Chaos Theory II : The Butterfly Effect

[wickedgoddess]

Each bottle of Chaos Theory is truly unique, a fragrant fractal, and exercise in the joy of chance and uncertainty! Each is a one-of-a-kind, utterly random combination of scents, the composition of which is based on whim, mood and gut instinct.

Chaos Theory II C (100)

Alright, when I saw the number on the bottle I went into "I gotta goollllllllllden ticcccccccckkket!" mode. Thank goodness the juice inside lived up to its golden number!

In the bottle, this smells like buttercream (not as heavily buttery as the stuff in Jack or Chaste Moon, though) and something sweet and golden and fruity--golden apples!

On my skin, this turned into sweet cream, vanilla, and bucketloads of baked golden apples sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar!! It's reminiscent of The Hesperides but with more of a "baked apple" quality than a "crisp apple" one. As the scent dries down, my skin smells of cinnamon-sugar baked apples over a dollop of vanilla ice cream.

YUM!!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Because I begged, Joseybird decanted me just a drop of her precious Chaos Theory II 100.

Oh My God!

In the vial, this is rich, creamy and buttery. There really wasn't enough to try on, it was just a drop, but I did my best. On my skin, this turned into a delicous creamy apple pie scent. This is one of the best BPAL's I have tried. I wish so much this was a scent I could buy. Absolutey delicious and exactly as Joseybird described.

[Penance]

Chaos Theory CDLXXIV (494)

 

Origin:

 

A wonderful wedding surprise from the lovely Allamanda, who treats me far better than I deserve.

 

First sniff:

 

Fruit...I'm thinking pomegranate. In fact, I'm almost positive that that's what this is. It's not a note I was familiar with before BPAL but one I've gotten to know fairly well since I tried Swank, Persephone and Queen of Clubs. Deep and rich and fruity and beautiful.

 

Wet on skin:

 

Oh yeah, that's pomegranate and it doesn't smell like gummy bears (long story)! I think there may be a light incense note in here, too, because there's a subtle resinous smokiness in the background that's giving depth to the fruit. It reminds me of Queen of Spades in a way - lush fruit and incense.

 

Dry down:

 

First the pomegranate disappears completely, leaving just a very nice almost buttery incense note (probably myrrh since it tends to smell a tiny bit buttery to me) and then the pomegranate comes back in moderation and this Chaos blend returns to the "sort of like Queen of Spades" phase that it was in when it was wet. This is beautiful! This surprise just made my day.

 

The bottom line:

 

Gorgeous! Just when I'd given up hope of getting a Chaos blend that was me by pure chance (rather than knowingly swapping for it) along comes this little gem. I feel so lucky and loved right now.

[Red_Hot_Mama]

Bottle CCCLXXXIV (384)

 

This smells wonderful, lasts a very long time (18 hours plus) but I don't have a clue as to how best to describe it.

 

It's a bit gourmande but not quite "foody". A bit flora but not really floral. There's GOT to be some resins in here 'cause it lasts so long.

 

I've never been so stumped.

 

It's an enigma & I it.

 

Update 7/23/05: After a bit more wearing, I'm convinced that this has blackberries & a hint of amber. CT2 - 384 is utterly magnificent!

Edited July 24, 2005 by Red_Hot_Mama

[minky]

Chaos Theory CCXXXIX

 

In the bottle: ROOT BEER! YUMMINESS!!!!

 

Ummm... well, I literally just now spilled the bottle. Allow me to clean up and see if I can scrape any up, and mourn what was gonna be my fave bpal.

[Eros]

CCLVII

Got this one for a friend.

 

Pineapple! Like pineapple upside down cake. A touch of slightly sweet, tropical floral & something I can't place. Cedar comes to mind but that's not it. The pineapple softens *whew* and for a good while, this is quite lovely. Eventually went soapy on me Tried it again, applied a bit more and was much nicer! Not really soapy this time and had a touch of something incensy.

 

Previously reviewed by mobilejessie.

[Jasminepearls]

Ohmygod! Chaos Theory CLII (152) is so yummy! At first sniff of this beauty, all I could smell was lemon. Then I put it on, and it grew into a huuuuge lemon tree right on my wrist! I can smell pulp, rind, zesty-zest, even the seeds, this is so true to what a lemon smells like! 5 minutes later, a sweet sugar smell comes into the backround, not clashing with it at all, but making it even more beautiful!!! Now it smells like fresh lemons dipped in sugar. Mmm, lemon signle note, and a drop of sugar, that is what this is!

It stays true to the lemon loveliness the whole time, never morphing.

