Calico Jack

[Naamah_Darling]

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.

Rum, leather, and aquatics? Sounds good to me!

Smells better!

Aquatic notes blend with the smell of old polished wood and faint spices for a tangy scent that runs equally hot and cold.

It's cooler in the bottle, but once it hits the skin, a rich musk comes out. It's an odd combination with the aquatic notes, but it really works. There's a hint, just a hint, of leather there, too. Nice!

As it dries, it becomes woody with a shot of bay rum and a lick of leather, all on top of a briny maritime base. Hoist the colors, this is an excellent pirate scent! Edited September 29, 2007 by Shollin

[yeahbutnobut]

Calico Jack

 

In the imp: sweet fresh laundry! I fear the Detergent of Doom reaction.

Wet on skin: holy crap this is EXTREME washing powder!

Dry on skin: yep, washing powder and leather and a spritz of manly sporty perfume. This is like Jolly Roger, but a little sweeter and with something almost like citrus to it. I also smell a hint of kelp, and the dreaded ozone, underneath, but no musk, no woods and the spice notes here are almost like a spicy cologne or aftershave scent, though at times I smell something like ginger. It's not as 'oh noes, I'm being attacked by a washing machine' as before and has a little more complexity, but it still smells too much like men's sporty perfume and clean laundry. It's a manly version of Port Royal.

After a while: ok, it still smells like 'eau de sporty pour homme' meets 'ocean breeze fabric conditioner' but now I smell the spicy musk. It reminds me of the gingered musk from Port Royal, which in turn reminded me of Devil's Night, and that spice was what I really loved in PR despite that scent also having a soapy aquatic note to it. The aquatic note is stronger and manlier in here, but at least there's a hint of lovely ginger to stop the scent from going all generic on me.

I get a slight Thunder Moon vibe from this scent after a while, still with that spicy ginger and now, a hint of wood. It's a similar woodsy ozone cologne scent to TM, but not as mossy or electric, but still with that feel of aftershave and a hint of something outdoorsy and tempestuous. The ozone in here is a lot 'rawer' as well, more rugged. The wood and ginger-musk does get stronger with time, which I like.

Verdict: I really wanted to love the BPAL pirate scents, but sadly most of them have an aquatic note which instantly 'detergent-ifies' on my skin, and smells more squeaky clean than a pirate should smell! This one has that aquatic note, also familiar from Jolly Roger. In fact, this is like the woodsy leathery washing powder of JR meets the ginger and woodsy-musky spice of Port Royal. I love this musky ginger scent I get in here, it smells like Devil's Night on the high seas. But for most of the scent, the freshly laundered ozone-aquatic dominates-it is very, very washing powdery in here. And it turns 'electric' on me, which is bad news because that means it smells like dryer sheets. I wanted to love this swaggering and rugged rogue of a scent, but he's much too fresh and sporty smelling for me-not piratical enough, I'm afraid!

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? I'm afraid this scent will need to walk the plank…or be swapped off.

If you like this, try: Jolly Roger, Port Royal, The Sailor's Den, Sunrise and Sea Monsters, Kataniya, Thunder Moon

[abejita]

I think I just need to accept that these kinds of scents are simply not for me. It's salty, aquatic, leathery, which isn't at all surprising. The "ocean" type scents smell almost all alike to my nose. I'm sure they'd smell great on the right person, but I just get cologne. Ah, well. I like the idea of it more than the reality.

[DifferentDances]

Imp: Salty leather water cologne.

Wet: Deep fried seafood??? Dunked in aquatic cologne?

Drydown: Aquatic with an underlying hint of something woody or musky. Or maybe just stale, soggy bread.

Dry: Whoa, coppery metallic peak to that aquatic.

 

My rating: 1/5. Not for me, but I think it'd be nice on the appropriate male. *sigh*

[underline2]

I originally got Calico Jack for Talk Like a Pirate Day, but I'm starting to think it might be amazing beyond that.

 

In the imp:

It's salty and ozoney and slightly sweet.

 

On wet:

It's definitely marine-like, but not as in the Pacific or some other warm, pleasant ocean. This is the Baltic or the Black Sea. It's cold and salty and there's still some slight sweetness in the background that makes me think there might be some kind of floral in there (perhaps the same note as in Numb?)

 

Drydown:

Wow, it's starting to warm up. The leather is making an appearance. It's soft and worn: a very nice contrast to the saltiness.

 

Overall:

Um, yeah. There was an emergency decant (without any decanting supplies) of Lick It Again and though I managed to save most of it, a goodly portion spilled on the wrist I had Calico Jack on. However, I can still smell it through the candy cane goodness! The floral note that was similar to Numb is most prominent, and the leathery warmth is nowhere to be found. Hopefully, this is only because of the Lick It Again interaction.

