dolce and gabbana

Le Bateleur 1 by Dolce & Gabbana

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Dolce & Gabbana released it so-called Anthology series of fragrances a few years ago and I have already reviewed two of these colognes on this site already (La Force, Le Fou). In all honesty, this line of scents has been quite disappointing.

Not that they are horrible fragrances by any means, it just seems that they are all sort of bland and/or weak in their longevity and projection. In this post, I want to take a closer look at Le Bateleur 1 from D&G.

What does La Bateleur 1 Smell Like?

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Notes include: coriander, juniper berries, cardamom, cedar, vetiver, and birch

My Full Wear Review

Upon the first spray, I noticed an aquatic quality to this and definitely the juniper berries. That’s what the opening is mostly consisting of in my opinion, water and juniper. It’s nice and has an earthy and woodsy fragrance to it sitting underneath that main accord.

This is a woodsy aquatic, versus the usual fruity or oceanic type of scent. That’s good, if you’re looking for a change of pace.

After a while, it does seem to shift a bit more into the woodsy feeling than being strictly an aquatic with berries. Cedar and birch are the woody notes early on. Then, the dry down will be more about cedar and vetiver.

The final dry down is a cold and fresh woody fragrance. Still quite aquatic, but no

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Sillage wise, it’s below average. The opening act isn’t too bad and it reaches a moderate status during that part. However, for most of the wear, I forgot that I was even still wearing La Bateleur.

If I pressed my nose close to the skin, I could detect it. But, outside of that, not really.

Longevity wise, it isn’t that great. Maybe 4 hours on my skin. It’s quite subpar with how it performs. If it had more of a boost in this department, I would be more enthusiastic about adding this one to the collection.

It is a fresh smell that is slightly masculine but could pull off a unisex application. It’s not heavy and animalistic, just a clean woodsy and sometimes hard to pin down scent.

That’s the strength of this scent. You can pretty much wear it whenever and it wouldn’t be that bad of a choice. I would skip nightlife or if you’d want to draw complements. It doesn’t really stand out.

Overall Impressions

Like the rest of the Anthology series (save for L’Imperatrice 3), I feel that this cologne isn’t really anything that special. I definitely like it but not as much as Le Fou 21 or any of the plethora of great fragrance options that I have.

It seems to me that all of the fragrances in this series have plenty of positive qualities, however, none are complete. It’s like they are all missing one ingredient are quality that would tie them together and make them good performers.

Do I recommend it? Not really. It’s a nice scent but I couldn’t justify buying a whole bottle for myself. Give the sample size a try and see if it works for you. It’s not one that even smells terrible, it’s just completely forgettable.

Update: This one came out in 2009, was never popular, and isn’t really around much anymore. Getting a bottle now, would probably be too expensive to even be worth it. So, unless you do get a sub-30 dollar bottle, don’t even worry about this.

The One Gentleman by D&G

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The One line has spawned a ton of different fragrances over the years. I have gone through and reviewed all of them except for today’s entry, The One Gentleman. This is actually an older release which came out back in 2010. How does it smell? Does it last long? Is it actually worth a try?

What does The One Gentleman Smell Like?

Notes include: cardamom, vanilla, pepper, lavender, watercress, patchouli

Click here to try: The One Gentleman

My Full Review

The One Gentlemen starts off with a burst of the same cardamom note found in the rest of the ‘The One’ series of colognes. It’s pronounced flanked by a peppery spice and the underlying familiarity of vanilla.

There’s something a bit different about this opening though. I think it is the inclusion of the watercress note. A bit of a fresh herbal smell, not something I come across routinely, and not exactly sure if I like it or not in this mix.

That watercress aroma will tone down as we move along and basically have no influence thereafter.

After this initial phase passes, the lavender note comes in, to join the cardamom in being the main event. With the lavender, the vanilla note feels a bit powdery less of a creaminess here, and the pepper still commands some attention.

Patchouli sort of takes over for the watercress, giving this a greener/earthy influence. As it wears on, this is less spicy more of a classic creamy vanilla and the lavender note which stays strong throughout.

Gentleman really does turn into a lavender heavy fragrance the deeper you get into its development. It’s all pretty fresh and somewhat sweet, with a unique take on The One name.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatilty

Sillage wise, it’s above average, but its initial punch doesn’t last super long. About an hour plus of decent scent trail creation and projection off of the skin. After that, The One Gentleman is going to be closer to the skin, but with a few feet of projection.

After 4 hours, it’s basically a skin scent.

