Jack

[Ailgwyn]

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

Oh Jack. Oh Jaaaaaaack.

Jack II is one of the first scents I've ever tried that has actively brought back memories. It smells EXACTLY like my mother's tzimmes (that's sweet potato, apricot, prune, raisin, and beef stew to you)...that's a good thing, too.

In the bottle I can smell the pumpkin and peach almost simultaneously, a fruity yet mellow scent, and the cloves are like an aftertaste, coming up behind in the sniff.
On me, it's exactly like in the bottle at first. The cloves come gradually more and more to the top as it dries, which is great because I love cloves. A couple of hours down the line, it's become all cloves to the point where there's a distinct green edge to the scent, which reminds me of what it feels like to chew cloves (or, heh, smoke them), but it's not bad. That would be the point I'd refresh it, though-- I much prefer the first stages.

On my cousin, it smelled like warm apple pie.

That said, mmmmmmmm. I can see why Jack is so popular; it's a delicious scent.

[sheelanagig]

I had meant to include Jack in every single order I've placed since discovering the Lab, but I somehow managed to forget every time...

But now he's here, and he's delicious.

 

When I first opened the vial, I was a bit nervous as all I could smell was whatever note went rancid on me in Samhain. After drydown, however, it becomes a wonderfully rich and spicy TRUE pumpkin scent. I love it!

[shelldoo]

in the vial: butter

 

wet: ahhhh nicer, pumpkin spice, maybe pumpkin roll, oohhhh if this stays true I will definitely need a big bottle!

 

dry: YES! It is buttery, rummy, pumpkin roll, gorgeous, fabulous autumn scent, winter scent, heck I do not know f I can give it up for spring and summer

[Wren]

I had high hopes for Jack when I opened up my imp, but the first thing that came to mind was stomache-churningly blech. Bravely, I gave it a chance on my skin, and although it has mellowed in the hour+ since I put it on, it's still...vaguely synthetic and not something I want near my nose. Definitely something for the swaps.

 

[edit] I definitely like the scent of Jack now that it's 3+ hours since I put it on. Unfortunately, 3-4 hours is too long to wait out the unpleasant beginnings. It simply doesn't smell good on me, and I ENVY those it does smell good on!! ^^

Edited January 14, 2005 by Wren

[Fyre_in_Winter]

Ahh Jack, wonderful, nummy Jack. Once on my skin it becomes a wonderful blend of buttery creaminess, peach, and strong nutmeg. I'm not necessarily into fruity scents, but the spice of the nutmeg really makes this blend. The peach does die off fairly quickly, leaving a gorgeous spiced cream/butter/pumpkin. I do love the smell of pumpkin, and wish it appeared more strongly on my skin, but I still love the way it smells on me. Odd that it's named Jack- this oil makes me feel all girly and flirty.

[Cats]

Oh, I have another new love.

 

In the bottle it reminded me of Grog: hot buttery rummy

 

On me at first it was Bright!Heady!Fruit! and a bit overwhelming. It actually reminded me of a fruity perfume I bought at a science fiction convention in the 70s.

 

Then the fruit faded (in moments) but I wasn't sure what the new smell was. "Smell me!" I demanded to the boykitty. He sniffed, shrugged, and said "corn?" That was it -- candied corn (but not caramel corn -- the kind with the hard crack candy on it).

 

Now, after about 15 minutes, it's apply and spicy and buttery and delicious.

 

This is what I was expecting Samhain to be.

 

Love it!

[Serenity]

I don't get pumpkin from this. Instead.. I get the smell of some heavenly batter. This smells like holiday baking to me. Then, as it dried, wonder of wonders!! My favorite beloved peach note crept out and wrapped her arms around me!

 

I'm in love.

[magikfanfic]

Jack I

 

In the bottle: Oh wow. Now that's pumpkin. This is what I was expecting from the king. But oddly enough, yes, peach in with it as well as the strong nutmeg and clove scents. This is like a pumpkin cookie followed by a peach and, as odd as it sounds, it tastes kinda good.

 

Wet: Um, peachy spice, which is somewhat odd and a little nauseating. The pumpkin and the peach are fighting over who gets to rule and who gets to have the spcie accentuate them. It's just a little too strong on me. I like the peach, but I perfer it lighter. and the spices are a bit much on top of a pumpkin that really pops out to meet you.

 

Dry down: The pumpkin is taking control but there's still something in it that really bothers me. I know it's not the clove or the nutmeg as those worked fine in Pumpkin King so i'm going to blame it on the unfortunate mixture of peach and pumpkin. In fact this kinda makes me gag so I need to wash it off now.

