Thirteen (13)

[yellowrose]

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.

13 was a thoughtful gift from a generous faery.

Although I've worn 13 several times now, I've really just wanted to enjoy the experience and not kept notes.

In the bottle: a blast of hazelnuts with a little chocolate.

Wet: lovely white chocolate.

Drying: Still waiting for tangerine, currant, and mandarin to show up. As it dries, there is a hint of white tea and iris with other soft florals. Dries to a creamy floral. On me, 13 is a soft skin scent. I wish it had more umpf, but I love it for what it is.

ETA: I have really been enjoying this scent A LOT. It is comforting and I really enjoy the cocoa-floral dry stage. I can't thank my faery enough! Edited November 26, 2005 by Shollin

[quikslvr]

First impression: a lighter Bliss, with a perfume hint that I have to assume is iris. That note turns airy and kind of powdery as it dries. Oh, and there's the currant, with a juicy tone. The white chocolate becomes barely chocolate at all--the entire package (and I think I'm getting the white tea now) becomes very stereotypically perfume-y. But lovely, well-balanced.

[Rackham's Vanity]

To me, 13 smells remarkably like Lush's American Cream conditioner, with more powdery chocolate. It's gorgeous. I can't think of a season in which this delicious scent would be out of place.

 

For the first time ever, I can't wait until the next Friday the Thirteenth!

[zenvodunista]

i was so sad that i found BPAL post the last friday the 13th. i was dying to try this, as i have a Thing for chocolate scents. i got this in a swap (thanks Bloodonmyhands!).

 

Can you say "CHOCOLATE"?! This thing smells like rocky road ice cream! Nutty and marshmallowy and chocolately -- man, this will either sate you or kill your diet.

 

As it dries, the florals and fruit come out to play, lightening that nutty load. Gooooooood stuff. FOODY, but good. Next friday the 13th i am *totally* getting a bottle.

 

 

n.

[Miggins]

I was lucky enough to get an imp of 13 from that lovely ole AlectoNox.

 

In the imp, I smell a Bliss-y sort of smell - as magikfanfic said way back at the beginning, chocolate digestives. Hmm.

 

Wet on my skin, I get a lovely buttery note. Just like the buttery note in Jack, but without the *ahem* "rotting fruit" as someone told me. I love the buttery note! But it fades way too quickly. Bah. To be replaced by - noooo! - powder. Poo. But I stuck with it. You have to give it at least an hour, right?

 

Within about 20 minutes, I'm thinking "Black Pearl" and I don't know why. Aha! Iris. The iris has elbowed its way right to the front. But wait, the fruits are fighting back! For an hour, I get a lovely fruity smell, but not a falling in love type smell. And it's fading. Oh well.

 

Then whilst I was queueing at the Post Office, I was surreptitiously smelling my hand (I know it looks weird so I was trying not to do it too much!), I started to smell a more foody smell. And it's getting stronger. This isn't good. I can smell the Gingerbread Poppet/Sugar Cookie smell that turns my stomach. But I stick with it because this one seems to be changing about every 30 minutes.

 

At the end of around 3 hours, I'm left with a vaguely buttery, chocolatey, curranty deeper smell that's bounced back after I thought it was fading. Really quite lovely. I'm not sure if I'll get a bottle in January, but I've got a few months to decide. But I'm glad I got to try it - it's a helluva complex blend.

[hologhost]

in the bottle: chocolate, nuts and, dried fruit. Its a Cadbury bar!

 

On me the creamy nutty smell takes over.

 

As it fades I get the floral undertone.

 

Come January I'm definately getting a bottle of this!

Edited August 28, 2005 by hologhost

[sookster]

upon application this was a lemon and slightly buttery vanilla sugar cookie....very, very faint though....

 

after awhile it turns more of a white chocolate with just a twinge of lemon...sadly, this lovely scent fades completely on me within 1/2 hour......such a shame as i wanted this to work so badly.....

[Belladonnastrap]

First Sniff:

Oranges and Chocolate! It smells like those chocolate oranges that you smash down to break into itty bitty pieces

 

Wet:

Bliss. Not the sensation, the perfume! This smells exactly of Bliss on me.

 

Drydown:

More Bliss with a wee bit of velvet. Where'd the orange go?

 

Aftermath:

Alas and alack, 13 smells just like Bliss on me and I already have some Bliss

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 5/5

Summarised in a word or two: Chocolate tea.

 

In the imp/bottle: Chocolate! I wonder if there's mint in this? It's really quite nice.

 

On skin, wet: Chocolate tea. Very nice! The chocolate stays just this side of powdery, and doesn't turn into the dusty, ugly chocolate that most cocoa/chocolate notes become. I am surprised, and pleased!

 

On skin, dry: A chocolately herbal tea! Not much different from wet, just a bit more... well, kind of green.

 

Conclusion: This is absolutely gorgeous, and that's really all I can say!

Edited June 1, 2008 by Aredhel

[erikasilverstein]

BOTTLE SNIFF: Rich fondue-esque chocolate.