[greencat03]

in imp: musk, salt, smoky leather, and something sweet. very warm and masculine

 

on me: leather fades to the background and the kelp shows up, also getting more of the spices now

 

after a few mins: now the woods and salt have come to the forefront, (wow, scents don't usually morph this much on me) the other notes are blended so that I can't really pick any out.

 

Overall: delicious warm damp masculine scent. I think this would work fine as a unisex scent, but for women it's probably not an everyday scent.

[poisons_sanity]

This is kind of a warm cool scent. It's cool because of the aquatics, but the leather warms it up. It reminds me a bit of Jolly Roger, but it also kind of reminds me of an aquatic man's cologne. Sort of a mix between the two.

[CrazyPretzel]

In the imp: manly aquatic with a little bit of leather and woods.

 

Wet on me: refreshing ocean scent; the musk is noticeable and makes it quite masculine.

 

After a few minutes: Leather and spice start to make their presence known and give the scent quite a bit of punch. I am getting that washing powder that yeahbutnobut mentioned! I did think this was a masculine scent but my boyfriend thinks it smells like women's perfume on me.

 

Drydown: Ocean spray and leather.

 

Hm. Not bad, but it's not that amazing on me and the leather is a teensy bit too strong for my tastes. It smells like department-store scent on me... I think I can't do this one justice and will probably swap it to someone who will enjoy it more.

[Nimthiriel]

Initial impression:

It smells like sea water – but sweetened, with a bubblegum hint to it.

 

First on:

Immediately on, it smells sweet and warm, like skin... Not piratey at all.

 

Dry:

After about 10 mins, it's a bit more masculine. Strong musk, salty and woody notes – yum! It's still not nearly as ”manly” as I'd thought it might be.

 

20-30 mins after application, the scent is all gone. o_O No throw at all.

 

Finally:

Swapping - darn!

[YoakeNoKami]

In imp: an actual "perfume"-y scent.... uh oh...

 

On/wet: more of the same! I catch a musk and sea scent very briefly, but it's a very "perfume" scented blend on me...

 

Drydown: Unfortunately, the perfume smell never faded. It's a bit seawater and musk now, though, but I think this one will be needing to undertake another voyage. It goes off to join the lady Catherine and the Baku in the swap jar.

[ClareN]

I hate to say this, but Calico Jack is one of the worst smelling perfumes I've ever encountered. I don't like aquatics to begin with, but something about the combination of the detergenty, salty aquatic note with the leather, musk and spices makes this smell like vomit and bile to me - and it's not just my skin chemistry because it smelled the same in the imp. Dry, it's not as bad, but it's still far from something I'd enjoy. I wish there were a pirate scent I could wear.

 

Fortunately, I'm swapping it away to someone who likes aquatics. There's a good chance she'll have better luck with it, since a lot of these other reviews do seem pretty positive.

[daiconharuko]

Okay, there is something in this that's similar to Mary Read that I just don't like that much. I'm thinking it's the leather+musk. If you like this, try Mary Read.

 

So far my only piratey loves are Anne Bonny and Jolly Roger!

[Styx]

Calico Jack (orange oil)

 

Pfrimp (thank you!): sweet marine note, muscular. Cologney.

 

Skin: While its wet, its waaay too musky and spicey, but when it dries its very well behaved. I get a spicey aquatic blend with a touch of wood. The kelp adds such a nice roundness; as for the leather, its so faint, it didn't bother me at all.

Dries down into a very soft spiced marine note.

 

I think this will do nicely for men, but women can wear it too! A sensual marine blend.

Middle to heavy weight, breezy warm, Summer scent.

Edited October 2, 2007 by Styx

[ophidiae]

IN THE BOTTLE: Sea smells. Very aquatic.

 

WET ON SKIN: Aquatic notes, mostly salt and sea air.

 

DRYDOWN: The same, with the faintest hint of leather.

 

OVERALL: On the whole, I've had good luck with the pirate-themed scents, and I reallyreally wanted to like this one. Also, musk and leather usually work very well on me, but in this particular blend the aquatic notes overwhelm all the others, so all I'm left with is brine. Which, to be fair, is not a bad thing--it really does smell like a walk on the shore on a windy day--but it doesn't *grab* me the way Pirate Moon and Port Royale did.

[Lethran]

The musk is dominant on first application, and pleasantly so. I wouldn't call it rough, as in the description, since it reads more light and vaguely femme to me. It shifts to a spicier blend fairly quickly and the leather does out, though not as strongly as in, say Jolly roger. The spicier, leathery scent butches it up to say the level of a flamboyant Johnny Depp pirate, rather than say the clean more masculine line of Jolly Roger. I do find it pleasing though and I think it's a keeper.