 

Previously reviewed by UltraViolet.

[sarada]

XX (20)

 

Mmmm, this DOES smell rather like my very own #121, which I adore, but without a strong pomegranate note. As described earlier in the thread, it has a feeling of fruits and wine. This is a good combo for me, generally. I actually don't even know what sangria smells like because I don't drink but if it smelled like this I'd consider it! Not quite as bursting with dark red and purple juice as my CT2 this is nonetheless a gorgeous blend of light berry-like fruits, maybe something tropical thrown in there as well, and sparkling wine. It dries down slightly weaker with a bit of floral though it reminds me of Jester as it dries.

 

Yay, bring on more Chaos, I can't get enough!

 

Previously reviewed by hologhost and darkling.

[luxuria]

XXXII

 

This smells like Hollywood Babylon in the bottle, minus a lot of the "stickiness" I get from that, and more of the floral that reminds me of bathroom cleaner when its wet. Heliotrope, perhaps? The blend is a little tart and a little sweet. I think there's a fruit in here but I can't identify what it is. It's not that strong, either way.

 

On my skin...oh, this sweetens up and the 'potty flower' all but disappears. It smells creamy and sugared, but not quite foody. I don't smell the fruit any more. Something here reminds me a lot of Chaste Moon. There's florals, but they're not floral, if that makes sense.

 

As it dries more, it really starts to smell like Pink Moon, but better. It has the same "pink sugar" note. I'll edit this if I can find a way to describe it better, but its really lovely! Pink Moon had a certain underlying something that this blend lacks. It's lighter.

 

Previously reviewed by Penance.

[tempete]

Chaos Theory XCVI (96)

 

JazzieCazzie generously sent me a decant of one of her CTII bottles .

 

Right after application, this scent is a creamy pineapple somewhat reminiscent of a pina colada . Pretty quickly though, a fresh-smelling herbal note creeps in, tempering the sweetness of the pineapple. The resulting combination is not too fruity and not too fresh. About an hour or two into the drydown, the herbal note mostly dissipates and I'm left with a faint creamy pineapple scent. Then, the base notes come out to play: an amber emerges and blends with the pineapple note, creating a slightly sweet resinous warmth that is gorgeous. Sometimes I can catch a very faint dryness that might be the residual herbal note or perhaps a different base note like white sandalwood, but it's not apparent everytime I wear this scent and it definitely doesn't detract from the beauty of the final drydown.

 

Many thanks to JazzieCazzie for allowing me to experience CTII!

 

Previously reviewed by JazzieCazzie.

[sarada]

CCLIII (253)

 

Got this bottle from Penance!

 

She described it above as amber and rose and I'm going to go with that since I am not sure if I can pick out the notes myself. To my nose, it is a bright flaming RED scent...not quite like The Living Flame though, it's a bit deeper and just a bit juicier. I'd bet there's some kind of berry or fruit in this, but I definitely get some rose and I am sure that whatever is amping them up and making them tolerable to me is probably amber. Rose and amber is one way that I can enjoy roses, the other being roses and dark/dirt scents. This is like Spellbound or Black Rose without the musky element, and with a very fragrant dark red juicy berry instead.

 

It's actually the third CT2 that I've tried that has a strong juicy/berry/red feeling to me though this is the most floral. It turns out to be one of the rare floral combos that I like though, since there's so much else going on to keep the rosiness from sailing up into my sinuses.

 

I like this enough to keep most of it, though I'm not sure if I'd wear it a whole lot since I also have Black Rose and Spellbound, but maybe I'll use half and share the other half.

 

Previously reviewed by Penance.

[heartbeast]

CDXLV

However, this bottle was not marked poison, so Alice tasted it, and finding it very nice, (it had, in fact, a sort of mixed flavour of cherry-tart, custard, pine-apple, roast turkey, toffy, and hot buttered toast,) she very soon finished it off.

Okay, that's not really what my Chaos II smells like, but it did make me think of that quote.

 

In the bottle, my Chaos II smells almost exactly like hot buttered popcorn flavor Jelly Bellies, with a little something wet floral fruity off in the background. There's some other children's book where someone eats something that tastes like toffee-flavored fruit; I was reminded of that as well, though I can't remember what it's from. Once I put it on, the buttered candy flavor backs off immediately, down to almost nothing. A little very soft white floral steals in, and then it all settles down into a very, very soft creamy cinnamon, like rice pudding, when it dries. Much later in the day, there was an occasional whiff of incense, and then that soft juicy fruit comes back, but the dominant scent --if you can call it that, it's so soft and faint--is the creamy cinnamon.

