Jack

[LyndaM]

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

This is the very first BPAL I have ever tried, courtesy of Firewaver. Does this mean I'm not a virgin anymore? I thought I was going to implode with joy when I found the precious in the mailbox.

Anyway; on to my very first review. I haven't developed a nose to pick out notes, so bear with me:

In the imp: Pure sweet butter. I was a little worried.

Wet: It began with the sweet butter, then there was about a ten second period when all I could smell was strong buttery cinnamon. After that, it morphed into strongly spiced apple cider scent. Strange, though, as there is no apple listed in the description. Maybe that's just how peach smells on me.

Drydown: Jack remained butter and spiced apple cider on me, though the spice did mellow down a little. Very sweet and autumn-y. I was a little disappointed that I couldn't detect any pumpkin scent at all, but I still enjoyed it for what it is on my skin. My two-and-a-half year old daughter snorfled my wrist when I offered her a sniff and said "smell somethin' a eat!". I think it will make a really nice room scent, as well.

Stop the presses! It's been a couple of hours now, and I think I DO detect a bit of pumpkin when I sniff my wrist. Very mellow and light, though, and behind the apple (peach?) butter. The scent overall is lasting and projecting well. I guess my skin couldn't resist, and ate all the pumpkin up.

Update nearly two years later: I still like Jack, but often the butter makes me queasy. I'm now more likely to use it as a room scent, rather than wearing it as personal scent. Edited June 17, 2007 by LyndaM

[lookingglass]

In the bottle: very spicy and buttery! Wet: As above, but the butter creams out into pumpkin pie.

Drydown: The peach emerges. It is pleasent, but I'm a little nervous. I had a bad experience with peach oil before...

Dry: Oh, it is love. I don't feel like a candel or a craft store. This is beautiful....rich, spicy, and decandent...everything is blending beuatifully. The peach gives the scent a nice lift that makes it very wearable, especailly on this warm late summer day. There is a darkness holding it all down...It is getting me ready for my Halloween update order, for sure!

All afternoon I kept noticing a heavy throw of peach...it is just too much! When I sniff my wrist, it is spicy, creamy...?

Off to swaps with you...

Edited September 17, 2005 by lookingglass

[Janie]

In the vial, a spicy, buttery scent which stays true on skin with the exception of a later developing - is it peach? - note.

 

It has excellent sillage and good staying power. The buttery note is too overwhelming for me, but I can see why it has its die-hard fans.

[McPagangrrl]

Jack is pure pumpkin spice candle when smelled wet or when burned. It would make an excellent room scent for those of you who like the seasonal pumpkin scent candles that come out this time of year and then disappear just as fast.

 

As a skin scent, this skews very buttery on me. Not my personal favorite, but for those of you who freak over buttery and pumpkiny scents this would be quite a find.

[Avery]

I like Jack. We wre able to meet courtesey of Blood OnMy Hands and the frimps she included in my purchase from her. Thanks again!

 

I get STRONG buttered popcorn when I open the imp. So much so that my BF asked "Why does the bathroom smell like buttered popcorn?". It doesn't stay that way on my skin, thankfully. It does a warm mulled spicy morphing and indeed turns into what I would consider a somewhat foody fall scent. Not as much pumpkin or autumn air as I was hoping for, but good nonetheless! The peach comes out on my skin, but it just adds to the cornucopia feeling that Jack has. It's pretty sweet on its own, but I do enjoy it. It is very strong on my, and I actually much prefer mixing a teeny drop with Hexennacht--the Hex adds the herb-y foresty autumn to it that I was craving. I won't be buying a bottle, but think I'll definitely be holding on to my imp!

[Miss Lynx]

A friend just sent me a handful of imps she'd ordered from the Lab that didn't work out for her, and in keeping with my try-anything-once philosophy, I’m trying them, even though they’re mostly "foodier" scents than I'm usually drawn to. This was the first one I tried, because I thought I would at least like the spice notes, and the peach wasn't bad in Fae, so really there was only the pumpkin to worry about...

 

*sigh* Which just happened to be the dominant note in it, of course.

