To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
ExstRemaaL – :
Years and years ago, my best friend’s mom gave me this little Ralph Lauren makeup kit. It had two eyeshadows, a deep sparkly plum and a sparkly pink, a brick-colored blush, and a pinkish lipgloss. It also had a little sample of Tuxedo perfume, of which I took one whiff and fell instantly, deeply in love. It was soooo grown-up and sophisticated. I doled that stuff out like it was unicorn tears, and I even kept the tiny glass tube when it was gone, just to smell the remnants.
I recently snapped up the Irma Shorell Long Lost Fragrances version of Tuxedo and received it last week….and I don’t like it. I sprayed it and immediately thought YUCK but I figured be patient, wait for the drydown, and the drydown was no better than the top notes – harsh, chemical, unpleasant.
I am so bummed. It doesn’t smell at all like I remember. So either I’m not remembering correctly or they just didn’t get the scent right. Scent is SO evocative though. I feel like I would know, and remember if they’d gotten it right. I wish Ralph Lauren would bring the original back.
Xeroxojogm – :
I blind bought the Long Lost Perfumes version of this.
I get nuclear peach, an Iso-E-like “smell that isn’t there,” artificial moss, and something that scours my sinuses like a Brillo pad.
There is no complexity or development. Another 2-D chemical wonder.
Tehnos – :
Tuxedo From My Wardrobe
This is a glamorous mature sophisticated fragrance.
I’m overwhelmed by the profundity of the base notes. The sandalwood, the musk, the incense, the amber, vetiver and oak moss.
The spiciness of the dry down is what most thrills me. It smells of a chypre, which it most assuredly is, but it has a fruity floral character that’s there if you pay enough attention.
The bottle is elegant and cries evening cologne for evening wear.
First spritz I get tarragon, green notes, spices and citrus fresh and sharp lemons.
This is very pleasant as it opens and it has minimal floral notes of ylang ylang, jasmine, rose and gardenia.
The florals are very soft and unfortunately faint. The nose behind this scent kept it rather on the unisex side and the florals are not as powdery or as sweet.
The white floral notes stand out and it gives the fragrance the feel of a night blooming jasmine.
This fragrance is perfect to wear to your most dressy occasion: the opera, the ballet, the symphony, a wedding, a gala or fundraiser.
It is also giving me the feeling that this perfume would smell great on a pianist, male or female, in a black gown or tuxedo. This fragrance reminds me of a black glossy Steinway piano.
The scent has a mysterious and very quiet and pensive introspective air.
Very intellectual, serious, mature and confident.
I can pull it off now but there was a time when this would have smelled like a man’s cologne to me.
The truth is fragrances do not have genitals and so we gravitate toward scents we like and work well with our chemistry.
I’m fortunate enough to be able to handle any scent.
This is not a bad fragrance.
The real downside is the fact that you can’t find it anywhere!
wasa35 – :
Fragrance Review For Tuxedo
Ralph Lauren
Top Notes
Bergamot Orange Lemon Tarragon Ylang Ylang
Middle Notes
Jasmine Narcissus Rose Lily Gardenia Cloves Coriander Peach
Base Notes
Oak Moss Labdanum Benzoin Amber Sandalwood Vetiver Musk
I found this woman’s tuxedo in the fragrance wardrobe of an older and dear girl friend of mine during New York Fashion Week this month in September.
She wore the tuxedo during the shows as she took notes and observed all the fashion shows along with me: Marc Jacobs Tory Burch Carolina Herrera Tracy Reese Anna Sui Jason Wu Marchesa Vera Wang Donna Karan. She smelled amazing. This perfume was tailor made for her. A perfume is magic and has the ability to transform itself on different wearers. On her it smelled more like an Oriental or a chypre. It was dark, not at all fresh, smelt like a man’s cologne, but without that heavy incense in YSL Opium or musk in Bal a Versailles. It was straight up musk mingling with woods, nocturnal jasmine, and citrus. It left behind an aroma to die for! Every time I sat next to her I envied her perfume. She wore it with black apparel, black cocktail dresses and evening gowns. The scent is indeed a black color, like a tuxedo. I asked her if she could please sell me this cologne!