 

WET ON SKIN: Chocolate very prominate (smells like milk choco. to me), but the tea and iris notes are emerging.

 

DRYDOWN: Becomes powdery very fast. I never get any of the citrus notes. It's all powdery soft chocolate and something slightly bitter, and a light floral. The floral notes become stronger, or the chocolate fades, or both, as I wear the oil through the day.

 

FINAL THOUGHTS: Wish it was stronger...seems very wispy on me, but I like the scent very much.

[Firewaver]

To boil it down in the most perfunctory manner, this smells like a mixture of Bliss and orange dishsoap. I like the initial cocoa note, it's very rich and sinful, but the orange in the blend rears it's ORANGE head a little too mightily for me.

 

Oranges always kill what seem to be the most promising scents. Oi.

 

The dry dry drydown is strangely soapy for me. I think of bubbles and chocolate rabbits when I'm wearing this. It's kind of a nauseating thought.

 

 

Now, I don't want to make it sound like this scent is just god-awful, it's really not. It's most likely a lovely chocolate orange scent on those that can wear orange notes. In the bottle, the scent has real promise, on MY skin, I feel like I ought to be doing the dishes.

 

[Nachtwulf]

In the bottle: I'm...not sure. I don't know if I'm picking up throw from Grog (which makes kind of a murky cloud of scent) or what, but there's something kind of odd about this. I can smell the tangerine clearly enough, but either the 'white chocolate' note is striking me as odd, or else the waft is being contaminated by Grog-haze. I think I'm going to go wash and come back for a second opinion later.

---- Later: No, it's still faintly odd.

 

Wet: I still don't know about the chocolate scent. It seems to make what would otherwise be a pleasant fruity-floral smell kind of cloying and sicky sweet, to me. It's not as bad as Grog or Gluttony by any means, but it's not quite perhaps what I expected of it.

 

Dry: Okay, NOW I like it. The funny not-quite-chocolate scent has dried down, leaving a pleasant sweetness that fails to be gagging. It reminds me of pipe tobacco, almost... the ultra high grade variety that smells of amaretto and other less identifiable things. It's a /touch/ spicey, but of all of the 'sweet-foody' type scents I've tried, this one is probably the nicest.

 

Final Opinion: I wasn't sure I was going to keep it initially, but it's really grown on me. It dries down to something that reminds me of spicy dark-chocolate mandarin oranges; it's foody without being oversweet or over-obviously foodlike. There's just enough spice to keep it warm, but not to turn it into 'incense', like so many things seem to on me. Definitely a win, in my book.

[gangstaknitta]

This is really an interesting cacauphony of scents. I smell chocolate and coffee and sweet tobacco...there's a ripe juiciness in the background. On my skin it definitely smells like chocolate, but more like pure cocoa rather than the sweetness in bliss. I really think I smell tobacco, but I could be wrong.

Dry, it smells like chocolatey coffee--I never really got a whole lot of fruit, it's very faint in the background. It smells maybe a little figgy too.

I really like it, but the chocolate overwhelms everything on the dry-down.

[imaginepageant]

In the vial: A very faint scent; I have to breathe pretty deeply to get a good impression. There's a lot of orange citrus here, and noticeable tea. After a few very deep sniffs, the chocolate hit me out of nowhere. This is the chocolate orange that everyone gets violent with!

Wet: The tea perks up brilliantly, and I think the iris is making a breakthrough as well. The chocolate has taken a nosedive into nonexistance, sadly. I can't tell very much else because it dries extremely quickly.

 

Dry: All of the notes I could distinguish before are melded into one singular scent that I can't pick apart. It's sour that wants to be sweet, bright that wants to be dark... it's full of contradictions, and usually that's an interesting aspect of a blend, but with 13 it's honestly a bit annoying. As the drydown continues I'm smelling a bit of mint in a way that reminds me of Snake Oil.

 

An hour later: Wow, this has changed so much! It's dry, sweet, bright, and soft. I can't pick out a single discernable note; everything is blended so well, and so different from its original state.

 

Overall: I wasn't too pleased with this at first, but after awhile this is a very pretty scent! I think I love it mostly because it's so confusing and confounding. I'm not sure if I like this enough to keep and wear it, but I can't bear to add it to the swap pile just yet.

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: Utterly delicious and decadent. Creamy white chocolate, currant and tangerine. Sweet, but lighter than Vice.

 

On me: Smells like candy. Chocolate and light bright fruits. Oranges and tangerines and currants swirled in white chocolate. It's very delicate, like a fancy truffle rather than a chocolate bar. Something that would fall into your fingertips in a golden box.

[sideviewhotel]

I'm finally getting around to trying and reviewing this scent. I've had it for a few weeks, but have been so busy wearing scents that I've come to love (and covet, in the case of Hexennacht), that I haven't gotten round to trying some of the stuff I haven't worn yet.

