Dolce & Gabbana’s 2008 spiced tobacco-and-amber woody by Olivier Polge, and the start of the house’s One line.
At a glance
The One for Men is a Dolce & Gabbana eau de toilette launched in 2008 and composed by Olivier Polge. It is a woody-spicy fragrance: grapefruit, coriander and basil over cardamom, ginger and orange blossom, on a base of tobacco, amber and cedar.
It is the anchor of The One line, which grew to include The One Gentleman, The One Sport and a long run of stronger concentrations. Parfumo lists the eau de toilette as still in production.
Creation and context
Fragrantica and Parfumo both date the launch to 2008 and credit Olivier Polge. Now Smell This reviewed it on 7 May 2008 and names Polge as the perfumer. According to Wikipedia, Polge was then working at IFF, where he had been since 1998. He later succeeded his father, Jacques Polge, as Chanel’s head perfumer in 2015.
The fragrance was built as a counterpart to The One of 2006. Fragrantica reports that Stefano Gabbana wanted a very classic fragrance, one that would last for years rather than follow a passing trend. It arrived in the Procter & Gamble years of the Dolce & Gabbana licence, which began in 2006 and produced The One and its flankers.
The timing was unusual. Now Smell This noted that a warm, ambery, spicy fragrance was being released in spring, and described its character as better suited to cool weather.
The composition
Dolce & Gabbana has not published the formula. The structure below uses the materials named by both Fragrantica and Now Smell This.
Now Smell This found that the citrus-spice opening fades within minutes and that the fragrance then turns into what the reviewer called a “spice cookie accord” before settling into a vanillic, woody musk. The same review describes the tobacco as subtle rather than dominant. The effect is a warm, slightly sweet spiced wood rather than a heavy tobacco fragrance.
Why it matters
The One for Men gave Dolce & Gabbana a second long-running line beside Light Blue pour Homme. Light Blue took the house in a bright, citrus direction; The One kept a warmer register, with spice, tobacco and amber in this version and fruit, white flowers and vanilla in the 2006 original.
Its lasting influence is the line it started. The house built The One Gentleman (2010) and The One Sport (2012) on the same name and bottle, and later extended the original into eau de parfum and stronger concentrations. Now Smell This described the original’s square flacon as “heavy as a brick”, and the later editions in this line kept the same shape.
Reformulation and editions
Fragrantica and Parfumo both list an eau de parfum from 2015, also credited to Polge. The line also includes The One Gentleman and The One Sport. Fragrantica lists further versions, including an Eau de Parfum Intense and a 2025 The One Pour Homme Parfum. The One of 2006, a fruity floral on amber, musk and vanilla, is profiled separately.
The documented notes have shifted over time. Parfumo’s current entry for the eau de toilette lists bergamot, Tarocco orange and basil over orange blossom, lavender and clary sage, on amber, sandalwood and cedar, which is not the 2008 pyramid above. Neither Parfumo nor Fragrantica says when or why the listing changed, so treat older and newer bottles as potentially different.
Wearing it today
Expect a quick citrus-and-herb opening, a warm cardamom and ginger heart, and a sweet, woody tobacco-amber drydown. Now Smell This rated its lasting power as average and its sillage as minimal, so a few sprays suit close company better than a crowded room.
It works best in autumn and winter, for evenings and dressier settings. If you want more depth, try the eau de parfum beside the original; if you want something lighter for warm weather, compare it with The One Sport.