The One for Men (2008)
by Dolce & Gabbana

With a name like “The One,” I expect this to be the fragrance equivalent of Jet Li. It isn’t – it opens without inspiration… the citrus / herbal opening is a bit ordinary, slightly plastic, and quite discreet… but I sort of like it. The middle, too, is rather pleasant, perhaps because of its discretion, lightness, and balance. It, too, is slightly spicy but it adds a floral that the pyramid says is orange blossom… hard for me to tell. The base is a soft presentation of amber, tobacco, and musk – nicely done…

The One is an okay scent. Its attractiveness is in its soft, balanced sillage, its well-thought-out construction, and almost adequate longevity. It’s too young for me but I would imagine that it’s a nice fragrance for a young man.

The One starts out life with a conventional but nicely rendered sweet citrus top note, rounded off by some discreet aromatics and a touch of cardamom. It quickly thickens and sweetens as a clean, but oddly “artificial” smelling white flower accord comes into play. The entire composition then assumes an olfactory texture akin to marshmallow candy, as a cloud of dusty cedar and powdery vanillic notes wells up in the foundation. The result is something like tropical fruit over coconut – not far removed, in fact, from a piña colada. I smell neither tobacco nor ambergris.

The poolside cocktail accord chugs right along, little paper parasol and all, until it arrives at its pleasant-but-insipid sweet woody/vanillic drydown. Sillage and projection are both adequate: neither is skimpy, but neither will offend your neighbors. In fact, there’s nothing here at all to hate. Nor, sadly, is there much to celebrate. Were you to take an edgier masculine gourmand – A*Men, say, or Lolita Lempicka au Masculin – and pare away anything that might cause even the slightest wrinkle of the nose, The One is very likely what you’d get. To whit, another in the vast herd of sweet, bland, woody masculine gourmands that encompasses scents like Burberry’s Brit, Rochas Man, and Givenchy’s Pi. Unnecessary.

this one starts off synthetic. then with haste this scent gets intriguing. i get some ginger. the discrete tobacco and ambergris is intresting and one whiff of this wont do because its enticing. the issues i have is that the one is inconsistent with that experience and at times the synthetic presence tends to hang around. a nice one by D&G.

A rather indistinct fragrance that meanders to its conclusion a little too hastily. A nice squelchy, fresh opening leads into the obligatory fragrant dead end. The middle notes sound like they are having a great time in there, but they didn't take the trouble to invite me. I wanted this to really intoxicate me, but either D & G felt I wasn't ready for the real thing, or this really is just a wisp of smoke pretending to be something special. Either way, its not really worth the effort getting to know this.

what makes me like this is the base notes--in fact its the only reason i wear it. they're wonderful, and i wish they existed in dior homme, because that combo would be perfect

This is a great evening scent. It is warm and sweet, and it has great lasting power. I have worn it many times, and I always get positive reviews about it. Many people have asked me what I am wearing, and do not hesitate to tell me how good it smells. I am a fan, and will buy again.