The longevity is okay. I get somewhere in the 5-6.5 hour range with this Dolce & Gabbana fragrance. It doesn’t go beyond that high end and can also quit a bit before it hits the five hour mark.

Pretty average to somewhat above average, sort of depends on the day for me.

Seasonally, I like this best in the autumn or winter. I’d avoid the high heat of summer, but it isn’t too cloying in a more moderate spring-like setting.

It does have a pretty great amount of versatility. It could be a daily wear, good for younger guys, and even venture into the nightlife. It’s not the most well put together cologne, so, I don’t think it lives up to the ‘Gentleman’ moniker. 

It’s not anything that’s going to jump out as being overbearing or cheap, but I don’t think it has much appeal as a formal sort of fragrance.

 

 

Overall Impressions of The One Gentleman

Overall, do I like this cologne? I don’t hate it, but it really doesn’t appeal much to me either. This is a scent that I thought I’d enjoy more based on the notes, but it doesn’t hit the mark. 

The vanilla and the cardamom are highlights of the experience. When it turns more into a lavender bomb, Gentleman sort of loses me. It’s fine, just nothing really impressive here. Gentleman ranks in the back half of The One colognes, in my opinion.

The performance is fair. Not a powerhouse and not something that’s going to last all day, while not being utterly useless either. 

For a lot of guys, this is going to be a pass, as there isn’t a distinct reason to own it. Some seem to like this one, but for most it’s just decent. If you can find it at a huge discount, then, why not? Otherwise, why?

The One Mysterious Night by D&G

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I’ve been retesting and going through the other flanker fragrances of D&G’s The One lineup, that I hadn’t tried before over the past few months. One of them, which was new to me, is The One Mysterious Night. This 2018 release is a part of there special edition ‘Night’ collection. How does it smell? Does it last long? Is it worth a try?

What does The One Mysterious Night Smell Like?

Notes include: grapefruit, saffron, rose, oud, clary sage, amber, woods, labdanum, tonka bean

Click here to try: The One Mysterious Night

My Full Review

Right off of the bat, I have to say that I’m not a fan of rose and oud scents. Individually, I can like these notes well enough, but together they become bothersome.

Not only do I not find the smell all that appealing. It’s also the fact that every designer uses the same exact formula with these two notes and then charges $400 per bottle. At least, this D&G is an affordable example.

Just putting it out there, as this doesn’t have the same effect on me as it does with others…who rank this fragrance highly.

Upon first spraying, Mysterious Night actually reminds me somewhat of 1 Million Cologne, the flanker to the more popular namesake. Grapefruit, rose, some light tonka bean. Cologne has a huge citrus blast with the rose and an aquatic note, but this gives me flashbacks.

That’ll fade, the rose and spiciness of this fragrance will come out. It’s actually got a surprising amount of powder to it. Sort of like in Burberry Brit, just without the greenish notes.

Sage really comes through for a while, like it does in Luminous Night. However, that won’t be the main focus because the saffron here has a pretty massive impact on the composition.

The dry down is better for me. I like the tonka bean, wood, and amber/labdanum. The earlier notes settle down somewhat and Mysterious Night feels more balanced and tolerable.

It’s an ambery rose with wood and tonka bean. The intensity isn’t to the same extent and I can actually somewhat enjoy this.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Sillage wise, you definitely get your money’s worth. Mysterious Night has a massive projection and ability to leave a scent trail…for hours on end. I can spray this one on clothes and smell it in the next room.

Not the most extreme ever, but for a designer cologne, this stuff is loud.

The longevity is also insane. Well into the double digit hours on skin. I’m getting about 12 hours on the top end of things.

On clothing, I swear this will last for weeks. Mysterious Night sticks and doesn’t ever seem to want to let go.

Seasonally, stick to late autumn and winter. This has enough heft and thickness to it, that it’s way too much for any sort of heat.

It’s an attention grabbing fragrance, whether that’s good or bad will depend on the crowd, I suppose. But, Mysterious Night lives up to its name, and is a fragrance that is basically going to be a wear for the nightlife.

It has a certain amount of depth and style, as such it’s not a casual nighttime wear. Maybe one you’d want to wear when you’re dressed up and want to exude a sense of power.

Skip the daily wear use, if you’re in close environments, though.

My Overall Impressions of The One Mysterious Night

Overall, do I like Mysterious Night? Not particularly. I wasn’t expecting to going into testing it out and it was basically just as I thought it’d be.

