Jack

[Mckerr]

The scent of warm, glowing jack o’lanterns on a warm autumn night: true Halloween pumpkin, spiced with nutmeg, glowing peach and murky clove.

Whoa. I have to admit, when I opened the imp, I nearly fell over. The scent was SO strong, and SO sickly sweet and overpowering that I thought I was going to retch. It reminded me of this "Baked Cookies" home fragrance oil that The Body Shop used to make. Even so, I know how BPAL scents can change so dramatically when they touch my skin, so I was determined to give it a try.

I'm glad I did. The strength of the scent mellowed out in a few minutes. It's still strong, but not in a negative way. That said, I still think that -- for me -- it's just too sweet to wear. It's very foody, but I don't really get the pumpkin part so much. Just strong baked goods ... the nutmeg and peach kind of scream at me.

I could easily see this as a home fragrance scent, or used to scent candles or potpourri. It's very festive. But for my definitive autumn scent, I absolutely prefer Fearful Pleasure or even The Jersey Devil. (Samhain smells good, but it burns my neck some). Poisoned Apple is an excellent autumn choice too, and not nearly as foody as you'd think from the name.

[akw]

From the imp and wet, Jack is remarkably like a blend of Samhain and Pumpkin Queen. For me, this is a good thing! Unfortunately, that stage was short-lived, and it went too sweet for me after drydown. A little too much like the scent of a frou-frou gift shop in the Fall.

 

Substantial throw and good staying power.

 

If you like sweet and foodie (think frosted spicy cookies), this could be interesting.

[Saya]

In the Bottle

My first sniff was overwhelmed by peach. There’s also some pumpkin and spice in the background, but mainly it’s peach.

On My Skin

Now that I’ve got it on my skin it’s a bit hard to pin down. It seems like each time I sniff it I come away with a different impression. Peach/pumpkin, no wait....pumpkin/butter, changing again, a peach scented Yankee candle. I’m interested to see what it develops into once it’s calmed down a bit.

 

After a Bit

An hour later this has clamed way down. It’s not longer morphing like crazy and now the throw is close to my skin. Now it’s a light buttery pumpkin scent and maybe just a hint of peach. I like this phase of it, I just wish it had a touch more throw.

 

Rating 1-5

Scent - 4 Throw - 1.5 Longevity – 2

Overall (not an average) – 3.5

Final thoughts

I want to test this one again to see if the scent stays consistent or if it’s going to change on me. I think the second test will determine whether or not I keep the imp and if this will be bottle worthy in the future.

[AlarmAgent]

In Bottle - Mm, very edible. Smells like a buttery pumpkin, with subtle spicy notes. Definitely reminds me of pumpkin bread, with a slathering of butter.

 

Wet on Skin, First Applied - Spicy! A lot like a stick of Big Red chewing gum at first, and definitely disconcerting given I just smelled a warm and soft pumpkin. It's calming down though, and is smelling more and more like pumpkin pie spice. I like it, but I definitely smell mostly of spices, little of pumpkin. I don't smell peach specifically, but I can imagine that it is contributing to the fruity, natural sweetness rounding out Jack, keeping it from being a pure spice blend. Well, that along with the pumpkin.

 

Dry, on Skin - Here we go, it's PUMPKININNY! Actually, a lot more like a Snickerdoodle cookie now, haha. If I keep it in mind, I can smell pumpkin, but if this scent just wafted by me--I'd be thinking spicy-sweet, not necessarily pumpkin. The problem here may be that I've never really been able to smell pumpkin as a fragrance, it always just seems like spice to me! Maybe it has to do with my chemistry amping the spice notes, no matter how minute they are, or maybe I just haven't found that mysterious, non-spicy pumpkin scent yet. Well, I did, but then I put it on my skin. I suppose that is my answer, isn't it? No big worries, because I love Jack just the way he is, imp or on my skin! I suppose this scent would be shared with Pumpkin Snickerdoodles, if such a cookie existed. Warm, very sweetly spicy, with that buttery pumpkin note surfacing on occasion.

