Mary Read

[Coldfire]

Salt air, ocean mist, aged patchouli, sarsaparilla, watered-down rum, leather-tinged musk, and a spray of gunpowder.

Imp: ooooooI can smell the salt air and the ocean mist
Wet on Me: OMG this rocks so much. Salt air, ocean mist,
some sasparilla…
Drying Down: Nose has firmly attached itself to my hand now.
This is totally standing on the deck of a pirate ship. ARGH!
Dry: This is another keeper and must get bottle. I’m standing
on the deck of an old ship sailing to nowhere and loving it while wearing this. Lovecity!

[chimera87]

I REALLY like this, although it's not really "me". It smells wonderful! It definitely has an oceany or piratey feel to it.

I mainly smell the ocean mist, a smokey smell (probably the gunpowder and the leather tinged musk) and I smell something a bit salty. And

a bit of sarsparilla. I don't really get patchouli or rum much, although there is a somewhat woodsy smell. My grandmother loves this and

she says she can smell a lot of rum, just not in a boozy way. The scent of mary read stays true on the skin, at least it does on mine,

and it lasts for hours. It's somewhat fresh, somewhat aquatic, somewhat woodsy...it's a lovely blend. I love smelling it, but I wouldn't wear

it often just because I'm picky about what perfume I wear when I go out.

[catatonic1242]

In the imp: Strong, salty patchouli with a little hint of leather underneath.

 

On, wet: Leather, rum and patchouli. It's a very strong smell.

 

On, dry: Interesting. I get the vaguest touch of flat root beer waaaaaay underneath the overpoweringly strong, salty patchouli. It's more masculine than I'd anticipated. I'm not a fan of this one.

[Victory]

I don't know if I amp aquatics or if I'm just not as pirate-y as I think, but all of the BPAL pirate blends are all-aquatic, all the time. Or at least I am guessing that it's the aquatic notes I'm smelling- I smell Mary Read and think "cologne." Sigh- the notes sound so interesting, too.

[tragedy]

I tried this without reading the notes or reviews (which I dont do often)

 

In Imp: First thought, "oh this is different!" I could smell airy aquatics, A beautifully unique scent.

 

Wet: This turns all high-hell floral on me. Very white floral. Read the notes to see what is in it, and was surprised to see the "salt air, ocean mist" because thats what I got exactly when I opened the bottle. Unfortunately that scent didnt transfer, and I have no idea what my skin is amping, because what I'm getting isn't in the notes at all! Soapy? I just cant put my finger on it.

 

Drydown: still very floral and going strong

 

 

Shame that this goes all floral and glad I got this as an imp, the notes all sound fantastic, just not on me.

[liquidtrance]

In the imp this smells like what might be the rum and sarsparilla-- sweet but almost grassy? There's also that hint of "ocean".

On skin though, it's quite strange. Headache inducing. Too strong. Heady. Similar to roadhouse, I think.

As this is drying it might be getting better. The patchouli seems to be coming out, and kicking off the sweet, sickening edge with something more earthy and grounded. Or, it might be the musky leather. Not sure this is morphing for the better, or just towards something differently nauseating.

As this is more dry, it isn't horrible but I'm pretty certain the sarsparilla may be the ugly culprit. Or whatever aquatic note is used here. Swap away. On super full drydown I can just barely hint at the patchouli/leather, but it's still overtaken by that funny green/sugar/aquatic/headache scent.

[Evengloam]

Bottle: This is SO NICE. Salt air, ocean mist, and sasparilla are what I mainly smell. I can pick everything else out, but not as easily as the former. Unique scent. Definitely piratey.

 

Wet: All of the notes blend nicely together in perfect amounts. Biting, fresh, and little badass. Smells more vividly of being on a ship rather than on a dock.

 

Dry: Same as it was wet. This is a perfect summer scent.

 

1 hour in: More biting. The salt air and ocean mist have headway again. Leather is more prominant, too.