I’m so blessed and fortunate that she gave it up and sold it. She said it was a long relationship that had to come to an end and she was happy to pass on the second hand tuxedo to me. New York Fashion Week in Manhattan is over and I’m off to London Fashion Week but I knew I had to have this fragrance! I will be wearing this perfume in London.
Who was the moron who discontinued it?!
O my God, there aren’t enough exclamation points to express the sentiment! Tuxedo is this incredible profusion of sumptuous notes and scents like the detailing in a finely tailored gentleman’s tuxedo to wear to the Opera, or to his wedding. It evokes a 1930’s Hollywood actor like Clark Gable in a black tux in a black and white film, Marlene Dietrich in a black and white film wearing a man’s tuxedo and top hat, Fred Astaire in a top hat and tuxedo singing Puttin On the Ritz or Rudy Vallee in a tux with a white carnation pinned to it singing A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody. You get the picture. Glamorous and classic, Old Hollywood. A beautiful tuxedo behind glass at a retail store on a male mannequin.
This fragrance has the same “gender bending” unisex personality as YSL Opium – a woman’s perfume that smells like a man’s cologne – or Piguet’s Bandit, with that leather and musk – but for me this is not as resinous nor comprised of that smoky incense of YSL Opium not as leathery as Bandit. It’s still on the feminine side because it is made up of notes that are to be found in women’s perfume: citrus, peach, floral notes, amber, sandalwood and oak moss. Each note is a beautiful jewel but it’s unfortunate not all of them can show up with clarity. Often times it smells like only the citrus and base notes are aggressively pushing aside the flowers. It’s a lot like the role-reversal and note-flipping in Piguet’s Bandit, only much softer in it’s projection.
It opens with sharp citric lemon and bergamot orange. Far from the fruity flavor of citrus, it’s just a traditional opening of citruses. It smells like any ordinary citrus based perfume with that opening found in both men and women’s fragrances. The lemon is the dominant note. If you like those lemony citrusy openings a la Guerlain’s Shalimar, or Habit Rouge, you should have no problem with the intro notes to this perfume.
There is a peach scent that mysteriously appears after the citric notes settle down and disappear, but this peach is like a ghost and passes away, as if it made a weak attempt to add a more feminine touch. Because really there are hardly any typical feminine parts in this perfume. No aldehydes, no fruit scents of peach, cassis, currant, apricot, plum, or even flowers that smell like fruit: tiare, orange blossom, plum blossom, etc. This is not a fruity floral by any means. The peach seems to invite the floral notes into a gentleman’s club that doesn’t want them.
There is a gardenia and narcissus white floral partnership but it’s just a touch, and quite enjoyable because it’s not screechy or with a volume turned up like in Giorgio Beverly Hills or Jungle Gardenia. This small white flower is like a white corsage on the tuxedo. There is also a little rose which could also be a rose on the tuxedo, but again, it’s very subtle and your nose has to be quick to detect it. There is an indolic dark jasmine, very similar to the jasmine in Alien by Thierry Mugler. The jasmine is the strongest floral note and it becomes one distinct jasmine, but, it too, was only one of the tuxedoed men’s club’s wives that drove the guy to the club and left.
When you put on the tux:
A burnt and slightly smoky oak moss note, exactly like dark moss, mixes and mingles with sandalwood and perhaps an additional wooden note. Woody like the wood in a man’s cologne, a sandalwood of aromatic qualities and Indian, like the scent of real sandalwood from the East.
Vetiver, one of the most commonly used notes in men’s colognes, polished and black, a lot like a perfumed version of shoe polish. It made me think of the glossy black dress shoes that a man in a tux would be wearing.
Musk, a dry down of warm musk, highly enjoyable and not too animalic, skanky, dirty or scary. It’s really as enjoyable as the musk in Paloma Picasso. Chances are if you like the musk in Paloma Picasso you’ll like this perfume. If you like the musk in Musc Ravageur you should also be able to enjoy this. The musk is like powder if you pay enough attention. Smells like dusty powder but it’s also not heavy.