 

Well, if I'd had any temptation to try the new Pumpkin Patch scents, I don't now. This is not a nice scent, at least not on me. Initially, it actually had a sort of pungency to it that made my nose burn a bit, and I don't think it was just the spices, because I'm usually pretty good with spicy scents. Something about that pumpkin note does not agree with me. And I am finding that spices + fruit are not necessarily bad if they're balanced out with other things, as in Vixen, Blood, Voodoo, etc., but here there's no balance happening. The pumpkin doesn't tone down the sweetness at all, it just makes it smell like, well, nasty fake food.

 

Oh well. I will just have to find my nutmeg, clove and peach in other combos, because apparently pumpkin and I are not going to be friends.

 

Grade: D

[DarkMouse]

In the bottle: Spicey buttery apples

 

On my skin: I didn't get a BIT of pumpkin in this.. it was all spiced apples and butter. It had real staying power, but unfortunately I don't LIKE apple smells. This smells like the 'baked apples' my mom used to make in the microwave for me when I was a kid. It would be nice as a burner scent (but again.. I don't like apples)

 

Verdict: I wish I smelled the spicey pumpkin that so many reviewers got.. Eventually I'm going to order a bottle straight from the lab to test this again. My imp went to the swaps.

[donsixgun]

I bought this for my sweetie, but decided to try it. Im glad I did! And Im so glad the clove doesn’t come out in this...to me, its baked, buttery pumpkin. Spiced and yummy.

[VorpalBunny]

Food scents don't usually like me, but I got a frimp of Jack so I figured I'd try it. I am so glad I did. It is definitely foody, but it's subtle enough to be a fun smell, kind of like that after-you've-been-baking kind of foody smell, not an overpowering food smell. When I tried it, someone in the room said, Mmmm I want pumpkin fudge for some reason! Jack has a subtle pumpkin and almost apple-y spice smell, slightly sweet but not overly so. It kind of reminds me of a pumpkin apple pie (I don't know if such a thing exist, but sounds nice, doesn't it?)

[Freyja Lux]

I am so disappointed! Jack sounded like such a delicious concoction, but when I opened it I was floored at the assault of butter to my nose. There is a hint of spice, I think it's the nutmeg, but the butter smell is too overpowering.

 

On, it was too much and so I washed it off. Dang. I just don't like the idea of buttering my skin. I would still love a good pumpkin smell, so maybe I'll try some of the Pumpkin Patch.

 

Oh well, I'll try it once more and update here. I want a pumpkin perfume, dammit!

 

Later: Reapplied. The butter smell mellows out, and the spices come through. I "smell like a cake" someone told me, and another commented on I smelled like a muffin. It is a delicious scent, but I don't do well wearing foody smells.

 

Update: I decided to keep this after all. I warmed up to Jack, and in fact am addicted to him now. Spicy, delicious, pumpkininny! The foody element wears off in time and really is a unique scent. Glad I gave it another shot.

Edited September 28, 2005 by Freyja Lux

[aessedai]

I tried this a year or two ago and loved it, but then it became sickly sweet on me. I am happy to say that I just got an imp of it in the mail yesterday, tried it and it was delicious!

Very warm and foody. Spicy and delicious!

[Monster]

My bottle should actually be here tomorrow, but I got my hands on an imp beforehand ^^

 

Jack wasn't what I was expecting, at ALL! But not in an unplesant way. It's pure pumpkin butter out of the vial...and heavy on the butter.!

 

On my skin this completley morphs into a sweet, caramel apple scent and it lasts forever. I can't stop sniffing my hand! I can see why so many people love Jack...and I certianly glad I ordered a 5ml of this. Fall is the perfect time of year for a yummy caramel apple scent.

 

Jack is one of those foody scents that can be used as a room scent or as a perfume.

I poured half of my imp into my oil burner and in about 15 minutes my entire apartment smelled like caramel apples. I definilty need a 10 ml of this! Delicious!

[diabolique]

I need a huge vat of this, PRONTO.

 

Last year, when I tried this, it made me feel a little ill and I wound up hating it. I just received a gimp of it and OH MY HOLY JESUS I LOVE IT GIVE ME MORE.

