Chaos Theory III: Strange Attractors

[shelldoo]

CHAOS THEORY III: STRANGE ATTRACTORS
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 got 2 bottles of strange attractors.

CXCII:
in the bottle: almondy, possibly hazelnut too.

wet: cherry/almondy scent...more almond but i know some peopel associate the two.

as it dries it mellows a bit, becomes a bit more resinous, hazelnut, dusty. the almond burns off quite a bit, and leaves a much mellower scent then when it was wet.



CXCI:
in the bottle: light, fresh, spring flower scent.

wet: very fresh, slightly soap like edge, yet not soapy like coast. this is very floral. possibly lily, and i am thinking maybe hyacinth or wysteria. something along that spring flower like line.

remains pretty much the same, a very feminine, spring, sunny scent.

[blackrayne]

CT III: Strange Attractors; bottle # CXLVI

 

in the bottle: a strange lightly sweet fruity, but almost faintly root beer type smell.

 

first applied: smoky, a little dusty with a hint of powdery... the slightly sweet fruityness I smelled in the bottle is gone, though there's a hint of the root beer smell remaining if I search for it.

 

dry down: Not letting it fully dry down, as it produced an instant sinus headache for me.

 

Conclusion... as all Chaos Theories go, this one is indeed a wonderful experiment. I wish this blend had cooperated with my skin chemistry, but perhaps the next one I order will be the perfect one for me instead.

[blueroses]

CLXX

 

In the bottle: Even before twisting the cap off, I can smell a sort of creaminess that reminds me of another blend. Sniffed in the bottle, I can identify a soft musk, something lightly herbal, ozone, and possibly a sweet fruit

 

On: The blend this reminds me of is Buck Moon. To me, this CTIII is very close to Buck Moon. The fruit, if there is indeed one, and ozone don't show up on my wrist. This is all creamy light musks. Underneath is a very light scent of herbs.

 

Love! I'm a big musk fan.

 

ETA: I'm getting more of a berry and musk scent now.

Edited August 28, 2006 by blueroses

[Ah Xia]

CCXXIX -- When I first got the cap off, it smelled like lovely light florals, nothing standing out too much, just a nice blend. On my wrist it smells very light, like a true skin scent, and I detect maybe water lilies or spring flowers? A slight edge of something faintly green, and something a bit powdery, maybe amber. There's also a slight aquatic edge to it. A very light, beautiful fragrance and perfect for the weather we've been having!

 

ETA: This scent is totally soothing and light, like aloe vera. I feel very peaceful smelling and wearing it, and it almost has the same feel as some of the lunar oils. Hmm. But it's not really me at all, I like lots of throw and a scent with presence...so off to swaps, alas.

Edited July 21, 2006 by Ah Xia

[LdyKnight]

CCXI--a light, sweet floral with something that smells slightly sugary and maybe some lemongrass? I can't really tell what any of the flowers are, but it smells very clean and sweet. Sadly, it turns to pure soap as soon as it hits my skin.

[columbus]

CCLIX (259)

 

In the bottle: A spicy, very familiar incense smell... It reminds me of the incense that my church would use on Christmas. The slightest hint of something sweeter in the background... a sweet citrus? Almost reminiscent of those chocolate oranges that break open when you hit them.

 

Wet on the skin: The incense is even more familiar now. I can't quite put my finger on it... I had my mom smell it, and she agrees that she's smelled it somewhere, but can't quite recall where. The sweet note is no more, and it's a little more spicy (cinnamon spicy; I know it's not cinnamon, but something very similar). I was slightly concerned at this stage, because my wrist burned a bit where I put it on, but that went away after a couple of minutes.

 

Dry on the skin: Still that same incense smell. It's a very green, woodsy smell, and could almost double for a sweet balsam or pine.

 

Overall: I smelled it in the bottle again once it had dried on my wrist, and, after comparing the scents, realized that it's much more complex in the bottle then it is on my skin. It's not that it's a bad scent ('cause it's not!), just that it reminds me too much of the church that I went to when I was little (not the fondest of memories!). I don't think I'll be keeping this one.

Edited July 23, 2006 by columbus jones

[Nekomata]

CCXXVI 226

Wow, my bottle is almost overflowing! X_X I was almost scared to open it!

 

 

This is musk, dark feral musk with something soft and powdery underneath. Not exactly what I was hoping for so I guess I'll be trading. Still going to get another bottle before they poof though!

