Polo Red Extreme
Ralph Lauren (2017)

Polo Red Extreme by Ralph Lauren (2017) is a bit of a "unicorn" these days. because as a flanker to the original Polo Red by Ralph Lauren (2013) it wasn't terribly special, outside being stronger or more "intense" in key ways that at the time, were thought to give the 'beastmode boys" of the 2010's what they wanted. As it turns out, this wasn't much different from Polo Red Intense by Ralph Lauren (2015), and the whole Polo Red line was just sort of "there" compared to some other more-successful contemporaries. Eventually there was a slow growth in interest of the original Polo Red, and by decade's end, Polo Red was banging on all cylinders much like the best-selling Polo Blue by Ralph Lauren (2002) line, it just took some time to get there.

I was not terribly kind to Polo Red upon release, and found it to be an odd me-too chasing the sheer aldehydes and tropical fruit over dry wood of Amyris Homme by Maison Francis Kurkdjian (2012). It would seem that fragrance was deconstructed and modified into a number of popular tropes the same way Gucci Guilty for Men (2011) was, with Polo Red's "cranberry, sage, and coffee" being one of those angles. Polo Red Intense beefed up the accord with leather, pine, and amber, while Polo Red Extreme would double down on the gourmand thickness of the overall profile, veering away from versatile, if somewhat grating freshness the others had. Halloween Man X by J Del Pozo (2019) became the "poor man's version" once this was discontinued along with Intense, for reference.

So the verdict it... this isn't terrible. I didn't think the original was terrible either, but Montblanc perfected this style with Montblanc Legend Red (2022) for those who don't want to break the bank on an MFK; or if you can find a bottle of the limited edition Canyon by Bath & Body Works (2019) for a non-painful price, it'll also do. Here with the discontinued Polo Red Extreme, you just have a thicker and sweeter iteration of the entire start citrus/berries over dry woods "thing", made a tad darker and more woodyamber in a way that is also a bit more grating to me, but waiting for the dry down long enough and it feels a bit more pleasantly like synth-oud or guaiac wood proxy of some sort. Patience rewards with a nice dry down, but there are nicer, and certainly this isn't worth hunting at "unicorn" prices. Neutral

This is neat. I never would have considered this one but happened upon a great deal and blind bought it. Took me forever to actually pop the top and try it. I brought it on a trip this week and have been using it everyday. Thumbs up!

The coffee is pronounced, but it’s a dessert coffee, not “fresh brewed”. It’s even a little “carbonated” (to steal a description from JV’s “Crimson” collab with NJ), but otherwise there’s no other connection to that other (very enjoyable) product. There’s no saffron here, for example.

There’s some toffee here, maybe a slight tiramisu connection. It connotes dessert (so a “sweetness”), but it is not overtly sweet or cloying at all to my nose. This is a nice gourmand that I can overspray and enjoy. I get no woods here.

I expected this to be a confectionary novelty that i would use situationally. But this could easily be a signature scent as the whether cools. I’ll enjoy this throughout November on days I want something light and airy and not too serious. It’s fun and smells great!

Decent projection, sillage and duration. Nothing special, but what designer is nowadays?

I received this scent as a gift for Christmas last year. I’m in love with it. I get a coffee vibe from it. Projection and silage are off the charts!!! Polo Red Intense lasts forever on me. Too bad I can’t find it any longer. I’ll just have to savor every sniff. I’ll wear this scent when I’m all dressed up looking to make an impression.

Far and away my favorite of the Polo Red line. Starts out gourmand and sweet and mellows to a coffee and oud-type heart. Whereas the original Red on my skin didn't so much dry down as fall apart into a synthetic mess, Red Extreme is great on me from beginning to end. And I like how it plays well upon just a few notes to deliver a distinct and powerfully masculine scent, while tweaking that genre a bit as well. Good stuff!

Overpowering, cloyingly sweet, and overall pretty revolting stuff. Gives you a headache after just a couple of minutes.

A good contrast between fresh and warm, with the tart, refreshing blood orange and grapefruit up top and the roast coffee and ebony wood in the base. It actually creates a really nice smell that, while a bit synthetic in nature, comes across with notes that are distinct and easy to identify. A lot of these modern mall designers just have these very vague fruity notes over darker and equally vague sweet tonk-related notes. But that's not the case here. It seems as though some care and effort went into creating notes that are actually reflected in the pyramid. If you don't mind the general synthetic quality of modern mainstream designers (which I don't), then this is a really nice option to explore. It smells a lot better than the other Polo Red fragrances in the lineup and works as a scent that is both fresh enough for daily wear while possessing enough dark, alluring qualities to make it appropriate for a date as well. Thumbs up, with a final 8/10 rating. I'm not a fan of Polo fragrances in general, but this one surprised me.