 

It's as if you're eating rice pudding, and someone is burning incense in the next room. The window is open, and there are some lovely white flowers growing right outside, and there is a bowl of tropical fruit sitting on the table.

 

I'm really pleased, as last year's Chaos Theory didn't quite work for me and I wound up gifting it away. This one is staying in my hot little hands (well, my cool little cabinet, really)! It is so light as to be almost not there, but some days that's just what you want!

 

 

 

Edited because sometimes commas are so important!

Edited July 15, 2005 by heartbeast

[Ina Garten Davita]

I sent my bottle of Graveyard Dirt to Minilux and she, in turn, ordered me a bottle of Chaos Theory II.

 

Chaos Theory II CDVIII (408)

 

First Impression: Unquestioningly cinnamon in it's most pure form.

 

Second Impression: I've been wearing this scent all day and I'm still gobsmacked by it's gorgeousness. It's cinnamon, no doubt, but it's a pure, dry cinnamon. It's not sweet, nor candyish. There is a sweetness about the oil, but I think it's from something else. There is a touch of clove here, too. On the bottom there is something warm, sweet and a touch creamy, perhaps vanilla and rounding it all out is a bit of a green floral keeping it from being too foody.

 

Final Analysis: The scent gets sweeter the longer I wear it, as my skin tends to do that. I'm inclined to compare this to Love Me without the jasmine and much heavier on the spice. I'm thrilled.

[~AmusedMuse~]

Chaos Theory II: VIII (8)

 

This is a perplexing blend. I cannot get my mental hands around this one. At first there is a mint-like start, which I think is in league with cinnamon. A non-perfumy grass-like scent is playing in the background. It's not definable taken together, but it doesn't get any more certain at any time in the future either.

 

As it starts to dry, the mintiness diminishes  and a sort of citrus component comes out. Don't ask me what it is, please. I might guess it's mandarin, but that one fools me a lot so that is my guess.

 

Overall, this one is definitely not: floral, spicy, fruity,or resinous. You might call it green, but it isn't chlorophyll green. I might say it's a bit aquatic, but that's a real long shot for me. It isn't a sexy scent, it is a thinking scent. Though it is long lasting, it is never cloying and you won't be getting tired of it.

 

It is: sophisticated, summery, flesh-like, long lasting, light, intellectual, indefinable, French, and (if it were a color) light yellow.

 

In a word, I think this is Bottled Gemini.

The icon is a "fractal" which is the pictorial representation of Chaos, a symbol for Chaos Theory, one fractal I found had a figure 8 embedded in it, so I used it for my icon here.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Lab Description:Each bottle of Chaos Theory is truly unique, a fragrant fractal, and exercise in the joy of chance and uncertainty! Each is a one-of-a-kind, utterly random combination of scents, the composition of which is based on whim, mood and gut instinct. (Gender neutral)

 

My Impression: I am not sure I can add much to this very well written & insightful review, but to me it smells exactly like my Atmosphere Natural Incense Brand Incense in the scent of Dream Catcher, which I love. I can't ake up my mind on this one though as complex as it is it seems to change from moment to moment.

I think it would be better classified as masculine as I would love this on my man.

 

Great Review olympia301

[ShadowMaat]

CDLXXVIII (478)

 

Forgive my complete inability to distinguish notes. I love smellies, but I'm not so good at knowing exactly what I'm smelling.

 

MINT is the first and strongest impression and it never quite fades. There are also some pretty heavy florals mixed in which kinda take a stranglehold on your throat. I did manage to wear it long enough to notice that after drydown a vanilla-y scent started to break through the wall of minty florals, but not strongly enough to save it for me and I couldn't manage to wear it for more than ten minutes on my second try.

 

This is so not my kinda scent at all. I'd much prefer a nice, smokey incence-y or even sweet scent. *sigh* But I guess that's what swapping and the eventual CT3 are for. *g*

[cranberry]

Chaos II CCCIV (304)

 

I've been wearing this Chaos on and off since I got it to try to ID notes. It's taken me a lot longer that I thought it would but I still end up with the same conclusion. (I'm crap at identifying notes other than maybe sandalwood so a review from someone else may be totally different, but here goes.)

 

Vial: rootbeer/sarsparilla

 

On: Oh yes, that's root beer all right. A spiced root beer, maybe with a bit of clove and nutmeg. Maybe a touch of ginger. After a few minutes, a bit of spicy floral, maybe carnation, peeks out but the sarsparilla remains prominent. After wearing it a while, it seems to deepen and what may be an underlying resin emerges from the spicy root beer (I have no idea which one). It ends with a slightly musky honeyed skin scent that kindof reminds the end product of Hexxennacht (sp?) but much better, as that musk was a bit strong for me.

