* Clean and refreshing fruit forward cologne
* Distinctly different from the classic heavily woody Polo Green original
* Nice blend of fruit, citrus, amber, wood and powder aromas
* Nice strong fruit opening followed by a smooth drydown
* Great for the summer
* Good for both older and younger users
* Unisex despite the marketing
* Absolutely no coffee note detected
* Spice note is absent as well
* Weak performer
* Requires overspraying and respraying
Polo Red EDT is a flanker to the original classic Polo Green. The two could not be more different. Whereas the Green is a heavily woody cologne with a barnyard funk to it, this is fruity, refreshing and clean. It's a very nice blend of citrus and fruit aromas which are very strong on the opening that then lead to very smooth amber, wood, and powder aromas.
Two notes that it is purported to have that are not present, however, are coffee and spice. I own Khamrah Qahwa and a Spicebomb Extreme clone, so I attest to what a cologne's coffee and spice notes should smell like and they are completely absent from Polo Red EDT. I strongly suspect a reformulation has happened. This is more of a fruit forward fragrance, the "Red" moniker clearly meant to point out the red grapefruit and red cranberry notes in the opening.
This is a really pleasant cologne to wear in hot weather. There's no denying it's one of Polo's runaway hits given how many flankers it has. It's good for both older and younger users, totally unisex despite the obvious marketing to males, and is particularly great for warmer weather. My only knock against it is weak performance. This definitely requires overspraying and respraying throughout the day. Nobody can ever say that about the original Polo Green, so this certainly made me raise my eyebrows a bit. Perhaps the EDP and Extreme are better performers. Still, this is a pretty good cologne overall. I wouldn't reload on it after expending my bottle, though, and recommend trying the EDP or Extreme which I will do once I use this up.