One Man Show
Jacques Bogart (1980)

Wow this really slaps you in the face. One Man Show, blind buy from recommendations. What can I say that hasn't been said already, not for the faint of heart, smells like a cheap Kouros wannabe from it's opening that comes out trashy and swinging it's punches but dries down to a much more manageable powdery scent on the skin.
Not for the young, for the daring!

EDIT: I've been reminded that Kouros was actually released after so wanted to update this and say that it didn't get any influence from YSL. I also wanted to add my review was from the current formulation which I heard was very similar to the original and I truely hope this is wrong, after watching some other reviews I do hear it is one of those fragrances that is now a shell of it's former self, whether Jaques Bogart needed to cut corners or the refomulation couldn't quite pull off the original blend i'm yet to find out but this scent I find quite cheap and repelling in its current state.

I like this one. At its core, it's a Brut-style minty fougere, but it's also got a lot of additional dark elements tacked on. There's clearly pine tar (which smells kind of like pine, but mostly leather), some sawdusty sandalwood, and some kind of sweet green resin, which I'm assuming is galbanum.

These darker elements work really well with the fougere core, creating something inky and dark, but still bright. I want to write something about a careful tightrope walk between dark and bright, but this is absolutely not carefully balanced - instead, it jumps gleefully into the darkness and is all the better for it.

By the base, animalics come to the forefront - leathery old-man sweat with cumin and dank vetiver. Oddly, this stage reminds me of Le Labo's signature leathery sweat accord, probably best known from Rose 31.

I can see how this isn't for everyone. It's almost laughably macho, though fans of the dark side of modern niche may well appreciate it. Thumbs up!

Just as many may have grown tired of the same formulaic manner of writing about fragrance, I have grown tired of some of my own played out tropes. What more can I add to the discussion of One Man Show? There are nearly 300 reviews on Fragrantica, 67 on Basenotes, and 17 more on Parfumo at the time of this writing. It's hard not to assume that all bases have been covered. Yet, I am compelled to give my thoughts as I have a sense of duty, as it were. A duty to give my take, even as I often debate its relevance—my take, not One Man Show, that is a whole other fistful of pine needles.

Pine needles, yes! One Man Show is the smell of pine needles...and man musk. One reviewed referred to One Man Show as "pleasantly green." It's "pleasantly green" like Schiaparelli Shocking is "pleasantly floral." Some mention urinal cakes, others mention root beer, still others mention fresh parsley. One person suggested it is the animus to Cacharel LouLou's anima. What is most fascinating is how varied the opinions truly are: from reverence to revulsion. Many have made clear that the vintage is richer and more full-bodied that more recent iteration, and I wholeheartedly agree. I had a newer bottle and it felt screechy, skeletal, and acrid. The vintage I now own has a sexy pith of pungency, a castoreum accord that newer versions lack, and just feels...seductive. A feral, masculine mischief of a scent.

Sure, I could say it isn't quite as refined as my beloveds, Yatagan and Devin. But I just can't help getting past the idea that this is what Al Pacino as Detective Steve Burns smelled like in Cruisin', dancing in that Meatpacking District bar, sweat dripping off his chest, dampening his black tank as he huffs that amyl-saturated tee. Ok, I will leave it at that. At least it can't be said that I added nothing new to the discussion.

Absolutely love it. Very masculine woody pine scent with spices, jasmine, vetiver, rose, patchouli I can even pick up the germanium in this one ! Definitely a strong cologne so be careful with this one I'd recommend 3 sprays max. I love how this smells different than everything else out on the market these days it's good to get away from all the sweet citrus smelling colognes out now.

One Man Show is a parade of contrasts, a olfactory feast, and it is my go-to comfort fragrance that I will often spray on just before I go to bed. To my mind, this is the early 80s in a bottle. It's masculine and sharp but also welcoming and nurturing. The opening has a touch of sweetness that quickly evaporates into something incredibly dry. It is inexpensive, yet it somehow smells rich. I'd wear this more if I was a banker, I think, someone who is keen to find value and who has no time for nonsense. Get to the point. Say what you mean. Even the bottle is practical, yet stylized. One Man Show is the less pretentious cousin of Polo. You get far more than you pay for in a bottle of One Man Show.

Excellent with time and proper (very light) application, choking and cloying if overdone. My first time, I sprayed one spray about 6 inches above my forearm and let the mist settle. Even with that, I had at least a 6 foot projection for about 3.5 hours, and it was just straight out-of-the-bottle fragrance. At that point, however, it fades to a mostly-personal fragrance and becomes a warm, woodsy, almost-oriental spicy scent. As the other reviews say, a very masculine scent, but at the right amount/time, surprisingly and delightfully complex while still being approachable.

I have since made my own personal decant so that I can apply a single dot of this to my skin, and it works perfectly. As a fall/winter scent, the bottle should last for the rest of my life, at about 1 cent per usage! Well done!