 

edit, around two hours or so of wear: Now peaches! When does this scent stay still? Like a spicy peach pie, or so I think, I've never really had a peach pie. I've smelled my share of canned peaches though, and this smells like a fuller, rounder, less high fructose corn syrup'd version of them, sloshed around in a touch of nutmeg and cinnamon, and plopped right on top of a pumpkin pie. I...I, like it? It is just crazy to me that all these hours in, the oil has changed it's strongest components so dramatically. This is fun, and unless it turns to something absolutely hideous in the next few hours, I'll probably get myself a bottle. I had no idea I would like the smell of spicy peach pie.

Edited November 22, 2008 by AlarmAgent

[GhillieDhu]

Lab frimp - thank you, Beth!

 

In the imp: STRONG and sweet, and very rich, a little like Yankee Candle's "Fall Festival". Hmm.

On, wet: Gooey spice-laden pumpkin pie. There's something pastry-like and almost nutty in this. I'm also smelling a lot of dry cinnamon (which must be something else - perfumes that actually have cinnamon on them smell nothing like it on me!).

Drying: Okay, the peach is starting to come out a bit more, but it's not corn-syrupy sweet like peach often is. I was a big fan of instant Quaker Oatmeal as a kid, and this smells just like a packet of peaches 'n' cream mixed with a packet of cinnamon spice flavor, with an extra spoon of brown sugar. Mmm. A lot sweeter than my usual, but a nice cozy scent to have around during the holidays. It should be wonderful in the oil burner.

[jehrichardson]

Bleach.

 

Butter flavoring. Margarine scented Yankee Candle.

 

Sorry team... not a good one for me. It was an interesting experience though, because I do have Pumpkin II - 2008, and it did help me sort of the layers of aroma on that one.

[rayvn1]

I expected to get a strong dose of the warm pumpkin from my favorite Halloween blends like Pumpkin II '08 or Pumpkin IV '07, but this is pretty subtle. Sitll, warm and a little spicy - this is a great fall scent.

[V294]

In the bottle: ok it smells kinda butter, sorta reminds me of popcorn in some way

 

Wet on: WOAH what is that overwhelming fruity floral smell?!?! It's the peach and it is POWERFUL. Dear god.

 

Dry down: ok I'm smelling some of the clove and nutmeg I think but on the whole it's still rather strongly PEACH. It's not bad, just a bit too strong for me. Perhaps it would work as a non skin scent.

 

Well at least it didn't go complete yuck, I suppose that means I can at least try the other pumpkin scents. Since I'm not a huge Peach fan I won't be getting this again, but perhaps it would work as a room scent or in a locket? Not sure.

[caitilarkin]

In the imp: Spicy butter

 

Wet on skin: Hi, pumpkin! There you are! And you've brought lovely nutmeg and clove with you!

 

Dry on skin: Oh, mama...I want to lick my arm. Jack is warm, spicy pumpkin pie filling. There's no hint of peach anywhere--this is all spice, all the time.

 

I will need to check the Aging BPAL thread to see if there's any info on how this does over time; if it ages well, then I'm definitely going to need a bottle.

[Kakokoritsi]

In the Bottle: Very very pumpkiny. It smells just like pumpkin pie. I never liked pumpkin pie until I gave up sweets; Now I miss em.

 

On the Skin: Very good. I love the smell, still. I'm definitely a food-y. This is like walking into a bakery and sitting infront of pumpkin pie with some cream on top., It's very good. It's not just pumpkin, it's perfume as well, but it's very delicious. I love it. I went to sleep with it. There's something very comforting about this smell; it's spot on.

 

It's any and everything you would like The Pumpkin King to smell like. [=

[urbanmaenad]

Jack: such high hopes…on paper, this was just the thing I was looking for…

 

In the bottle: Holy deliciousness, Batman! Burnt caramel with an undertone of spices and a faint nuttiness - exactly what I wanted!

 

Wet: very little change from in the bottle…really, really nice. Strong, but not overbearing.

 

Dry-down: loosing the burnt edge, getting more spices coming through, and lots of pumpkin…still really wonderful!

 

Dry: four hours later, Jack has mellowed out quite a bit, and something strange is happening…the initial scent remains brown-sugary with a dash of spices…and underneath…CELERY?

 

Yup…that is the scent of cold, bitter celery. Darn.

