Chaos Theory III: Strange Attractors

[ND¢]

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.

I agree with the description of this CT3 as 'juicy.' It's a bit like freshly pulped wheatgrass-- sweet even in the smelling. A full, rich green juiciness that, on the drydown, becomes a mild floral that, however nice, doesn't do the wet stage justice.

DCCXXVII

Bottle: green tea and bamboo? This smells akin to some of the Asian moons--Holiday, especially, though not as lemony (IIRC). It has a green tea sort of vibe.

Wet: Very juicy green, sort of like cut grass. So incredibly fresh, and one of the sweetest, greenest bpals I've tried. I smell freshly cut, wet, bamboo, grasses, maybe a hint of cucumber, and crushed stems? Very spring-time.

Dry: Less wet green scent now, its definitely drier. Still green, but not nearly like in the wet stages. There is a bit of something in here that reminds me of Night's Pavilion. Osmanthus maybe? Though it could actually be frankincense. I dunno what it is, but I'm not liking the dry stage of this nearly as much as the wet. The drydown reminds me a wee bit of what selkie did on me, though I swapped my selkie so i can't confirm...

Overall: This one isn't for me really. The Asian moons weren't my thing, and this green fresh type of scent, while lovely, just isn't my preferred scent genre.

[poisondove]

Chaos Theory 3: DCCCXXI (821) -

 

Upon opening the bottle, my nose is met with fizzy lemon. Like lemonade or lemon sherbets. Bubbly when it hits your nose. Fresh & tart.

Some people have said that sandlewood surfaces for them, but this isn't the case for me. This one lingers with bright, sunny lemonade throughout my day. Very summery and bright fragrance...and maybe its just me, but it seems to keep my spirits high and me smiling whenever I put it on.

 

Previously reviewed by edenssixthday.

[myth]

MCXCVIII

 

The person I got this from said wood & resin, but I get something soapy-sharp. On wet I smell the sharpness and and something vaguely like hairspray, which is a common way certain notes go bad on me. Also a touch of something green and maybe some wood. The sharp-soapness is going over to a men's cologne smell. I'm not sure what to compare this to because I don't like those kind of scents, but it's a clean masculine scent with some wood and ozone I think.

[Shollin]

DXXXVII

First sniff: A vase of fresh flowers sitting on the windowsill of a bakery, so when you lean in to sniff them, you smell soft bright flowers first, surrounded by warm homey baking spices and brown sugar and maybe a little bit of pie-fruit.

 

Wearing: Who put licorice in my vase when I wasn’t looking? The warm bakery spices are still wafting around the edges, but the flowers have turned into a big bouquet of black licorice tied with a red bow. The licorice eventually dries away into a pure bakery-spices scent, but it’s really weird while it’s there.

 

Previously reviewed by wichapi.

 

CMXXXVIII

First sniff: A very cold, crisp, dark berry scent.

 

Wearing: Frozen wine grapes. It's pretty, but not a big standout.

 

MXXXV

First sniff: A single blossom in a winter garden. Cold air and sweet floral – it smells like a single flower and not a bouquet, but darn if I can figure out which particular flower it is.

 

Wearing: Is it a jasmine variant? It’s not as screamingly sweet as the usual jasmine, but it reminds me of the more-restrained version in The Perfumed Garden. And it’s cold. Winter jasmine.

 

Last reviewed by SueDonym, who sent me this lovely batch of Chaos.

 

MXXXVIII

First sniff: Resiny, sharp and dark – I’m betting it’s frankincense, and I’m betting it’ll hate me.

 

Wearing: Sharp-sweet incense with something powdery dusted over. Resins and I do not get along.

 

MCXXXIV

First sniff: This one is really spicy and almondy. My decant is a little more than a sniffie (enough for a couple of tests), so there’s not a lot of oil in here, but the scent is really big from just those few drops. Sweet almond and baking spices.

 

Wearing: It’s a very “hot” sweet scent, and I feel like the spices should be leaving red spots on my skin, but fortunately they’re not. Sweet cinnamon, sweet almond, and lots and lots of warmth.

[SurrealReality]

MXXVIII - 1028

 

In the Bottle/Decant: scotch and blackberry leaf

 

On My Skin: scotch, blackberry leaf, and sweet (but not candied) blackberry

 

definitely my shortest review to date, but (to my nose) it fits so perfectly, that I really have nothing else to say

 

ETA previously reviewed by salamandrina

Edited November 29, 2008 by SurrealReality

[zankoku_zen]

MXXXV

First sniff: A single blossom in a winter garden. Cold air and sweet floral – it smells like a single flower and not a bouquet, but darn if I can figure out which particular flower it is.

