Jacomo de Jacomo (1980)
by Jacomo

What a wonderful insect repellent! I bet it would work, too. The opening is a clove bravado followed by a musky, synthetic, mossy base. Not good at all.

Jacomo de Jacomo is a very dark, dry, ashen-smelling aromatic fougere in the style of the 1970s. Though the sharp intensity of the opening clove and lavender blast diminishes after five or so minutes, the accord itself does not disappear - it merely softens an lasts into the drydown, which is reminiscent of the smell of a very dark leather jacket and smoke.

JdJ is definitely an extremely masculine scent, and it maintains an unusual but interesting feel of being dark, smoky, and soapy at the same time, throughout its duration. It makes me think of cold smoke. It also has absolutely no sweetness whatsoever. The jet-black and gray metal bottle is very appropriate; this is a very "black" fragrance.

To give you another idea of what this smells like, imagine Jaipur without the sweetness and vanilla base, with a little less powder, and more clove, and you've got something similar to Jacomo de Jacomo. Unlike Jaipur, however, JdJ does not strike me as an oriental fragrance, but rather a fougere, due to the prominence of lavender, a slight note of barbershop talc in the background, JdJ's dryness and its complete lack of sweetness. The patchouli and oakmoss are very subtle, and in fact I don't even detect them until several hours after application (longevity is very good on my skin or to my nose), where they seem to join with the enduring clove note to create the "black leather" note I smell in the drydown. I doubt leather is an actual ingredient here, so I have to think it's an olfactory illusion created by the clove, patchouli and oakmoss. This is a very well constructed fragrance.

My only problem with JdJ is that, I hate to say it, it does smell a bit outdated today. When I smell it, it reminds me of my growing up in the 1970s, when I remember smelling this scent (or something similar to it) on men in shopping malls, in waiting rooms, etc.. I remember my pediatrician wearing something like this. These aren't really images I want to think of when I wear a fragrance. JdJ is an excellent scent, but I'm not sure it's relevant these days. It doesn't quite have the timeless quality that a true classic fragrance has. However, because there is real quality here and I do like this, I have a feeling that more exposure to this will make JdJ seem not so outdated.

We rarely talk about this line and i doubt if many here have/tested more than one scent from this line. Basenotes reveal Chicane as Jacomo's first release (1971) and Scents like Ambro and Anthracite have seen some followers/admirers. both those scents have garnered only positive reviews, that too from avid reviews of BN (russlan et al).
Now, coming back to scents that are still available, Jacomo de Jacomo (1980), i'm sure a lot would have changed since the time it was released, but i have read that it's pardonable. saying that, this scent is no sleeper, hardcore, peppery/clove assualt with oomphs of spices under it's belt and incense in it's breath. After the intial assault of colves, which is done in a very classic 80's way, this scent settles in a very smooth, almost powdery accord of woods, spices, musk and amber. real gem. call me whack, but i find this as the inspiration behind Parfumerie Generales Querelle(caraway; clove replaced by sharp vetiver, (by no means they smell alike, at the same time, very hard to not make this comparison)

After the dischordant, violent entrance - the astringent bluster and bravado of the clove - we find Harry Highpants in sensible shoes.
Begins with a bang but ends with a whimper. Perhaps the clove serves to anaesthetize the nose to the pedestrian nature of this composition. Despite all of this, I find myself drawn to it because I love clove even when it's brash.

i guess, this is my first absolutely negative review. and probably a fragrace purchase i regret the most!
so far i liked more or less almost every fragrances jacomo has released. but man, this fragrance is a crap! i can hardly believe that a fragrance company released such a scent in 2008!
i'm not competent in perfume ingredients but i resemles slightly to davidoff's cool water but it somehow has even less character. when i first spayed it i knew it reminded me to something. now i know that it smells like those toilet freshers back from old times... :( it really does! and also resembles old deodorants (axe or denim) with pine and marie impression.
even my harpic toilet fresher smells better and nicer than this crap.

jacomo de jacomo deep blue smells VERY CHEAP! so if you want to spend money for a deodorant scent for price of an eau de toilette, go and buy this stuff!

(jacomo de jacomo deep blue "eau de toilet" :)))))))

I agree with Foetidus fully. The clove is too much for me, and this is simply not the best "cheapo" of this type. I prefer Carven Homme, for example, though if you hate rosewood you should avoid CH. Longevity isn't great for JdJ and it's quite tame after about 45 minutes, so I'm not sure who this will appeal to, because those who like the strong clove won't like the timid drydown, while those who do like the drydown won't want to wait 45 minutes of strong clove before getting to that drydown.