Another year, another Ralph. Ralph Wild is the fifth in the Ralph by Ralph Lauren franchise, and the tag line goes like this...
Welcome to the wild state, where the air is fresh and juicy, skin is warm and alluring, and you can let your true self run free...Go Ralph Wild.
The Ralph series, like the Ralph by Ralph Lauren sportswear line from which it takes its name, aims for a younger demographic than the regular Ralph Lauren line; the fragrances, geared towards 15-25 year olds, are generally pleasant if not startlingly original. Still, despite the fact that Ralph Wild was announced as a fruity floral, I expected from the "Wild" part that they might do something a little edgier and au courant with this one, perhaps a touch of something dark in the base?
Nope. Ralph Wild stays firmly in the comfort zone: it is sparkling and youthful, and smells emphatically pink. The top notes are fresh and fizzy, with lots of sweet fruit (mostly strawberry; the other notes include watermelon, cherry blossom, pink peppercorn, red petals, jasmine, amber, sandalwood and musk), and for a brief time, it reminds me of a fruity soda. That fades into the blur of sheer, faceless flowers over clean woody musk that you generally find in a fruity floral geared towards the youth market.
If you're after a pink-ish fruity floral, Ralph Wild is pleasant and wearable. One of the things I like about the Ralph by Ralph Lauren collection is that while they're sweet, they're not usually overly so (Ralph Hot being an exception), and Ralph Wild keeps the candy under control despite staying remarkably fruity straight through to the end. There isn't anything in the least wild about it, and coming as it does at the tail end of the fruity floral trend, it can't help but smell a bit generic — is there anything much new that can be done with strawberry and "red petals" at this point? Personally, my favorite of the lot is last year's Ralph Rocks, which seemed to have a bit more personality, but Ralph Wild is fine for what it is.
Ralph Wild by Ralph Lauren is available in 30, 50 and 100 ml Eau de Toilette, and can be found at Sephora and department stores.
Update: Ralph Wild was developed by perfumers Olivier Gillotin and Jim Krivda. (via cosmeticnews)
“Another year, another Ralph” LOL. As long as there are new Ralph every year, we know that the life goes on 🙂
Your take on this fragrance is much kinder than mine 🙂 I find it neither pleasant nor wearable, and an example of a fruity floral at its generic worst. Actually, I can't even make out the “floral” part of the equation – to me it smells almost exactly like a freshly opened packet of strawberry Jell-O!
This is reminding me of a slang meaning for “ralph”, as in, “Those notes make me want to…”
Exactly!
Really, that bad?? I don't generally like the really sweet stuff, like the Escadas, but this one was ok with me, just kind of dull.
But you might be right about the jello. The strawberry in the opening reminds me so strongly of some strawberry-flavored product that I kept spraying it on again to try to remember what it was. Jello might be it.
LOL — you guys are a tough crowd today!
Who can possibly keep track of all these Ralphs? Are they kidding with putting out another one? You've smelled one, you've smelled them all.
“… I kept spraying it on again to try to remember what it was.”
Now that's dedication! Thanks for taking one for the team!
Another year? It seems like another one comes out every 5 minutes!!
Exactly the same with the new Escadas, once these are there 'life is back to normal' :-).
This Ralph seems so familiar, like I've already seen it or is the bottle the same as the previous one?
You guys are too tough on Ralph — five isn't so very many. Escada has done umpteen++ LE youth market scents!
They use the same bottle every time, in a different color.
LOL — anything in the name of research!
“Juicy air” should smell like rain. Hmph.
I must admit to liking Ralph and Ralph Rocks very much – and also finding Ralph Hot a tad too sweet for my tastes. So what did I think when I first sampled Ralph Wild? “Hey! Hawaiian Punch!” I'm a bit too close to the crone end of the spectrum to smell like I spilled my juice box on myself.
LOL — it isn't as bad as all that!
Hmph indeed, apparently it smells like strawberries & watermelon.
Glad a fan of Ralph Rocks showed up. I thought that one was nice. Actually, they're all well done — even Ralph Hot, I think, is a cut above much of what gets marketed to this age group (and I am *over* the crone end of the spectrum). This one, while fine, seemed duller, and I can see the Hawaiian Punch reference, but it could be so much worse — it isn't as fruit-juicy as many of the celebrity fruity florals.
Why does everything have to smell pink? I hate pink!
Strawberries, watermelon, pink pepper. I know I will hate this.
And the tagline doesn`t make any sense.
