The Jersey Devil

[valentina]

The scent of the wild, hauntingly beautiful Pine Barrens of New Jersey! Pitch pine with blackberry leaf, cranberry, cedar wood and tomato leaf.

Damn it, Janet! I like this one!

I had no notion that I would enjoy this scent and got an imp from a friend so my husband could test it, since he's fond of the piney scents and all. But I just had to try it, because that combination of ingredients has always intrigued me.

The Jersey Devil goes on green and sappy with the cedar giving a woodsy spicy undertone. The pine does not overwhelm the other components, as it typically does on my skin. After a while, the tomato leaf gives off a nice pungency and the berries give a bit of a juicy smell. It just smells like a lot of alive and growing things. After a few hours, the cranberry does steam up a bit more, but in a very pleasant way, and not too sweet.

This isn't a scent for more formal occasions, but I think for more casual wear, especially during the spring and summer, it would be lovely. I'm keeping the imp, and I'm getting more!!!!

[savage_rose]

Oh, Jersey Devil! Where have you been all my life?

 

This such an awesome blend...I thought it was mulberry, and then realized that this is cranberry (tart) and blackberry (sweet). And the cedar adds kind of a dirty wooden note...and a hint of pine...

 

It's just so complex and lovely!

[goblinshark]

In the bottle this smells woodsy and delicious - I mostly smell pine.

 

One me it completely went south. It turned into a single note of piercing, bitter cranberry; there was no trace of pine to be found. I had to wash it off after a couple hours because it gave me a headache.

 

However this smelled GREAT on my boyfriend! Piney without being artificial and a little smoky, really wonderful. I gave the imp to him.

[Bagfish]

The Jersey Devil does not work on my skin at all. It smells pretty good in the imp of, blackberry leaf and tomato plant and similar on first application, but the cranberry swiftly amps up in a most awful way on my skin and hounds everything else out of existence, ushering in a headache. This had to be washed up pretty damn quick.

[galahad]

In The Bottle

Cranberry, pine and occasional bursts of tomato leaf

 

On Application

Tart cranberry with a background of pine.

 

Dry Down

The cedar comes out to play not long into the drydown to tone down the cranberry a little. I think the tomato leaf, which can be detected just at the edges of this scent, and the pine give this a wildness that is invigorating and prevents this from becoming fruity candy. Kind of goes scented eraser on me after 20 minutes or so (which is a pleasant fragrance) but occasionally the cranberry rears it's head. I like it!

 

Rating (0-5)

4.5

[Lamia]

This scent cracks me up

 

My grandparents lived for a large part of my life in a retirement community in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey. The Jersey Devil wasn't something that I was terrorized with, but it was a small part of my youth. I kept expecting to see the damn thing pop out from between the trees when we were driving there. And my grandfather grew tomatoes - actually, he grew a LOT of stuff (you should have seen his battles with the rabbits and deer!) but his were the only tomatoes I would eat. So: Pine Barrens? Tomato? Jersey Devil? Yay grandparents and happy childhood memories!

 

This started sweet in the bottle, with an unpleasant tang. uh oh I thought, I don't want this to be gross. Fresh, it was processed and chemical, but that changed quickly to an unusual clay-dirt scent. Not a vetiver/patchouli earth scent, but a clay-ey sort of dirt, which, considering the Pine Barrens were mostly sand, seemed more proper to me than a moist earth scent. Quickly, tomato leaped out, but a fresh sun-warmed tomato instead of an anemic pink slice thrown onto a burger. This tomato scent lasted for quite some time, which made me a bit nervous (since I loathe tomatoes), but that faded as well, bringing forth a sweet fruit. For about half an hour I wasn't able to track this, so who knows what happened in the interim. I assume the fruity scent to be the cranberry. The cranberry has lasted longest of all, but within 2 hours, this has faded almost completely. There was no pine in this for me. While I'd like to keep this because of the happy associations, it doesn't wear well on me. Trade bag.

