Ralph Lauren Polo Blue Sport

Taking the aquatic Polo Blue from 2002 and pushing it towards the sporty green territory of the 1994 Polo Sport was the obvious move, and Ralph Lauren finally made it. Polo Blue Sport arrived in 2012 as an eau de toilette that sits between two of the house's better-known releases, borrowing the apple-and-mint idea from one and the fresh structure from the other. Reactions have been mixed since day one. Aromatica lists the Polo Blue Sport decant in Bangladesh in all four sizes.

Fragrance Notes

Top: Green Apple, Mint, Cedar

Heart: Sage, Ginger

Base: Amber, Patchouli, Musk

The Scent

Green apple and mint lead, and they are the two notes everybody identifies within seconds. The apple is crisp and tart rather than candied, the mint is cool but not the menthol blast some sport fragrances open with, and soft cedar sits underneath both from the start. That combination is the reason Hugo by Hugo Boss comes up in almost every comparison, and the resemblance in the first five minutes is close enough that people who owned Hugo in the nineties tend to notice immediately. The middle is where reviews diverge hardest. Sage and ginger take over, and one camp finds the transition pleasant and aromatic while another describes it as the moment the fragrance goes wrong, hearing a synthetic green note that reads as detergent or dryer sheets. That astringent green quality is the single most common criticism and it appears often enough to take seriously before buying a full bottle. The base is gentler than the middle. Amber and patchouli come through softly, though several reviewers who like patchouli complain it only peeks out occasionally, and musk carries the last hours as a clean skin scent. People who enjoy it describe it as the fresh-out-of-the-shower type and report it drawing compliments, which is a fair reading of what it does well. People who dislike it call it generic and dated for its year. Nobody argues it is complex, and the strongest defence made in its favour is that it is pleasant and easy, which for a sport flanker is arguably the assignment. Comparisons to Nautica Voyage come up almost as often as the Hugo ones, and a few reviewers place it closer to Ralph Lauren Safari than to anything in the Blue or Sport lines. The house green elegance is what most of them are responding to.

When to Wear

Warm weather and daytime. Gym sessions, casual spring and summer days, and anywhere a clean fresh scent is the goal rather than a statement. It has little to offer in cold weather. The Outdoor and Adventure collection has more in this register.

Who Is It For

Someone who wants an uncomplicated fresh scent for active days and would rather spend their money on the wearing than the thinking.

If this style suits you, Ralph's Club shows where the house went more recently and is the more interesting of the two. Browse the full Ralph Lauren collection at Aromatica.

Available as an authentic decant in Bangladesh at Aromatica in 3ml, 5ml, 9ml, and 15ml.