Thirteen (13): April 2007

[Shollin]

A base of cocoa absolute and white chocolate with thirteen baneful and beneficial bits: cardamom, fig meat, grains of paradise, rice flower, chamomile, sandalwood, catnip, clove, and a bundle of five blessed blossoms and herbs.

First sniff: The third Thirteen is fruitier and spicier than the others I’ve tried. Mostly spicier. The cardamom is really strong – in the decant it reminds me of what might happen if you mixed cocoa and chai.

Wearing: Yep, cocoa and chai. Spicy, herby, and not quite my thing.

[Lamia]

Glory! Magnificence!

 

*Nomnomnoms self*

 

Fresh, this was mint - the finest, highest quality peppermint patty, mint bonbon truffle you could ever hope to caress with your mouth. It quickly turned to lemon, then orange, and then was light like honeysuckle.

 

Ever had chocolate-dipped honeysuckle? Me either, but this must be what it smelled like!

 

Then came roses, and my nose was overwhelmed trying to keep up with all of the scents spilling off my wrists. Hopefully, it has settled down a smidge, and smells primarily of clovey-chocolate.

 

*goes back to NOMNOMNOMing self*

[Juushika]

In the vial: Chocolate and dark herbs. Color is dark algae green.

 

On me: I once saw this described as an algae-covered fish tank, but in a good way—and, oddly enough, it is. The heart of the scent is dark, bitter chocolate—bar chocolate, not cocoa powder, but not the least bit foody. It's accompanied by dark green herbs, damp and almost rotting. They remind me distinctly of green algae, and make the scent dark and organic. Thirteen is deep, dark, unexpected, almost unnerving—but somehow delightful, in a way I can't quite explain. The oil is incredibly potent, and both the throw and wear length are strong; the color is a dark algae green shadowed by black.

 

Verdict: I find this scent easy to describe but impossible to convey. Chocolate and rotting herbs may seem disgusting, but Beth manages wonders. This is an intense, deep, organic scent. The scent of rotting vegetation sometimes sits on the line between disgusting and enticing; Thirteen has just crossed that line. It's cocoa without being foody, herbal but not dry, and unusual but somehow amazing. It's my favorite Thirteen, one of my favorite chocolate blends, and I cherish my imp.

[zankoku_zen]

Mmmm. I think this might be a new favorite. Take cocoa and mix it up with some chai spices. Oh yeah, it's very fragrantly chai. And chocolately good.

 

I wasn't crazy about the original 13, but I might have to try some of the others!

[kohaisama]

Spicy chocolate mint. It's a very pretty scent, but not something I'd see myself wearing unfortunately.

[FallDaze]

Initial thoughts-> I'm looking forward to trying this. I have no idea what to expect from this, no clue at all! It should be interesting though.

 

bottle-> I can definitely get the cocoa base! Everything else is a big, well blended jumble. A rather spicy well blended jumble. I can't pick out any other particlar notes.

 

wet-> It's a slightly fruity/herbal/spicy blend with a tiny touch of cocoa. The herbal scent seems to be getting stronger the more it dries.

 

after a while-> a warm spicy fruity scent. Very pretty, but unfortunately it's nothing fantastical on me.

[Lyrical]

In vial: a balanced blend of chocolate and spice.

 

Wet on skin: ew - what happened to it? Now it makes me think of vetiver! It's kind of rough and dark green. No, wait - it's softening and the chocolate is returning - phew!

 

Dry on skin: it's dark and spicy in a sultry, dirty, masculine way - not my sort of thing at all, although by no means unpleasant. But it was much better in the bottle!

[Lethran]

In bottle: Rich chocolate over sandalwood and cardamom, mostly. The other elements are more background, but well blended and the overall effect is delightful. Wet: spicy chocolate with incense and herbs. It is a sweet, delicate thing with more bite than one might expect. I really like what the fig is doing with the chocolate, cardamom, rice flower, and sandalwood. This is what I really wanted from Velvet, I think. Its rich and complex, avoiding the dry flatness of many sandalwood blends. Dry: Sweet sandalwood with delicate reminders of the other elements. I think this is my favorite sandalwood blend, surprisingly nuanced. It’s a shame the chocolate was so volatile, but I don’t think that’s anyone’s fault.

