Ralph's Club

Ok, to start, I cannot for the life of me see why the fragrance community hates on this one so much. Ive got a sizable collection of dozens of frags, and Ralph's club is absolutely one of my favorites. This is a really well done blend of a somewhat bubblegummy take on a lavender/sage and amber forward fragrance. The blend is extremely well done, it smells quality and of quality ingredients (it is Ralph Lauren anyway) Its definitely a blue type fragrance. Its super versatile, non-offensive, and generally highly crowd pleasing. Its a super warm and comforting frag, and its strength in the midrange of the notes makes it viable pretty much year round. Its just.. a good fragrance. The lavender and sage mix with the high quality amber is just such an amazing cant-stop-smelling type profile. The community seems to rate this one horribly out of spite because some of the hardcore fragheads on YouTube got mad it wasn't what they EXPECTED from the release. Thats what I hear in almost every single critique; they EXPECTED something more grown up and uniquely sophisticated, instead they got a really nice blue fragrance (lol). Seems everyone else in the hivemind just followed suit. Quality superb, longevity and sillage are much better than many other blues, (but dont expect this to reach out like Sauvage) for most designer frags, definitely give this a chance, but understand this isn't some super dark, mysterious grown-up frag. Also, no, this smells nothing like YSL Y EDP. They are so unalike there isnt even a comparison worth being made. I think this gets tossed around just because the YouTubers started saying it. Personally, I would pick Ralph's Club over Y always, but I am partial to lavender forward scents. Yes, they both went more on the blue frag route, but the notes are so different no one smelling both would be even remotely inclined to say they're the same lol. Mark my words, in a few years the same youtubers are going to be making videos about how *this wasn't well received at first, but..* and talk about how good and slept on this really was.

I love this fragrance. Cologne, like everything, Wine, Whiskey, Coffee, Beer.....anything, has the ‘snobs’. The people who think if something is not exorbitantly priced that it is garbage. Any of the Ralph’s Club line offerings are fantastic. The scents are overtly and unapologetically masculine without heavy spice, musks, or other love or hate notes. In a time where effeminate ‘Men’s’ fragrances are commonplace and high end designer and/or niche offerings are heavily lauded, it is nice to find a good, solid, and pleasant smelling cologne. Let’s be honest, would you rather spend $400 on a garbage niche just so you can flex in collection pictures, or find a $60-$100 scent that flies under the radar and smell how YOU want? Niche fragrances are almost a total scam (and I own some). From open to dry down, these Ralph’s Club frags are worth the cost. Of all my colognes, there are very few that my wife will press my undershirt to her nose and just smell. The dry down on clothing for these guys is absolutely terrific. RL has been in the game a long time and the one thing they KNOW how to do is a great affordable MAN’S fragrance. If you like smelling like a man, try these out. If you buy and wear colognes as they were meant, you will not be sorry.

This is an awesome aromatic/fougère type of frag of you are looking for one. Simple. But the combination of lavender (which I am the biggest fan of) with clary sage is wonderful. Floral (from the lavender in a fresh, airy, clean, soapy, masculine way) yet green and a smidge spicy and minty (from the clary sage). Base notes of cedar and vetiver smooths out the composition. This is a very well done fragrance for the price. Smells sophisticated and high end. I know a lot of people say the parfum is the way to go but not if you are trying to get away from the citrus top note. Way over done and unnecessary for this type of frag. RL did it right the first time with this EDP. Performance is solid; average. This is a very versatile frag that can be worn year round for any occasion. Although I think this best fits in the category of an office fragrance. This smells like success. No other way to put it.

Whoosh. That's how I feel about the comments I'm reading. People should read about the origins of perfumery. Historically, we have put on fragrances to smell good, but primarily to appeal to others and cover bad odors. That's the cold hard truth. Not much has changed. I have about 80 fragrances in my collection, many of which the masses would find unappealing. I've overhead people saying things like "who smells like hamster bedding?" "Who smells like a barn? Do you smell that?" After these experiences, I realized I should never hate on someone for just wanting to smell nice to others. Neither should you. That is Ralph's Club. Remove all of the bullshit: the name, branding, derivativeness. Does it smell pleasant? Definitely. A fragrance can smell objectively amazing and be completely derivative. Don't miss the forest through the trees.

So I’ve had this fragrance for a little over 2 years and never thought to wear it (it was a gift and didn’t like it very much when I first got it) Fast forward 2 years later and now I’m into collecting fragrances and have a much larger collection, I see this bottle sitting on my shelf and I decide to give it a try yesterday. Honestly, it’s amazing. Love the lavender and clary sage and it really projects on the skin. Then it dries down to this slightly sweet, soft, woody scent that smells heavenly (with the lavender and sage still very present). I sprayed it at 7:15 pm last night and now I’m waking up (12 hours later) and it’s still there! Great longevity! You can also find this for under $50 online which is insane for this quality. Leave it to Dominque Ropion to make something so good! Longevity: 9/10 Sillage: 7.5/10 Overall: 8.5/10