Polo Blue Eau de Parfum

I'd like to share a small personal story about this fragrance: About 10 years ago, my father owned Polo Blue Eau de Toilette; and in fact, had been through several bottles before that. In other words, it was my dad's signature. It holds many many memories from my childhood, and everything that was linked with that scent. Years till now, we moved, I'm older, my dad has some completely different fragrances and here we are. I practically forgot about this fragrance until it popped up on my Insta, and the moment I saw it memories flowed right into my head. So eventually, I decided I would buy it and gift it to my father as a little love surprise. Anyhow, I stumbled across this beauty at the store, even though I was aware it existed either way... There's something so remarkable about this, its classy, presentable, light, slightly alluring, and I found it to perfectly capture my dad. From the blend of oceanic breeze and Cardamom all the way through Clary Sage and down to Patchouli, this is an absolute masterpiece. It feels natural, not synthetic at all and very handsome. For those of you who think the 'shower gel' vibe in Polo Blue Eau de Toilette is generic, here it is toned down, and a bit more aromatic, making it a bit more mature. Such a relaxing scent, truly as if you're out sailing in the ocean. Anyway, I could go on for days explaining how nice this is, but that's enough for now. And of course, the moment I tried this the same memories came swooping in from before. All in all, there is a reason why my dad always enjoyed the Polo Blue line, and that is why it is his signature. Polo Blue Eau de Parfum has reconciled forgotten times between me and him. Phenomenal...

Of all the Polo Blue flankers this is easily my favorite. It takes the original EDT DNA and instead of leaning further into the soapy melon direction, the EDP brings out more of the suede and vetiver. At the same time it still carries that nostalgic Polo Blue signature while modernizing it a bit. Polo Blue has always worked well for a lot of people because it is approachable and easy to wear. Ralph Lauren fragrances in general tend to play things pretty safe which honestly is not a bad thing. This one feels especially well balanced. It keeps that clean masculine style people expect from the line but adds a bit more character and maturity. None of the newer releases from the brand that move away from those classic masculine scent profiles really come close to this one in my opinion. Scents like Polo Red Extreme (the new one) or Polo 67 EDP Extreme are not bad at all but they do not land the same way for me. I also really enjoy Blue Parfum and Deep Blue Parfum but those drift a little too far away from that classic Polo Blue DNA in my opinion. This one hits the sweet spot. It does that classic masculine style with a smooth depth incredibly well. Performance has been solid on my skin too. I get around 4 to 5 hours before it becomes a skin scent which is definitely better than the 1 to 2 hours some people report. I still find myself reaching for this one more than any other scent from the Polo Blue line. It feels familiar in the best way but a bit more grown up and refined, without losing the easygoing appeal that made the original so widely liked.

Even though I really started getting into different facets of the perfumery world more recently, how I missed the boat on the EDT of this one back in the day is beyond me. Sleek, cool presentation with the blue bottle and silver lining. Very nice sprayer, a good mist. Very nice. So, this opens a lot like L'Eau Bleue D'Issey to me minus the rosemary and thyme which makes it much less cooking style spicy. Heavy cardamom, aquatic, a little bergamot. The middle is much like Bleue, somewhat spice rack but not as glaringly obvious. It remains pretty spicy aquatic throughout, I never particularly lose the cardamom. Very nice vetiver note. It's much fresher overall than the Miyake, not too many "dirty" notes though it still manages some green smell in the drydown with the patch, vetiver and wood. The suede is never really in your face but it does present a nice contrast to the other things going on in the drydown. This is an excellent fragrance. I'll be giving this one a lot of play in the coming summer. Performance is pretty good. I got about 8 hours out of it with 2-3 of nice sillage. May be the beastly freshie I've been looking for. This is an all ages party and I think it could be used for all occasions. It's easy going enough for some kind of summer soiree and serious enough for a business meeting. I have a hard time seeing anyone disliking this one. Moreso for spring and summer, fall as well. Overall, I'll probably get good use out of this one over the summer for sure.

This was my first fragrance back in 2017, I actually emptied that bottle sometime ago and replaced it (Trust me, that's the only one...). I know they changed the bottle to a pretty attractive new model, but I've got the old silver-framed one. Dunno if they reformulated it when they changed bottles. The opening is a sharp blast of citrusy sea notes, doesn't last too long (~1hr) but is ridiculously refreshing. If Issey Miyake's L'Eau D'Issey Pour Homme is a glass of lemonade, Polo Blue EDP is the glistening waters nearby. The drydown keeps the freshness, a very clean vetiver and sage with a touch of suede. I used to play it safe and wear only only spray, but this really shines with two or even three. I easily get about eight hours with two sprays, opening doesn't stick around too long, but the drydown has some legs. Although, my bottle is about two years old so it's matured a bit. Polo Blue EDP is great for summer, but if you live somewhere that is warm/hot more often (ie. Texas), it's a solid year round choice. The drydown is deep enough to hold up in a mild winter. To me, this is THE aquatic. It's dry, with a crispness not unlike sea water, perfect for super hot days when the asphalt can cook an egg with ease. Even though I've expanded my collection and my tastes, I'll always come back to Polo Blue Eau de Parfum. It's versatile enough to wear with a t-shirt and linen shorts, or a suit and polished oxfords. I'll always have a bottle of this one.

First thoughts: Much deeper and richer than the Polo Blue EDT. Immediately upon smelling the opening, it gives a sense of familiarity to Blue EDT, one of my favorite frags of all time. However, I'd rate the EDP much higher, it's more sophisticated and masculine IMO, much deeper and a bit more spice, yet still incredibly fresh and exhilarating. It’s got a woody depth to it that I absolutely adore, which is present in fragrances like YSL L’Homme Ultime and La Nuit, Versace Oud Noir, and Mr Burberry. I prefer a deep, woody base over a musky one any day of the week, this is honestly the common ground in every one of my favorite scents. I feel it has a bit more in common with the classic Polo Green, just being more traditionally masculine, less fruit, and it just feels like a much more mature and refined scent. Really quite intoxicating and unique. I honestly see this replacing my big Polo Blue EDT bottle as my go to, every day scent. The biggest thing is this feels less fruity and airy and more grounded, more woody, and a tad more fresh spice. Truly quite exquisite! It gives me that feeling again, that I got when I first discovered the EDT in 2002... a bold and exhilarating sense of adventure, ready to take on the world! Every now and then a scent comes along that stirs those emotions in you, and it was the EDT when I was 14... now at age 30, a bit older, a bit wiser (maybe?) it's the EDP. So glad they released this. I love it. 9.5/10