[karmageddon]

CCXCI-- Honeysuckle smack in the face.

 

wet, it reminds me of New Orleans, but they begin to differ greatly on drydown, where New Orleans has that spicy carnationy note, this one goes the other way and ends up much warmer--a coconutty, vanilla note? Gets a little bit powdery/ambery towards the end, but remains a very honeysuckle-heavy blend. VERY honeysuckle heavy. Yeesh.

 

Like Hawaii in a bottle... a little bit of sunshine, a little bit of coconut, a whole lotta honeysuckle.

 

Honeysuckle!

Edited July 21, 2006 by karmageddon

[filigree_shadow]

CLXXVIII - 168

A cool, bright scent. I think there's an aquatic note in there, maybe ozone, but it's not twangy it's kind of round. It's sweet, but I'm not sure if that's a berry or a floral note. I guess I'm not very good at picking out notes. But I can say that it smells rainy, green, and sweet. The ozone note seems to fade out as it dries down, and it ends up smelling like a wet green floral blossom. (Apple blossom, maybe?) Clean, crisp, and very pretty... maybe a little young for me, though. Maybe a little too innocent for me, too.

 

CLXIX - 169

When I smelled this in the bottle I thought "Ooooo, I got a GOOD one!" In the bottle it smells fruity but masculine. On, it smells like dark smoky resin... possibly vetiver. There's a smoothness to it. Definitely earthy, almost murky. Very dark. Strangely, as it dries it seems to be getting slightly foodie. That smoothness is becoming more prominent. It is starting to remind me a little bit of a heavy spiced pudding. I wonder if that fruity note I smelled in the bottle is fig. Or plum? Also I caught a waft of something that smells suspiciously like the "Irish coffee" part of Miskatonic University.

I'm not sure I'm going to want to swap any of this one. And I can't wait until my husband gets home so I can try it on him.

ETA: I know this is kind of dumb, but as I'm smelling this I can't help but think to myself, "Did Beth read that post of mine where I said I wanted a dark fruit like plum and something smoky like vetiver or opoponax?" I swear, this is practically like a custom blend. It's gorgeous, and perfect for me.

Edited July 21, 2006 by filigree_shadow

[Eunice]

I ordered two bottles (so far) of CT:III and both are better than I could have imagined. These are so perfect that I am going to have to order a couple more bottles just to see if I get some more mystery keepers!

 

I'm not very good at picking out individual notes but here goes.

 

CCCXXII:

This is lily, bamboo and green tea. Very green and only somewhat sweet. Maybe the sweetness is sugarcane? It reminds me a lot of Hungry Ghost moon (which I have on my opposite wrist) only greener and crisper. Incredible! I am going to cry when I run out of this one!

 

CCCXI:

I am reminded first off of Morocco. There is an astrigent-based scent also, maybe rosemary, and something very, very lightly sweet. Sweet and astringent could also be sasafrass but it keeps switching on my skin too much to tell for sure. And lastly, a smoky scent. Another winner!

[Shannihilation]

My bottle is labeled CCCXXX which made me chuckle. Count on me to get an XXX bottle!!

 

In the bottle: Now, I'm not fabulous yet at identifying specific scents but I'm sure that I got my wish and I definitely smell TEA!! YAY!! And there's something sweet behind it as well. Maybe sugar cane and some lemon. Because this smells exactly like a glass of freshly brewed iced (sweet) tea. OMG I love it. I have two more bottles coming with my Harvest Moon and I think I may actually order more before they go away.

 

On my skin: OMG beautiful tea. The tea is definitely the strongest note. And I'm still getting the background of something sweet. Lemon? Lime? Grapefruit? Definitely a citrus. But I can't quite decide which. But definitely one of those three. OMG this is gorgeous. And it makes sad that it's one of a kind because it's so fabulous. Once this is gone, I can't get more! Needless to say this will be very sparingly used. I can't stop sniffing my wrists. I love this so much!!

[Tramp]

First off I am just giddy as a schoolgirl to get in on this. I was to much of a wimp - and a newbie - when the CT2 was out last time and didn't order. Well one year and full addiction later I got me a bottle and am so glad I did!

