Ralph Lauren
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
That lavender hits like a splash of cold water spiked with gin – bracingly fresh, almost aggressively clean, with clary sage adding a muscular, slightly sweaty herbal quality underneath. The synthetic amplification is immediately apparent, giving everything a crystalline, almost metallic brightness that feels distinctly 2020s.
Virginia cedar emerges as the composition's spine, its dry, pencil-shaving character tempering the lavender's exuberance without adding warmth. The sweetness begins to assert itself here, a smooth, musky-woody hybrid that rounds out the sharper edges whilst maintaining that polished, deliberately modern feel.
Vetiver takes the lead, its earthy, slightly smoky character now dominant but still filtered through that synthetic veil. What remains is a clean, woody-fresh skin scent with a persistent sweetness – vetiver rendered safe and wearable, stripped of its more challenging facets, lingering like expensive hand soap on warm skin.
Ralph's Club announces itself with the kind of lavender that doesn't whisper – it shouts across a marble-floored lobby. This is Provençal lavender turned up to eleven, its purple-blue brightness amplified by clary sage's herbal muscularity and an unmistakable synthetic shimmer that gives everything a high-definition polish. Dominique Ropion has crafted something unashamedly modern here, where the classic fougère structure gets reimagined through a lens of commercial appeal and boardroom confidence. The Virginia cedar forms a skeletal backbone rather than a warm embrace, its dryness preventing any descent into traditional cosiness, whilst vetiver adds an earthy, almost industrial rasp at the base. That sweet accord – registering at 88% – likely comes from synthetic musks and woody ambers that coat the composition in a glossy, crowd-pleasing finish. There's an intentional smoothness to the whole affair, as if every potentially challenging edge has been buffed away to create something immediately accessible. This is for the man – or woman, given its unisex positioning – who wants to smell deliberate, put-together, and modern without veering into niche territory. It's the fragrance equivalent of a sharp blazer worn with trainers: smart enough for the office, relaxed enough for after-hours drinks, and ultimately more concerned with making an impression than starting a conversation about perfumery.
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3.6/5 (335)