 

Overall conclusion: it smells pretty damn good and I like it a lot. I'm suprised because I never thought I'd go for something like this but it works. Kudos to the lab - brilliant again!

[PennyPretty]

CHAOS THEROY CLXXXIII (183)

 

In the bottle: Sweet, buttery, caramel with a hint of spice. It reminds me of a Dulce de Leche recipe that I have made in the past that includes sugar, milk and a cinnamon stick.

 

Wet: I pick up a bit of a spicy floral scent which I think may be carnation? This blend is warm, creamy, spicy and sweet. I get vanilla, cream and what I think is a hint of cinnamon, but it may be carnation. The floral comes and goes during the dry down.

 

Dry down: vanilla and skin, yummy!

 

CT 183 is so divine! To me it is the perfect fall/winter scent. It is a scent to wear curled up in front of the fire in a ski lodge with a hot toddy after a long day on the slopes. In fact Hot Toddy would be a perfect name for this scent (even though I have no idea what is actually in a hot toddy - I just love saying it!! Hot Toddy ) I absolutly love it and am coveting my one bottle. Thank you Beth!!!!

Edited July 16, 2005 by PennyPretty

[PennyPretty]

CHAOS THEORY CCLXVII (267)

 

CT 267 is the perfect companion to CT 183. Where 183 is a winter/fall scent 267 is spring/summer.

 

In the bottle: Sweet, sugary and some sort of floral. I am terrible at distinguishing floral notes , but there is definitely some sort of flower in here.

 

Wet: Very similar to the bottle scent. This oil is super girly. You would wear this with a strappy sundress, kitten heels and a flower in your hair while out on a summer date with your beau. It is sweet and innocent. I generally do not like florals since they tend to smell like soap on me, but not this one. It is truely sugar dumped on top of summer flowers, absolutely beautiful.

 

Dry down: It has some staying power and the scent stays true thru dry down.

 

Wow - I can't believe I got two perfect scents for me! I would have never picked this one out on my own but after wearing it for awhile I have fallen in love with it. Thank you Beth!!!!!

 

Previously reviewed by shelldoo. Really? This is my original bottle (ie straight from the lab and never been swapped). I doubled checked the bottle and it is definitely CCLXVII - maybe Shelldoo misread/misposted her bottle number? - or the lab mislabled them?

Edited July 17, 2005 by PennyPretty

[Eros]

DLI (551)

 

In the bottle/first applied~First thought, something sharp and herbal, maybe even a bit metallic...But no, it's the scent of freshly cut pineapple, including the sharp zing of the skin. Just a touch of sweetness, very nice! As it dries, a soft, warm, fresh coconut starts to emerge and then a bit of very subtle...I want to say incense, rounds it out and makes this a beautiful, deep, rich blend. I'm not usually too keen on something this fruity, but this is....

Gorgeous!!! Not *too* sweet and...there's the tiniest hint of toasty vanilla

 

This is the second CT2 I've received that has pineapple in it. The first one(CCLVII) was for a friend.

Edited July 16, 2005 by Eros

[alston78]

I got two bottles, and will review both here:

 

Chaos Theory CCXLII (242):

In the bottle, it smells like a minty Lunacy blend, if that makes sense...mint over top of that buttery-sweet blend in some of the recent Lunacy blends. Smells yummy, but I wasn't sure how it would work on the skin.

On my wrist...whoa, that's not mint, that's eucalyptus!!! The sweetness faded over time and on me, the eucalyptus overwhelmed me. I got whiffs of it from my wrist for at least 8 hours afterwards. Behind were some gentle floral notes, some real mint, and a touch of sweetness. If I liked eucalyptus, I'm sure I would be delighted - but I don't, so this will be going up for grabs.

 

Chaos Theory CCLXIX (269):

In the bottle, I catch a masculine note I can't quite place, sandalwood, something sweet, and maybe a slight alcohol smell, like a dash of rum? I'm not very good at identifying specific notes, especially in the bottle. Overally I would classify this as woody-spicy-sweet. I don't detect any strong florals or cinnamon.

On my skin...the sweetness is not as obvious. This is a nice warm spicy scent at first...maybe some of the lighter musk, sandalwood, other light spicy smells? It reminds me of Queen of Sheba or Bastet, but a more masculine version. AFter two hours or so, what sweetness is present gives way to a more woody scent, which means there's more than sandalwood in this blend because my skin wouldn't pull this note out from just sandalwood. On me I found it became more masculine over time- too much so for me, in fact. It would be a lovely blend if you find the above mentioned oils too sweet, or would like something like them for a special guy. I'll be doing something with this blend as well.

