In San Francisco, I was in the Polo store and had a whiff of “Love,” Ralph Lauren’s perfume that launched in the fall to huge fanfare. The huge part was really the price tag, £2,000 a bottle.
Marketing Week UK did a profile on the launch expenses and the various aspects of the marketing campaign. In brief, it was a ballsy move to launch a premium perfume into an economic crisis, especially one aimed at 25-year-old women with high discretionary spending. Although what do 25 year olds know about economic crises anyway? Good market.
I left the Polo store with a sample of the Eau de Parfum. It’s lovely at first. Sparkly, then amber, with a slight floral smell. Initially I thought it was a chypre, there was something lovely and green, but it quickly announced itself as a floriental. Like most perfumes on me this one becomes quite powdery (1-2 hours later) then disappears (6 hours later). Love at first sight but it doesn’t stay the night.
The luxury limited edition has a 47-carat amethyst in the 24-karat gold painted cap, and it comes with a lucite stand. This is what you’re paying £2,000 for, not the juice, which they now sell in smaller quantities, in plain bottles for anywhere from $50-600 depending on bottle choice and quantity.
For the perfumers in the crowd:
Top: Chinese magnolia, mimosa
Heart: Bulgarian rose, ylang ylang, mai rose
Base: amber, iris root, patchouli, vetiver, musk, vanilla
There’s also chatter about the Goji berry, reminiscent of aged red wine, and vintage champagne sparkles with a cool green water accord. I guess the initial whiff of a chypre wasn’t a total miss on my part.
Love, Ralph Lauren is lovely but not a perfect scent for me.