I think I’ve said this before, but I think Ralph Lauren has some really good, underrated fragrances that have a knack for flying under the radar. My OG Polo by Ralph Lauren was the who’s who of fragrances back in the 90s right alongside Acqua di Gio. There’s something about the brand though that puts it sort of right above a McDonalds and lives right around like…Applebee’s. What I mean by this is they aren’t in the realm of cheapies but they’re also not on the same level as like Tom Ford or Creed. But there’s something about Ralph’s Club that just makes it somehow more enticing.
Ralph’s Club EDT – 7.4
This is just your starting point - your base camp, if you will. This fragrance is a step above any and all colors (red, blue, green, etc.) of the Ralph Lauren attaché. It’s aromatic, woody, a bit spicy and a perfect fragrance for just about any occasion. Top notes are apple, mandarin, and grapefruit; middle notes are lavender, lily of the valley, clary sage, and geranium; and in the base it’s vetiver, patchouli, cashmeran, and musk.
Again, it’s not a bad fragrance by any means, it’s just not as powerful as I’d like it. I need that umph when it comes to a fragrance and this one just doesn’t fit the bill. The EDT is good for a date night situation or a special occasion but it’s not a “wear all day long” fragrance. If this was the only fragrance in the line though, it already is better than any blue, red, green or <insert other colors here> fragrance from Ralph Lauren. That’s a fact, and they only get better from here.
Ralph’s Club EDP – 8.0
The EDP version of this fragrance is almost identical to the EDT in almost every way, minus one note. The top notes are only lavender and clary sage (yup), the middle note is Virginia cedar (that’s different), and the base note is vetiver (same). And that’s it. So essentially, they swapped out lily of the valley, geranium, patchouli, cashmeran, musk, apple, mandarin, and grapefruit. I gotta be honest with you, the ONLY thing keeping this fragrance separated with enough distance from the EDT is performance – and it’s still not stellar by any means because, well, performance.
I’d say I got about 6 or 7 hours of performance out of this fragrance, which isn’t ideal, but definitely better than the EDT. I mean, not all fragrances need to be a beast of a fragrance that chokes you out when you walk into a room, but I want at least someone to notice it. If it doesn’t last long and becomes a skin scent far too quickly, well, then you’re left with needing more. The scent profile is still there and it’s amazingly good and pleasant to smell, I just need a little bit more…
Ralph’s Club Parfum – 7.8
I feel the need to come clean about this one, and I want you to follow along closely. I don’t know what it is so I can’t knock RL for this one, but I just don’t typically reach for Parfum’s that much. Here’s why. EDT is mostly alcohol which means there’s less perfume oils which means there’s less fragrance to last that extra mile. EDP starts to bump up the fragrance oils and lower the alcohol content and then Parfum concentrations take it a bit further up a notch. The problem is that it then becomes more of a skin scent and less of a bellowing blast of a beautifully beast-mode fragrance because there’s less alcohol to fuel or push the scent outward. I want that perfect balance. Elixirs for some reason are in a class of their own and I can’t explain it. It’s like magic in a bottle. They are skin scents but also fill a room whether unwelcomed or not. But Parfum’s are in a weird category for me and I can’t quite get behind them maybe 7 times out of 10. If I had to, I’d always reach for the EDPs or the Elixirs.
Ralph’s Club Parfum is a fragrance that just doesn’t make any sense to me. I won’t read all of the notes off to you, but here’s what it is. EDT had a decent list of notes that we just read out loud, together, just not in the same room. EDP removed a bunch and added Virginia cedar (cool cool cool), and now the Parfum has put ALL of the note’s BACK in (wait…what?), but added only orange blossom in the mid. I wish I was joking, but they are literally the same notes. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I’ll say this – if you love the EDT, just buy the Parfum. It’s got a longer lasting scent and somehow smells woodier than the previous two. Overall, not bad, but not giving high praise because, you know…it’s a Parfum.
Ralph’s Club Elixir – 8.9
NOW we’re talking. This fragrance is what Ralph’s Club DNA should smell like in every way. It’s woody, aromatic, leathery and it’s all I need in a fragrance. Top notes are cardamom, green mandarin, and grapefruit. Mid notes are orris, lavender, sage, and geranium. In the dry down it’s leather, olibanum, patchouli, and balsam fir. You can’t see me, but I’m clapping my hands because this one is the one to buy in the line without question if you HAVE to have that Ralph’s Club DNA.
Projection is really good, but longevity isn’t very overwhelming, which is a bummer. I honestly think this is the main reason why Ralph Lauren fragrances don’t end up in my collection is because if I’m spending my hard-earned cash, I want something that’s gonna knock my socks off even the next day. I love a fragrance that you wear on one day at 6am and the next day at 9am when you take a shower you still smell it, and I’ve probably said that about 10 times in this blog but it’s 100% true and what I love about fragrances. Those are what I need more of. Ralph’s Club Elixir is a strong representation of the lineup and worthy of your nose.
Ralph’s Club New York – 8.7
Enveloped in a silver bottle like all other fragrances lately (YSL MYSLF Absolu, Spicebomb Metallic Musk, etc), the New York EDP is a sweeter version of Elixir with less woods but not anywhere near less fun. There’s some familiar characters in the notes but not many, it’s mostly changed to blackcurrant, Italian mandarin, and bergamot in the opening; lavender, sandalwood, and geranium in the mid; and bourbon vanilla, fir, and oak moss in the dry down. It’s definitely different, but my only gripe with this is I feel like it may have distanced itself too far from the original DNA and I don’t know how to feel about that.
Most of the time I say that it’s too close, which is a fair critique, but others keep the original DNA a bit further away from the hip without losing it too much, and then there’s New York EDP. It’s a beautifully crafted scent profile and it’s a long-lasting fragrance, but I think it’s in a league of its own. Do I think you should own it? I’d give it a thumbs up. Try it here first though, don’t blind buy.
Final Thoughts
Ralph’s Club is crazy. If you put any type of timeline together for this brand, you’d notice a strange pattern that sounds crazier than it may actually seem. To put it into perspective – the EDT was released last year, but the first fragrance we received was in 2021. Seems to be the trend that a lot of houses are doing now, they’re working in a weird, reversed order. See, I went in order of concentration in my list, but if you go by years released, it was EDP, Parfum, Elixir, EDT, then New York.
Ralph’s Club is a branch of Ralph Lauren that is interested in the men that like the finer things and aren’t interested in the youthful customer. I think the scent profile properly represents this endeavor in a very good and clean way. The DNA is blue-esque in the sense that you can wear any of these on any occasion and any circumstance. There’s no mistaking the scent profile if you smell it out in the wild but if you smell that Elixir…so good. I’ll catch you in the next one!