 

Though my scents didn't work out for me, I have to applaud the idea and system overall. Getting something unique and having the fun of trying it with no expectations was terrific!

[olympia301]

 

I got VIII in my order and swapped for LXXVIII, and I must say there is some relation between 8 and 78. 78 is much stronger and less fabric-like and citrus-like, more floral (in a very mild way) and more like wood than 8 was. It almost seems as if Beth was building up the essences as she went along from 8 to 78...or did she? I will never know. I do detect violets underneath it all (just a drop) and perhaps a bit of carnation. I would call it woody but not resinous.

 

78 is a far prettier scent than 8, a little bit sexy. Definitely not foody, quite cerebral. Neither 8 or 78 give me impression of harmony, there isn't an attempt to call up a theme of scent (e.g. the warm violet of Wings of Azrael, or cold violet of Ultraviolet), or weave more than one theme (e.g. the rose, greenery and violet of Marie). Then again, this is Chaos Theory, not Harmony Theory. Beth gets to break all of the rules and go on a marathon mixacology tour with CT. This is a wild, fun, and highly labor intense sniffing spree, and I enjoy the reintroduction to controlled cacophony, even if I won't end up seeing it as more than a novelty--it's a great novelty.

 

Previously reviewed by laochodia.

[paperdoll]

CCCLXXIII

 

Initial Sniff: Mostly pear, with some berries and flowers in te background.

 

Wearing: When this is wet it is mostly pear, but when it dries the floral really comes out. The drydown is sweet pea. Surprisingly, this has great staing power.

 

Final Impressions: In my pre-BPAL life, I went through phases where I wore BBW Pearberry perfume and BBW Sweet Pea perfume. This is like the luxury version of those two combined.

Edited July 17, 2005 by paperdoll

[cuervosueno]

My Chaos Theory came when I was out of town, and knowing it was waiting in the mail drove me crazy! Finally got it: bottle DXLVIII which I won't even try to translate into arabic numerals.

In the bottle: milky butter sweetness--very reminiscent of Milk Moon. It has that buttery topnote that I got in both Milk Moon and Chaste Moon, but this reminds me of Milk moon with a sweet white floral underneath it. My friend Marisa and I both liked it muchly in the bottle, though I thought it a bit too similiar to Milk Moon.

On: at first, it smells the same, but after about a 1/2 hour the florals went soapy on me. Lavender often does that to me, but I don't smell lavender in this--well, maybe, now that I take a whiff from the bottle again.

Final analysis for me: Milk Moon+floral, possibly lavender. Not a keeper for me--I like Milk Moon more.

this is my second foray into Chaos Theory, and this improved slightly--the bottle I got last year I hated! This one is ok, just not me. If Beth chooses to do this again, yeah, I'll probably try it one more time, hoping the third time will work for me.

As for my bottle--I'll decant an imp for the chaos theory circle then off to swaps it goes!

eta: tried it again as I decanted it and I note it is buttermint with floral, probably lavender. It is even very pale green in the bottle. Nice enough, but still not me.

Edited July 18, 2005 by cuervosueno

[helarctos]

My bottle: LXXXIV (84).

 

It's a complex wonder, and I am having a hard time identifying notes. It smells to me somewhat like coconut.

[Stephanie]

Chaos Theory CCCXCIV (394):

 

This reminded me, at first sniff, like a melon-y Neo Tokyo. It has that same fresh, bamboo-like quality.

 

When on, it's melon with slight bitterness in the background. Bittersweet Watermelon? There seems to be a musky undertone to this also. It's a very light, fleeting scent.

 

This is fresh, bittersweet melon with a deep base. Interesting.

[roesmoker]

CCCLXXII (372)

 

I swapped an imp of my 128 with graycat for an imp of this.

 

Wet and in the imp, smelled very citrus-y. As it dried down I got more and more of a commercial men's cologne scent, like CK One or Canoe. I used to like those back in the days BB (before BPAL, duh), but now I aim higher. Interestingly enough, my notes say that the Caterpillar and Whitechapel both reminded me of men's colognes, so if you like those, you might like this one. Also Whitechapel has lime in it and graycat said she got lime from the wet phase of this. I never got any cinnamon, though, which made me sad as I love cinnamon.

 

Previously reviewed by graycat.

Edited November 19, 2006 by roesmoker