Calico Jack

[binaryfaerie]

Sea air, driftwood, waterlogged kelp, and the memory of plundered spices sprayed over worn leathers, rough musk, and the salty wooden floorboards of the Revenge.

This is the perfect pirate scent! It definitely reminds me of the ocean. Calico Jack smells very masculine to me, so I may have to get my boyfriend to try it out. Edited February 12, 2008 by binaryfaerie

[suki]

in the imp: salt water and heavy Dude Cologne

 

wet on skin: more of the Manly Man smell. like guys at a night club wearing too many gold chains.

 

dry down: the Dude-ness simmers down and a heavy, heavy aquatic note becomes dominant.

 

in all: this is SO not for me. off to swap!

[alsatia]

Expectations: Sweaty men on a fishing boat. Sounds rather unappealing when worded that way.

 

In vial: Very much like some commercial perfumes I've tried. I can pick out hints of saltiness and musk, but most of the notes just blend. I actually rather like it.

 

On skin, wet: Ew, soapy.

 

On skin, dry: Leather dipped in salt water. It's starting to tickle my nose.

 

After time: Water with dry things floating on top. Very little throw, which is good because it would probably start making me sneeze if I had to smell it consistently.

 

Conclusion: I really wanted to like the pirate-themed scents, but the ones I've tried so far just don't work on me. Calico Jack is another case of me wishing I had a man to slather it on.

[tziporra]

Frimp from the lab. Thank you!!!!!

 

Blast of salty pirate sea air, as promised.

 

Lovely cologne smell. Very bracing and manly. Very well blended - I can't really pick out notes here, although I might get a hint of leather....

 

Spicy without being dry, which is unusual. The spiciness almost gets me to sneezing which leads me to believe that I will not be trying this on the man.

 

Best,

 

Tzi

[savage_rose]

Really, really sexy aftershave. I want to hit on myself and ask me where I've been all my life!

 

As nice as it smells on me, I can't wait to slather it on the husband when he comes home. I'll bet it will smell even better on him.

[bellacalla]

At first, smells like "Men's Cologne" - like the stereotypical scent of a dude wearing cologne.

 

 

I get the salt and wood more as it dries, but the cologne smell is still strongest. It fades very quickly and is nicer once it's less strong - I don't find it offensive or anything, but I don't think it's something I would ever wear.

[Rouge]

A freebie from the Lab! I generally don't have much luck with aquatics, or leather for that matter, but I love Port Royal, so I'm hoping Calico Jack will work out for me.

 

In the vial - Light but very masculine. Salt, leather and wood.

 

Wet on the skin - I can really smell the sea! It's a clean and woody scent that; full of fresh air and seaspray. It makes me wish I was on the deck of ship with the sun sparkling off the sea and the wind in my hair.

 

Next stages - Luckily it hasn't gone dirty and sour as most aquatics tend to do on my skin, but it's not developing into anything particularly interesting either.

 

Dry down - Now that the saltiness has mellowed down, it's a generic masculine cologne. I probably won't be wearing this again, but I may use it as a room scent.

[naeelah]

Wet, it's definitely all aquatic. Strong, salty, breezy aquatic. Although I'm not a fan of aquatics, I think it's nice. It has a masculine edge. Initially, it reminds me of The Phoenix, minus the lime.

 

As it dries, the AQUA! recedes and lets some of the other notes shine through. After about 15 minutes, I think I can finally smell everything. It's much better balanced now. There's still plenty of the aquatics, but now I can smell crisp woods, leather, and just a hint of dry spices in the background. (There's definitely some clove present.) I can't identify the musk, because it blends well, but it's there, binding everything together.

 

A lot of people have described this as generic dude cologne, but fortunately, it does NOT smell like that on me.

 

Throw is quite good. I think I like this best of all the aquatic blends I've tried. (Normally I hate aquatics, but if I had a boyfriend, I'd have him give this a try.) Try it if you like aquatics and want a lightly spicy one. The combination of wood, leather, and clove makes me think of Count Dracula at sea.