 

Jack 2:

 

In the bottle: That's much better, This version has more of a buttercream frosting scent to it. It's still spiced pumpkin, but there's a nice rich vanilla type scent in it that makes it much more bearable. I don't get any peach yet, though.

 

Wet: This is more cloves and nutmeg with a little bit of pumpkin in the background for me. The peach is light and wafts through the background rather than trying to compete for prime sniffing time. The buttery rich food smell is still there and is lovely but tempered by cloves. This kidna smells like gingerbread and, oh, hello nutmeg. Wow.

 

Dry down: Major nutmeg with clove backing it and a little pumpkin behind it all. Again that rich buttercream type smell as well it in that makes me think of evaporated milk and pies and eggnog gushing forth in rivers of creamy goodness. This peach is almost nonexistant and tends to only lend an edge of sweetness to the blend. Again, though, this mostly reminds me of heavily spiced cookies. Not the kind of cookies I like to eat, but the kind I love to smell.

 

Dry: A little more peach, but that buttercream spice pumpkin smell is the top note above and beyond anything else. I don't care too much for wearing the foody scents, but I do like to smell them. Beth's artistry with these just continues to amaze me even when I don't care for a particular blend.

[lucymoonstar]

I've worn Jack a few different times but this is the first time I have reviewed it. I have the Jack II formula and I absolutely love it! This fragrance is so comforting - initially upon sniffing I can smell a sort of buttery sweet pumpkin spice. Upon application to my skin - I can still smell a sweet pumpkin fragrance with a bit of vanilla or sugar - something sweet. On me I can't smell any peach or clove but I am more than satisfied with the pumpkin scent. I applied in the morning and it is almost noon and I can still smell the sweet pumpkin. Autumn is my favorite time of year - it is winter where I am but this scent makes me feel all yummy, warm and sunny

[scourgeotheseas]

Jack II

 

I got this as a freebie from malanna, with orders to pass it on. Oh, I shall...

 

In the bottle: Peach comes blasting out, followed by butter and some spice that may prove to be nutmeg or clove but smells like neither of them. And not nice, to my nose. No pumpkin at all.

 

On me: It is buttery on application, but immediately turns into the smell of the unidentifiable spice. None of the peach appears at all, and I swear I smell like celery salt. I know some people have a problem with buttery scents, and I'm beginning to wonder if I'm one. This is godawful on me. I'm so sad.

 

This overwhelmingly bad fake potpourri smell is wafting off my arm. I must go wash this off now...

 

On the last sniff before I removed the offender from my arm, I got a nice whiff of peach. But not enough to keep it...Jack will definitely find a new home. Yuck!

[sarada]

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love pumpkins and Halloween -- I like to be surrounded with images of pumpkins and jack o'lanterns all year, everywhere I go! I don't much get along with "foody" scents though and I've found that "pumpkin spice" as a candle, room or body fragrance usually turns my stomach even though I love pumpkin pie if it's on a plate.

 

So, Jack turns out to be a very bad thing where I'm concerned. I honestly can't even open an imp of this without getting sick, and I feel bad about that since I try to give all the oils a chance and see how they develop on me. But the overwhelming scent of butter makes my head spin, my stomach clench and I feel queasy for about an hour afterwards every time I get it in my head that I'm going to try one of the "buttery" scents like Jack, or Hellcat, etc. Strangely enough I keep getting freebies of them with my orders though! But that's OK because I am more than happy to pass them on to others.

 

All that I can smell in Jack is the overwhelming scent of burnt butter, and unfortunately I can't get any closer to it than that. I might have an allergy to something in this but I'm not going to be able to test it thoroughly to find out. I think that this would definitely work for people who like foody, "pumpkin spice" type scents and autumn smells, but although autumn/Halloween is my favorite season, I am going to have to choose dry, woody scents to celebrate with this year!

[Digital_Hypoxia]

Whooo…first review (what better way to delurk?)

 

I absolutely loved this scent, though I should add that I am a die hard sucker for foody smells.

Jack jumped right out of the imp at me, very strong and very delicious. My room and Statistics textbook even picked up (and held) the scent.

 

On my skin it stayed much the same, very warm and pumpkin-y, with a spiciness that almost reminds me of Chai tea.

 

I will most definitely be getting a big bottle.