 

My CT3 is CCXXI (221) and it totally kicks ass. Sure I am a little high from all the sniffing/huffing of it I have done but so what? It is a fruity/bubblegumesqe scent, pretty much just full on candy. Very girly. It smells so yummy I kinda want to taste it but know that would be a very, very bad idea. I think there might be some strawberry in there, hard to pick out the notes (cuz my sniffer is a total moron when it comes to that) but I will definately be playing around with this some more.

 

I immediately wanted to layer it with some smut as it seems like that would be a perfect naughty/nice combo.

 

Thank you Beth!

[Heretic]

Chaos Theory CCCLXXXIX

 

In the bottle it's a bit muddy and indistinguishable. What is going on in this bottle?

 

On my wrist, it turned into pure magic. I thought there was no smell to it at first, but the longr I wore it, the more I realized that this scent is such an extension of me and what I think I smell like that I wasn't registering any scent at all. It's just amazing. What I've got is a deeply personal and pleasing blend of wood, green, and carnation that resonates to my very core. It's subtle, complex, and breathtaking.

 

I don't know how the hell you did it, Beth, but this is exactly what I wanted. Thank you so much!

[Eros]

CCXVII(317)

 

In the bottle~dark, thick burnt sugar and syrup.

 

On skin, a background of sweet, incense and smoke swirls around and there are hints of something Jack-like that peek through. Incense, resins, burnt sugar and something that screams Al-Azif & there's a very light, creamy vanilla going on here, too =) There was a weird acrid note in A-A that, sadly, really irritated my throat, it's not in this, yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is BEAUTIFUL!!! The most perfect way to describe this one is Al-Azif meets Jack meets Sugar Skull

 

This is PERFECTION~although my love disagreed, "burnt maple syrup and ass"~His sense of smell was WAY off, obviously, heh. With the exception of this bottle, he loves the same BPAL blends I do and loves them without any influence from me, I never tell him what I think of a blend until after he sniffs/applies.

 

ANYway, so far this is the only CT3 I've purchased and it's a keeper!!!

Thanks Beth!!

 

P.S. My love is a keeper, too!!

[GypsyRoseRed]

I looove surprises, so of course, I'm crazy about Chaos Theories! That said, I'm always wary of getting a nasty surprise but so far I've never had one. They may not always be exactly to my taste, but Chaos Theories are almost always *good*.

 

CLXXXVII - GINGER. And very realistic, too, light and sharp with a perfumey note in the background. Light and sexy. This is an absolute winner!

 

CVIII - Something soapy get slightly milky and floral. What is it? It smells very clean and cystalline, though.

 

LVII - I'm terrible with notes. This is a very light, white scent to my nose.

 

CXXXV - A warm, non specific floral that's very pretty in the bottle but turns to Glade air freshener on my skin. Bah.

 

CCLXXIV - Creamy cherry vanilla incense. That may sound like a sucky combination, but noooo. It's really lovely.

 

These were for my decant circle, so I'm dying to see what everyone else thinks of them! I was hoping for something dark, smoky and sexy.. but I have more bottles on the way, so we'll have to wait and see.

Edited July 21, 2006 by GypsyRoseRed

[empi girl]

I've got CDXXXV (185, I think)

 

In the bottle, and on for about a second it is tangerine! It smells so sweet, and tart and wonderful.

 

But this one is a morpher, folks!

 

It transforms into a fruity blackberry scent which smells wonderful, with a green tinge underneath. The green is more like the juice of a leaf than a herb scent. This underlies the black berry for a while, then gradually dissapears, to be replaced by musk. It is a soft musk, and at this stage, oddly, it is really reminiscent of the CT2 I got last year-a blackberry and deep musk scent, that I love.

 

The end stage is the blackberry and musk-it isn't red musk, and it isn't black musk. It has decent throw, also.

 

However, since the end point is so much like my first CT, and the green note doesn't agree with me, I think I will be swapping this away for another CT, if one becomes available. And I'll definitly be ordering at least one more bottle before they go away.

Edited July 21, 2006 by empi girl

[eviltemptressdq]

let me start by saying I was DEATHLY AFRAID of ordering this. Money is precious, and if it wasn't the way-o-BPAL to be able to swap/sell things later, there is NO way I would've ordered this. LOL. Well, maybe. Like a scary movie... I LOVE to watch them, but cover my face during scenes where someone is coming up behind someone else, etc.

 

ANYWAY, all that said?

