Date for Men Fragrance One 2019

So here it is now for a few weeks, the second fragrance from Fragrance One. I resisted buying this fragrance for a long time, particularly because of the price of €220, I admit. However, I found it at a reasonable price and decided to go for it. I want to evaluate this fragrance completely impartially, without letting myself be influenced by the almost exclusively negative comments regarding my first impression. I don't like that and would find it unfair. First of all, I ask myself: What is my subjective expectation of a fragrance created for the man who is supposed to wear it on a date? - For me, a date fragrance must be dark, seductive, profound, mature, thoughtful, woody, with a slight sweetness, preferably (a hint of) oriental (e.g. through rose, jasmine, cardamom, incense, sandalwood, vanilla, tonka or oud), pleasant sillage (not overwhelmingly strong but also not too weak) and created with dedication. I would also like the bottle to suggest that it is a date fragrance. I wouldn't mind a dark red/burgundy presentation - by the way, this is one of my personal criticisms of Fragrance One's presentation, as all bottles seem to be and remain black. I would wish for more color appropriate to the theme of each perfume from this brand. Black, for example, for an evening fragrance for a "Black Tie Event." By the way, I found the transparent bottle of the second batch of Office for Men much more fitting in color for the theme "Office" than the current one, just as a side note...

Now, onto the fragrance. First, I always like to smell the sprayer and the cap to get an initial impression of the perfume before it goes on the skin, a bit like opening a bottle of wine. I did the same this time. "What is this? Is the oud really noticeable here, contrary to what the comments have claimed so far?" I thought. Indeed, I detected something at the sprayer that smelled like oud. Apparently, this expensive oud from Laos that Jeremy always talked about in the videos. "Not bad! This could go on," was my positive attitude. However, when I first sprayed it on my forearm: BOOM! Fruit bomb! "What just happened?! Oud, where are you?" was my next reaction. Honestly, I couldn't have perceived that it was a composition of citrus notes like lemon, bergamot, and mandarin in the top note. What I smelled was a fruit salad of overripe synthetic fruits that overwhelmed everything. Really everything. Lemons and the like can be wonderful when they smell natural, Allure Homme Édition Blanche shows how it's done in the designer corner, for example (even though the scent character is not comparable)... No, this fruit bomb was too much of a good thing, too much at once and overly eager in its creation. And yes, the comparison to JPG Ultra Male is definitely there. So I grabbed my Ultra Male from the shelf and quickly sprayed it on the other arm to compare the two side by side. Somehow, Date also had a pear-like quality like Ultra Male in the top note, but obviously created with so-called "aroma chemicals" that are supposed to leave your impression of citrus and pear but are mixed in the lab... Everything feels unnatural, synthetic, and unbalanced. In direct comparison, Ultra Male is, however, more pear-heavy and even sweeter than Date in the opening. In any case, I did not like the Date top note at all. But cardamom, patchouli, oud, and vetiver are supposed to follow. After about 30 minutes, I still smelled the top note, still fruit salad. After 45 minutes, still, after 1 hour still top note - but stop! Kardamom has indeed crept in after the sweetness has slightly retreated. But not sweet cardamom like in La Nuit de L'Homme, but spicier. And the rest? Well, the heart note is practically skipped, and I honestly can't perceive the base note, not even after 5 hours because this top note just won't disappear. Date for Men won't hold out much longer, it seems to quickly become a skin scent. The highly praised Laotian oud is probably gone or perhaps never appeared. I only smelled it once at the sprayer and never again. Not even after the second testing.

I don't know exactly what ideas Jeremy Fragrance had for a date fragrance. Perhaps they don't even overlap with my ideas. But for my taste, Date for Men unfortunately missed the theme. I want to make it clear that this is not a catastrophic fragrance; there are far worse ones. It is certainly very safe and mainstream, but my senses tell me that it is not a date fragrance. The points I mentioned earlier (dark, seductive, mature, thoughtful...) that, in my opinion, define a date fragrance were not met. The perfume is, at first, especially shrill and loud and then persistently sweet. From its DNA or what I can perceive, it is an absolutely suitable fragrance for the club. Hence the title of this comment. If it had more sillage and longevity, it would be top-notch, honestly! Especially for the young audience, if the price were more reasonable, it could become popular. Of course, I am curious whether the community would see it similarly to me or perhaps has completely different ideas and opinions about it. I have also been wondering whether it was right to bring Alberto Morillas on board again. Nothing against Alberto Morillas, he has truly created great works. But he creates a lot for designer houses, and they want mainstream and mass appeal. Perhaps that's why there is simply a lack of a sense of "uniqueness," which is urgently needed in the perfume industry, even among designer perfumes! Creativity is so important, and many releases in recent years have simply been too flat. Fragrance One has a great opportunity as a young company. But their fragrance DNAs are still steering a bit in the wrong direction. Couldn't Jeremy reach out to other perfumers? There are certainly plenty of good, creative, and open-minded individuals who can work freely without "budget limitations." This way, at least in theory, great perfume masterpieces could be created.

Date for Men is a fragrance that is character-wise suitable for 16-25 year-olds, but for the age groups above, it is simply too sweet and playful, not mature, not profound, and youthful-naive. After all, a date shouldn't take place in a club ;-) I will keep the fragrance, and I will use it. My Ultra Male is almost empty, so at least I have a sort of alternative. I can't say anything about compliments; I'm not really into that. I also wish for more courage, edge, and risk from Fragrance One and am looking forward to the next creation for men.