Polo Red Cologne Review: Can They Score a Goal?

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Caroline Lambert

Are you looking for someone that’s going to be open and honest with you about the scents that are and aren’t going to work for you? Caroline isn’t here to play games when it comes to the world of perfumes. She loves breaking down every note of perfume and explaining how a perfume will work with your personal preferences. Plus, she loves learning about new scents, so she’s always on the hunt to find the best and latest perfumes on the market.

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Ralph Lauren is a well-known name in colognes, and this Polo Red Cologne Review will unravel the pros and cons, smell, notes, and attitude of each of the four fragrances in the collection. Each one is unique, contemporary, and a gorgeous scent for active and sophisticated men.

My partner’s favorite is Polo Red EDP, and he’s tried all four to help my perfuming nose smell the variances. It’s been an exciting few days while I’ve enjoyed the different ones. I can tell you that each cologne certainly suits a specific man, and I’ll help you determine if any of them suit you.

The first Polo Red cologne launched in 2013 and the last in 2020, making them beautiful fragrances for today’s men. Ralph Lauren keeps up with the times and doesn’t disappoint.

How to Determine Whether It Suits Your Signature Needs

As a perfuming expert who owns an entire collection from here to Cairo, I must tell you that I can only break each cologne into its notes, smell, attitude, and the man it suits. It’s up to you whether you love or hate it. I’ll make it easy, so don’t fret about anything.

I’ll describe each cologne’s smell, intensity, and features, which should help you choose one that resonates with your lifestyle and personality. Consider the age of each cologne as well. If you’re a Gen Z trendsetter, you don’t want to smell like a gentleman in his 50s.

There’s a significant factor that might influence your decision about which Polo Red cologne suits you. The Pride cologne is an ode to the colorful and gender-forward society, but the EDT, EDP, and Parfum have a big difference between them. They range in strength and longevity.

• Eau de Toilette or EDT has between 5% and 15% perfume oil concentration, and it lasts between 4 and 6 hours (men love wearing EDTs for daytime exploration)
• Eau de Toilette or EDP has between 15% and 20% perfume oil concentration, and it lasts between 6 and 8 hours (EDPs are more popular for nighttime excursions)
• Parfum has between 20% and 30% perfume oil concentration, and it lasts anywhere up to 12 hours (it’s also typically the most pricy one)

Now you get to choose whether one of the four Polo Red colognes will be your new signature based on the properties, your preferences, the smells, pros and cons, the type of man who wears it, and the type of fragrance you desire.

Polo Red EDT Cologne Review: Key Features

Polo Red EDT is a spicy, woody fragrance with a serious attitude. The notes are layered, and the first ones include Italian lemon, cranberry, and grapefruit. The heart notes include sage and saffron, and the final notes are woodsy, coffee, and amber.

The smell takes your senses through a citrus introduction before you hit a warm and fruity amber within the first hour. The cologne then dries down to a spicy and woody ensemble in the heart before evolving into a fresh, spicy coffee that makes you think of a latte.

It becomes sour for a brief moment in the second hour before it returns to aromatic blends that end in a soft spicy undertone. It’s quite an adventure for your senses, and it’s the perfect cologne for all seasons, having a rather potent wake and lasting the promised six hours.

Pros

• It suits an active, sporty, adventurous, modern, confident, elegant, ambitious, and sexy man
• It smells good on all generations, with hints of modern notes blended into olfactory accords
• It has a wild evolution that takes you on an enjoyable sensual journey
• It uses Italian lemon and saffron (Ralph Lauren wants the best of ingredients)

Cons

• I wish it lasted longer than six hours
• The sour accord might be off-putting for some men
• It doesn’t work for shy, traditional, or beastly men (it balances elegance and confidence)

Polo Red EDP Cologne Review: Key Features

Polo Red EDP is a little bolder and uniquely balanced. It’s also a spicy, woody fragrance, but the top notes change to cranberry, ginger, and pink grapefruit to reinvent the scent. The middle notes bring iconic lavender, labdanum, and clary sage for a spicier heart.