There is also a benzoin, like a hint of smoke, and an amber and spicy note, cloves and coriander. Spicy, which would also really make this a spicy floral as much as it is a woodsy floral. Absolutely amazing how everything comes together.
This is a glamorous, elegant tuxedo and whether you’re a man or a woman, this is one tux that you just have to wear! I am wearing it right now and loving every moment.
Sillage is excellent. I’m not the type to rate it from 1 to 10 but it’s really good sillage. Longevity, too, very good, lasts all day or night.
Luxurious, handsome, elegant, and refined, this is a fragrance for both men and women that love the opulence of darker notes. I sometimes wish this had leather and aldehydes. But it’s fine as it is. I can’t stop smelling myself. I hope others are going to like what they smell on me. This has been discontinued and that’s the biggest loss for Ralph Lauren.
This is nothing like other women’s perfumes in their line – Safari for women, Romance, the 1st Ralph Lauren, and although I do love those fragrances, this perfume suits my personality as it is today. It’s a shame that the only real reason they might have ceased production of this perfume was because in our current day and age, the sweeter girly sugary gourmand garbage is more popular and very few women want to smell like “a man’s tuxedo”.
This is a beautiful formal fragrance to be worn with formal evening wear – a black evening gown, a tuxedo, a cloak, a cape, a suit, fancy clothes for fancy dates and black tie galas and exclusive events. This smells like millions of dollars, an old money billionaire scent. It’s rich and dark, opulent, and one of the most attractive fragrances to hit my nose in recent times.
Yuriklan – :
I started buying Tuxedo back in the early 80’s. To this day, it remains one of my all time favorites. I have a 4 oz bottle that is 3/4full that I keep in the fridge. It has not turned and still smells wonderful. Because of my chemistry, I am limited to greener fragrances, but Tuxedo smells better and better on me as the day rolls on.
I am just sick that it was discontinued, and wish so badly that RL would relaunch. In the meantime, I will continue to use it sparingly and only on special occasions. Ebay prices for this fragrance are completely ridiculous.
Hope RL and Co are reading these comments.
SPIREET – :
TUXEDO!! What memories. I was in college in the early 80’s and this was my fancy, going out scent. The bottle I had was different than the one shown here. It was more like a square test tube that was tapered. Wider at the top and smaller at the bottom. It was black and opaque like the bottle here, but I seem to remember a red or white detailing on it also.
I would love to get a whiff of an authentic bottle, but probably would not purchase it. I could be wrong, but IMO it would not qualify as a timeless fragrance. (Off to go Google and try to find an image of the bottle I owned. Now that I think about it, I’m thinking the tapered bottle might have been a fragrance called EXCLAMATION)
NIKOLAY_OB – :
I’m still heartbroken. If only the company that distributes/makes Ralph Lauren would read these posts. This was my go to perfume in my early 20’s until my late 30’s when I could no longer find it. I discovered this at a perfume counter when they launched.
It is classic, elegant, and sexy. Not too cloyingly sweet nor too overly musky. Perfect timeless sent – refined. Every single time I wore it I received compliments especially from men.
I think that at the time the Lauren fragrance which was so was very popular so the brand didn’t get the notice on this lovely perfume. I kept finding it in back shelves for many years but now only a few bottles remain on Ebay and overly priced and probably rancid.
I did try a Shorrell knock-off but it was a bit too powdery smelling – slightly off.
It’s wonderful to have a scent memory of this – too bad they don’t relaunch. I agree with the above review about this – it would be a best seller – unless you like the sameness of many of the scents out today.. This is one of a kind.
The best I have found that gives me a similar feel is Bulgari Black – but it’s more casual – doesn’t have that same elegance of white gloves and satin gowns…
I think I’ll try Long Lost Perfumes per the reviewer above. I am hoping someday someone will buy the formula and relaunch for the thousands of devotees out there..
macaulaypearson – :
Cricket, what a beautiful tribute to this scent! I am marveling that you had the insight to think back to that first date & the fragrance that your wife-to-be had not yet grown into & realize that now that she was a woman – magic could be afoot!
I love the scent too and happened upon a vintage bottle at a perfume store remembering 1984 when I first sniffed it & thought how womanly it was!
