Pool Boy
Clandestine Laboratories (2022)

Pool Boy by Clandestine Laboratories (2022) solves for X in regards to making a fresh fruity fragrance without ozonic or aquatic fallbacks, which are the X. Furthermore, the fragrance also gives a drier, darker, more aromatic feel to the base, which is something not common with fragrances loaded down in the opening with fruity materials, further helping distance this scent away from anything it might otherwise be compared to, even disparagingly. That said, I still find Pool Boy to be "of a certain mind" like Tilia by Clandestine Laboratories (2021), in that it wouldn't feel out of place being sniffed in the air off someone's collar when perusing a neon-lit shopping mall in the 1990's. Scooting between Babbage's and Waldenbooks is out hypothetical wearer of Pool Boy, before hitting up the food court for some Sbarro pizza and an Orange Julius. He could be also planning to hit up the local municipal pool after the mall (back when we had those and giving a name tie-in), all while cranking the Ace of Base on his portable disc player.

The opening of Pool Boy is sweet and fun, clearly the most 90's part of the scent, with noticeable guava and passion fruit notes that remain throughout. Hyssop is a really old herbal material derived from a flower in the mint family, used in ancient times for medicinal cures, and here helps "bitter up" the fruity notes next to some lavender and a rather rooty orris, almost lentiscus-like with its earthen qualities. The note pyramid claims an iced tea note, and I guess if I were to squint hard enough, I could see it in my mind's eye; but my focus remains on the evident fruit notes, which trail down with the herbal facets into the base of vetiver, tobacco, and treemoss. Here is where Pool Boy takes a turn into 90's fougère territory, reminding me a bit of Pleasures for Men by Estée Lauder (1997) in the approach. Pool Boy continues to darken up however, with some dry leathery animalic musk properties and cedarwood that almost makes you think that your fragrance has been switched from what you sprayed on, if not for the remaining guava and passion fruit nuances. Performance is tenacious, although Pool Boy wears light.

This stuff could be unisex despite the name, even if I think more guys would like it than ladies, since Tilia carries a similar theme but is keyed more for the conventional taste among feminine perfume wearers anyway. Dixie Wetsworth of Cabana Chat (Mad TV) may or may not be proud of this particular Pool Boy, although I certainly enjoy it. The composition itself not only has a bit of an unorthodox combination going on that proves the inventiveness of perfumer Mark Sage; but most importantly, Pool Boy still manages to keep itself on-track with the added bonus of feeling nostalgic for the 90's to boot. If you had told me Pool Boy and Tilia were originally meant for an aborted his/hers perfume range from an avant-garde designer house in the 90's, I'd believe you. Nothing else in the Clandestine Laboratories range really smells like this, except Belem by Clandestine Laboratories (2021) in very tangential ways, mostly in the use of herbal notes. Another unique entry for this independent brand, bound to not be everyone's cuppa, although well-done nonetheless. Thumbs up

Pool Boy opens with citrus, guava, and slight florals. I get the reference mentioned of a fruit salad smell and I'm getting that too. It smells good on skin though, not overwhelmingly sweet or gourmand. There is a clean edge to Pool Boy and it wears very crisp and light on my skin. This is my third wearing and I must say that I've come to really appreciate the blending more each time I've worn PB. As mentioned, there is also the presence of a tea note and I'm thinking this cuts through the guava giving the overall accord a more brisk and wearable feel. My initial wear caused me to think the guava note was too strong for my liking, but subsequent wears have convinced me that the blending of the guava is well balanced with the other notes. Very nicely done, and an excellent spring/summer fragrance that can of course be worn all year as well.

Just love this cheerful, citrusy scent. It is such a delight, so happy, so lightweight and yet complex. It carries the scent of the idea of a pool boy, somehow. Really phenomenal to my nose.

I’ve got almost everything from the house. Mark sent me a sample of this maybe 8 or 10 months ago. I was struck by how good it is, instantly in love. Needless to say, I ordered a full bottle. In fact, now I have 3 bottles of Pool Boy.

This is Mark Sage’s masterpiece.

Think along the lines of what Jacques Cavalier is doing with Louis Vuitton these days, like Afternoon Swim, for instance…

…and Pool Boy is much better than your favorite in that line.

Pool Boy is unique because it is definitely sparkling and effervescent and summer-y, but unlike most “freshies” it’s also INTERESTING and keeps your attention, rewarding you with many facets. Most freshies are a bit boring and one-sided, but Pool Boy keeps on changing as you wear it.

There really is an ice tea to this and guava. Amazing. Not just one of my favorite summer-y perfumes, but one of my all time favorites,.

Pool Boy - The word "Effervescent" comes to mind when I first smell this fragrance. I will mention that this fragrance really comes to life on skin, while smelling it on a tester strip doesn't do it justice. The ingredients and the execution of the fragrance are really top-notch. Quite a few notes come out at somewhat different stages of the dry-down. I think they are always present, but just not as prominent until certain other notes settle down. It gives me a mental image of being outdoors with lots of scents wafting by on the sun-warmed breezes of a late summer day.

For me, I get lots of green plants, including recently cut grass with the smell of sun-dried grass clippings occasionally drifting in. There are some floral notes, but not heavy rose or white floral, more like lighter, fragrant, decorative floral plants you'd find on a patio around the pool. Then there are interesting fruity notes with a bit of pungent smell, almost like a fruit salad or fruit in a drink that has just ever so slightly fermented in the afternoon sun. There is a lemony iced tea smell that hangs in the background and lasts well into the dry-down, as well as a scent I feel like a clean but somewhat pungent skin scent, like you'd expect from someone's shirt who's been out in the sun perspiring a bit, but is clean from going in and out of the pool.

I don't know if this imagery would have been what I'd have thought of the scent if it were named something like "Clandestine Laboratories No. 7" - but with the starting image of Pool Boy, this is where my mind went. I have a 50mL bottle and I'm planning to get a 100mL bottle the next time they come available.