 

Wearing: Is it a jasmine variant? It’s not as screamingly sweet as the usual jasmine, but it reminds me of the more-restrained version in The Perfumed Garden. And it’s cold. Winter jasmine.

 

Last reviewed by SueDonym, who sent me this lovely batch of Chaos.

 

I have to disagree --- it was slightly chilly at the beginning and I can see the sweetness, but it's basically turned to talcum powder on me. Sweetly scented talc powder.

 

 

MCXXXIV

First sniff: This one is really spicy and almondy. My decant is a little more than a sniffie (enough for a couple of tests), so there’s not a lot of oil in here, but the scent is really big from just those few drops. Sweet almond and baking spices.

 

Wearing: It’s a very “hot” sweet scent, and I feel like the spices should be leaving red spots on my skin, but fortunately they’re not. Sweet cinnamon, sweet almond, and lots and lots of warmth.

 

Now this one I do agree with. Spicy, almond and how sweetness. For spicy lovers, this would be very sexy.

[AngelaTarantula]

So i have had this ct for a long time now and i really must do a review of it as i adore it so much!

 

Chaos theory iii - cclxxii: this scent is absolutely beautiful! It is a perfect blend of vanilla mint tea and the florals from snow white. It is my most cherished of bottles and i use it every night i either dab a little on my hand or the top of my bears head before bed i find it very comforting for sleep. Cappachino's head seems to have a faded yet seemingly permanent scent of it and i breath it in deep with a smile each night as it soothes me to sleep

 

O chaos theory how i thee

[hlinspjalda]

CMIV (904)

 

I got a partial imp of this in a grab bag. It was my first exposure to Chaos Theory. I checked, but there doesn't seem to be a review of this number here.

 

In the vial: Sweet, tart, strongly violet. Instinctive attraction to this one.

 

Wet: Almond, violet, something mossy.

 

Twenty minutes: Roses and violets. Not headachy, but kind of pungent. I kind of like this one.

 

One hour: It's gone powdery on top now, but the thing I identified as roses earlier might be something else, something sweeter. It's still there under the powdery top, getting thicker and sweeter. I wonder if it's ylang-ylang?

 

Two hours: The powdery note has died back leaving mostly the tangy sweet floral that I think might be ylang-ylang.

 

Four hours: It's definitely past its peak now. Sweet floral with something musky underneath. Wow, that one changed a lot. I actually like the endgame, which reminds me of Hetairae.

 

[Lethran]

LXXXV

 

In bottle: Strangely familiar, but hard to place. Paper is strongest, with smokey burnt leaves, possibly curry. Wet: burning paper, mold, curry (?) Possibly a bit of khus. As is warms, incense and spices come out. The effect is vaguely eastern, more India than the middle East. If I were naming this, I’d call it Fahrenheit 451. Dry: Interesting herbs and spices over burning paper, with maybe some old cracked leather. It is definitely autumnal as promised, but I was surprised by the leather/paper effect.

 

[WidgetAlley]

DIC

 

Bottle: Almond. Huge wet blast of almond with something spicy-- I'm thinking sandalwood or maybe nag champa-- in there too. Almost a wintergreen tone in the very last huff, and a damp winter floral, maybe snowdrop or a lily. But oh so much almond, lovely and sweet. Smells a lot like Cherry Coke at this stage, which is fine by me!

 

Wet: Almond dies away, and something milder takes its place. An unidentifiable spice with definite minty overtones, and some cinnamon, and a little dark amber. There's something floral in the very back, I'm thinking maybe a drop of violet instead of the lilies. Despite all the food and spice, the throw on this is actually very much a clean scent. A spicy one, but clean. OH. That would be why. Rose. I swear there's rose in this. Not enough to kill it, just enough to make it a little fresher (what with that soap note) than it would normally be.

 

Dry: There's something in here that's pleasantly nose-tingling, like spicy dust and wintergreen and rose and amber and almond. Sort of a lovechild of Othello and Bastet and Black Phoenix, if that were possible-- very nice, very nice indeed.

[Seismogenic]

DCXXXVIII

(That translates to, uh, 638, I think?)

 

This marks my first foray into the world that is Chaos Theory! I was hesitant to order one on my own when CT:IV was out, since I am still kind of a newb and don't have hugely much money. My wonderful Halloween Switch Witch, however, swooped in to indoctrinate me in the ways of CT testing and guessing! Yay for my Witch!

 

In the imp: A little sweet and buttery, a little herbal zingy. I think there is pumpkin in here! Possibly also apple.

 

Wet on skin: Yeah, that's definitely the sweet creamy pumpkin that's in Jack! There's a sharper edge too that is not unlike tart green apple, though it could also be some of the sweet from the pumpkin interacting with something else. Not really getting any more of what I thought was herbal zing.