Иван Кибальчич – :
Tuxedo was given to me as a gift by my ex husband (nicest thing he ever did for me).
It quickly became my go to perfume when going out at night.I was only 25,and although the fragrance is strong when first applied,the chemistry with my skin is the best I’ve ever had with ANY perfume (and I collect!)
There’s something about the way it makes me feel…sexy,strong,powerful.LOVE,LOVE this fragrance,Love how it lingers on my skin for at least three days after applied,love waking up in the morning and smell it in my sheets,it permeates everywhere!
When it was discontinued,I was distraught at the thought of never smelling it again,I could never understand WHY it was discontinued,maybe sales were not strong,but in those days,women were not as savvy and independent as now,I bet it would be a best seller if made again!
To make a long story short,I RAN to all the “Cosmetic Plus” stores and bought every single bottle they had left,yup,a little manic,,lol! End result is that I still have three full bottles saved,use it sparingly and if I find a used bottle anywhere I but it immediately,I should have enough to last me the rest of my life.Only other perfume I’ve found with the same or close intensity on my skin is Red Mmmina by Intercosma,fabulous musk,amber notes like velvet on your skin.
BAMSISUS – :
Tuxedo Perfume
My wife was given scent this by her sister in 1985 by default I’m sure. It’s a less than pleasant smell for a young girl. I’m sure her sister HATED it or she would have kept it for herself. Her sister’s more of a taker than giver. Always has been. Always will be.
I came onto the scene when I met my wife that same year. She had just graduated from High School & she was the Queen of her little town and the most beautiful cheerleader they’ve ever had in that tiny town! She was an utter knock-out without the snobbery that almost always comes with it. A breath of fresh air in the midst of her loose knit clique.
On our first date, she had on this scent, but I thought was a little “old lady’ish.” I didn’t totally hate it, but I thought a girl of her beauty & stature needed something MUCH sweeter & not an older lady fragrance rejected by her big sister. I’m sure her big sis only bought it because of the beautiful bottle without much thought of the scent. Something to look nice on the dresser.
I turned around a month later & bought her Georgio, which all the women in my family enjoyed. Years later, I fell in love with the sweet scent of ‘Happy’ after taking in the aroma of a woman across the parking lot of a mall. I have always loved the sweet scents.
Flash forward to 2013. I asked my wife that I’ve now known for over 28 years, what happened to that old bottle of Tuxedo. I always loved the looks of that bottle. She said it was in her ‘remember’ box in storage. For some reason, maybe because I turned 50 & retired the same year, I got a little ‘scentimental.’ I drove over to the storage unit & found that old box that had both of our old letter jackets & other pieces of useless memorabilia that meant nothing to anyone but us. There it was. Wrapped so careful by my young bride that had decided retire this beautiful bottle & scent for a rainy day to remember. And, it was raining this day.
I held it in my hands like a school boy who just found a naughty picture & thought this deep dark black bottle with this little red Polo must have really been special to the designer. It’s got to be THE MOST beautiful perfume/Cologn bottle ever made. It’s opaqueness gives it a mystique that any man or woman would wonder just what’s inside. A smoothness for not just any girl or woman, but for that person who has everything along with the charm of good looks, personality & an overwhelming way of brightening up any room she enters.
I shook but I felt no splash. Then I held my breath when I opened it. Then, & only then, was my mind magically melded back on that magic carpet ride to a time which I donned a flight suit for the next jet sortie in which half my mind was on the cockpit & the other on this perfect specimen of a lady.
I saw that there was just enough for one or two dabs so I quickly closed it, for it was not yet time for this quarter century old fragrance to escape.
When my wife arrived from work, I told her I had a surprise. I asked her to close her eyes because I had had a visit from an old friend. She smiled those beautiful lips in a way only she could, just for me. She closed her eyes just as I said “can you smell it” and laughed because of old tricks we used to play.
She opened her eyes to that beautiful contoured bottle & said “I thought you hated that scent.” And then she said, “I never really liked that scent either, but my sister would have had her feelings hurt if I wouldn’t have worn it.”