[clawsight]

The Jersey Devil is one of my favorite American myths, so I had to grab this scent!

 

In the imp: Oh lord. I want to take this scent and slather it on the nearest male. Since my significant other is currently a long ways off, this would involve grabbing someone off of the street and assaulting them with perfume. I don't think the law would look kindly on this, unfortunately... Anywho. The scent is just this... wonderful blend of pine, tomato leaf, and ceder sweetened by cranberry. I can't really pick out the blackberry leaf because I have no clue what it smells like There's something about this that strikes me as masculine, though, I suppose a woman could easily wear it too.

 

Wet: The tomato leaf gets a moment in the sun, along with the ceder and then... the pine and cranberry start battling for dominance. They scare off the ceder first, and eventually the tomato leaf leaves too. Still no signs of the elusive blackberry leaf, unless it's blending in with the cranberry incredibly well.

 

Dry: Cranberry wins the dominance fight. I'm kind of glad, because if it had been pine who won, it would have begun a reign of terror on my wrist that I just couldn't live with. The cranberry is a smug little bastard though. While I like the scent, on it's own it's just... boring. And disappointing. The tomato leaf, ceder, and pine complimented it so well!

 

Verdict:

 

3 out of 5

 

This one goes into the enabling pack I'm sending to the aforementioned significant other.

[Iceblink]

I don't know why I put off trying this for so long. I love cranberry and blackberry and this is all about those two notes. Fruity wonderfulness! The tomato provides a tangy tartness so the fruits aren't too sweet and there's a bit of pine there but it's not overpowering. This'll be great to wear now in late summer while the tomatoes are ripe!

[GirlDetective]

I had to get a bottle of this with my LuneNoir/Hellhound order, because I'm running out and The Jersey Devil has been the MVP of my bpal box this season.

 

Until now, I've not had much luck with woodsy scents, they often seem a bit flat to me.. but here the blackberry leaf and cranberries wake the blend right up. Starts off with that high sweet pine scent, fades into yummy berries and greens, and then you end up with this fresh and fruity cedar. It smells like one of those high-end soap and homegoods boutiques in the Upper East Side. That's praise, right? Those places smell really nice!

[jehrichardson]

In the Imp: I'm excited for this one - I love pine, tomato leaf, and cedar!! OO... I can smell the pine and cedar very well blended, and the green tomato leaf behind it all. Very very nice!

 

On the Skin: Pine and cedar mostly, but just a bit of sweet green in there.

 

After a While: Cedar, tomato leaf, and pine. Very consistent! I didn't get much cranberry (but I did get a bit!), but I wasn't particularly excited about that note so that's no biggie.

 

Verdict: Likes. Likes much. Wants. Wants lots.

[sideviewhotel]

I've had this imp for ages and am finally getting around to trying it. At first it was all.. cough medicine-y on my skin. I'm not sure which note that was. Probably the cranberry, but now that it's starting to dry the cedar is coming out and it smells almost.. Christmas-y? It's pretty good though. Definitely keeping the imp.

[Pookstrell]

This blend has me perplexed at the moment. At first, I detected the damp 'off' smell that I sometimes get with sour berries. I think this must be the cranberry combined with the pine. Whilst I love pine, it can take a few moments to lose its initial sharpness on me. As it dries, the Devil becomes much more palatable. The sharp elements recede, to leave a smoothness. Tomato leaf is one of my favourite scents of the garden, and whilst it is not distinct here, I get an impression of it in the background. When this has warmed up it completely changes. After 20 minutes this is mellow and fruity, whilst retaining a background of ballsy pine and cedar

The verdict? Yet another imp that I don't want to part with. I'll definitely be experimenting further with this one.

[fairnymph]

Sniffed in imp: Bright yellow coloured oil. Tart, fruity, herbal woods. Cranberry and blackberry, definitely cedar and pine, astringent herbs and pungent tomato leaf. Masculine.