 

When I wear it, I can't stop sniffing it. My grandma wouldn't let me take my wrist away from her nose!

 

I get the same caramel apple note that CourtneyLynne does; it goes from buttery pumpkin spice to caramel apples and spiced peaches. Unfortunately, after about 30 minutes, I can't smell it anymore. I'm not sure if that's because it just doesn't last long or because I sniff it so much I get used to it quickly.

 

Either way, this is definitely a keeper. I'm so sorry I got rid of you before I truly got to know you, Jack!

[Fishwomon]

Wow, reading through these reviews it looks like Jack is one you either love or hate, depending on body chemistry. I had this one in my trade pile, but then came the end of September, and I was feeling like something autumnal. I gave Jack another try, mixing it with some cheap, lightly-scented body lotion from CVS (a U.S. drug store).

 

In the imp, Jack smells way too sweet for my taste.

 

Wet, I get that sharpness that many here have commented on; it seems like Jack will be way too powerful.

 

But after about five minutes, and through the dry-down, Jack mellows into a warm, golden, honey-spiced scent, smelling somewhat foody, but not overwhelmingly so. I enjoy sniffing my wrists throughout the day. Jack lasts about 5-6 hours on my skin.

 

If I keep enjoying this as much as I am, I'll get a big bottle.

[lohengrin]

In the imp: Pumpkin pie. I like the smell of pumpkin pie, but I'm not sure I want to smell like it. Still I do like nutmeg, and I would hate to just toss it without trying it (since I know no one will want it in trade).

 

On, wet: Oh yeah, that thar is pumpkin pie.

 

5 minutes: Well, from a distance I can kinda smell a peach undertone, which is very nice. But close up? Pumpkin pie. ^^; We'll see if the peach comes out more in an hour or two, like the leather did in Severin. If it does, I might even keep the imp.

 

1 hour: Alas, the peach note has remained elusive. Which is a real pity, because it could have made the scent interesting in a good way, instead of "interesting."

[moon_lemming]

In bottle:

Delicious; I could smell the pumpkin and spices right away, and a few seconds later the peach kicked in just a little. So good. Exactly the way I hoped it would smell.

 

Wet:

The spices stand out and the peach fades away. It smells a little like xmas potpourri without the pine, with a little sweetness thrown in. But the sweetness smells more like . . . apple, I think, than peach. It doesn't really work for me.

 

Dry:

After about an hour, the scent settles down, but it still smells a little too much like potpourri. It smells waxy, too. An hour after that, the pumpkin and clove are the only things left, and they're fading pretty fast. It's actually kind of nice; it smells warm without being new carpet-y. But I don't think my body chemistry really likes it too much.

 

Five hours or so later, it's only faintly there, but it smells like warm pumpkin. It's very subtle. I really like it, but I don't know if I like it enough to walk around smelling like Ingle's Nook for five hours.

 

Should it stay or should it go?

I'm not sure. I think I'll try it a couple more times, just because I like it so much in the bottle. Also, it's the only one I have in the house right now, so I have plenty of time to decide. Right now I'm leaning toward "go," though.

 

After the second trial: yeah, it's just not working. I might try it in an oil burner, though; I think it would be a good room scent.

[AngelFireHeart]

Oh Jack How I love thee!!!!

 

Oh yes that's how I like this, spicy buttery warm goodness in here, I didn't realise it was nutmeg in here though to me it smells more cinnamon but hey ho I love it all the same. This scent I've passed by for quite sometime but I got a frimp of it & decided I'd give it a go, & it's just gorgeous, warm buttery & spicy (but sweet spicey) goodness in a bottle, this smells soo good I'd like to eat it! An extremely foody scent but one I like, I'm usually not keen on foody scents.

 

(Even more gorgeous when layered with The Hesperides)

 

[divergenow]

To me, in the bottle, this smells like pure butter. I must admit I was a little skeptical.

 

Seconds after applying, however, I get pumpkin bread soaked in rum syrup, and slathered with butter. With a side of gummy peaches.