I led her by the hand to the bedroom & dabbed just enough on her neck & a smidgen on her tummy to make her the smell of that 18 year old virgin I had met at the Officer’s Club mixer. I have to say that I went wild & she followed suit. We both realized that our maturity had led to just this point in our lives that this scent was meant to be.
I soon learned that some of these fragrances are for work and some for adventure. But the special ones sport a pheromone aroma exclusive for play. And for the rest of our lives, this scent will be there just for us & no one else.
When I ascend the stairs, on our sleeping quarters route, I never have to ask, or worry myself about. I only use my nose, to know my lover’s done her best, to make our loving wonderful, in this tropic island nest.
NoNamezz – :
It was definitely marketed towards women and my mom had a bottle that she wore.. After she died I started wearing it for evenings out because her bottle had a very small amount. It’s definitely a “masculine feminine” fragrance and to be quite honest with you I can’t remember all of the notes but I remember how much I loved it. I agree it’s very classy, and dark. I had been looking for it for a while after it ran out and wasn’t able to find it (even on ebay). I ran across this site tonight and was looking at perfumes…so I decided to look it up. Can’t believe it was showing listed on ebay and immediately bought a bottle. I’m SO excited for that box to come so I can smell it again.
This is one they NEVER should have discontinued.
Received it today and I’m as in love as ever. I put it on several hours ago and I’ve been enjoying smelling myself. At first I got no floral at all, now it’s drying down to a very slight floral but still masculine (in a dangerous sexy way). My boyfriend loves it.
Drabodan78 – :
This was an AWESOME fragrance! It had a distinctive tobacco base that really smelled divine; very elegant, sophisticated, classic.
This had a smell very similar to Black Vetiver Cafe’ by Jo Malone… but wore much longer. It was really superb! I miss it and wish that they would bring this back!
Do you know of ANYTHING in this same family?
The closest thing that I have found is possibly First, but it does not have the depth or tobacco base that Tuxedo had.
ATnON96 – :
Tuxedo was indeed marketed as a fragrance for women when it was introduced in 1979. Remember, sugary/fruity/candy fragrances were NOT the norm back then. No, frilly femininity was on the way out and empowered femininity was on its way in. This was the era when Charlie was introduced (1973) with (I believe) Cheryl Tiegs wearing a pantsuit in the ads, something that was quite a new deal at the time… In fact, at my public high school in upstate New York, girls were strictly forbidden to wear trousers and one very, very cold and windy winter day saw us holding a protest by all wearing trousers to school when temperatures in the early morning (when we’d wait at the bus stop) had plunged to below zero. We prevailed and were allowed to wear trousers to school from that day forward.
Tuxedo was an oakmoss wonder, very deep, dark and even a bit “chewy” in the way that only fragrances with lots of patchouli are now. Labdanum, ylang ylang and clove also played prominent and very noticeable roles. I used to walk through a department store on my way home from work and spritz myself royally from the tester before breaking down and finally buying one of those marvelous black bottles.
A couple of years ago I was lucky enough to purchase a couple of 4oz bottles of Irma Shorell/Long Lost Perfume’s recreation (from the original formula) when they were closing out their stock. It is identical and I treasure every drop. The juice is very dark and the aura created is one of a comfortable orchestra seat in a beautiful old theatre as the lights go down and the curtain begins to rise. Simply marvelous!
qxt260bedyWelty – :
I must be crazy or dreaming but I had a small bottle of Tuxedo and I was sure it was marketed for men. I used to wear it in the early 80s as a dressy alternative to Polo. It was in a sleek black bottle, like Lauren and was very elegant.
The notes above are easily unisex, leaning more towards men. I doubt that RL would have launched a ladies fragrance so soon after Lauren. It was several paces beyond Chaps. After all is said and done, it is sadly long forgotten.
Does anyone else remember this one?
Malih1993 – :
I loved this perfume and wish it hadn’t been discontinued.
DANGER89 – :
Just bought this from Long Lost Perfumes. It brought back so many wonderful memories. The Original Tuxedo is gone (far too short-lived), but LLP has done quite well duplicating it. I immediately received a compliment on the first day I wore it.