[stardreamer]

In the imp and fresh on, this is almost entirely aquatic. After a little while, the musk comes up as an underlying sweetness, lighter than that of amber. Spices are indeed only a memory, just the barest hint, and I never caught any leather. There's something oddly reminiscent of saltwater taffy late in the drydown. Staying power is average, almost completely gone after 10 hours. Bottom line: This is different enough from my other aquatics to be interesting, and pleasant enough to be well worth keeping.

[steffanina]

Calico Jack-

 

In Bottle: Sharp aquatic.

 

Wet: Aquatic.

 

Dry: I can't find anything else to say. I wish aquatics worked for me but they don't, usually. This is not the fault of the scent. I've just been through about 3 aquatics in a row and so am disillusioned and can't find anything new to say about this one.

 

Overall: Aquatic, which is just not my thing.

[taramarie]

On me, Calico Jack is a salty, aquatic men's cologne. It's a good, masculine complement to Mary Read. Still, I think it's neutral enough for a woman to wear. I may need a bottle of this.

[Apple]

"Shaving cream, shaving cream, shave every day and you'll always look keen..."

 

Smelled like men's shaving cream. Putting this on one hand and Cathode (which smelled like Listerine to me) on the other, I had the exact scent of my father's face in the morning, before he splashed it with "Old Spice" aftershave. Not an unpleasant memory, but not how I want to smell, either.

[aestien]

Bottle: sea air

Wet: salty sea air, masculine, a little spice underneath

Dry: wood, musk, spice, mostly aquatic a little leather

 

Aquatics don’t usually work on me, and this is definitely an aquatic blend. Some nice undertones going on, but not for me.

[TheOneTheyCallLuna]

In the imp: Men's gel deodorant.

 

Wet, on the skin: Cologne and cleaning products.

 

Drydown: Salty sea air, spices, leather...The salty aquatics do bring back lovely memories from growing up in Seattle - going down to the waterfront and the Ivar's Pier to throw french fries to sea gulls.

 

This smells so yummy, but it's a bit too masculine of an aquatic rendition for me. I would love this on a man, though, and you can bet I'll be slathering it all over mine!

[topazphoenix]

Calico Jack is pretty much the same as the American Eagle cologne my brother loves and douses himself in - nice, masculine, woody and fresh, but not something I'd ever wear.

[amyw]

The first aquatic that doesn't go bad on me. This is good! I don't get much spice, maybe only a hint of musk and leather, and a lot of the salty aquatic notes. It takes a little while to get there and goes through a brief soapy/detergent phase, but it settles down into something very nice. I can see the comparisons to Cool Water, which I liked.

 

I think it's a bit more traditionally masculine than I would normally wear. I'm going to ask the Mr. to try this and if it smells like this on him, I'll be pretty happy.

[samarablackcat]

I am one of the people who like aquatics, and Calico Jack is wonderful. Ocean water splashing on the deck of a schooner, the scent of salt in the air, and this is in the bottle!

 

Wet, I am still smelling the salt and something sweet, like flotsam crashing on the shore. Wood, spices, wet leather, deteriorating wood awash with sea water. Aarrrr, matey, swim t' shore and save the booty!

 

As this dries, I am in heaven. Wafts carress my nose; I want to take a chair, umbrella and book to the beach. Alas, this does not last long, so I think this woud be great in a locket. Why yes, I am thinking of Calico Jack, the locket. A perfect scent for me and a perfect locket to celebrate ( maybe next year) my hometown team, the Buccaneers, whose logo, stangely enough, looks like Calico Jack! See him here www.buccaneers.com

 

Too bad Convergence XIV is in August; January/February the temperatures here are fantastic, and we have Gasparilla, when the city gets taken over by pirates. Ships sail in to Tampa Bay..lots of drunkeness and silliness abound. Yep, Calico Jack and I are off to the revelry!

[Suu4LC]

Oi vey. I got this as a frimp, so I'm gonna test it out because I gotsta try everything once...but this really doesn't sound like it will be "me". It's really the opposite of my tastes. *gulp*

 

In the imp it's...not bad. Very perfumey/cologney to my nose. I think someone in here mentioned Cool Water cologne and that is definitely what it reminds me of-my brother really liked Cool Water, maybe i'll end up giving this to him! Ok, ok, no more stalling. Let's test this out...

 

Hmm. Wet on my skin it continues to surprise me with the fact that I kinda like it. It's a nice musky aquatic. Definitely like a more complex Cool Water.

 

Unfortunately, when it fully dries, some component of it goes "off" on my skin. Blech. Too bad! I don't know what it is, but something is making it go sour. I knew aquatics and I did not get along! It almost turns to a salty seaweed smell or wood rotting in ocean water. The more it dries the worse it gets. Boooooo. This is definitely not for me.

 

I do think it a nice blend for males though, and I am going to test this out on my boyfriend's skin and see the blend works better on his chemistry than it does on mine. This is a tricky one, but I imagine that this would smell wonderful on the right person.