 

Beth TOTALLY must have come to my house as a ghost and watched me test my BPAL this past month, and read my mind. Seriously!! My CT (which is CDXI, for which I have no idea what number that stands for as I suck at Roman numerals) is AMAZINGLY AMAZING! Mine is Rose. With Tea. Rose-y Tea. PURE rose, though... not the green rose like Rose Red. A light rose... like something in 2,5, & 7? This is delicious, and I will probably hoard it all. It will be the first bottle I EVER don't sell/swap decants out of. It is mine. ALL MINE! And "made for me", so I'm obligated anyway, yes? hehe.

 

*edit to add: As I leave this on, it becomes clear that there may be another floral in here... it could be just wishful thinking, but Dandelion!! Very possible it is in there, too... I'm getting that smell! eek. LOVE IT MORE NOW!*

 

did I mention I'm IN LOVE with this?

Edited July 21, 2006 by eviltemptressdq

[aedes]

CCXIV

 

Oh my dog. Beth, you made me cry this is so wonderful. It's literally everything I've ever wanted in a perfume, all the notes that I'd probably want in my own custom scent, and this is the only bottle of it there'll ever be. Oh sweet sadness! But better to have loved and scraped the only bottle clean than to have never loved a scent at all.

 

At first whiff:

Oh no she dih-ent. Resins! Oh glory glory! Resins upon resins! Thank you, lab! I love you!

 

On, it just gets better and better. I wish I could pick notes accurately, but I'm usually comically off. Anyway, what I smell is at least one kind of amber, possibly myrrh, or, dare I even hope, opoponax, my obsessi-scent, a tiny hint of an orange colored fruit like apricot, peach, or orange, but it's just enough to brighten and sweeten the scent a little, not so much that it's fruity or foody, and what I think must be teensy bits of white musk and a white floral, maybe honeysuckle or tuberose. Either an amber or a musk is making it a tiny bit powdery, which is great in this sticky heat. It reminds me of Katharina with the peach turned down, or Satan and Death with Sin Intervening maybe mixed with Enraged Bunny Musk.

 

The effect is that it's warm, engaging, sensitive, playful, clean, and feminine. It's rich but not heavy, nothing is overpowering, it's neither girly nor matronly, it's just itself.

 

I wish this were a GC scent, not only so I could have it forever and ever, but also so I could show it to people! Here! This is me in a bottle!

 

But instead it'll be my precious secret. Thank you, Beth!!

[Scylla]

My CTIII: Strange Attractors is #CCLVIII (258?)

 

It's a very clean smelling floral, but it's very difficult to discern the notes. It kind of reminds me of a cross between Dirty and Juliet with a bit of ozone added in. This is what an "Ocean splash" fresh-scented soap or deodorant would smell like--the type my husband would enjoy. Sadly, this scent is not me.

[themerrybaker]

CCCXXXII -(332)

 

 

 

In the bottle I like it because my favorite number is 8 and the digits add up to 8. At first sniff, it was "Plenty O'Musk" and I didn't have high hopes for it. I also thought there was some fruity floral.

 

Wet, the overall impression is resinous, wood, musk, skin, vanilla, floral maybe? Well, I like them complex and this certainly is. A coworker definitely smelled vanilla.

 

Drying and dry it does some serious morphing. At various times, predominantly salty skin (like in petitmort & eos), then sassafrass-vanilla, and fruity. I have been debating (unfortunately I mean this literally) with my wrist whether or not there is any cardamom or saffron.

 

It reminds me a little of Tombstone, but better. More like dried fruits in a wooden tray in an exotic spice bazaar in the hot desert sun. And I was worried about getting a prune blend for my irreverent ex lax fruits joke.

 

 

 

Got this just to play, but am very glad I did.

Edited July 22, 2006 by themerrybaker

[juniperus]

CCLXXXII

 

White floral with a green undertone. Possibly a white musk behind the flowers, but it's getting harder for me to pick out the notes because...I'm amping this like a sonuvagun. Cereus, perhaps. It's not lily, nor is it jasmine, two common amping culprits. I amp orris, too, so that's a possibility - some of these higher floral notes I amp so quickly once on that I have a hard time differentiating them, they morph so horribly (and one sinus has completely closed in outraged rebellion, so my ability to keep going with this is pretty much ended).

 

Two possible dealbreakers of the highest order - and I got one of them.

