Ralph Lauren Ralph Wild (2007) {Perfume Review in a Nutshell}

As previously announced, Ralph Lauren added a new scent to their franchise towards the very end of 2007 with Ralph Wild. The image of the scent is young, hippyish, and revivalist 1970s. The perfume itself is uncomplicated but not too schematic. It is like a teen, laid-back, and Americanized (linear, fresh, unfussy) version of Miss Dior Chérie.

The perfume is a thick, nectar-like fruity-floral, which balances out well the sweet and tart facets of strawberry avoiding the common pitfall of bland candied notes. Its nectar-like texture evokes the feeling of a potion and the potential transfigurative powers of such scents; it is always interesting to observe how a "thick" jammy scent will evolve on the skin as it cannot remain as concentrated as in the bottle.

If you like fresh strawberry jam and always fantasized about being able to replicate its smell on skin, this is as good as it gets. It smells like a jar of Bonne Maman strawberry jam. It is both yummy and sexy.....

The perfume obviously draws inspiration from Miss Dior Chérie by Dior, to which it resembles at one point in the development, with its marked evolved syrupy strawberry accord, but the idea here is more immediately carefree and fun.

If Miss Dior Chérie attempted and succeeded in offering a youthful lift to a sophisticated chypre by adding audacious cast-against-type notes of strawberry and popcorn within that structure, Ralph Wild seems to aim more at riding on the wave of a popularized fruit note in feminine fragrances and also by perfecting it. We also saw some pretty strawberry in Pleasures Delight by Estée Lauder last year. In Ralph Wild it is particularly luscious and well-done.

The dry-down is less convincing as the scent becomes less natural-smelling, less harmonious and more suggestive of an industrial smell like scented hairspray.

Notes are: Wild Strawberries, Watermelon, Cherry Blossom, Pink Peppercorn, Red Rose Petals, Jasmine, Amber, Sandalwood, Musk.

The perfume retails from $28.50 to $59.50.