The oud, rose, amber, and saffron combination gets done again and again. So, there’s not much new ground being laid. But, as far as examples of this style of scent goes, this D&G gives you plenty of value for something that’s not too expensive.

The opening hour or so, is when this is a bit too much for my tastes. Then, it does improve into something, that while I still don’t enjoy it, it’s got some positive attributes.

The performance is awesome, unlike many of the others in The One lineup. Not a weak scent and it goes for a very long time. That’s the real strength of this fragrance.

If you like this style of fragrance, you know what you’re getting here. The oud isn’t too heavy in the mix versus a lot of the others, so, it can be more wearable for people.

If you’re not familiar with these notes, this isn’t a blind buy. If you really want to try, get a sample to see if it speaks to you.

It’s my least favorite of The One Night series and I’ll recommend try the much more crowd friendly, Luminous Night, if you can find a bottle.

The One Royal Night by D&G

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Royal Night is part of The One ‘Night’ series from Dolce & Gabbana. It was released in 2015. I was interested in trying this one out, seeing how it compared to the originals and Luminous Night. The wood notes sounded intriguing and like this could have some more power behind it. How does it actually smell? When should it be worn? Is it actually worth a try?

What does The One Royal Night Smell Like?

Notes include: basil, cardamom, pear wood, nutmeg, amber, cedar, sandalwood, labdanum

Click here to try: The One Royal Night

royal night review

My Full Review

Here’s how D&G describes it: Steeped in mystery, sophistication and masculinity, The One Royal Night takes us on an olfactory journey to the Middle East, echoing its scents and sensations. Part of the Oriental Woody scent family, it explores the multi-faceted world of spices and brings the richness of Amber to life in a refined novel way.

The opening of The One Royal Night is really strong with the cardamom note. Basil and nutmeg also provide a spicy blast from the outset. You can tell that this shares plenty of the overlap with The One EDP or EDT, with how it starts.

But, noticeably absent is the grapefruit and the tobacco. This doesn’t have that same sweet warm and instead goes for something that is fresher and strong with woods.

Dolce describes the pear wood note as having a leathery facet. I do pick up something like that underneath the main accord along with some resinous and a bit scratchy base note.

The opening spice is short-lived. Basil gets out of the way quickly and nutmeg isn’t far behind. But, that sticks around for more than an hour. Royal Night really is the cardamom show for most of its existence, before the amber and woods start to take their share.

At this stage, it’s more about cardamom and cedar with what I guess is that pear wood note, taking a back seat. Less of a punchy spice and more of a clean and somewhat sharp wood.

Finally, the dry down is well, really dry. But, it has a certain sweetness to it that is kind of thick. The cardamom, amber, and sandalwood are the standouts. The rest of the composition is just the other woods.

So, it goes from major cardamom fragrance to a really woody cologne with amber and cardamom.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Sillage wise, the opening has some pop to it. But, it’s never all that loud with the scent trail or projecting that far off of the skin.

Sure, that initial basil and nutmeg punch does give it a strong start. However, I don’t think this has that much more power than the EDP version of The One. Maybe slightly stronger, just not much.

The latter stage is particularly soft. Woods and amber. Pretty light. Present, but not overwhelming.

The longevity seems to be right around that 5.5-7 hour range. Maybe I could squeeze a few more hours with more sprays, if I had a full bottle. But, with the sample sprayer this is about what I got.

Those last few hours are basically skin scent level projection.

Seasonally, break this one out in the autumn and winter months. Better as a nighttime wear, in more formal than casual situations. Not really one to wear to work during the day.

Better for older guys than teenagers. Royal Night does have a level of attractiveness to it, being a The One scent, but not the same type of date night vibe as the EDP. Still, wouldn’t be out of place in that context, however.

Overall Impressions of Royal Night

Overall, do I like Royal Night? I like it, don’t love it. I don’t think that it smells as good as The One EDP and doesn’t even surpass Luminous Night…but that’s a closer contest.

I think other people like this one for its woody depth and that amber/labdanum combination during the latter stages.

For me, I like that spicy opening. Amped up cardamom and basil from the original, that’s not held back by grapefruit or tobacco? I like it. Again, not to the same extent I like that original formulation, but it’s got an interesting aroma.

The dry down is just another amber and woods combination. That’s nice, smells fine, just kind of boring to me. The sandalwood is a good one, but nothing that I get too excited about.

The performance is decent, pretty standard fare for The One line, especially with the eau de parfums.