[gchris]

In Vial: Strong, buttery alcohol, masculine

 

Wet: Mmm nice. Smells of wet wood and shower fresh clean. This would be Great on a man. The wet wood has a bitter sharpness to it.

 

Later: This is getting sweeter. The bitterness has fainted into the background. Reminds me of something an older man would wear, maybe the grandfatherly type. This is an inviting scent.

[taniableu]

This is a sexy scent, but I think that I prefer it on my boyfriend.

 

Wet - Aquatic and masculine. Not in a way that reminds me of the artificialness of Cool Water, but a literal salty aquatic scent. This is the smell of the ocean on a stormy winter's day.

 

Dry down - It becomes woody after a few minutes and that saltiness is still prevalent. This is deliciously sexy!

 

Dry - This has developed and changed quite a bit. Err, did anyone else notice that it starts to smell like a certain male bodily fluid?. There, I said it. The fresh stuff, mind you. Not altogether a bad thing. It's slightly animalistic while still maintaining it's initial aquatic notes.

 

This doesn't last for too long on me, then again, not too many scents do. I swear that I have blotting paper for skin!

[galahad]

In The Bottle

Fresh with a touch of melon sweetness but with a bitter afterthought

 

On Application

Definitely sea air with just a hint of saltiness

 

Dry Down

Wow, this does warm and sweeten up more as it dries down but the briney quality increases. Definitely has a cool and damp feel to it. I have just noticed that I have used both warm and cool to describe this and that is entirely accurate - it's a warm, leather-clad pirate body in cool, misty sea air. Great scent.

 

Rating (0-5)

4.5

[thomasblackthorne]

Ahoy mates,

 

I have tried Calico Jack...I was little weary, and for good reason it seems.

 

I'm not a big citrus/clean fragrance kinda guy.

 

That does not go to say that I do not appreciate the blend, but it's not really for me...or so my chemistry says...

 

Imp: Very sharp, clean almost lemony

 

Wet: Still lemony, but something blue-green coming through, a soft musk.

 

Dry Down: Still having alot of crsip clean notes, no leather, no woods, sadness only.

 

Big Bottle?: Nope, sorry.

 

My wife likes it on me, so I'll still wear it for her, but I know it is gonna give me a headache...hence my apprehension towards these kinds of scents.

 

EDIT: I might buy a 5ml of this, I wore it to work and the headache came, but the lasting power of this really sold me. Plus, it smells pretty good...

Edited July 2, 2008 by CaptainBlackthorne

[idoru]

Very masculine in the imp.

 

First on, I immediately get the impression of generic-expensive "spa" and "sea"-named products. When it warms/mellows, I get the hint of leather underneath; it's overwhelmingly unisex, leaning toward masculine for me. Like a man's clean, spa-salt scent.

 

I found it wearable, but what morphed the most [in my head?] was whether it smelled too manly for my liking. Aquatic scents generally don't do much for me, and this one was at least interesting. I think I need to put it on my SO, though.. it might be delicious on him.

[thelaurenator]

This is kind of a cool scent. It's too cologne-y for me to wear, but I like to sniff it every now and again. Maybe I'll hand this one over to my bf.

[Kabooki]

It smells of salt and soap.

 

I am starting to think I need to stay away from awautics as the two I have tired have instantly turned to soap, or at least bodywash that is labeled like “Ocean mist”or some such thing. I really wish I could get the smells of the ocean like other people have, but so far its not looking good.

 

I do agree with others that this seems to be a very manly scent and very long lasting, I put this on hours ago and its still going strong

 

into the swap pile with you matey!

[moon_lemming]

I'm picking up salty aquatics and some of the Lab's leather note. Really, I could have stopped that sentence after "salty aquatics," as that is enough to know Calico Jack is not the oil for me.

 

Oh, one other tidbit: it reminds me of Jolly Roger, but with a bit more depth.