[kerikeri]

In the bottle: This smells exactly like Starbucks gingerbread latte truffles taste. I know there's no coffee in it, but the bittersweet dark chocolate scent reminds me of mocha.

 

Wet: Still all chocolate, clove and cardamom, rich and spicy.

 

Dry: A sharp herbal note comes in on the drydown, making the blend more complex and mysterious. The chocolate is much less pronounced, reduced to a sweet warm drizzle on top of the herbs and spices.

 

I like this a lot! It's not like anything else I have, or have ever tried before. The only drawback is that it doesn't last long on me at all... I think my skin eats clove, because I had the same problem with fresh Port-Au-Prince. Good thing I've got a bottle so I can slather/reapply

[starfish327]

Tested without the note list, but the notes don't surprise me either.

 

Graham crackers. stale, spicy cinnamon graham crackers all the way through the scent. i was underwhelmed. i need a much more assertive spiced fruit blend, and this just didn't stand up to my chemistry.

[Schmoozy]

Chocolate with cardomom, fig and sandalwood. Once it dries down the herbs start to come through and it's very earthy, and herbal, spicy and woodsy. Perhaps it is one of the tartest 13 blends. I detect no sweetness whatsoever. However it is really creamy due to the white chocolate, fig meat and rice flower.

[neverything]

The label on my decant is damaged, but it appears to say "13 - 07" and seems to match the scent description.

 

in bottle: Fruit, chocolate, and grains. Sweet and foody, yet light. Average throw.

 

wet: Chocolate takes the top note, backed by a mysterious and ancient earthiness. Intriguing, but not much throw.

 

drydown: Much the same as when wet, but with the chocolate becoming a little stronger.

 

verdict: A quite pleasant chocolate scent with an intriguing, unsettling (in a good way) undertone. Definitely would not mind more of this, but don't feel the need to seek it out.

[karykeion]

Decanted again by bpalscentsual!

 

In the imp: Yep, that's a 13. Mostly sweet dusty chocolate with a savory kick, which seems to be what I'm loving lately.

 

On me, wet: Kind of hard to smell. I'm actually really not sure I like it on me as much as I liked it in the decant. It's just a bit too flowery for me, I think, or too strong or sharp or something. I don't get much chocolate, it's mostly just sharp herbs and flowers. There's something kind of musty-sharp and not very nice in here, too. I don't know what it is, but this is really, really not my thing.

 

 

On me, dry: I think the problem is that I amp clove. I can smell the chocolates and other spices under it, but this blend is just really sharp and dusty and not very good on me at all. Oh well.

[bpalscentsual]

Chocolate, fig, cardamom, and clove, and I can pick out some chamomile, too. This is wonderfully unisex, and with the mixture of spices, it 'feels' like cinnamon on my skin without my skin amping it and turning it into Red Hots. I am pleased. Perhaps not enough to keep an entire bottle of this, but like a few of the other 13s that I've taken a chance on, it's turned out marvelously.

[AlectoFurious]

I recently took a risk and got a bottle of this, un-sniffed, off the BPAL Etsy site as a "Retro." Dangerous, I know, to buy that bottle with the notes that "seem to be perfect for me!" How often does that blow up in your face right? But this gamble paid off! I have to send a big thank you to some previous posters on their assessment of a chocolate and chai vibe for this 13. Those reviews gave me the courage to buy the bottle. And they were soooooo right! This is really lovely and manages to keep some complexity in the face of my scent eating skin chemistry.

[Zii]

In imp: Very separated, but this is not the first time I've seen that with cocoa absolute. A little rolling broke the particles up well.

 

Wet: Herby spiced chocolate. I am getting the cardamom for sure, and the sandalwood. This is a very mild, not in your face scent.

 

Drying: smelling something like rice milk under the herbs now. The chocolate is a secondary player now, which is nice because I'm not huge on super foody blends. There is something grassy and sharp now too.

 

Dry: Herbs and more herbs, backed up by some spices and just a bit of dark chocolate. Don't see myself wearing it much, but I'm happy to have the imp.

[Zii]

I'm really bad at reviewing these blends because they are so complex, but I'll give it a shot.

 

The chocolate must be tempered by the white chocolate, because it's sweet and not in your face. I am getting clove, sandalwood and what must be catnip. As it dries it gets a little dusty to my nose, but it is still very nice. It's a clean, slightly foody scent. Not something I want to smell like all the time, but I'm happy to have it.