 

13 starts of full of white chocolate. Like Spooky without the mint. Then, I get the flowers and, unfortunately, I think my skin is going to swallow the chocolate and totally amp up whatever floral notes are in this one. Unless this starts to calm down a bit, I think I'm going to end up with a headache. Bummer.

 

If I sniff deep enough, I get a hint of something fruity (tangerine + whatever other fruits that are hidden in this), but that's it. Besides, if I sniff too deeply, I get a nose full of flowers.

 

Damn. I don't think 13 is going to love me as much as I hoped. Thankfully, I've started to learn my lesson and I didn't slather on something I've never tried before, so I should be able to scrub this off without a problem.

 

Ugh. Of to the swap corner of my imp box with you! What a bummer. I really wanted to like this.

 

For a while there, though, I thought I was going to love everything. I guess not! S'a good thing though, I think. Or else I'd end up REALLY broke.

 

ETA: OH ICK ICK ICK. I am getting some sort of smell that smells like something my Grandmother wears that I HATE. ohohohoh *scrubscrub* ;_; Woe!

Edited September 13, 2005 by sideviewhotel

[Avery]

Welllll. 13 is a lucky number for me, I have it in a meaningful tattoo, and it holds all kinds of other wonderful significance. I also love orange and white chocolate, so had some seriously high hopes for this one!

 

As a still inexperienced reviewer, I can't quite pick out all the notes that this has going on, but it's a LOT. At first I thought I really liked it. Then, it started to invade my senses with a clash of sweet flowery bitter citrus. I can definitely pick up the white chocolate, and think that I would have liked this scent more if there were MORE chocolate. But there was also the tinge of bitter tea and oranges, and it didn't mesh well on my skin. I do like that it's a confusing scent, but it made my stomach queasy. I washed it off, forgot about it, and smelled my hand some hours later and was *intensely* pleased by the sweet and fresh smell left lingering there. Hmm! Maybe I should try this again?

 

So I reapplied before bed, and just gagged myself to sleep amidst the bittersweet war waging on my wrists. So sad, just not for me. swaps again.

[Faerykin]

13

 

Swiped across wrists and along collarbone.

 

Initial Wet (8-8:30am): This goes on a bit thick, almost like a cross between chocolate and vanilla. Very Sweet. Every once in a while I catch a whiff of some floral … interesting.

 

Initial Dry (8:30-10am): This is slowly getting lighter and lighter. It is still primarily a mix between a light chocolate & vanilla. I still catch a faint whiff of something else here and there, so not much change except for it getting lighter.

 

Throughout the Day (10am-on): It just gets lighter, and lighter, and lighter - nothing else changes. It is still chocolate & vanilla with something underneath … slowly dissipating into nothingness.

 

Not at all unpleasant. I shall have to see if I can get the other notes to show themselves on upcoming 13ths.

Edited September 13, 2005 by Faerykin

[Orodemniades]

Wet: chocolate with a light floral underneath

 

Drydown (10 min): Still a hint of chocolate, but mostly florals...is there orange blossom in this? The florals remind me vaguely of Pele and Santo Domingo, but they're very light. Can't quite place which ones they are, but it's not rose, lilac, lavender, or lily...mebbe light vanilla, with milk?

 

Overall: it's okay, but nothing I want to keep.

 

Oro

[lookingglass]

Soft, light chocolate...my favorite. The cirtus' is right behind for a moment, giving a playful bite, but they are soon gone. The sweet berry and floral combo emerges, like a table set for a romatic afternoon tea. Dry, it is soft and sweet. The perfect chocolate scent for me to wear in the day. Wish I had bought a big bottle

[crain]

I think 13 is the perfect fall scent- not too heavy, still sweet with a little fruit, but also creamy and warm. The chocolate is not as "in your face" as with Bliss, which isn't a scent for me. 13 on the other is much softer and more floral although I can't specifically identify the floral note. I love this one and hope I can find more when I run out!

[herdivineshadow]

I was so disappointed earlier this year, when I got into BPAL, to find that I had completely missed 13 being released. So, of course, I hunted around for it as anything released on my birthday couldn't be bad, right?

 

Finally got hold of some today and it is divine! It starts off like Ferreo Rocher chocolate if they made it with orange chocolate in the bottle and then develops into a delicately orange, chocolatey scent on my skin. After a few more minutes it turns from a warm melty chocolate smell to that with a thread of cool floral winding though.

Must get more next Friday the 13th!

[lohengrin]

In the imp: Chocolate.

 

On, wet: Still chocolate. Damn.

 

Later: Chocolate, with a little iris, maybe, not sure. Unfortunately, still dominantly chocolate, which I do not much like.

[eleventhousand]

This is mostly tea on me at first with a bit of creaminess from the white chocolate. Astringent, especially with the citrus and sour current. It mellows to a sweet powdery-ness that reminds me of Regan. I really like this one, it has so many stages!

[angharad]

All I really get from this one is white chocolate. Every now and then there's a hint of something else, but whenever I try to figure out what, it disappears. Not complaining, though. I'm in love with it.