The Pony Express delivers a Bali High!
The Ralph Lauren Big Pony Fragrance Collection for Women got off to a rousing launch with a trip to the island paradise that is Bali. Similar in concept to the Men’s Collection, the Women’s fragrance line has four distinct, individual variants, loosely bonded by a common outlook on Life how we have to enjoy it to its fullest, and how that zest means we “live it in Color!” The collection celebrates today’s multi-faceted young women, isolating four of their vital attributes: namely, Sporty, Seductive, Free-Spirited and Stylish. With the fragrances, each attribute is given its own floral backdrop, matched with a compelling “top note,” and this results in four very unique fragrances all bright and energizing, yet with very clear identities!
Sporty is the blue bottle (1) with a floral citrus scent.Grapefruit and blue lotus are the dominant notes of this energetic, vibrant fragrance. The pink bottle (2) is the sensual floriental fruity, with cranberry and tonka mousse at the flirtatious forefront; and the free-spirited yellow bottle (3) harnesses yellow pear and mimosa to create an alluring, crisp floral green. The purple bottle (4) is the more sophisticated, exotic style scent, oriental floral, driven by cherry and purple amber. Most of the girls testing the four, immediately had two (even three) favorites, and that’s exactly what Ralph Lauren fragrances predicted. Women aren’t one-dimensional, and whether for a day/night contrast, or simply because she “feels” it, what mood one is in can dictate which scent one would use.
This celebration of the multi-layered, of diversity and multi-faceting, was mirrored in the itinerary and activities that were planned out for us over the four days of Bali High! Sporty meant taking on the nearby rice paddies on an ATV, while Sensual was experienced via a wonderful spa session at the fabled W Retreat & Spa. Free-spirited came in the form of a visit to the imposing Uluwatu Hindu Temple that’s majestically perched on the top of a cliff that overlooks the Indian Ocean; although I joked that it could also mean the copious amounts of wine and alcohol that accompanied our every glorious meal! And there were great ones, at Bebek Bengil (Dirty Duck) in Ubud, at the ultra-sleek and “in” Potato Head, at Warisan, and the Woo at W’s poolside. As for Stylish, one only had to count the purchases made at the Handicraft Art Market and the rush to secure high-quality, but affordable snakeskin bags, pouches and envelopes.
The food, the company, the shared experiences they all made for four glorious Bali days, and effusive, sincere thanks are in order to the L’Oreal team of Charisse, Janie and Carlo, as well as the events group of Ferdi, Czarina, Kimmy and Rocky, for making it all possible. No stone was left unturned, from the flight arrangements to the accommodations at Seri Villas, in making this a truly wonderful week. Our welcome loot bag even had a Bahasa phrase-book and calculator (for foreign exchange/currency considerations).
In fact, my birthday, April 12th, was celebrated at the aforementioned Woo at W, a dinner that had the Villas staff preparing a special birthday cake with two candles. Someone asked why two candles, and I responded that at my age, that’s “TWO many to count” and I don’t even make a big deal about my birthday, hoping that resolute denial will just make the years slip by! Unfortunately, that doesn’t wash in this world of Facebook and Twitter, and earlier that day, I had people looking up from their mobiles or iPads, asking if it really was my birthday and saying I lied on my Facebook profile info wasn’t going to get me off the hook!
The last time I was in Bali before this trip was more than a decade ago, so it was instructional to see how this island has developed and prospered through the years. Nusa Dua, Ubud, Seminyak, Kuta, each area has its own niche of tourists that it caters to, from Lonely Planet back-packers to high-end luxury holiday-seekers. It was a blast to get a new dose of Bali High, and am grateful to Ralph Lauren fragrances for having me on this media tour!
The official ‘class photo’ at the dinner held at W Retreat & Spa, Bali, on the night of my birthday. Thank you, Ralph Lauren Big Pony Collection! (Seated, from left) Sarah Sarmiento, Patrick Ty, LA Consing Lopez, Janie Latayan, Charisse Hernandez, Tessa Prieto-Valdes, Czarina Ledesma, Isabel Roces and Ferdi Salvador; (standing, from left) Charlotte Gonella, Bearwin Tanco, Carlo Lina, Marbee Go, Suki Salvador, Ingrid Chua-Go, the ‘birthday boy’, Pauline Suaco-Juan, Sharleen Tan, Karen Pamintuan, Agoo Bengzon and Bea Ledesma. 