[Gin]

I had incredibly high hopes for Jack. All I got from him was weird buttery popcorn and then a clovey-nutmeggy scent, but they seem off, too. This is not the lovely, spicy, foody scent I expected. I'm terribly disappointed because I was *so sure* that Jack was the guy for me. He's found a good home with someone else, though.

[Andromedii]

I have a bottle of Jack and slathered him on both my wrists a while back and all I could smell was spicy peach cobbler. It was quite yummy. It lasted all day. I have no problem smelling like a fruity bakery.

[requieminblack]

Seeing that 'Pumpkin Pie' is my all time favorite scent, just reading the description of Jack made me place my very first order from the lab. That was almost a month ago. I have been on the edge of my seat waiting for my click and ship! Now, out of the kindness of a fellow forum members heart, I now have an imp of Jack to try!

 

First sniff from the bottle- Very buttery.

 

After 10 minutes- This is a lot more buttery than I was expecting! It does smell just like pumpkin pie...or a spicy peach cobbler, with butter slathered all over it and in it. The spices are perfect. Cinnamon, clove and nutmeg. Yummy!

 

After 30 minutes- Ok, now I am smelling the peach. A lot. The peach has taken over. Hmmm, where did the pumpkin pie go? I mean the blend is itself is fantastic but now it smells like peach cobbler instead of pumpkin pie like I was hoping.

 

Summery- I adore Jack. While it is not the pumpkin pie scent I was hoping for, it is fabulous anyway. I love food scents and this one is no exception. This is my second favorite BPAL scent!

[purely_cosmetic]

This is driving me to distraction!!!!!!!!

 

It smells *exactly* like something very specific, and I just can't fucking place it!!!

 

It smells very buttery, and a bit like sugar, and this irritating smell that I just cannot place for the life of me.

 

VERY strong and rich. Use SPARINGLY

 

YES WELL DONE HOUSEMATE HELEN!!!!! She told me exactly what it was within seconds- the clever lass!!! It's smells EXACTLY like currant biscuits. Exactly. As it's been warming up on my skin it's got a tiny bit of ginger in it as well. And the currants are coming through more now as well.

 

Oh my God this is lovely!!!! It's a real winter scent though, so it's a pain in the arse I got it in spring. I intend to wear this to my seminar tomorrow, to make EVERYONE hungry!!

 

But I will again re-iterate how bloody strong it is. My bottle didnt have a reducer, so I applied it by dipping in a cotton bud and wiping the tiniest amount on my wrist. And I can smell it without bringing it to my nose.

 

I'm VERY happy with this - I hope it doesnt change drastically into something horrible!! EDITED: oh dear....there is a strange "fag smell" coming through which is very prominant in perversion as well...it's only just peeking through, but it's changed the wonderful biscuit smell into a slightly burning currant one. I think the biscuit thing was the nutmeg, but Im not sure. I hate this cigarette tone, I'm hoping it will disappear.

 

YET ANOTHER EDIT: I'm not sure when this appears, but I think it's after the warm buttery stage...I get a very very distinctive smell coming through which is of hot cooked apples. That sort of very very sweet scent. It smells a bit like apple pie mingled with something a bit richer, that might be what hot pumpkin smells like I guess!!

Edited February 13, 2005 by purely_cosmetic

[Finny]

I have tried Jack 1 and Jack 2

 

Jack 1 smelled like a jack-o-lantern to me. Waxy candle, hollowed out burnt pumpkin flesh, with spices sprinkled over all.

 

Jack 2 smells sweet and spicy. I don't get any waxy smell, it is pumpkin, peach, spices, with a note that smells almost like buttery pie crust. It smells like pumpkin pie or pumpkin bread baking on a cool fall afternoon.

 

I like both, but prefer Jack 2 to Jack 1.

[Fury]

Ah, delicious! Right out of the bottle it's lovely, smelling exactly like a Halloween cookie. Very foody, once it dries it reminds me a bit of the buttery rum-ness of Black Phoenix, though more foody, and very simply delectible. Thus far I'm not smelling much pumpkin, just spicy, buttary sugar, which reminds me a little of root beer and Butterscotch Schnapps.

 

It's a very warm scent, and assured to make you hungry! Yes, I find it quite similar to Black Phoenix, though with sassafras rather than cola- spiked, of course.

[Pookstrell]

Purely_cosmetic kindly let me try some of her Jack last night

 

Wow. Purely_cosmetic was right, this smells just like biscuits with dried fruit in. Amazing

On my skin: Biscuits!!! Very, very foody. Definitely smells like warm pumpkin pie, complete with sugary pastry. This is pretty damn impressive.

