Ralph Lauren Safari for Men Collection

Ralph Lauren's Safari for Men was my most hated RL scent back in 1999. I liked sweet citrusy scents then, like Tommy by Tommy Hilfiger and Ralph Lauren's Romance for Men. I was 18, young, stupid, and had no appreciation for timeless classics.

In 2010 (or thereabouts) I discovered that RL made a shave brush and mug set when they released Safari for Men in 1991. It was a Fall/Winter collection release, and only produced for that one year. I made up my mind that I would someday own the mug and brush set. It became my shaving unicorn, my holy grail.

Several years ago, I finally found that set. NOS at that! I was stunned by the beauty of the shave brush handle and the mug. The knot was useless (I have a special hatred of floppy badger knots), though beautiful, when the knot fell out, I traded the knot for a razor and re-knotted it with a stiffer high mountain badger. I pif'd the shave soap, as I loved the scent, but the performance was mediocre at best. Packed in with the mug was a little booklet, describing all the other items in the collection. A razor, a hairbrush, a comb!

New unicorns to pursue! First I found the hairbrush, then the comb, and finally the razor, all in a period of a month...after years of searching. My quest was done.

Or was it?

The scent emanating from the box where the mug and soap puck remains strong, even now. A woody, wild, spicy leather aroma that sang to my senses, and said, "this is what a man smells like." The basenotes of the Safari fragrance still had the power to mesmerize decades later.

This is how it made me feel:


On a whim, I went out and bought the Safari for Men Eau de Toilette (having read that the fragrance was reformulated to be a bit lighter, less Axe-like). I figured even if I didn't like it, I could still display the classy bottle with the rest of my Safari loot. Tentatively, I sprayed some on my wrist and brought it up for a whiff. Spicy with a hint of floral. This sucks, I thought. A minute later, i decided to take another whiff. A powdery lavender with with a hint of citrus met my nose, with a slight hint of spice underneath. Fantastic! An old school barbershop scent, done with an upper class twist. Not long after, the leather, spice and woods started to make their presence known, peeking through the florals before finally stepping out to dominate the stage. Even then, I'd occasionally catch a whiff of lavender from time to time throughout the day.

I've never used a cologne that smells so mature and masculine - clean, yet dirty at the same time. This stuff is manliness in a bottle...and so, my collection is complete.

Having worked in the Ralph Lauren stores twice over the years, I have a special fondness for the brand. His ability to take English classics and give them a timeless, yet uniquely American flavor never ceases to amaze me.


The photo below shows the Whipped Dog High Mountain re-knot.

 

The reformulated version of both the men's and women's Safari EdT and perfume is still in production.

The shave soap, deodorant, shower gels, shave creams, aftershave and aftershave balm is no longer in production.

But occasionally, some things pop up on eBay. Like this set from the late 90's: