It might seem like heresy to throw in a review of Ralph Lauren's big '80s style perfume Lauren among reviews of classics like Diorella and Vent Vert. But if this blog is about vintage perfume, as much as it pains me to date myself, Lauren is more than 30 years old, and in my eyes — it's vintage.
Lauren can be called a vintage perfume for an even more compelling reason than its technical age: because of the memories and associations that have undoubtedly accumulated in many a woman's mind around this scent. Honestly, who the heck wears Lauren anymore, except maybe a bunch of Texans who grew up unable to smell anything but this (or Giorgio — ugh!) in the halls of their high schools?
I never owned Lauren, but my associations with it are powerful, as is my memory of it. So powerful, that just a few months ago, thinking about it, I looked it up and as soon as I saw the ruby-colored, square bottle with the gold cap, my mind reconstructed a memory of the scent. Rose, spice, woods; a strangely masculine floral. And then there was the ad. The model had long dark brown hair, blue eyes that stared impassively at the viewer, and I could swear she was next to a horse. (The Ralph Lauren brand seemed to strongly need to associate itself with the horsey set, so in that world men are rugged and gorgeous, and the women are, too, in that "I just got through riding my horse through the woods" kind of way.)
Fans of the scent are convinced that there's been a reformulation that, according to one person on Basenotes, has caused the perfume to lose its soul. I picked up a fourteen dollar bottle (sans box) on a sad and disheveled shelf (is there any other kind there?) at TJ Maxx in Los Angeles. Wearing it now, I do sense that the florals have been amped up and the spices toned down. What I loved about the original version was the spicy marigold, oakmoss and and woody notes balanced out the floral nature of the perfume. This woodsy floral character created a sense that its wearer was feminine, elegant and refined but dynamic and earthy. (Update: I got a vintage mini and I would say the primary difference is that the ingredients in the original have more depth, seem of higher quality and the notes are better balanced than in the reformulation.)
Top notes: Pineapple, spearmint, marigold (tagetes), rosewood
Heart notes: Cyclamen, rose, jasmine, lily of the valley
Basenotes: Musk, cedarwood, oakmoss, sandalwood
I am so glad to find this article. Validation! I nostalgically bought a bottle of Lauren on Ebay, and have been very disappointed. It smells nothing like I remembered. A friend suggested perhaps that it was a reformulation- something I hadn't considered. I will have to go in search of the real stuff- the vintage.
Posted by: Diane | January 08, 2011 at 11:19 PM
Hi Diane,
They really do smell different. You can sense a hint of the original in the reformulation, but it smells watery and one-dimensional. I'd just look up the vintage stuff on eBay. You can usually trust people if they call it vintage, and the seller has a good rep, but it doesn't hurt to ask first. Good luck!
Posted by: Perfumaniac | January 09, 2011 at 02:23 PM
does ralph lauren make a new version of "Lauren" just called something else?
Posted by: wendy | January 07, 2012 at 10:35 AM
I forgot about Lauren too, until I saw it in Macy's today. I sprayed a sample and was very disappointed to find out they did change the formula. I used to love to wear Lauren with my sweaters it was great winter fragrance. I don't like the new formula. Oh well I won't be purchasing that. Need to look for something new for my sweater wearing.
Posted by: Mary Donahue | February 01, 2012 at 01:35 PM
Or you can buy some vintage Lauren, Mary! http://miniatureperfumeshoppe.com/LLace-Lutece-C9149.aspx?sid=268?s=Name%20ASCp=1
Posted by: Perfumaniac | February 01, 2012 at 03:10 PM
I found it today in an small cosmetics store, I bought it just because of its famous past and it was not as cheap as I expected. I can't tell if it's the vintage formula, because I had never worn it before but there are two things that make me think that probably it's a good buy. First, it was the last bottle of Lauren and the saleslady had no idea that it was there. She said that she had never heard about this perfume before(!). The box seems to be old because it's shopworn on the corners but the real fact is that there is a sticker on it with the name of the importing company and an old- type phone number (seven digits instead of the nowadays 10-digit type) that means it's older than 2000. Anyway, the fragrance is gentle and classy, soapy and woody at the same time and surprisingly I can detect the pineapple note at the opening. I would gladly wear it at my Angel/Cavalli/ Dior Cherrie dominated office, especially on the warmer days of autumn.
Posted by: Dark Moss | October 26, 2012 at 04:16 PM
Hi Dark Moss,
I have both versions, and Id say that if you can smell a chypre base (and your name is Dark Moss, so I would say youd probably know if you were!), you probably have the original. Congratulations! The reformulation is pretty, but more watery and floral, without that base.
Posted by: Perfumaniac | October 26, 2012 at 04:34 PM
Hi B.
Your comment was very enlightening. Soapy yes but not watery. There is a chypre base though oakmoss is not so obvious, but as you say, my name says it all... Thank you!
Posted by: Dark Moss | October 27, 2012 at 06:24 AM
Has Lauren really been reformulated??? Oh, no, I just bought a 4oz bottle online for $78!!! I haven't bought it for nearly 4 years now. This is the ONLY perfume I have ever worn over the last 30 yrs...I have tried hundreds of other perfumes that smelled good on other people, but when I tried them, they did not smell the same on me! I've been trying to google perfumes that smell as near to Lauren but to no avail. Do you know of any perfumes that are similar to Lauren? I LOVE perfumes that are "woodsy" and have a "fresh" not flowery scent. Do you have any recommendations?
Posted by: Bonnie | October 30, 2012 at 05:08 PM
Hi Bonnie,
I have both the new and old version, and they are different. I would recommend a woodsy, chypre-ish floral to you, but vintage Lauren perfume is readily available on eBay and in mini form http://miniatureperfumeshoppe.com/Lauren-P2872267.aspx#.UJBjb4XlVUY so I'd say just buy one of those! Hope that helps...
Barbara
Posted by: Perfumaniac | October 30, 2012 at 05:28 PM
I paid $72.00 online for Lauren and I must say that I will not buy online again. The smell is definitely NOT the same as I remember and it doesn't smell much different than a $5.00 bottle of perfume that they sell at Catos. Very disappointed.
Posted by: Pamela | November 03, 2016 at 11:23 AM