Review of Polo Explorer Cologne for Men

Ralph Lauren has long been a big name in fragrance as well as fashion. The most notable contribution would have to be the Polo line of men's cologne. Launched in 1978, Polo went on to include several incarnations and variations including, Polo Blue, Polo Black, Polo Double Black, and Polo Explorer. In this review, we'll take a look at Polo Explorer and rate its value in terms of price and quality.

Price: Polo cologne is quite popular, and as a result it's not cheap, however, when you compare it to others like Armani colognes, it's quite a bargain. Polo Explorer can be found on Amazon for between $33-$45 for a 4.2 oz bottle. I've found it at target for under $20 for a 2.5 oz bottle.

Longevity: Some people have said that Polo Explorer does not have much staying power, and that Polo colognes in general do not last long. Others have reported it lasting 6+ hours. Partly, this depends on the person and their individual body chemistry, but for me, I tested it and it lasted around 5 hours.

Scent: The scent of Polo explorer is really great because it doesn't fit too easily into a category. As the name would suggest, Explorer is designed to evoke a sense of wilderness adventure. A good fragrance will take your mind and your senses to a new location. Polo Explorer places you in a fragrant forest. You expect this one to be a woodsy smell, and it is, but it's also more. The thing about green forest scents is usually they simply involve lots of strong pine smell, and I don't really like them. I don't have any desire to smell like a car air freshener, or pine sol. Nobody wants to be that guy in the office that smells like a walking Christmas tree. For that reason I'm usually skeptical of green forest scents, but Polo got it right.

When you smell Polo Explorer, you don't smell pine; instead you get a collaboration of scents that blend perfectly to create a deep and complex aura of woody and aquatic notes. In contrast to many other green woods fragrances, Explorer has the pine smell as somewhat of an undertone or a background to complete the scent. Polo Explorer is not exactly a green scent, a floral, or an aquatic, because it features each of these in perfect balance with each other. Picture a deep woods with a flowing river and wildflowers throughout; this is what you can expect from Explorer.

Overall Value: taking into account the great scent, the decent longevity (in my experience), and the mid range price, this is a pretty good buy. If you like woodsy outdoors scents this would be a great investment.