 

Sounds odd, and I probably wouldn't want to eat that, but I do want to eat my arm right now.

[zenvodunista]

Jack on me was first ALL BUTTER. so much butter that i was a bit taken aback. now, it's buttery peaches. it smells like a peach cobbler.

 

which isn't bad in itself, but i'm not way into the foody scents.

 

n.

[BlackDahlia]

Oh, my heaven's YUM!!!

 

This is a definite keeper ~ let me just say from the get-go. This scent is FABULOUS. Wow.

 

From the Imp:

 

MMmmmmm... Pumpkin laced with hot, buttered rum. I wanted to lick the bottle... it smelled sooooooo edibly fantastic. Rich, dark, buttery and sinful. YUM. YUM. YUM.

 

Wet on skin:

 

I almost could not put enough on! I kept dabbing here and there because it smells so utterly divine! When I put it on I could smell nutmeg lacing the pumpkin. Spicy gorgeousness.

 

On the dry down:

 

Pumpkin and nutmeg with occassional wafts of buttered rum. The peach scent (that is *very* faint) smells more like apple to me... (or on my skin, anyway...) the fruit fragrance along with the other scents are perfectly combined and beautiful. This is an awesome autumn themed scent... smells like a perfect fall evening after a day filled with baking your favourite autumnal goodies.

 

*happy sigh*

Again. I say "YUM"

 

In closing:

I am buying several bottles of this. Big bottles. It is fantastic!

[Chantarelle]

Did you know that studies have been done that found that the scent men are most attracted to is pumpkin pie?

 

This is so strong on first application - I was almost overwhelmed by the pumpkin, although the spice was awesome. Luckily it mellows within a few minutes to straight up pumpkin pie, and gets sweeter as the day goes on. By the end of the day it's almost like a pumpkin candy. YUM.

 

This is a definite foody scent. If you don't want to smell like dessert this is not the smell for you. Luckily, I'm very happy to smell like dessert. Heh.

 

Note: I believe this scent has been reformulated and a peach note has been added. I have an early verson, for what it's worth.

[pranashakti]

Jack is everything I hoped Sugar Cookie would be, plus pumpkin. Foody, sweetly spicy, and warm, but lightened by the pumpkin and with just enough peach to make it juicy. Absolutely love it, and I'm looking forward to the Pumpkin Patch so much now, it's silly. I could eat my arm...and I don't even dig pumpkin...I'm a sweet potato gal, myself.

 

I agree that this has great throw. I got asked what yummy thing I had put on all the way from the kitchen! It's a laster on me as well, and stays sweet and spicy both for a long while. Right on.

[katalia]

I didn't get any pumpkin in this. To me, it smells rich, sweet, fruity, buttery, and spicey. It makes me think of a kitchen on Thanksgiving. Absolutely divine. I have a 10 mL of this, and I just may get more. This is the absolute best scent ever.

[kakiphony]

In the bottle: Butter, butter, butter and maybe some popcorn. And then more butter.

 

Wet: Still buttered popcorn, but with a slight underlying hint of fruit. The boy said, "interesting" and raised his eyebrows.

 

Drydown: The fruit very quickly takes over the butter and continues to amp up and sweeten until it morphs into bubblegum. Then it amps up again and I'm suddenly sneezing and snotty. The overall impressipn before I run for the lavender scented soap and hot water is of rancid peach jolly ranchers wrapped in already been chewed bubble gum. It was way too sweet and had a nasty plastic tang to it. The boyfriend commented, "That's yuck."

[Julilla Regina]

I was almost loathe to put this on, because in the imp, it is pure butter. Not a stick of butter, though, a pot of hot, melted butter. Woah, Nellie! It did seem like it would be too much.

 

Thankfully, about five minutes after putting it on, it smoothes into a mildly cinnamon/clove sweet not butter scent. I don't get the pumpkin though! It's like someone made pumpkin pie without the pumpkin. It's got all the spices and the crust...odd. It smells delish though, even sans pumpkin to my nose. I like it a lot, and I'm sure it's layerable with all sorts of delicious things...I'm thinking Harvest Moon....