 

This scent lasts quite a while. About 3-5 hours; not quite sure of the exact time. I really loved this. I'd love to buy a 5ml, but I will try to wait until I've sample some other aquatics. I can't see myself having several aquatic bottles lying around.

 

This could PROBABLY be a unisex smell, but I really see it as more on the feminine side.

[Monster]

In the imp: Sharp, almost masculine smelling sasparilla and bay rum.

 

Wet: Whew! I like masculine scents but this is very sharp and MANLY MAN to me. There isn't any bay rum in this but I think the "watered down rum" is mixing with the aquatic notes creating that effect. This is sharp and a bit headache inducing for me :'(

 

Dry: As this dries the leather note comes out a lot more. This is still sharp and harsh on me.

 

Overall: Not a fan of this one unfortunately. I need to wash it off since it's giving me a headache.

[stellans]

The first time I sniffed this blend, the aftershave impression took me aback and I nearly capped the imp without ever trying it. That would have been a shame, because once I get past the initial harsh aftershave note, this blend is really quite lovely. It doesn't take long for this to morph on my skin to a very nice, smooth salty-leather scent, reminiscent of how the leather band in my dad's old Stetson smells, only better. There is a definite ocean/seagoing sense to this blend, but the leather also comes out strongly, which delights my nose so much. 3 of 5 stars (it would be 4, if I didn't have to wait for the warming to like it).

Edited June 5, 2011 by stellans

[Graphica]

in the bottle: Boozy and sweet; rum and sarsaparilla. An undertone of something sharp. Bizarrely, this reminds me strongly of Velvet, Centzon Totochtin, and Dracul -- yeah, all three.

 

on wet: Sweet, a little boozy.

 

drydown: Sweet warmth with a touch of creamy soap. The soap makes me think of an old soap-on-a-rope that my dad used when I was very small. Maybe the patchouli? The warmth has a kind of spiciness to it, otherwise, it's almost impossible to describe. Just, warm. This ... this almost smells like warm skin to me. Wow. Could this be my first brush with a skin-only-better scent? But there's a hint of something sharp and a little off-putting. Damn, damn, damn. So close.

 

one hour later: I'm getting a warm, clean scent, like nice laundry detergent and fresh air; a "hanging the laundry on a warm summer morning" kind of scent. It's not a bad thing, but I miss the boozy-ness.

 

end of day: Same as "one hour later" assessment.

 

compared to official description: It's hard to tell what's going on here. The leather, musk, and/or gunpowder may be conveying the warmth, but I can't pick any of them out of the mix so it's difficult to determine how they're contributing. Or maybe the gunpowder was the unpleasant sharpness (that seems unlikely as I like the smell of burned gunpowder). I'm not familiar with aquatics in general, so maybe it's the "salt air" and "ocean mist" that were off-putting to me.

 

notes: This is a really tough scent for me to pick apart; most of it I like very much, but it has an element that I find disagreeable right up to the point where all the elements I really like morph completely, at which point the off-scent fades too, but I'm left with fresh air and laundry detergent. Bummer.

Edited October 3, 2009 by Graphica

[Argentwolf]

I get bay rum and leather, with maybe a leetle bit of patchouli. It's interesting, but not really me.

Edited October 12, 2009 by Argentwolf

[galahad]

In The Bottle

Hmmm...slightly fruity and slightly aquatic

 

On Application

Initially, kind of green but this changes almost immediately to salty aquatic and rum with almost a caramel undertone.

 

Dry Down

This is a really interesting morpher. The aquatic aspect is always there but the musky leather and patchouli emerge later but disappear on occasion to let the other elements through. Eventually I get the "tang' of gunpowder. I love it.