If the cardamom and woody aspects of the EDP edition appealed to you. Then, Royal Night might be the scent for you. Outside of that, it’s worth giving a try, but probably not one that a lot of people will want to blind buy.

The One for Men by Dolce & Gabbana

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The One EDT was literally one of the first fragrances I bought to review when I started this site back in 2013. If I actually ever posted my review, it has since been deleted, as the performance of this cologne was so bad that I felt it to be useless to post.

Well, fast forward to today, I wanted to dive into this whole D&G collection and start off by revisiting this 2008 release that has been mega-popular ever since. I always loved the smell, it just lasted for less than an hour on my skin, at the time. Has that changed? What are my thoughts now after nearly a decade of avoidance? Please continue below for my full take.

What does The One for Men Smell Like?

Notes include: grapefruit, basil, coriander, amber, tobacco, ginger, cardamom, orange blossom, and cedar

Click here to try: The One EDT

the one for men review

My Full Review

Before we get into my review, here’s how D&G describes it: Dolce & Gabbana The One for Men is an elegant, sensual perfume that is decidedly modern but also a unique, timeless classic. It is the natural, masculine version of Dolce & Gabbana The One. An Oriental Spicy perfume which is developed from the harmony of Tobacco notes and refined spices.

The One EDT opens up fresh with its grapefruit and array of spices taking center stage.  The grapefruit here is more along the lines of the older versions of the brand’s Light Blue fragrances, instead of the realistic one used in Light Blue Forever.

The spices early on are a mix, but you can pick out a few. The coriander is stronger than that basil note, but even that has its run during the initial spray.

It’s a warm oriental sort of spice, sitting on that base sea of amber, and given a pop by the fairly short-lived citrus note. Basil and ginger are two of my favorite and underutilized spices in fragrances…and both are the first to fade away.

Coriander and cardamom are really the one’s which show up on my skin. With the latter, adding a bit more of a citrus like impression with grapefruit and the white floral orange blossom heart.

The initial fresh spiciness will begin to take a back seat. The One becomes smoother and smokier with how it presents itself. Just a light smokiness, rather than heavy incense or anything like that.

The spices also become more of a combination versus anything distinct in how they present. At this point, it’s a amber and tobacco show with a noticeable cedar, and hints of: spices, smokiness, orange blossom, and a very light citrus.

The final dry down is basically a faint amber and tobacco without much else. Still smells nice, you just need to press your nose to it. Spicy and fresh gives way to a still warm and somewhat sweet scent.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Sillage wise, that initial 30-45 minutes or so is pretty solid. Even with 4-5 sprays from sample vials, I still got a good trail going from either skin or clothing.

It probably peaks at the 5-6 foot range off of the skin. After that, you’re going to be looking at something that sits within 1-2 feet. That draw down is really fast from being noticeable to if not a skin scent, close to it.

So, I also tested The One out side by side with a fragrance of a similar style, Noir Extreme by Tom Ford. 5 sprays on the one sample vial versus 2 sprays of a Noir Extreme vial. An hour or so in, the Tom Ford has a much more noticeable presence.

Seasonally, the warmth and spices is built for the autumn and winter months. I would avoid the hotter weather and humidity. Cold to moderate temperatures is where The One for Men smells absolutely divine.

It is a versatile fragrance. It is a sexy and attractive date night or nightlife wear. Though, it’s not offensive or completely out of place during the day. The tobacco note, might not always be appropriate, but it also might not be strong enough to really matter.

It is an interesting fragrance, as it does have a level of maturity to it. While also being dynamic and not at all stuffy. Younger guys and a lot of teenagers, really wouldn’t have an issue using this cologne.

Overall Impressions of The One EDT

Overall, do I like The One for Men? The smell, I still adore. The performance…still pretty bad. Though, not as terrible as I remember.

I mean 3-4 hours is absolutely not great. Especially when the projection is so light a few hours in. This is in contrast to my memory of it not lasting an hour previously.

The One features some of my favorite notes and a style, which I really enjoy. Ginger, basil, cardamom. Orange blossom is among my favorite floral notes. Amber is great. Plus, a very nice rich tobacco note for this sort of mainstream cologne.

The problem is, when all combined together…these notes don’t hold up in an EDT concentration.

As such, is it a buy? I mean, maybe. I would try to get a huge discount. Probably putting on some unscented lotion on my skin before spraying, to aid longevity. Also, I’d spray it heavily each time using.

The One EDT is an amazing smelling and mass appealing fragrance. Performance for most folks, just isn’t great. Really, among the best sellers in this category, it smells better than the vast majority.