Jack
Jack (2014)

I was worried about Jack based on past experiences with other marijuana scents, but this is nice. The opening is a business-ready, lemony-citrus smell with green herbal notes. The weed note is there but its not dirty at all, and kinda hidden behind all the citrus. The base is clean nutmeg and takes over as the citrus and green herb notes diminish. The entire scent is light from start to finish and becomes hard to detect after a few hours.

Jack opens with a lime and mandarin note strong enough to burn nose hairs with a single whiff. On one hand this is offensive in its boldness, but if applied lightly it is an intriguing lime freshness that is quite a wake up call. The mid notes are an incense of nutmeg and pepper that is dominated by the tart lime/mandarin which overrides whatever mid notes there are. Relief is nearby as the base notes drop intensity to reveal a cooling, mentholated, subtle green softness of vetiver and white musk. These bright and then soft tones of citric greens then soft musk leather occurs within each breath of the scent. So with each good sniff there is an "ouch . . . oh . . . aahh" reflex with this one-two punch of searing tartness and cooling relief. An oily olibanum marks a dot of darkness as the final note. I can see how some will love Jack and some will not. This is a very unusual combination that reminds me of my childhood friend who when asked why he was banging his head into the wall replied, "it feels so good when I stop". Its sort of a pain/pleasure cycle of top notes to base. I like it, but it does require instructions to not over-apply in any one spot as the intensity builds very quickly for the opening.

This is a beautiful composition, refined like a Caron (reminds me a little of Le Troisieme Homme in its watery gentleness).

The lime and mandarin opening is fresh and beautiful, and present throughout but never overbearing. Marijuana is mentioned as a topnote on the Jack website, though it doesn't smell like any strain I'm familiar with(!), but rather a slightly sweet oudh-iness and an impression of an interesting character.

Through the middle and the drydown is the presence of something I can't quite put my finger on, which is intriguing, a slight... "Sourness" is not the right word, something languid in character, almost like the hug of a smiling, smartly-dressed uncle who's been drinking a little too early in the day!

I am hugely impressed with this fragrance, it has nothing to do with the notion of "celebrity fragrance", but is the work of a man (and a skilled team of others) with a genuine passionate love for fragrance. Give it a try!

I also recommend you read Richard's story of how he came to make this fragrance - a very entertaining and funny read, find it online.

Disappointed in this. Had expected a better than usual celebrity scent, given the person involved (Richard E. Grant) and the assertion that he was quite involved in the design and development, rather than just lending his name.
Interestingly, marijuana was originally listed among the top notes. But I don't see it here in BN.
This has an extremely assertive mandarin opening note -- almost overwhelmingly monolithic for a very long period of time. It smells a bit faux and boring. Eventually a somewhat grassy, resinous note emerges in the dry-down. But here, it is a bit too sweet to suit me.

Jack is a beautiful, seamlessly composed perfume. It starts cheerful and fresh-tangy, but round and full-bodied. The opening is really nice. Then the earthy-herbal character kicks in along with a distinct sweetness. From then on Jack lasts for hours and hours becoming more of an incense leather perfume that is actually quite wonderful. Jack is not a traditional unisex eau de parfum. Sometimes its sweetness bothers me on my skin when for instance towards the dry down I detect a gourmand accord I can't put my finger on. Overall though I think the Frankincense adds to Jack a touch of spirituality that I believe may be bringing the whole composition to an area of niche that many would appreciate. There is a Penhaligon's quality in Jack but this is richer more dandy and less gentlemanly. I can go on and on with this one, because it is so interesting in that non-CdG way. Silage here is very strong at first and depending on the temperature it can stay strong (so better not over-apply), and longevity is just excellent with +8 hours on my skin and probably much more on fabric. Well done!