I've known of The One Gentleman for some time now, but some reason it only reached my local department stores fairly recently. I remember trying the original The One and thinking that it was ok, but not particularly remarkable. In a bland selection of mainstream offerings, it stood up quite well. For some reason I had a preconceived idea that this flanker would be rubbish. I don't know why, just did. As it turns out, the One Gentleman is actually surprisingly good. I've tried it a few times now and like its gentle combination of lightly spiced woods. The listed notes I've seen include pepper, grapefruit, lavender, fennel, cardamom, vanilla and patchouli, but my nose seems to detect an undercurrent of slightly buzzy ginger, with cardamom and sandalwood. I must be wrong, but I'll stick with what I perceive as a good rendition of ginger and slightly comforting spice and woods. The patchouli doesn't shout out either, but is quite subdued, but quite nicely done. The One Gentleman is not forceful, but quite understated. I like it. It's classified as an oriental fougere, and for once, I can make this connection. Is it brilliant? Well, as ever, this is partly a matter of taste. I like it, but am not necessarily doing ecstatic backflips over it. Having said that, in an increasingly bland and benign masculine perfume world, where consumer-focus groups seem more important than the actual products being released, The One Gentleman stands out as at least having some backbone and individuality, at least in my opinion.