As it begins to dry the biscuit-phase disappears and it smells very buttery. I really like this stage too. But hang on, what's this? Nooo, it's the feared peach note which originally prevented me from ordering some of this for myself. As it continues to warm on my skin the peach becomes more and more pronounced until it totally dominates the blend. I don't like this stage, and it bears absolutely no resemblance to the lovely biscuit-phase I encountered earlier. In conclusion, I am very jealous!

This blend smelled totally different on purely_cosmetic. Wonderful baked goods on her, whilst it morphed into peach-ass on me. I would recommend it to others though, as I have experienced how wonderful it can be on the right person. I think I may have to resort to stealing a Jack-sized chunk of Harri's skin when I want to wear it. Or something. Nevermind, I got her back with Dorian as it smelled of sweeties on me and lemon-ass on her!!

Seriously though, it is totally amazing the difference that skin chemistry can make to a blend. Quite astounding.

Edited February 13, 2005 by Pookstrell

[allelujiah]

This oil had the amazing quality to maintain its complexity all day. Usually a dominant top note comes out when I'm wearing these oils, and all the rest of the richness takes a back seat. Jack stayed really complex and all the scents were fighting to dominance the whole time.

 

Upon application the oil smelled of buttery pumpkin. Almost instantly it began to change. The scent combines like all the best aspects of an autumnal country home. I smelled apples (could be the peach) and the pumpkin along with something warm and spicey.

 

The nutmeg was strong on me, making the whole concoction kind of like all those autumn themed candles you've ever smelled. Pumpkin pie and fresh apples and a bough of some sort on the kitchen table.

 

I was hoping this would be more of a purely pumpkin scent, but I really liked how it smelled. It was comforting and interesting. As a room scent this would be unbelievable.

[phoefromelsewhere]

In the bottte: homemade peach pie.

 

Wet: Hrm. It smells nice and spicy and deeply fruity but there is an odd sour smell. Maybe the pumpkin?

 

Drydown: Smells like Gingerbread Poppet mixed with fruit.

 

Finally: This is just way too strong for me. I prefer Gingerbread Poppet.

[antimony]

Why did I wait so long to try this???!?!!

 

Yummy peachy, spicy, buttery, cake batter-y goodness. I am in love, I don't care that it's strong, I slather ike there's no tommorrow (and that's not usually my style) I just do it earlier, so the scent has some time to die down before I leave the house.

 

It's like a peachy instead of chocolatey version of Gluttony, I don't think it smells like Samhain at all.

[Bard]

I love the scent of Jack in the bottle, the blend is rich and sweet. If it smelled like this on me, I'd love it, however, when I first apply the scent, I get none of the sweetness or spicyness, only a raw, wet pumpkin scent that while not disagreeable is certainly not what I want to smell like. After a couple hours the scent balances and I get that lovely spicy-sweet scent I was looking for, however that's too little too late as far as I'm concerned.

 

Still the scent is lovely, and I'll likely keep the imp to use as incense.

 

 

Jack Haiku:

Your body, a shell.

Your spirit, the candle flame:

Dancing for one night.

 

 

Your humble and obedient Renaissance Man,

 

Bard

Edited February 23, 2005 by Bard

[brownbat]

Initially I get a buttery popcorn smell that I really don't care for. Luckily, this disappears in a few minutes or so, leaving a marvelous spicy, sweet, second skin impression on me. However, this is not one to wear on a very full stomach!

[darkitysnark]

Jack II

 

I've got Jack I and II thanks to gimp happy forumites () so I'll make sure to post my impressions of the original Jack here as well...

 

In the bottle:

Super buttery! I can pull a high, green peach note after all the butter with successive sniffing.

 

Wet:

This is a one-two punch of Butter! Then Peach!

 

Drydown:

The peach is really taking over. This is an underripe, slightly green crunchy peach, not a soft, squishy, sugared peach. The note is sharp and a little aggressive on my nose. I'm getting a bad tang reaction in the back of my throat from this. I think I might be one of the few that Jack does not enamour.

 

Later:

I spent the rest of the day (about 6-8 hours) wafting peach. As the day wore on the peach became less aggressive and almost palatable. Almost. Funny thing was, wrist sniffs gave me all the spicy, nummy goodness that everyone else seems to pick up. But the waft. The waft is killing me!

 

At the end of the day Mr. Snarky had this to say about day-old Jack: "Smells normal to me". I have no idea what that means either.

 

Alas, Jack II, I believe you are off to swaps. If I get a chance I'll review Jack I this weekend.