 

Drydown: Freshly dry, it's still mostly pumpkin, though I can once again smell something vaguely herbal. Can't put a finger on what, though. Still unsure about the apple. At one hour in, pumpkin really is the main thing going on, though now I'm getting something more dusty behind it all. Still can't put a finger on just what.

 

Five hours later: Still pumpkin, but now with something that's maybe a bit sassafras? Also something dusty, though I can't decide if it's wood-dusty or herb-dusty. Honestly, it's striking me not unlike Tombstone with pumpkin right now.

 

End of the day: Still quite a bit left, in the form of sweet dusty pumpkin.

 

Overall: I don't think I'm very good at this note-guessing game! The only thing in here of which I am absolutely certain is the pumpkin, which definitely explains why my Witch chose to send this decant my way! Pumpkin as a flavor is one of my favorite things, and I'm finding pumpkin as a smell to also be wonderful. But yeah, I'm guessing that there's something a little herby or woody or generally dry in this with the pumpkin, though I couldn't begin to tell you what, and I'm still not sure whether or not my nose was just totally making something up about the apple. I couuuuld check for other reviews of this particular blend in this thread, but I feel like that would be cheating! All this said, I really like this scent, no matter how badly I describe it. Thank you, Witch!

 

Last reviewed by Shollin.

[asciident]

XDVII (517)

 

Wet: Musky, with spicy flowers?

 

First on: Unchanged.

 

Dry: More musky and animalistic, with a faint background of flowers.

 

Previously reviewed by edenssixthday & Jettcat

[myth]

MLV (1055)

[previous reviews]

A juicy bite of something green and spicy, raw green wood, something creamy.

 

DCCCLXXII (872)

Definitely some wood, but there is a bright aspect to it that adds a cologne effect. Wood and musk perhaps? Masculine but not darkly so, this is sort of an outdoors/athletic masculine. The musk is unfortunately doing that soap thing that some musks like to do on me, so this one isn't for me.

Previously reviewed by Deana.

 

MCCXXXII

Plastic baby doll heads? I have no idea what I'm smelling. It's clean, light, maybe with some vanilla, there's a touch of a creamy aspect. Perhaps some kind of pungent herb or spice, because there's a high bright and slightly bitter tone to it that I cannot place. This one is bizarre.

Edited May 4, 2009 by Shollin

[Lamia]

Chaos Theory 3: CCLXXXVII Ingredients unknown.

 

In the bottle, smells like those cheap chocolates you get with boozy liquor insde them. On skin, smells like rich chocolate and dark booze, with a touch of spice. Something about the spice reminds me of my mother's house, and I can't figure it out - something about the laundry or drying herbs or perfume or hand cream or a combo if it all. This is a reasonably quick fade, but it's the yummiest CT(3) I have scored so far.

 

Previously reviewed by Kitara Rayne.

[zankoku_zen]

CT III: MCCLII (1252)

 

This one is definitely a lemony musk on me. Very fresh, citrus lemon. The musk has a bit of a chypre edge, so it's got a slightly masculine tone on me. Pleasant. It smells like a clean guy.

 

Previously reviewed by Indybear

[asciident]

Intriguing...I can't find any previous review of MCCVII (1207).

 

Wet: Gum and resin?

 

First on: Sharp resinous scent.

 

Dry: Weird candy and nail polish remover. Huh.

[fairnymph]

MCXVI - 1116

 

In the bottle: Caramel/burnt sugar and chemicals. Like, Sharpie marker fumes. I think it's actually a benzaldehydey cherry note. Sort of medicinal and VERY pungent.

 

Wet: Still strong on the chemicals, but more fruity - it's definitely cough-syrup, fake cherry - a note I intensely dislike. I get a bit of bubblegum, and the caramel (which reminds me of Sugar Skull) is fainter.

 

Dry: Very strange. The chemicals had burned off, and I get black currant now, and only a little cherry. It's still sort of mentholic, but now mostly from the currant. Still the burnt sugar, although this is not really sweet or foody.

 

Later: Slightly medicinally metholic black currant with lighter red cherry and brown sugar. Very straightforward blend with little morphing after the initial drydown. Moderate throw.

 

Summary: I like black currant, but I don't like it so much as an almost single note, and I'm not a fan of the caramel or cherry notes. It's nice, but not me. Off to swaps.

Edited April 13, 2009 by fairnymph

[aedes]

MCCCV (1,305)

The person I got it from described it as bright, possibly resinous and ozone, and I think I agree!