[cam]

In the bottle, I get leather, tobacco and mint from this, with a hint of woodsiness. On wet, it smells a little bit soapy and maybe too masculine. As it dries, it's more tobacco-y. I can't decide if this is too masculine for me or not. Ben likes it, though; he says it smells "very natural." He hasn't tried it yet, but I think it will be really nice on him. I like it too, though.

[iiinterstate]

I expected this to be heavy and masculine and truly not for me. However, Calico Jack is a smooth and vaguely spicy aquatic. I'm surprised. I don't really care for it though, I have a lot of aquatic blends that suit be better.

[gingiemay]

Wet in imp- Aquatic air but no leather or spice.

 

Wet on skin - More musk with the salty air.

 

Dry on skin - Wow, the leather has come in to mingle with the musk. A little aquatic notes in the background and the barest hint of spice. This is a very manly oil. If I met someone wearing this I'd be hard pressed to stop myself from jumping them.

[zankoku_zen]

On me, this is a salty spray of an aftershave. Masculine, ozoney, sea and just a little soapy.

 

YARR.

[rayvn1]

Why god why?!?!?! I love Jack. Love him! I put him on and thought "this is the scent you've been looking for all these years". Bright, fresh, salty sea air and leather - this is amazing!

 

Then my husband got home and I pounced on him saying "And what do you think of....THIS! It's my new favorite, signature scent that I'm going to wear every single day!"

 

Husband: "Um...I hate to say this...but that smells exactly like the perfume my grandmother used to wear."

 

cricket....cricket...

 

Me: "Your grandma smelled like a pirate?"

 

So alas! Jack, I love the bejeezus out of you, but I'll be wearing you only on days where I don't see my husband. I guess that does make it a romantic love affair...

[Pookstrell]

That sexy, manly Jolly Roger vibe is really apparent when I sniff Calico Jack. Comparing them side by side, I find my very, very old imp of Jolly Roger to be more woody and less sweet, although it may not be accurate to compare an ancient imp with my fresh Calico. Nevertheless, Calico Jack seems to be a lighter blend to my nose.

As it dries, CJ becomes slightly less oceanic and the mild spices are detectable. Definitely a 'memory' of spices as the description suggests, rather than being hot or foody. In fact, the individual spices are not discernible, they just add a very slight warmth to the cool sea spray.

I'm going to place this next to Jolly Roger in my imp holder, and test it again in a few weeks. Whether I end up wearing it or not, I find BPAL's evocation of ocean-saltiness really fascinating. I wish the sea really smelt so nice!

[Nachtwulf]

I really wish this was more spice, musk, and leather and less dry wood and aquatics.

 

It's not horrid, or anything... but it's basically an 'oceanic aquatic' and doesn't seem, well...very piratey to me. Or musky, or anything. It's kind of similar to the LE 'Thalassa', but at least on my skin, it's seawater, kelp, and a bit of driftwood... evocative, but not something I'm going to wear personally. Something in it also makes my skin burn slightly, though not turn red or inflamed.

[DarthArwen]

This was in my first order nearly a year ago; I'm a sailing person, so the description appealed to me. My notes only say "pure men's cologne" and I scored it a 4 out of 10. It's been sitting in my 'for saile/swap' box for a while and I thought I'd retest it..

 

I don't know if it caught me as a particular point in my skin chemistry, if it's improved with age or if my nose has improved, but it's less clear-cut now. I can definitely smell the aquatics now and it's really quite pleasant - kind of a light clean smell that a man could wear to the office. (how very non-piratey). I like it now, but it's not something I'd wear and I'm single. Sorry Jack, I've revised my opinion, but you're staying in the sell/swap box.

 

7/10 for aptness, but by no means a favourite.

Edited September 15, 2008 by DarthArwen

[Allumina]

It is amazing what some aging can do.

 

The first time I tried this it was strong strong strong men's cologne, with some faint aquatics.

It gave me a headache and made my friend want to vomit.

 

So I was a little apprehensive the next time- I was pleasantly surprised to find instead salty aquatics, fresh air and something kind of sweet, kind of manly. Very yummy and a keeper.