Thirteen (13)

[jentifer]

In our paean to all the mysteries surrounding this enigmatic number, there are thirteen lucky and unlucky components, including white chocolate, tangerine, currant, mandarin, white tea and iris.

First sniff, I get a nutty feeling, quickly followed by the smell of US Sixlets/ UK Smarties (those little candy covered chocolates, not M&Ms) especially in the Feb. '06 version. After wearing for awhile, the chocolate deepens just a bit.

[Dark Alice]

This smells like old white chocolate smeared with Currant and Dipped in Tangerine juice. Separately, these ingriedients are gorgeous, together, they are nauseating. I have to go wash my hands now b/c it's making me nauseaous. This one is off to the swaps/Sales bin.

[Lyrical]

In bottle: very fruity, with an undercurrent of cocoa.

 

Wet on skin: tangerine/mandarin, with the bitter pith included, blended with the good sort of chocolate and a hint of tea. Comparisons to Terry's Chocolate Orange aren't far wrong, but this has more bitterness and a fruity-floral background.

 

Dry on skin: a very realistic bitter orange, with very dark chocolate. Not my favourite of the 13s. I suspect it was better fresh! But if you like your chocolate dark and bitter, this might be the one for you!

 

Later: it softens a bit and the sweet, jammy currant comes out to play, but the bitter orange hangs on to the very end!

[aviva]

im getting a strong orange and possibly a slight lemon...and definitely a sweetness,but i wouldn't have picked it as chocolate without reading some reviews here.

 

overall, it really works nicely on me.

[naeelah]

Although this has white chocolate, on my skin, it does take more of a milk chocolate scent. I can smell white chocolate -- sugary and creamy -- but there is definitely something that smells like cocoa here. The chocolate is strongest when wet, accompanied by slightly tart and bitter orange. It smells very much like a chocolate orange ball.

 

As it dries, the herbs begin to emerge and balance the sweetness, but this is short-lived, as the black currant barrels in and takes everything over. It's thick and jammy but this is offset by the herbs and orange zest. The chocolate isn't so noticeable now, but a trace of that note remains.

 

So in the end, it's black currants with herbs and tart citrus, with only a hint of chocolate. Really nice for currant lovers. Although it's sweet, it's not necessarily foody. Just curranty. It reminds me of Freak Show.

[thekittenkat]

This is for the white label bottle, from Jan. 2006

 

 

In the bottle: Chocolate and the citrus notes.

 

Wet: The currant and iris are rising slowly out of the chocolate, and the latter seems more like a milk chocolate than a white chocolate to me, or at least a mix of milk and white chocolate--the half-and-half of chocolate, perhaps? The citrus notes are there, but faint.

 

The dry-down: This is mostly a milky chocolate on me now, with all the other notes blending in the background. The white tea is barely present, but I think it adds a lightness and a sparkle to what would otherwise be too much of a foodie and fruity scent. The currant is really not obviously present, but gives the oil the sweetness that it needs.

 

Later: The iris did turn sharp for a bit, and that had me worried, but the creamy chocolate managed to subdue it back into the mix. If I huff at one small place, the tangerine comes out some more. I would really like to see an oil with tangerine as the major note.

[tragedy]

(with a slightly stuffy nose)

 

I just sold off a bottle of 13, (not this one) that I last minute sniffed, and I was like WHY OH WHY!! But the transaction was final and there it went... I thought this would be a good replacement for that chocolate craving.

Its different, or rather, since this is an original.. the other one was different.

I'm getting slight bit bitter chocolate, with a fruity/floral coating.

Its nice, not the heavy chocolate that I was hoping for... this is more a summer 13 methinks.

[Schmoozy]

A gorgeous blend of white chocolate and citrus. The white chocolate is creamy and the citrus is refreshing, tart and slightly sweet. I can catch small whiffs every now and then of white tea and florals, but their vaery faint and almost non existent.

[Juushika]

An old, dried-out empty; I don't know how representative it is of the true oil.

 

In the vial: A familiar fruity sweetness; light, sweet, not too full-bodied.

 

On me: The same light fruity sweetness, eventually tempering out with a bit of herbs or teaeither way a drier, more herbal scentand losing the aggressive sweetness which could easily be white chocolate. The fruit remains, tangerine with a touch of mandarin but not much currant, a light and bright fruit, not juicy but aromatic. The scent doesn't last long, an hour or three.

 

Verdict: Nothing to write home about, but then I'm not a fan of white chocolate or predominant fruits. This is a light, bright, colorful sort of scent; the initial sweetness is a bit oppressive, but without it the scent is just straightforward, if pleasant, bright fruits. It's not to my taste, and not something I need to seek out in any quantity.

[ih8perfume]

Thanks to the AMAZING Usagi, I've gotten to try this 13. Thirteens are a bit of an obsession for me, so to find this in a package

 

Sniffing the imp and first blast on skin was a somewhat heavy chocolate. To me, it was the cocoa-infused vanilla from Velvet almost exactly. The mandarin and tangerine give it a zesty zing, but its surprisingly not all that orange-y. The currant lends a rich, deep fruitiness. Not really juicy... But sweet. There is a minty hyssop/ medicinal quality to this blend that I find intriguing and refreshing. There is a similar note in Sleeping Nymph and Satyrs, which I love!

 

The heavy chocolate blast burns off pretty fast and becomes much more a white chocolate. Eventually, the chocolate retreats altogether and leaves a very rich, sweet, fruit with a medicinal high note. This kind of fruity scent isn't usually my cup of tea because they tend to amp like crazy and smell artificial on me, but this stays pretty well behaved.

 

Eventually, the iris comes put to play and dusts its creamy, powdery sweetness over the whole lot. I probably wouldn't wear it all that often because these kinds of rich fruits don't really call my name, but if you like figs and raisins and other luscious sticky fruits, give this a try. However, this is absolutely NOT a foody blend. Either the iris or some of the herbs send this into perfume territory even though all the listed ingredients are quite edible.

[theredkilt]

This blend is so delicate and refined. It reminds me very much of Tattered Lace only it's sweeter and more full bodied. I can detect the iris tying together all the notes, while the citrus, tea and chocolate giving it a gourmand dimmension.

[Numanoid]

Interesting!!

I was frottled this!! I had to try to find the review, since there are a ton of different 13's out there. This is the white label, so from reading, it is this original one.

 

Funny how your brain detects scents that you think aren't there until you read what's in it. I would have never guessed any citrus or floral in this when sniffed or even on!! But now that I read and re-sniff, yeah.... I can "see" where there is some citrus and a hint of floral.

 

However... ON!!! Oh my!! Citrus for me is an iffy thing and florals are a NO, but I get neither! Maybe it's because it is 10 years old now, but it is nothing but a yummy tootsie roll on me!!!!

 

I love this, since I am a foody lover....stays on for hours as well!! A winner for me!

[Lucchesa]

So, I thought I was getting the October 2006 13, but the label just says 13 2006, and based on the notes and reviews, I think it's the January 2006 one instead, which was this formulation. The two blends it reminds me of most strongly are Young Pine Saplings and Phantom Cow of Yerba Buena. Both were dreadful on my skin, like curdled milk. I'm not getting recognizable chocolate here, which makes me think this is a white chocolate blend, not a cocoa one. And white chocolate is not my cup of anything. I'll be frimping this out in my very next swap, and hopefully my swap partner can figure out what they're dealing with here and have better luck with it.