragheads are becoming victims of reformulation more and more!
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post #23 of 24
2/4/13 at 10:16am
I'll have to give the new formulation a try. I loved Polo when I was in high school (in the '80's) and am a little disappointed that it has been reformulated.
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post #24 of 24
2/4/13 at 12:15pm
Thread Starter 
The pine notes are almost non-existent to me ... I remember it having a Pine-Sol leathery feel to it, not anymore. Smells like a campfire with cigarette smoke in the background.

- - - Updated - - -

If anybody working for Ralph Lauren is reading this, take note! Some of you people working for that company and calling shots are probably younger than this scent... have some respect for it! Bring back the original Polo formulation!
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