[abejita]

CCIL

 

This is so very hard. I never realize how bad I am at trying to pick out and identify notes until I get something that no one else has ever smelled. I even had a friend I've enabled give it a sniff and she was stumped. So here's my try anyway:

 

In the bottle I was a little sad because it smelled like floral soap. I am not much of a floral person, with a few exceptions (Beltane 06, Phantom Queen). The bottle is amazingly, almost scarily full. You can tell that Beth didn't use that calibrated medical filler machine. The oil level is way up in the neck to the spiral glass part where the cap twists on. But I'm off track here. The scent. Okay, the scent. On my skin my first thought was my beloved Beltane 06. I went and sniffed the bottle and it may be a cousin, but not a sibling or twin. They do share at least one floral note. I'm just not sure what it is. Lilac? Lily of the valley? I sniffed Dragon's Eye to check on that, but I'm just not sure. There is a creamy, wet spring flower in this scent, though. I think there is some sweet amber and wood as well, most likely oak. The only thing I am sure about is that there has to be some white musk in this thing. There is no fruit, no spice.

 

Final verdict: Not only am I keeping this, but I won't be imping any out. It is a rare floral blend that I like this much, but this is just pure loveliness.

 

ETA: HELIOTROPE! That's it! I just sniffed it side by side with Lionheart and I get that same high note.

Edited July 22, 2006 by abejita

[jewelbug]

CTIII: CCLXXXIX (I think thats 289, right)?

Bottle: This smells deep, almost chocolately, and kinda

white perfumey (like berenice or night pavilion), but more foody than those. Maybe a hint of citrus?

 

Wet: I *think* that is is sandalwood. And a lot of it. A LOT. As in, nothing else....

Dry: OMG! This blend was meant for me. Beth is a genious. The sandalwood backs off a bit, and the blend sweetens and gets just a hint creamy. It actually reminds me of a more demure monsterbait:underpants. Its creamy, but not as overtly vanillic, its a little spicy, but purely sandalwood spicy, no saffron. Mmmm, kidna like underpants inside-out: more sandalwood, less vanilla.

I think there may the slightest bit of deep musk as well, because certain times during the drydown reminded me of snakecharmer/smut. Towards the later dry (several hours in), I think I might smell some champaca flower (thank you valentina, for pointing this out!). The end is an incensual sandalwood, with dryish vanilla.

 

Note, I smelled these the first time I tried, but not since, so I might've been crazy that day: Every now and again I swear I smell almond (though i know no nuts were harmed in the making of these oils). At one point I swore that I smelled deep winey fruits (think montressor), another time I thought I smelled caramel and my husband thinks he smells apricot (I can't, but our noses are infinitely different).

 

Overall: I don't know what happened to that white perfumey bits or the chocolate that was in the bottle, but i'm VERY glad that the blend ended up as it did. The result is a dynamic, deep, and foody scent balanced by an uber-sexy sandalwood/musk/incense. I like my Monsterbait:Underpants, but THIS is what I had hoped it would be. Its so ME. Thank you so much for sending this one to me!

 

Edited to add more comments from more tries!

Edited August 2, 2006 by jewelbug

[grrrlennyl]

CIL (149)

 

at first: very sweet. i think there's rum in this, along with something else sweet.

on: sweet, heavy, heady, buttery rum. actually, i'm getting an odd combo of buttered popcorn and play-doh. odd.

1 hour later: a buttery, slightly plastsic-y sweetness.

2.5 hours later: softer. the buttery note has died down. now there's a dry, sugary sweetness to it.

4 hours later: sweet and powdery.

overall: nice, but i'm not sure about the initial stages on me.

[jewelbug]

 

CTIII: mystery number (my bottle leaked in transit, and the numbers are completely gone).

 

Bottle: VERY strong citrus. Like orange and grapefruit zest. Its a lot like moxie, but this isn't a bouncy light citrus like that. Its deep and earthy.

 

Wet: The citrus is still there, but much less so than in the bottle. There is a wallop of musk (think the enraged orangutan mixed with teh smut sort) with a heavy handful of fresh dark dirt. Wow!

 

Dry: This ends in a beautiful balance of bright happy citrus, dark sexy musk and heady sinister dirt. Later: almost pure musk, the others are almost indetectable. The dirt leaves the soonest, i think.

 

Overall: Its between moxie, enraged orangutan, and smut and then has one of those lovely earth notes thrown in for even more interest. This is stunning, which means I love BOTH of my CT blends so far. I think this means I should order more

Edited November 10, 2006 by jewelbug