 

I will have to try this a few more times, I think. I’m just not ready to give up yet, but this celery business is…weird.

 

[Seismogenic]

Pumpkin is one of my very favorite flavors. Pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin butter, pumpkin spice lattes, you name it. Considering how much I like the taste, I figured it would be a fun experiment to see how much I might or might not like smelling like pumpkin. Jack was sitting there on my wishlist for a while, and my wonderful Halloween Switch Witch sent me an imp (that, judging from the logo on the label, looks like it's probably somewhat aged). Thank you, Witch!

 

In the imp: Sweet buttery pumpkin with a hint of something tangy,

 

Wet on skin: The tangy thing is coming out a little more. Since I know peach is in this blend, I can sort of recognize it, but it's not hit-you-in-the-face peach. The buttery pumpkin is under that, and it's starting to get a little nutmeggy.

 

Drydown: Freshly dry, I want pie. Because this smells like pie. There's less peach again and more pumpkin, and certainly more spices. I get the nutmeg and clove, and I'd swear there's also some cinnamon in there, even if it's not listed. The butter and what is left of the peach definitely makes it a glowy smell. At one hour in, the pumpkin has diminished some in favor of the spice, but it hasn't disappeared. Overall, it's still pretty strong.

 

Five hours later: The whole thing has faded significantly, but it's still there, mostly in the form of spices. The pumpkin is identifiable if I think about it, but it's more of an undertone, adding warmth to the spices rather than being the stuff that has been spiced.

 

End of the day: I occasionally think I'm getting a whiff of spice, but it's really pretty much gone.

 

Overall: Mmmm, pumpkin good. This is a wonderful pumpkinny-spicy autumnal smell. Earlier on, it was foody enough to make me crave pumpkin as a flavor, but as the drydown continued, the spices came out enough and the butter/peach morphed into enough of a glow rather than a baking ingredient that the whole scent became much more atmospheric of autumn, rather than baked goods specific. This is totally what the Jack O Lantern sitting on the doorstep of the house where the people inside are sharing the ghost stories and cider in Fearful Pleasure smells like. Definitely keeping!

[FandF]

wet cookies. Then gets annoying. Very spicey batter and too much cake for my skin. Almost going maple in a bad way. Ick. This is a foodie scent that did not work on me (a foodie lover!).

 

[madmmx]

I received Jack as a frimp from a generous swapper! As a general rule, I tend to favor autumnal scents with their spicy clovey goodness. In the imp, this all hot melted candy corns. Way too sticky sweet for me. But after ignoring Jack for 3 months, I decided to finally give him a chance today, since it's a cold and rainy day.

 

Wet on skin this has major throw! It nearly bowled DH over!! Wet on skin, it's still that artificial super synthetic candy corn smell. As it dries down, the peach comes out in a major way. Three hours later, and the peach hasn't diminished. And it's not a good peach. It's sickly sweet, synthetic, little girl's first "perfume" faux peach. Sadly, I don't get any spices at all. This one will go into the swap pile

[asciident]

Wet: All pumpkin, all the time!

 

First on: Mmm, pumpkin pie.

 

Dry: Smells like a kitchen at Thanksgiving time, but it's not really a perfume I want to wear.

[katiet518]

-drool- Stop huffing it and type, you dummy. (huffhuffhuff)

 

 

This.

is.

perfect.

 

It's..pumpkin pie, or maybe...oh it just reminds me of halloween night, outside, with all the pumpkins glowing and apple cider brewing.

 

-huffhuffhuffhufffffff-

[amanderinorange]

In the imp: spices and lots of them

 

On me: this smells like really good pumpkin bread and lasts for a long time. Unfortunately, around the three hour mark I start getting a headache.

 

Overall: I really like this scent, however I think it might be better as a room fragrance. Also, I might just wait to use it again closer to Halloween. I wonder how well it will age?

[anna1850]

This one smells a lot like an autumnal Yankee Candle to me. It's quite comforting and warm but not very perfume-y or feminine.

 

Not something I'd where ordinarily but very warm and foody. I don't think I'd mind if my house smelt like this but I don't think it's quite right on me. Plus, it does have a hint of that plasticiness that I get from most food scents, but it's not overwhelming like in Bliss.

