Ralph Lauren
Ralph Lauren
143 votes
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
The top notes strike with unexpected verve—zesty lychee and peppery ginger catch first, creating an almost savoury, fresh-cut quality that belies the floral promise. Freesia arrives swiftly to add brightness, whilst chamomile introduces a gentle, barely-sweet herbal calmness that prevents the opening from becoming too sharp.
Violet and white violet emerge as the ginger fades, establishing a creamy, powdery mid-section that feels genuinely sophisticated. Lotus and lily add a translucent, almost aerobic quality—the florals become less about olfactory intensity and more about textural contrast, sitting atop the woody foundations beginning to reveal themselves beneath.
Oakmoss, patchouli, and exotic woods create a soft, earthy residue that feels more like a whisper than a declaration—musk adds a skin-close warmth without projection. By the fourth hour, Romance has become almost imperceptible, a subtle woody-powdery shadow rather than a present fragrance, though what remains is genuinely pleasant.
Ralph Lauren Romance arrives as a fragrance caught between two impulses: the whispered delicacy of a powdered dressing table and the assertive warmth of spiced florals. Harry Frémont's 1998 composition opens with an almost peppery freshness—ginger and lychee create a curious tartness that immediately pushes against the softer rose and chamomile—before the freesia emerges to mediate between these competing energies. There's an herbaceous quality to the proceedings, courtesy of pot marigold and chamomile working in concert, that prevents this from becoming merely another sugared floral.
The heart unveils a curious botanical assembly: lotus and lily provide translucent, almost watery floral notes, whilst violet and white violet layer in something distinctly talcum-like, powdery without being soapy. This is where Romance reveals its true character—neither romantic nor theatrical, but rather introspective, as though designed for someone who appreciates florals that whisper rather than declaim. The woody base emerges early, oakmoss and patchouli introducing an earthy, almost tea-like undertone that prevents the composition from ever becoming cloying.
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3.4/5 (80)