[Seismogenic]

I've never been to the Pine Barrens, but the description of this oil was intriguing enough to make me look up some photos, and those photos were gorgeous enough to make me want to smell this. I'd also never heard the story of the Jersey Devil before coming across BPAL, so even if the oil doesn't end up working (which would be sad), at least I got to learn about some interesting legends!

 

In the imp: Pine sweetened by berries. Warm, sweet, and very nice.

 

Wet on skin: Still pine and berry, but with some additional green that smells deciduous rather than evergreen. I couldn't tell you if that's blackberry leaf versus tomato leaf or both, though.

 

Drydown: Freshly dry, this is wonderfully foresty. The pine and deciduous leaves balance each other, and there's something a little dry in there that's most likely the cedar, representing the forest groundcover. The cranberries sweeten the whole impression, but do not dominate it. After an hour, the scent has faded more than I'd like, but it's still the same wonderfully balanced summer outdoors smell.

 

Five hours later: Sadly, this is almost entirely gone already! What's left is slightly sweetened cedar, but only barely so.

 

End of the day: Gone.

 

Overall: The Jersey Devil is a beautifully evocative summer outdoors scent. The notes are all perfectly balanced, and the overall presence of the scent is wonderfully atmospheric. I may not have been to the Pine Barrens, but I've been to places in Maryland and Virginia with evergreens and deciduous foliage and berries all out at once, and this scent really reminds me of that. I just wish that The Jersey Devil didn't fade away so quickly - even though the concept of it disappearing into the background fits with the legend of its namesake cryptid. I will definitely be getting good use of this imp (at least!) nevertheless, and I can hope it might last longer when the weather cools down a bit.

[mgrazulis]

In the imp: Pine needles, cedar and woodsy leaves, very natural.

Wet: Sharp herbally ozone with blackberry leaf and tomato leaf .

Dry: So very much softer than I expected !The drydown is fantastic! A subdued cranberry note with a very light sweetness that blends beautifully with the earth and wood notes. Refreshing and evocative of the outdoors...crushed pine needles, leaves and a delicate snap of cranberry underfoot. Very lively! I'll be hanging on to this imp.

Edited September 24, 2008 by mineralfairy

[tacey]

The Jersey Devil doesn't have any emotional resonance for me, so I shouldn't be surprised that it doesn't speak much to me. There's a bit of berry early on that vanished quickly, and then all pine. This is apparently a highly evocative blend, to judge from the reviews above me, and it's my misfortune to have no relevant experiences for this to call out.

[Suu4LC]

Tomato leaf eh? Interesting. In the imp this is very woodsy with something sharp and fresh and sweet to it. I'm not a huge fan of woodsy scents, but this is actually quite nice on my skin. Fresh pine with hints of cedar and the blackberry and tomato leaf. I am not generally a fan of woody scents, but this is probably one of the best ones I've tried. Very fresh and beautiful. Earthy but not dirty. Kind of reminds me of the pine note in L'Inverno, which isn't as heavy and green and dirty as some of the other pine blends. I can't see myself purchasing this, but I would highly recommend if if the notes sound up your alley!

[jewelbug]

Imp: a very woodsy blend, with a touch of herby floral.

 

Wet: the throw is a lot fpine, but I can also smell a berried sweetness. Its a deep, dark berry with a bit of cranberry's tartness.

 

Dry: Pine takes backseat to the sweeter berries. It turns into a berry herbal with an almost creamy pine/cedar backdrop. The late dry down (5+ hrs) is a faint, sweet berry, kind of vanillic/ambery. The berry+ reminds me a bit of Florence.

 

Overall: Its pretty and outdoorsy, and I think it would be a lovely home scent. It strikes me as almost Christmas-y.

[themerrybaker]

Having never been to the Jersey Pine Barrens, the Devil smells to me like a Colorado pine forest on a hot summer day. I was surprised to associate pine with summer and I like the scent very much.

[elinox]

First Sniff: I can smell the pine with a slight hint of berry.

 

Wet: It smells like the woods. Overturned earth with pine needles on the ground. Maybe even a hint of cedar?