 

It's funny, though, when I sniff it in bottle, I get a prominent note of... mustard? Spicy mustard? Not impossible, I'm sure, but I don't like mustard, so I got very worried. But on, it blends out to a bright solar-type scent. Probably lemongrass or bergamot, amber, and possibly a little frankincense and yellow flower like marigold, sunflower, or chrysanthemum, with maybe a bit of ozone. The sun and the sky.

 

Either it's incredibly faint (it's got to be over a year old by now) or I'm getting a cold, or both. But I like it!

[fairnymph]

CCLXXIX - 279

 

Previous reviews are here and here.

 

Sniffed: Pale yellow oil. Chrysanthemum, white tea, and sweet-tart green apple. Reminds me crazily of Daiyu, but with apple. I get that same slick/smooth combo of the tea and 'mum.

 

Wet: Crisp, juicy apples, with a zingy edge. Reminds me of sour chewy sugar-crusted candy strips. There's also definitely some white musk in here, too, even more like Daiyu!

 

Dry: Dries quickly, and as usual, starts fading and taking the apples with it, which are now less fresh, but still pretty tart and fruity. The tea/'mum combo is so strong!

 

Later: No morphing with this one. More white musk with time, as usual with musks and my skin, but the apple holds well.

 

Summary: White musk, chrystanthemum, white tea, and sour green apple candy. Not too sweet, though. Lower throw & longevity. Sexy and fun! I would love a bottle.

Edited April 19, 2009 by fairnymph

[Lethran]

DCXXI

 

In bottle: Very sweet red fruit with incense. It’s weirdly familiar. It’s got a berry thing going on. It’s nothing I’d normally pick, but utterly fascinating I’m guessing sandalwood and/or patchouli on the insense end. I want to eat this it’s so richly red ansd summery. Wet: The fruit element has something in common with marshmallow Poof, I think. It’s strongly cherry on my skin which eats up most of the insense, alas, alas. The spicey edge holds though. Curses Cherry, my nemesis! After a while, I can pick out some strawberry too and the sandalwood comes back out. It’s heartbreaking as I really could almost wear it. Dry: Mostly strawberry. So close, so close.

 

Previously reviewed by LittleGreyKitten.

[Dragon0514]

XCIV

 

Very sweet honey and clove, a touch of cocoa or a dark vanilla, maybe a a splash of a red wine scent and cinnamon.

 

I like it as a a winter scent. To heavy and rich for summer though. I'll try it again after the weather cools.

[tragedy]

Finally getting around to reviewing these

 

CCXXII

This smells so much like a retail perfume Ive had before, Im not too big on retail perfumes anymore so I'm not liking at a whole lot. I think its a white musk? a powdery one. Strong throw.

 

CLKIX

Oh this is a beautiful smoky plum. It changes to a more fruity plum on drydown and fades very fast. Pretty

 

CCXCVI

Strange this one, smells like bubblegum mooshed in fresh dirt, with a little powder on the side. A wierd faint blend, but I like it.

[Leopard403]

I bought MCCXXXIII from a fellow forumite who described this as "watermelon pepper," and man, she was right on. This is juicy fresh watermelon plus the snap of pink pepper, and it is absolutely fantastic!

[Tess]

DXXII

 

In the bottle - So very grapefruit. There's a faint of something else that is keeping it from getting too tart. I'm tempted to say something evergreen.

 

Wet - I so love grapefruit.

 

Drying - Oh yes, I'm getting either fir or juniper here. The grapefruit is backing off as it usually does, but this is a very, very nice halo I've got going on. It's a happy scent that isn't overpowering at all. This is fantastic, I'm really loving it.

 

Dry (2 hours) - This is still very true to the drying stage. I'm almost positive that it's juniper in there with the grapefruit and the combination just WORKS.

 

Overall - Very, very nice. Not terribly strong on me, but very nice. I'm quite happy with this one, it's lovely!

[rubymulligan]

CLX

 

I got this from TrailerTrashPrincess. She said that it smelled like a cross between Cracker Jacks and Dorian.

 

Here's my take on it:

 

In the bottle: Creamy, caramel-y, foody goodness. I get that caramel popcorn description, I do. The pumpkin pie, not so much. No spice for me, just caramel corn.

 

Wet: More toasted corn, less caramel. No caramel, really. It's more of a Corn Pops cereal smell. Sweet, corn-y, creamy. Still delicious, but a completely different sweet corn smell.

 

Dry: Still sweet, still toasted, less corn.

Hours later: It's still sweet, but now I can see where the Dorian reference is coming in. It's taken on this totally herbal-powdery quality, but now that pumpkin pie spice description is evident, too. It's hard to put my finger on. The Corn Pops is gone, but what's left behind is still nice.

 

Overall: Starts off foody. Corn Pops. NOM. Dries a soft, powder-y, lightly spiced sweetness. It's nce. Total morpher.