It would've been interesting if “Wild” started off tame and typical, then went in for the kill with an unexpected drydown. Even if The Ralphs aren't my typical fare, I'd respect them for any unanticipated challenges.
I was thinking along the lines of “Black Orchid”—sweet and gourmandesque but spiked with something disconcerting.
Pink & purple still seem to be the big perfume colors these days in women's fragrance. Wonder what the next big trendy color will be…
I really did think they'd do something trendier with the base, although wasn't expecting them to go so far as Black Orchid, just maybe a bit of clean patch+woods or something. Will be interesting to see what they do w/ the next Ralph…
I really like the original Ralph, although I never owned a bottle. It is just so free and sweet (like Ms. Dior Cherie, not that they smell alike, but that they both emit that young happy thing).
I like his fragrances. I wore Romance and only Romance for about one year. I don't think I have ever done that before. (this was back in 1998 or 1999).
omg, Black Orchid, SWOOOOOOOOOON
I really liked Lauren, but have to admit I fell out of touch with the line after that, at least until fairly recently. Didn't smell Romance until last year, I think! I do think RL does a better job than most at “fitting” the fragrances to the overall line — Romance is such a great fit w/ the Lauren brand. I do think they ought to be a *little* more daring with the Ralph by Ralph Lauren series though.
I really must sniff the others in the Ralph line. When Ralph was launched I was speaking with a rep from them, and they said they intended for them to be (i cannot remember the words, and I want to say) uncomplicated. And that it can be worn by a 16 year and also her mother. I liked that description. I do want to go see if I can find the others. Thanks, R
Oh, I know they're geared towards young people and they're not going to do anything challenging, but still, Ralph Wild smells like it could have been released 5 years ago. I should think they could at least do something closer to current trends? But that's just a little quibble, by & large they're pretty good for what they are.
I LOOOOOOOOOOVE this scent! If I'm not feelin Deseo, THIS is the scent I'm gonna get! I may even get BOTH on the same day!
Hey, I thought you only bought celeb scents???
I do. But I loooove this one soooo much! I just hope I don't get tired of it after I purchase it
I kind of like this one. I don't think I would buy it, but if someone where to give it to me I would probably wear it. For some reason it makes my brain happy where other pink-ish fruity florals fail to do so. I liked Escada Moon Sparkle, but didn't think I was exactly ready to commit to smelling like a pixie stick.
All of the Escadas smell like pixie sticks to me, mostly — I'd take Ralph Wild over almost any of them.
Hope someone will give it to you, then!
*Yawn*. 😉
Yep.
uh oh, i really like escada magnetism… is that bad?! 😉 & will i like this?
Why would it be bad? But I think you might like this one.
haha… i was just kidding 🙂 i've been reading all the reviews in here & sometimes i'm a little ashamed of my mainstream taste.. i guess i haven't tried very many niche or boutique brands but i still feel like a bit of a lame-o for not being able to appreciate some of the more challenging fragrances yet. thanks for broadening my horizons! 🙂
-adrienne
Gosh, I wouldn't be ashamed of any kind of taste. If you like a perfume and it makes you happy, who cares? If you want to find more interesting and unusual scents, fine, but I wouldn't feel bad about it if you're happy with what you have.
WoW !
Is it smell like RALPH COOL ?
RALPH COOL is my favorite.
Sweet,fruity one is my style , but i'm not sure whether i like this.
I really wanna test !
Maybe 'Ralph Cool' or 'Wild' will be my summer fragrance.
Ralph Cool is the one I've never tried, so I'm no help — sorry!
I am in the youth group, always been fond of ralph cool. also had a peach and blossom jo malone. got too sweet. but i need a perfume under $60, citrus-y or just fruity fresh smell.i don't want anything to musky, i'm 16 and not trying to smell 30. what should i try? is ralph wild a good fit?
It might suit, and you might also try Ralph Rocks and the new Ed Hardy, and Escada makes lots of scents that fit that description. So does Fresh, which you can find at Sephora or Neiman Marcus, and they've got a new Strawberry one.
Don't forget that for most of these kinds of mainstream scents, you can try them in stores, then buy them cheaper online!
I initially had bought the Ralph Lauren Wild' perfume as a Christmas gift for a friend, but after much contemplation, I realized that I never bought a designer perfume before, and it was pretty pricey and I intended, to keep it myself! Now its been a year since I had the bottle and I am still in love with it! Although, the scent has gotten immune to my body to the point where it smells like sweet onions (don't know if I should've said that), it really does smell sweet wild!
Robin, please tell us what you think of RL Safari.
It is not a favorite of mine.