 

Rating (0-5)

4.5

 

[Redillon]

When I tried it on I got none of the aquatic scents that others talked about. I got a dark, leathery scent. I love leathers but they don't love me. THey turn stinky on me. It was very strong and sharp. I actually had to wash it off my wrists because it was just too much. It did calm it down some and it wasnt' too bad. Not good enough for me to try again though. Unfortunately, I'm not a fan.

[aquazoo]

I get the rum right away. Then the leather. I also get the salty ocean. Very evocative.

 

[hmelt004]

I'm on a quest to try all the pirate scents, and I love the story of Mary Read, so I was excited to try this one. It's very like Port Royal/Jolly Roger/Calico Jack, and one of the Lovecraft ones I can't remember the name for. I love the lab's salt note, and there's a lot of briny salty musk in this. The leather doesn't amp on my skin like it usually does. I really like Mary, but I already have a bottle of Port Royal and I think that's a bit more wearable.

[loubric]

I bought this on a wim and it's amazing BUT I can't wear it because I smell like a hot pirate the good thing is - I will try and convince DH to try it - if not I'll be using it in my oil burner.

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I might have spoken too soon - the dry down is still very male but it's a little softer. Very salty and aquatic but it is starting to get warmer and has hints of sweetness. I might be able to wear this after all

[Juushika]

In the vial: Cologne. Spicy, alcohol-based cologne. That's probably the aquatic talking, echoed by the combination of rum/leather/musk/gunpowder.

 

On me: The cologne impression fades significantly after drydown. What's left behind is about what you'd expect: a spicy, but not sharp, mix of salt, musk, and plenty of grainy gunpowder (with a hint of vetiver smoke). I'm willing to bet that all the notes are in there, but those are the ones I perceive best. (But I get nothing floral, fruity, or sweet.) The scent has a lot of bite without quite growing harsh. Unfortunately, the vetiver somtimes amps too high, morphing from textured gunpowder into a much smoother smoke—in short, turning the scent into a mellow single note vetiver, which is nice enough but not really what Mary Read is meant to be. Scent-color is gray with a touch of brown; throw is moderate.

 

Verdict: I like Mary Read well enough when it's multifaceted, grainy, spicy, gunpowder-and-sea. It's a fascinating, unique scent, although not really a match to my personality—something I'd like to smell on someone else, I think. But the times when the vetiver amps are a bit disappointing—it strips most of the depth and personality from the scent. All in all, one I like but will pass on. It's just not something I'll wear.

Edited April 28, 2010 by Juushika

[pteron]

First time reviewer. Ocean and sleep scents were the two things that initially brought me to BPAL and, after reading the official description along with the reviews here, I was really looking forward to trying Mary Read.

 

Unfortunately, Mary Read doesn't work with my skin at all. I don't get any of the salt air or ocean mist. Neither do I get the leather. The gunpowder note is there for the first twenty minutes before fading and leaving me with a cool soapy scent that smells nothing like the ocean. I'm not sure what sarsaparilla or rum smell like, but I think what's happening is that I'm amping those along with the patchouli. Like others have said, the rum in here isn't boozy at all.

 

This is still a cool 'blue' scent even without any of the brine and Mary Read has good lasting power (about five hours), but it's nothing like what I was hoping for.

[meredevachon]

I love the idea of this Mary Read, and it's definitely a pirate-y scent (not that it smells like a pirate; they weren't all that big on hygiene, you know )

 

In the imp: Sweet. Yeah, that's all I got, non-specific sweetness. No salt, no sea, "am I sure I grabbed the right imp?" sweet.

 

Wet: Ah, there's the sea. Still sweet though, but now it's more like eating salt-water taffy while walking along the beach.

 

Dry: This one morphs a lot, one minute it smells one way, then a minute later other notes come to the surface. There's something biting underneath that could be the gunpowder, and it really helps pull things together. The sweetness has deepened, with a hint of spice, and is at least vaguely reminiscent of the sarsaparilla I used to drink at this one restaurant we used to go to when I was a kid.

