The Jersey Devil

[yewberry]

The scent of the wild, hauntingly beautiful Pine Barrens of New Jersey! Pitch pine with blackberry leaf, cranberry, cedar wood and tomato leaf.

I'd already fallen in love with this fragrance when I decided to bring it with me on a car trip this summer/early fall. Opening the imp next to my husband (who was driving) provoked an "Oooooh, that smells niiiiiice." And this from a guy who generally hates anything but the most basic essential oil blends.

Cedarwood and over-ripe berries on me. The tomato leaf note is there mostly at the beginning, mellowing at the dry-down. As others have mentioned, it's a strangely appropriate winter holiday fragrance, despite smelling thoroughly sun-drenched to me. Weird. I would also second the comment on throw--this one's amazing. The best throw of any BPAL scent I've tried. Edited November 3, 2007 by yewberry

[maribouquet]

This is nice! The pine is present but not overwhelming and the blackberry leaf and cranberry give this a sweet tang. I think I can pick out the tomato leaf - tomato plants have such a interesting, distinctive smell. This definitely puts me in mind of wet, tangled plants off the highway. Kind of cheerfully ominous!

 

The cranberry ends up being a little strong on me in the drydown.

[mhickle]

Okay, I think I am in love. This was in my first-ever order, and while I have definitely liked others that I've tried so far, this is one that I am just really loving. In the imp it's piney and earthy and lovely, with more fruit than when it's on my skin, and on me it smells like Christmas. But not in a super typical way. I am a big fan of the tomato in it - previously one of my favorite fragrances was Demeter's Tomato, as it smelled like the plant and not the fruit, and it's the same thing here. What a lovely scent!!

[Honeygirl]

Bottle: Sweet tomatoes

 

Wet: I smell the pine and tomatoes and something sweet and tangy. I guess that would be the cranberry.

 

Drydown: It's not a scent that's for me. It's far too earthy and a touch masculine. I might try it on my husband.

3.0 outta 5

[eclecticaurora]

Wow...this scent blows my mind...I don't know how Beth does it! While wearing it, if I don't have it right under my nose I smell the tomato leaf and piney smell, but when I put my nose right against my skin I smell only the cranberry goodness...Such a strange, but VERY pleasant scent! I was really sad when I found out that the single notes weren't going to be happening any longer because tomato leaf (which I was really looking forward to trying), I believe, was one of the unreleased ones, but I think I've found my fix for that! I will be putting this on my big bottle list.

Edited December 9, 2007 by eclecticaurora

[erraticprophet]

Initial Impression: berries

 

On Wet: cranberry, pine

 

On Dry: cedar, tomato leaf, pine, hint of cranberry

 

Final Impression: nice, but I prefer Nocnitsa for a forest-y scent with berries in it

 

Rating (on a scale from 1-5): 3

[velvetedge]

initially sharp pine, drying down to something sweet (probably the cranberry/blackberry) and the woodsy cedar. a nice scent, but i was so sad that i didn't pick up any of the tomato leaf smell. i love the weird sharp greeness of tomato leaves. oh well...

[GingerGunlock]

Holy smokes, the first time I put this on, when it was still wet and imp-fresh, all I could smell was pine. Pine-Sol Pine. Little cardboard car air freshener pine. I was kind of worried, and thinking "this isn't what the Pine Barrens smell like!"

 

But I waited (okay, so maybe I was frozen in fear and dismay). And it mellowed and somehow the blackberry leaf and tomato leaf and cranberry crept up and slid up from beneath and I was left with a scent that was so evocative of walking through the pines to the resevoir that nobody was supposed to go to (oops) to go fishing with my dad. There were blackberry bushes there, after you got out from under the trees. Before BPAL, I'd never had the slightest notion of a "morphing scent", but that's certainly what this one does on me, and I love it.

[taramarie]

In the imp and wet on my skin, The Jersey Devil is cranberry juice and cedar. Dry, the cedar is almost gone but the pine has arrived. I love this but I don't need a bottle.

[scarletgenesis]

Is it me, or does the Jersey Devil smell like Old Moon a bit? I realize that’s backwards b/c Old Moon came after this, but I tried Old Moon before Jersey Devil.