 

2.5/5 I'll save the imp for autumn and see if the mood strikes me.

[Kakitiss]

Today I received my very first order from BPAL- I ordered Szesspazzony (which I probably misspelled) and Lust, and with it came a little family of what I presume are imps ears, though they look more like mini tester sized perfume bottles to me. Haha. Dry joke.

 

My abysmal humour aside, Jack was one of the imps, and I eagerly lined them up to open them and try them. As soon as I got it open, the smell made me almost nauseous. It's in my nose, on my fingers even though none of the oil touched me, and overpowering my room. It smells like... sickly sweet pumpkin bread. I want to say banana bread, but that's because I hate bananas. It's... disgusting. I loved my other scents, but this one is just... revolting. It's too strong, too powerful, too lingering, and worst of all it smells like someone took a pumpkin, choked it, drowned it in fake, sugary frosting, punched the frosting in the face, added a large amount of high fructose corn syrup, and then sprayed the whole mess on a bunch of people who hate sweets. I'm really disappointed in this scent... it might work for those who love foody, warm, strong scents but as it is it's cloying and revolting to me and I really hope it'll get out of my nose soon. Now excuse me while I go open the window, ignore the 40º weather and hope the smell will go away soon.

 

I'm sorry to everyone who liked this scent btw- but I see I'm not alone in my nausea and headache from this scent.

 

PS- It's been half an hour. I've washed my hands countless times. That smell is still in my nose. I've smelled everything I can find from coffee beans to tea tree oil and it won't go away. I might actually be sick soon.

Edited March 23, 2009 by Kakitiss

[TilHelvete]

In the vial, it smells very sweet and foody. The second it touches my skin it goes sour, sharp and strong. The spices start to come out immediately, too.

 

As it dries, I can smell the same spices I smelled in Silk Road. Must be cardamom, cinnamon, and nutmeg. The sourness is still there, though it is dissipating. I can smell the soft peachiness underneath starting to come through.

 

Sadly, this does not improve Shame because I loooove pumpkin pie too.

[lishal]

In Imp: Whoa! Powerful scent. The instant I opened the imp for Jack this rich, creamy pumpkin and spice scent greeted me. I don't get any peach or clove from this but this smells really nice and instantly reminds me of autumn.

 

On Skin: Rich spicy pumpkin, very sweet. It's almost a little too sweet and rich for me but I can totally see myself wearing this maybe once or twice during the year around October because it would be very fitting for that time. I'm smelling a lot of nutmeg, cinnamon and baked pumpkin. Delicious!

 

Dry: Unfortunately, the pumpkin scent starts to fade on dry down and clove comes up. I've discovered that clove smells like plastic and sometimes burning rubber on me and this one is no exception. It kind of turned into a nutmeg and cinnamon plastic in this phase. Also, this scent is a real champion when it comes to lasting power. I've washed my wrists like five times and I can still smell it.

[magikalbrownies]

LURV this stuff...reminds me of pumpkin pie and sweet baked goods...sort of like my butter rum cookie without all the sugar..

 

yup, this one's a keeper.

[scrappy]

In the imp: Spicey Pumpkin

 

On my skin: Whoa, lots of Peach with some pumpkin pie filling in the background. A little too much peach for my taste.

[Musixi]

this is a weird one.

 

sniffing from the bottle you immediately think of pumpkin pie freshly bought out of the hot oven, but putting on wet so strongly smells of cinnamon the whole house is quickly filled with it.

 

once drying down it becomes very buttery, think buttered popcorn with a dash of spice and your not far wrong. once dry it smells still very buttery to my nose, but its back to that first sniff of pumpkin pie.

 

was the very weird thing to me is, that once it wears off it smells just like creamed coffee

[cleske]

Oh my GOD this is so good that it's making me ravenous. It's all warm nutmeg and pumpkin, all the time, with a tiny bit of clove in the background. Heady, heady stuff; the throw is crazy. It's comforting, but at the same time I think there's something sexy about it. Maybe I'm a weirdo, but I think if I smelled this one someone else I think I'd lose it. Be still my beating heart, until I can afford a bottle!

Edited May 15, 2009 by Charlene