11
Very helpful Review
My Personal Replacement for Polo
No, they don't smell that much alike. However, I have a thing for fragrances with a good dose of pine in them, my favorite for many years being (vintage) Ralph Lauren Polo.
My most recent bottle of Polo has not stood up to reformulation at all. What was once glorious pine with wonderful tobacco and mossy notes has turned into pine cleaner and a dirty ashtry to my nose. As a former smoker, that is nothing I want to smell like. Since then, I have had many affairs, looking for someone to fill the shoes of my now lost love.
One Man Show was simply too much. Quorum was too much, and I didn't warm up to it any more now than when I was 16 (47 now). Krizia Uomo is beautiful but didn't do it for me. There's a bitterness on my skin I dislike. Neither did Sung Homme, although I enjoy it now and again. Pino Silvestre is too medicinal to my nose, and Aqua Brava is lovely but too fleeting.
Enter Aramis Devin. Mine is the Gentleman's Collection and is probably a far cry from the original formulation (I know the current Aramis is a much tamer beast). It's still nice, and while it isn't my old Polo, it shares that beautiful dense smoothness when it dries down. That was what I was missing. Granted, it's nowhere near as intense as original Polo, but times have changed. That level of intensity was borderline acceptable in the 1980s and would be really out of place now.
Back to the Devin, I really like the current formulation. Estee Lauder seems to have spent more time and love reformulating their standards, so, while they are no longer the powerhouse fragrances they once were, they're still beautiful, lighter, and incredibly easy to wear (something that couldn't be said of some vintage Lauder frags). They get a unequivocal thumbs up from me for effort, and for results, especially in the face of restrictions. As always, with this kind of fragrance, I recommend sampling before you buy. It's not for everyone.
My most recent bottle of Polo has not stood up to reformulation at all. What was once glorious pine with wonderful tobacco and mossy notes has turned into pine cleaner and a dirty ashtry to my nose. As a former smoker, that is nothing I want to smell like. Since then, I have had many affairs, looking for someone to fill the shoes of my now lost love.
One Man Show was simply too much. Quorum was too much, and I didn't warm up to it any more now than when I was 16 (47 now). Krizia Uomo is beautiful but didn't do it for me. There's a bitterness on my skin I dislike. Neither did Sung Homme, although I enjoy it now and again. Pino Silvestre is too medicinal to my nose, and Aqua Brava is lovely but too fleeting.
Enter Aramis Devin. Mine is the Gentleman's Collection and is probably a far cry from the original formulation (I know the current Aramis is a much tamer beast). It's still nice, and while it isn't my old Polo, it shares that beautiful dense smoothness when it dries down. That was what I was missing. Granted, it's nowhere near as intense as original Polo, but times have changed. That level of intensity was borderline acceptable in the 1980s and would be really out of place now.
Back to the Devin, I really like the current formulation. Estee Lauder seems to have spent more time and love reformulating their standards, so, while they are no longer the powerhouse fragrances they once were, they're still beautiful, lighter, and incredibly easy to wear (something that couldn't be said of some vintage Lauder frags). They get a unequivocal thumbs up from me for effort, and for results, especially in the face of restrictions. As always, with this kind of fragrance, I recommend sampling before you buy. It's not for everyone.
Gmmcnair