 

Both of them have a citrus-y opening on my skin, then eventually give up that wintry forest smell that is so gorgeous, plus some very mild berry notes.

 

I tried the Jersey Devil today for the first time, and am liking it thus far (I applied it about 2 hours ago). I will have to try out Old Moon again this weekend, or maybe do a side by side comparison (one on each wrist).

 

I love the cranberry. It’s very slightly sweet, with that tartness blending nicely with the cedar (which is just beginning to come out and OMG!)

 

Plus, I love the Repairman Jack series (by F.Paul Wilson), and the Pine Barrens figure prominently in at least one book, so that rocks as well.

 

Edited: I put this on at about 4am and it is now almost 8pm. I can STILL smell this bad boy and he's wonderful! Yessss precioussss.

Edited January 11, 2008 by scarletgenesis

[YoakeNoKami]

Imp: BERRY. PINE. 0.0;;

 

On/wet: Sweeeeeeet berries and a little pine, some sort of dry green leaf.

 

Drydown: This goes all squished ripe berries on me, with a dusty leaf note. We have blackberry bushes in our yard, and they smell like this towards the end of the summer, when the berries are gone and only the bushes are there still--I can certainly feel the tomato leaf coming through, and a faint, dry sweetness underneath. It reminds me ever so slightly of sun-dried tomatoes: Sweet, dry--with a little bit of succulent moisture in it, and an interesting body to the flavor like dried berries, too.

 

Edit: Much to my advantage to try it again when I could actually smell all the notes!

Edited January 15, 2008 by YoakeNoKami

[alicia_stardust]

The pitch pine is noticeable first, but it doesn't dominate. What I can really smell is the blackberry leaf and especially the tomato leaf. This is exactly the fragrance of a fuzzy green tomato leaf and vine. My hands have smelled like that many times after visiting the tomato garden.

 

Beyond that, the cedar adds a nice dry woodsy quality and the cranberry tempers the strength of the tomato leaf as time wears on. This is such an amazingly unique and evocative blend that I have to keep it just for the experience.

[smokey188]

This one smells a bit like Tweed(the perfume) to me, I have to say I don't really like it it's a bit to sharp for my liking.

[ranyart]

In the imp: pine, a hint of cedar, and a hint of cranberry.

 

Wet: I think I can smell the tomato leaf a bit as well. It's a weird mix of pine and plant-y, but the pine seems to dominate so far. I get a whiff of cranberry now and then, but it comes and goes.

 

Drydown: So far, this seems to be the nicest pine blend I've found, possibly because the "warm" notes make it blend with my body chemistry better than the "cold" ones (such as the Snow Storm, which sadly didn't work well on my skin) do. Now the cedar's coming out as well. This isn't what I expected, and maybe it'll morph more as it fully dries, but I'm intrigued.

 

Dry: It's settled into a vaguely fruity pine/cedar scent. Nice! Maybe there's a hint of musk in here? I'm not positive, but it seems like I can pick some out. I really with I could smell the tomato leaf more, because I absolutely adore that scent. Hopefully next time I try this out, I'll be able to smell it more.

 

I expected Jersey Devil to be a bit of an oddball scent on me, but it actually smelled less weird than I was expecting. The end result is really nice, though, so I'm not complaining.

[galleywest]

In the imp: sweet with pine. I can smell the cranberry and the blackberry leaf and quite a lot of pine.

 

Wet, on me: the pine is quite strong for a few minutes, with a sweetness rounding it out. So far, my favorite scent with pine, which is often overpowering on me.

 

Dry, on me: Oo la la! It's quite sweet, with just a little bit of pine in the background. I don't usually like sweet scents, but this one is cranberry without being too sweet or too sharp. The pine is just baaaaarely there, and the blackberry and tomato leaf add just enough oomph to give the cranberry an extra layer. I really enjoy this scent, it's very playful! I'm not sure I'll get a bottle (it's kind of rare for me), but definitely another imp if mine runs out any time soon. Highly recommended!

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Pine with a sweet and woody undertone.