 

An aquatic with a lot of depth to it, almost lush, and absolutely fits its pirate inspiration. Probably not one I'll get a bottle of, but I'll make the most of the imp.

[Venneh]

In the imp, this smells like the ocean, really similar to the note I get in Egle and love so much. On my skin, I get that ocean air, sasparilla, and I think the leather-tinged musk, really sexy. Moving onto the full skin test. On the full skin test, it's all leather, patchouli, and gunpowder. Not getting a bottle of this, methinks.

Edited June 24, 2010 by Venneh

[filigree_shadow]

This smells like salty patchouli and sarsaparilla on me, with a strong, beautiful watery over-current. Not overtly aquatic -- more airy. Just a wee hint of rum, and I don't think I can pick out any leather or gunpowder.

 

My imp is probably about a year old at this point -- if I had tried it a year ago I don't think I would have liked it this much because patchouli and sarsaparilla are both notes I like to age.

 

I put a swipe on the back of my hand at first to see whether I liked it, and I did, so I swiped some more on, plus the inside of my wrist. The oil on the back of my hand definitely smells saltier, and the oil on my wrist definitely smells sweeter. Nice. The overall wafty effect is deep patchouli and airy salty aquatic, which is quite pleasant. It's harsher when my nose is right next to my skin, but anybody who's got his/her nose right on my skin needs to step the hell back anyway. I'm more interested in the scent that wafts. It's a good summer scent -- I'm not sure I'd like it as much if I had tried it in the winter.

[whisperstilled]

I always want to like the pirate scents, but so far I have had no luck (I AM LOOKING AT YOU, THE PHOENIX!) I have higher hopes for Mary Read.

 

In Imp: Oh dear, oddly sour aquatic, with a sort of sweaty, musky note. I get a touch of gunpowder and a whiff of leather, but not in the amounts I was looking for.

 

Wet: WOW sarsaparilla! Where the hell did that come from!? Sarsaparilla and leather and salty spray, EXACTLY what I wanted. Oh man that is good. I am massively impressed.

 

Dry: Oh this is the pirate scent that dreams are made of. Leather, a touch of gunsmoke, a sarsaparilla open at the pirate's side with some rum dumped in for interest, beading condensation in the tropical sun, and the salty ocean breeze ruffling through her hair. I want to go write a pirate story all of a sudden. I'm so glad I took a chance on this one and didn't let my previous experience with pirate themed scents dissuade me. The perfect badass lady pirate, 5/5!

[Monster]

In the imp this reminds me of Bonfire Night.

 

On my skin this is such a strange blend of sweet booze, ocean air, wood, coconut (??), and mens cologne. This paints a perfect picture of a pirate ship stashed with stolen goods.

 

As this dries the musk and patchouli amp up on my skin. It turns into a drunken patchouli note...rum-laden, sweet and slightly salty.

 

This isn't something I will wear but I certainly enjoyed experiencing it.

Wonderful!

[SophieCedar]

I normally hate aquatics but this is WONDERFUL.

Wet: sarsaparilla, rum, and aged patchouli with a touch of ocean mist hits me first. This is a very sweet aquatic with a light floral note similar to penny dreadful.. you can smell something sweet floral-y, but you can't put your finger on what it is.

Drydown: the aquatic notes come out a bit more and the rum/sarsaparilla are smoother. The patchouli does a great job grounding the whole mix. LOVELY.

[sideviewhotel]

I've had an imp of this sitting around for a while and, when I finally got around to testing it out, never read the description (ha!)

 

Having read the description now, I'd have to say I get almost all the notes.

 

I get the aquatic far down in there, I think, with the main notes being the musk, leather, and rum/sarsparilla and a hint of patchouli. It's a long-lasting scent for me, but, I'm a slatherer by nature, so.. that might just be me. I mean, it'll start to fade towards the end of the day, but it's still recognizable. This is probably one of my favorite pirate scents out of the ones I have, though I don't have all of them.