 

Dry: As it dries, the cedar comes out more strongly, although not overpoweringly so. I can also smell the berry which goes very nicely with the pine smell.

 

My Reaction: The berry mixed well with the forest scent. I loved the earthyness of this one! However even with the usual amount I put on it was rather faint, but it still smells good. I didn't like it as much dry as when it was wet, but it's still a pleasant scent.

 

Rating 1-5: 3

[obsidienne]

This was a frimp from the Lab, and oh my goodness, am I ever glad! I never ever would have ordered this on my own, it's so beautiful that I'm just thrilled.

 

It starts off kind of masculine and piney -- in a nice way, but not entirely my style -- but it's not objectionable either. As it dries, though, it morphs like crazy; when the cranberry and cedar come out, it's perfect. Sexy and wild and fun. I am not sure that I notice the blackberry and tomato leaves distinctly, so I can't vouch for how they are contributing.

 

Overall, this morphed from something that I'd classify as masculine into a more feminine blend (at least to me). Unfortunately, the pine didn't stand the test of my skin, and is gone at full drydown. I also usually dislike cranberry scented things because they're usually way too sweet, but this is a great cranberry. While it lasts, anyway.

 

The Jersey Devil has light throw and an extremely short lifespan on my skin, less than a 1/2 hour. By the end it's just a hint of cedar and even lighter hint of berry, and I really slathered on my wrist.

Edited December 18, 2008 by obsidienne

[Coldfire]

Imp: Pine. Very pine. But not pine sol pine

Wet on Me: pine and…….something I can’t put my sniffer on.

Drying Down: the pine is being sweetened by the cranberry.

Piney and cranberry…feels like a holiday in a log cabin.

Dry: mostly cranberry now…the pine is receding, but the cedar

decided to come out and play a lil bit. This is not bad. Glad I tried it.

[Mathenia]

I just got my first set of imps on Saturday and wore Jersey Devil at work today. It was wonderful!

 

In the bottle: the cranberry is really strong, with the pine and leafy stuff underneath it.

 

On wet: pretty much the same as the bottle, but even more of the cranberry

 

dry: hardly morphs at all, though the tomato leaf starts to add itself to the blend.

 

I wouldn't consider this a "Christmas" scent myself. I really liked this at work (large warehouse, very dry and dusty) and no one objected, so I'm for sure keeping it around.

[ouch!]

WOW!

 

Finally a pine scent that I adore. This one has turned me around in thinking that I will never really order anything with pine in. This scent is everything I wanted Bewitched to be when it failed so miserably on me.

 

Wet, this has deffo got a foresty vibe to it, it's pine but not scary floor cleaner pine, it's more real and there's a fruity berry there too, it smells more balckberry than cranberry though, and a slight woodsy note. Too much wood scares me too, but this? This is the perfect balance on me. Foresty berries =

 

Now when it's drying it changes a whole lot... the pine fades slightly, and it's got so much more of a sharp tart berry bite. It's the cranberry.

 

Then comes this smell that I adore. It sounds yuk but is lovely to my nose. It's kind of like a plasticy sweet smell. The same kind of thing as Aunt Caroline's Joy Mojo or Bordello. Yum yum! It's this with a slight hint of pine and the tang of cranberry.

 

This scent is awesome!

[VioletChaos]

in the imp: thick pine resin, tomato and a touch of tart and sweet berries.

 

wet on skin: the pine in this is more of a sweet juniper note than, say, a "black forest" sort of pine. it's really nice, and doesn't remind me of the Holiday Season at all- total plus! the cranberry is holding it's own at this point too, but not in a foodie way, just adding a bit of fruity splash somehow.

 

dry down: all pine resin and cranberry. lovely.

 

in all: not a scent that i could personally see myself wearing, i'm still glad i got to try this one. i love New Jersey in a passionate protective way and i was fearful about how that state would be represented. but i had nothing to worry about- this is all sweet and good.