In this new monthly column, our fragrance writer Adriana Ermter will have you spritzing and dishing on the latest must-have scents…
I’m still mourning Ralph Lauren, Lauren’s green, soapy, floral perfume. It influenced my preppy junior high/high school life, was a second-ringer staple (Fendi by Fendi was in fulltime rotation, then) throughout the university years and it fuelled me with confidence during the early days of my career. Since its discontinuation 10 years ago, I’ve clung to my last, now half full, ruby red square glass bottle and only spritz it’s nostalgic scent on sparingly and on special occasions.
I know this makes me sound a little nuts, but I love fragrance the same way crazy cat ladies adore their felines (which I may, cough, or may not, cough, also be). And I also just happen to have the new RL perfume.
Ralph LaurenWoman isn’t necessarily a replacement for the gold polo player-embossed beloved classic, but if you’re like me and you’re aiming to put a new RL scent into your spritzing line-up, it’s a pretty great way to go.
The eau opens with juicy and earthy blackcurrant, pear and rhubarb notes, before being mix-mastered into a heady and rich floral blend of orange flower and tuberose. Lauren’s DNA of rose, sandalwood and cedarwood notes add a layer of familiarity to the new magnetic and feminine scent, while the overall effect feels powerful and graceful at the same time. The elixir is captured in a heavy, flask-shaped clear glass flacon topped with a very cool gold top cap that flicks open and shut.
Sure, the little man and his horse are absent and there’s not even a hint of soap in this scent, but it’s good, very good, actually. Woman is like the grown up version of Lauren: dynamic, fearless and striking. All things I’m aspiring to become.
Ralph Lauren Woman $112 for 50 ml and $148 for 100 ml, available at Shoppers Drug Mart and Hudson’s Bay stores across Canada.
