Ralph Lauren’s The Big Pony Fragrance Collection For Women — Scents With Personality Traits
From Gucci’s Flora Garden Fragrance Collection to the D&G Fragrance Anthology, one of the most prominent trends in the perfumery realm is the creation of multi-piece fragrance collections designed so that each individual scent explores a specific facet or nuance of the central, unifying theme, while also harmonizing with the remaining pieces so as to maintain the integrity of the collective identity. The latest aromatic adventure from Ralph Lauren, the Big Pony Fragrance Collection for Women, follows this paradigm, with four unique scents that explore the different characteristics and traits of young women. To that end, then ,every numbered fragrances, each packaged in a bottle of a different color, was developed to channel one of the following attributes: Sporty, Sensual, Free-Spirited, and Stylish.
First, there’s the Big Pony 1 Eau de Toilette, also dubbed the “Blue” fragrance or the “Sporty” scent. Packaged in an azure-colored bottle with a lime green “1” number on one side and a yellow polo pony icon on the other, this floral citrus scent is meant to appeal to the energetic, confident, competitive woman with a heightened physicality thanks to a combination of grapefruit and blue lotus notes. Now, seeing as I’m far from sporty (I can barely get through yoga without whining), I presumed that this would be my least favorite of the scents and yet I found it quite pleasant. Oddly enough, I wouldn’t classify this as the “Sporty” scent — I’d actually reserve that title for No. 3 — since the blue lotus note gives the fragrance’s overall composition a watery, clean, almost Zen feel, creating a sense of relaxation as opposed to the high-octane energy you’d associate with something athletic.
Moving on, the Big Pony 2 Eau de Toilette, also dubbed the “Pink” or “Sensual” fragrance, is classified as a floriental fruity scent. This is my favorite fragrance in the Big Pony collection since it really does convey a playful femininity thanks to the mixture of cranberry and tonka mousse notes, the former giving the scent a fruity, mouth-watering quality and the latter adding a creamy, seductive sweetness. Packaged in a magenta pink bottle with a green polo player icon on one side and an oversize number “2” in a deep blue color on the other side, this scent is arguably the boldest, most flirtatious and audacious scents in the collection.
Next, there’s the Big Pony 3 EDT, a floral green composition meant to convey a “Free-Spirited” character. Packaged in a yellow bottle with a blue polo player icon on one side and an oversize orange “3” on the other side, this fragrance features pear and mimosa notes meant to create a feeling of optimism and radiance. I actually found this scent a bit too heavy-handed on the citrus front since the mimosa note didn’t have that juicy, pulpy, sweet yet slightly tart quality of other citrus notes like blood orange or ruby red grapefruit. As for the pear note, it wasn’t strong enough to balance the mimosa note so that the composition felt a bit off-kilter. I actually feel like this scent conveys more of a sporty vibe than the Big Pony 1 EDT since it does have an energizing sunny edge, but I don’t personally find it particularly enticing (then again, I’ve already established I’m far from sporty). I’d actually have these two scents switch places since the No. 1 scent feels more like a go-with-the-flow scent perfect for those with perpetual wanderlust and a thirst for life — the very qualities we associate with those deemed free spirits.
Last, there’s the Ralph Lauren Big Pony 4 EDT, also known as the “Purple” or “Stylish” scent, packaged in a purple bottle with a pink polo player icon on one side and an oversize “4” in yellow on the other side. Classified as a floral oriental, this fragrance features a harmony of wild cherry and purple amber notes. When I first smelled the Big Pony 4 EDT, I actually thought I detected a grape note swathed in a powder-like note, so that should give you an idea of how the two interact. The amber note here has more of a powdery quality than the warm, resin-like, woody characteristics associated with most amber notes (and, for the record, I’ve never heard of a purple resin note so I’m not sure what exactly that means). Still, the fragrance is rather balanced and it does have a slightly unpredictable vibe that fits the “stylish” classification. It’s my second favorite scent in the collection, right after the Big Pony 2 EDT, since it also feels very feminine and enticing.
You can buy each fragrance individually or invest in the entire collection, picking and choosing which scent to wear depending on your mood or destination. The Ralph Lauren Big Pony 1 Blue Eau de Toilette, Ralph Lauren Big Pony Pink 2 Eau de Toilette, Ralph Lauren Big Pony 3 Yellow EDT, and Ralph Lauren Big Pony 4 Purple EDT are available for $44 for a 1.7 oz. bottle or $70 for 3.4 oz. at RalphLauren.com, Macys.com, and Bloomingdales.com.
