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For this cologne comparison, I am going to do a head to head look at two Ralph Lauren fragrances, from the Polo Red line: Red vs. Red Extreme. Which one of this scents smells better? The original Red has enjoyed a lot of popularity over this decade, but does its newer flanker release, surpass it? Which lasts longer? Continue below for the full breakdown.
Tale of the Tape: Red Extreme vs Polo Red
Polo Red
Notes include: grapefruit, italian lemon, cranberry, saffron, sage, coffee beans, and amber
Click here to try: POLO RED by Ralph Lauren, 4.2 Fl Oz
Read my full review: Polo Red
Polo Red Extreme
Notes include: blood orange, coffee, ebony wood
Click here to try: Polo Red Extreme Eau de Parfum Spray 4.2 Ounce, Ralph Lauren Men
Read my review: Polo Red Extreme
Opening
Polo Red opens up with a bright mix of citrus and cranberry. The citrus notes are lemon and grapefruit, which provides an upbeat and juicy aroma, to go along with that tart cranberry. The cranberry is the strongest note, in this cologne, and it is all wrapped up in an increasingly strengthening amber.
Polo Red Extreme opens with coffee and blood orange. I also pick up on some of that same cranberry note, but it isn’t listed officially. The blood orange is great and they invert the coffee note in Polo Red (which was weaker) and make it the main attraction.
Which is better? I like Polo Red, but Red Extreme really captures my attention. It’s very simple at the start with a juicy blood orange and warm coffee, but there is some spice and the base note of ebony wood.
Edge: Red Extreme
Projection
Polo Red starts off strong for me and then goes into a moderate sort of scent. Meanwhile, Extreme is pretty darn strong, and stays that way. It doesn’t require more than a few sprays.
Edge: Extreme
Longevity
If I go heavy with the application of Polo Red, I can get it to last somewhat longer, but it hits the 4-6 hour range with normal sprays. Polo Red Extreme lives up to the name and can last in that 8-10 hour range, it’s very good in this regard.
Edge: Extreme
Versatility
Polo Red has always been more of a spring/summer wear for me. It’s a casual type of scent you would wear hanging out, to class, and possibly to work. Not really much of a sexy fragrance.
Red Extreme is more geared to fall/winter, but could venture into more moderate temps. It’s simple yet attractive, but I don’t know if one really has an advantage over the other here.
Edge: Push
Overall Scent
Polo Red was a really nice release, when it came out years ago. I enjoyed wearing it around and thought that the cranberry note was an interesting ingredient to use. It has that really tart fruit aroma that gets tempered by amber, as it moves along. I always wished that the performance was better.
Later on, Polo Red Extreme was released, and it’s a much better fragrance in my mind. Quite linear, but the coffee and blood orange combination are great, and pretty unique.
Add to that, a base of ebony wood note, and you have a rich and smooth cologne that outdoes the original. It has become one of Ralph Lauren’s best men’s fragrances and wins this head to head, fairly easily.
Winner: Extreme
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( votes)Best Men’s Colognes started back in 2013, as a way to share my learning experiences with different fragrances, as I dove head first into the hobby. Since then, I have written hundreds of reviews and other pages about perfumes and colognes.