The base notes include Guaiac wood, musk, benzoin, cedarwood, and opoponax, a fun word to say. The smell unfolds beautifully by emphasizing the first accord as woody before it warms up from the amber and spicy undertones, and it moves into the heart, where soft aromatics dance.

The smell dries down to citrus, balsamic, and musky accents in the second to third hour before you take a surprising turn into fresh and fruity notes, which last for hours. It has a strong sillage that lasts the promised eight hours, and you can wear it in any season, at night, or in the day.

Pros

• It suits bold, contemporary, exciting, explorative, determined, active, romantic, and sexy men
• It smells excellent on Gen Z, Millenial, and early Gen X men because of the notably fruity finale
• The fragrance evolution is a gorgeous salute to modern times and the men who live it to their fullest
• It uses Guaiac wood and iconic lavender to create a perfectly balanced aroma

Cons

• It smells deceivingly mature until the final evolution takes over (fruity notes that subtly last for hours)
• Traditional men aren’t too keen on the notable finale
• It doesn’t work for overly sophisticated and old-school men who prefer hearty olfactive scents

Polo Red Extreme Parfum Cologne Review: Key Features

Polo Red Extreme is the only Parfum from the collection, and it’s an amber, woody fragrance. The notes are simpler, each layer only focusing on one ingredient, which creates quite a potent emphasis on each one. The top note is blood orange, and the middle note is black coffee.

The base note is a carefully chosen black ebony wood, which gives it a powerful woody undertone. However, the smell evolves from the heart and black coffee first, and it engulfs your nose in an aromatic coffee accord that feels warm and inviting.

You experience a quick burst of the citrus accord before the second hour dissipates, and it will give way to a warm spicy feel that lingers for a while before the robust woody foundation takes the stage for the next few hours. It’s strong, lasts 10 hours, and works in winter and fall.

Pros

• It suits bold, booming, classic, proud, handsomely sexy, determined, protective, resourceful, and elegant men
• It’s a beautiful fragrance for Millennials and Gen X men as it has a mature but not old-school buzz
• It’s the longest-lasting Polo Red cologne (you might even be lucky enough to get 12 hours)
• The smell evolves like fine wine ages, and each accord has an intensely sensual element
• It uses only three ingredients, but that allows each one to shine

Cons

• It smells incredible on the target age groups, but it won’t suit Gen Z or Baby Boomers
• It’s not as seasonally versatile as the EDT or EDP
• The coffee and woody accords are powerful enough to feel next-level beastly, which isn’t every man’s cup of tea
• It doesn’t suit soft-spoken, vibrant, old-school, eclectic, or shy men without certainty

Polo Red Pride Cologne Review: Key Features

Polo Red Pride is another spicy, woody fragrance intended for a man with feminine flair. Each Polo Red cologne is similar in notes, but the top notes in Pride change to citron, pink grapefruit, and cranberry. The middle notes are clary sage, lavender, and saffron.

The base notes also change a little and include amber wood, coffee, and Brazilian redwood. The smell evolves on your skin by emphasizing warm spicy, woody, and coffee notes in the first half an hour before the heart rises, where you get amber, citrus, and aromatic twists.

In the second hour, the cologne dries into a gentle spicy and lavender element, slowly moving toward a fresh spicy and fruity undertone in the finale, which lasts a few hours. This cologne has an intimate wake and doesn’t last longer than four hours, and it only works in winter and fall.

Pros

• It suits contemporary, slightly feminine, eccentric, gentle, passionate, modern-sexy, and gender-confident men
• It smells fantastic on Gen Z to Gen X men who wear it with pride, pun intended
• The fragrance evolution is a bold statement for modern men who aren’t afraid to let their brighter sides shine
• It uses saffron, coffee, Brazilian redwood, and citron to create a unique smell

Cons

• It’s not the best fragrance for mature men (it works up to early Gen X), and traditional men will be reluctant to wear it
• It has weak longevity for an EDT, having the lowest expectation of four hours if you’re lucky
• It’s not as seasonally versatile as the EDT and EDP
• The aromatic and citrus accords can feel overwhelmingly spicy for a few minutes
• It doesn’t work for masculine, conventional, beastly, or sporty men (the citrus accord is too powerful to work in active scenarios because it doesn’t gel with excessive sweat)

Quick Tip: Always use the layering technique for colognes that don’t last long. Moisturize your skin with lotion, use aftershave, top it up with body spray, and apply deodorant stick from the same product line; and Ralph Lauren has a range of products that suit Polo Red cologne.

