One Man Show Ruby Edition by Jacques Bogart

The One Man Show line never leaves anyone indifferent. They’re all powerful and polarizing scents (which makes them interesting). Very affordable and, of course, 100% synthetic. Here, the goal is to make a statement, and this Ruby Edition seems the most “playful” in the group. A perfume that starts sweet and pleasant but turns complicated toward the end. So far, my OMS ranking, from favorite to least favorite, is: 24K, Oud, Ruby, Gold.

The dry-down is phenomenal and super addictive; not a minute passes without it shifting slightly and smelling better. However, at 15 minutes it changes again (I was really surprised by those three rapid shifts). While it smells good, it reminded me a lot of Joop Homme, but without that bitter base note (I like Joop, but that medicinal note makes me hesitate). Honestly, this final phase didn’t appeal to me as much, and I’ll have to wear it longer to be convinced. If not for that final dry-down, I’d give it 5 stars.

Brutal, there’s no other rating for this authentic male bomb. Not for fussies used to current sweet, identical fragrances. Another Bogart/Lapidus masterpiece, too bad it’s so hard to find.

An incredible sensual and masculine perfume. Within a few days, you’ll notice girls showering you with compliments. To start, this isn’t for babies; if you’re into soft, clean citrus colognes, don’t even try it, because it was made for rough men. Even though many people don’t like it because it’s potent (people used to commercial fragrances with more alcohol than perfume), every nose perceives it differently. For me, it was the best surprise: a treasure only for the bold. Who would wear it? Imagine motorcyclists, heavy machinery operators, racers, miners, seamen with tons of testosterone. A refreshing punch of incredible ingredients that at first confuse with anise, but combined with oud, woods, lavender, and honey, it becomes a unique, scarce jewel worth its weight in gold. Unfortunately, it’s very discontinued and hard to get; I brought it back from a trip and will use it on the coldest days.

It’s a synthetic clone with a spicy twist on Ted Lapidus’s Black Soul Imperial. It shares the same opening, drydown, trail, and brutal longevity; differences become noticeable after three hours, as this OMS adds a spicy, animalic touch with a hint of vegetal civet (oud wood??), whereas Lapidus’s BSI features coffee and amber for more complexity and refinement. It’s a powerful and pleasant scent, feeling younger and much more synthetic than the original—slightly cheap in the drydown, but with a very interesting opening. Ideal for someone who wants to make an impact, positive or negative, thanks to its potency.

I tried it and gifted it to my dad. It’s a good scent, but too synthetic. The performance is monstrous—over 12 hours with huge projection. For the price, it’s a great option.

The opening is quite bold and youthful, featuring fresh lavender and the acidic note of green apple. Then comes the incense, and in the dry-down, you can detect hints of that famous oud note (it reminded me a bit of YSL’s M7). The finish strangely feels somewhat ambered and musky, despite not having those listed notes, perhaps due to the honey, labdanum, incense, and woods. It’s a fragrance with excellent price-to-quality ratio. The initial trail is a bit heavy and attention-grabbing, but it settles to a moderate trail after about three hours and lasts over 10 hours close to the skin. It works well as an oriental fougere and suits winter or informal occasions. It’s one of the better ‘red’ fragrances (in this case, Ruby) I’ve tried. Quite better than Polo Red, for example.