Lauren by Ralph Lauren- Down Memory Lane Part I

The number of new perfume bottles and samples in my possession has grown exponentially since I started this blog. They seem to multiply like bunnies, almost as though I don't have a hand in it (the Greek chorus is kindly asked to stop giggling). But, despite my Andy Tauer addiction and Serge Lutens habit, there's still a place in my heart and on my shelves for several of my old loves.

I don't remember the exact year I started wearing Lauren. Probably around 1991. I was in business school but longed for the real world, or at least for my fantasy version of adult life. I wanted to be sophisticated and feminine, but in a strong and powerful way. Around that time I came across an interview with Ralph Lauren. I was quite fond of him and his faux horsey-set image, the one from the old ads that represented all that I thought I ever wanted to be.

The interview focused on Ralph Lauren's perfumes. The newer one, Safari, and the classic Lauren. I don't remember a word that was said regarding Safari (though I later got interested in that one as well and bought a bottle), but I remember how he described Lauren, as the fragrance for a woman who is confident in her style, who wears cotton and linen shirts under a leather jackets and is radiant with a natural, healthy tan (yeah, I know).

I wanted to be that woman, from the horsiness of it all, down to the linen pants. A few days later I went and bought the maroon colored bottle. Of course, it wasn't quite as I anticipated. A 21 year old college student with the wrong boyfriend and wrong ideas isn't necessarily Lauren material. However, I wore it religiously and did my best to fit into the fragrance and the image, even if I couldn't really appreciate the nuances.

I wore it occasionally over the years, replacing the bottle at least once. I have very little left at the moment, and at the rate I've been going through it, a new one should finally be purchased. The floral top notes (I smell more carnation than violet, and it's mostly green) are crisp. They work for me as a reminder of the promised spring (much needed after the last few weeks of cold and snow). The green is new and tender, not lush. I get very little of the wood notes, and definitely not warm spice. Even the wood smells springy and fresh, not heavy. It isn't a cozy scent, more of a leather jacket than a cashmere sweater, and yes, a sharp and well cut white cotton shirt.

It fits better in my current fragrance wardrobe than it did back then, though I no longer dream of life in a Ralph Lauren ad. It suits me as a mid-week, daytime scent. It's pretty and calming. I only wish that they'd offer it in an EdP version. A classic fragrance should last longer than a couple of hours.

Notes: pineapple, spearmint, tagetes, rosewood, cyclamen, muguet, rose, jasmine, musk, cedarwood, oakmoss, sandalwood.