Bonus Tip: You can also extend the longevity by spraying it into your hair, wearing it on your pulse points, or storing it away from any harms that change the fragrance components. Sometimes, you love a cologne enough to make it work, even if it has no longevity.

Recommended Alternatives

It wouldn’t be fair to add one alternative for four colognes that smell uniquely different. They have mostly the same ingredients, but I’ll give you an additional option for each one.

Davidoff The Brilliant Game

The Brilliant Game is an amber, woody fragrance that meets similar accords as Polo Red EDT. It begins with a sweet and fruity aromatic blend that dries quickly into citrus, woody, and amber heart notes before it ends with a refreshing balsamic finale. The woody heart feels the same.

Pros

• It suits young, active, confident, and modern men with the fruity notes that give it that beautiful sweetness

Cons

• It’s a lot sweeter than Polo Red EDT in the first half an hour

Versace Dylan Blue

Dylan Blue is an Aromatic Fougere fragrance that smells similar to Red Polo EDP at certain evolutions. It begins with citrus and amber that becomes musky and spicy before diving into the woody, fresh, aromatic, and smoky foundation.

Pros

• It’s contemporary, romantic, sexy, and ambitious
• It lasts as long as Polo Red EDP

Cons

• It has a subtle aquatic blend that doesn’t match
• It feels younger

Boss The Scent Private Accord

Private Accord is a woody, amber fragrance that matches Polo Red Parfum. It begins with intense spicy, woody, coffee, and cacao notes before it enters the heart, where gentle fruity and vanilla accords wait, and it ends with amber and spicy touches.

Pros

• It’s a close match, and it suits sophisticated, confident, and ambitious men

Cons

• It might smell a little sweeter and fruiter at times

Aura Mugler

Aura Mugler is an amber perfume for women, but it matches the highly unique Red Polo Pride as close as you get. It begins with a green, woody, vanilla, and sweet blend before drying into a fruity, floral, and aromatic heart, and it ends with powdery citrus touches.

Pros

• It’s a slightly feminine fragrance that suits men of an alternative lifestyle

Con

• It doesn’t have the heart Brazilian redwood or coffee foundation

FAQs

Polo Red Cologne Review: Final Score

Do I think you can score a goal with Polo Red cologne? Absolutely! However, it depends on which one you use. Polo Red Pride is a simple choice for men who live alternative lifestyles, but a modern man who isn’t afraid to embrace his feminine side can also wear it.

Polo Red EDT is the most popular choice for men, and it’s not hard to understand why. The modern twist of grapefruit and sweet accents make a sporty man feel sexier and in the now. Polo Red EDP is my partner’s choice because he loves the modern twist with the added longevity.

I agree with him on every point. He smells like an alluring, ambitious, and confident man. Maybe your new signature cologne will be Polo Red Extreme. It won’t disappoint you with longevity, that’s for sure. However, it’s a little more sophisticated and has successful and mature qualities.

Polo Red certainly impresses me, with the only exception being the Pride edition. I have nothing against the smell, and I think it’s fabulously inventive and suits modern men, but I can’t love a cologne that lasts four hours. Determine what makes each cologne suitable or unsuitable for you.

Once you find the Polo Red cologne that meets your needs, I’d highly recommend trying it on to increase your chance of scoring that goal.

To read more great reviews:

• Million Cologne Review: Is This The Manliest Cologne Ever? 
• Prada Black Cologne Review: Is This Sceductive Scent For You?
• Lacoste Cologne Guide: Which Fragrance Suits Your Personality Best?