 

Immediately on skin: This is a thick, deep pine blend. It’s green and cold, but there’s a bit of depth to it. There’s definitely a light wood note, though it doesn’t smell of cedar that much, and a slightly spicy green note as well as an underlying tart berry scent.

 

After a little while: This has turned into a nicely blended slightly earthy and berry-sweet pine scent. The pine has receded a little, and the other notes have come out to play. There’s a sweet berry quality, but also something a little earthy and green, which I guess is the blackberry or tomato leaf.

 

Overall Impressions: I don’t usually like pine scents, so this isn’t me, but I think it’s a very interesting blend. The pine is strong at first, but then recedes to let a nice sweetness come out as well as an interesting earthiness. This is very well blended and morphs nicely on the skin. It’s slightly chilly and more on the unisex side in my opinion.

[Aldercy]

When I first opened my imp of Jersey Devil, I splashed a few drops on my hand and my first impression of the scent was dreadful. It was just very strong, thick and unpleasant... like if sluggishness had a smell.

 

Now that I've applied it properly (and lightly), I have a much different impression. I ordered it because I was searching for a really earthy scent and though I don't think it's quite fulfilling that role, I like it alright. I'm definitely getting the tangy tartness of cranberries, but I thought the woody smells would be more prominent. It's strange because everyone seems to be commenting on the piney notes, but I'm not really getting that too much.

 

The other reason I ordered this was because I saw the words "tomato leaf." Actually, I do get an impression of that if I carefully sniff it in the vial, but there's no trace of it on my skin.

 

I thought this sounded like kind of an androgynous scent, which is what I was going for, but sometimes it seems a little masculine to me.

[fireweaver]

I mainly get pine with a touch of a tart sweetness of the cranberry. Very nice, but not me. I'd love it as a candle/room scent though!

[savvymercury]

on me, this is a very dry, woodsy sent. i get a little of the pine and blackberry, but the sweetness isn't overpowering. there's a lot of wood/earth in this blend. it's very elegantly done, none of the notes are overpowering.

 

rating: 7 out of 10

[zankoku_zen]

I quite enjoy the scent. Berries can be a bit overly sweet for my taste but in this case - the pine and the blackberry balance each other, and the other notes seem to create a green background that isn't too overwhelming.

 

Veerrry nice.

[tartchef]

Mm... this is a fruity cousin to Hemlock... there's that same pine-branch-dipped-in-clear-caramel feel, but with a lovely tannic, non-cloying berry note. As it dries, the tomato leaf peeps out, green & savory. It's a real mish-mosh of scents, like walking around a scented candle store, going down the pine aisle, the berry aisle, the kitchen candles aisle... Really interesting, but honestly not something I could see myself wearing regularly. It would make a pretty awesome room spray, if you were into that kind of thing...

[voodoocatwoman]

Mmmmm... woodsy with a hint of sweet berry. I don't detect the cedar too much (which is a good thing for me because cedar=hamster cage). This is a comfortable pleasing scent.

[fireflower]

I smell tomato leaf, pine, and something sweet. It's very like walking through a tomato garden that happens to be in a forest full of pine and blackberries. Oddly, there's a creamy element that comes to fore when I pull my nose away, which I can't really say what that could be. The pine is there but definitely not overwhelming or trying to make itself incredibly obvious. Unfortunately, due to my sucky skin chemistry, it turns to soap after a while.. but it was nice while it lasted!

[soonyi]

wet, i get alittle of the pine and more of the blackberry leaf (a la Glasgow) with a hint of the spice of tomato leaf ( scent i LOVE). all well balanced and not too sweet

 

dry, the whole mixture melds together and becomes softened by an ever-louder cranberry note. this is comforting and i would prolly wear it close to thanksgiving.

 

i never realised there was so much to my home state!

[faded_stranger]

I got this imp courtesy of the lovely Aldercy. I was excited about it, as I love tomato leaf, but it didn't surface for me in this blend. I got mostly berries with a background of pine and cedar. This isn't too sweet or fruity, and the pine doesn't remind me of Christmas. It's an unusual blend, and though it's not what I was hoping for, I'll enjoy using up the imp.