Thirteen (13): April 2007

[taramarie]

13 is significant, whether you consider it lucky, unlucky or just plain odd. Many believe it to be unfortunate...

... because there were 13 present at the Last Supper.
... Loki crashed a party of 12 at Valhalla, which ended in Baldur's death.
... Oinomaos killed 13 of Hippodamia's suitors before Pelops finally, in his own shady way, defeated the jealous king.
... In ancient Rome, Hecate's witches gathered in groups of 12, the Goddess herself being the 13th in the coven.

Concern over the number thirteen echoes back beyond the Christian era. Line 13 was omitted form the Code of Hammurabi.

The shivers over Friday the 13th also have some interesting origins:

... Christ was allegedly crucified on Friday the 13th.
... On Friday, October 13, 1307, King Philip IV of France ordered the arrests of Jaques de Molay, Grand Master of the Knights Templar, and sixty of his senior knights.
... In British custom, hangings were held on Fridays, and there were 13 steps on the gallows leading to the noose.

To combat the superstition, Robert Ingersoll and the Thirteen Club held thirteen-men dinners during the 19th Century. Successful? Hardly. The number still invokes trepidation to this day. A recent whimsical little serial killer study showed that the following murderers all have names that total thirteen letters:

Theodore Bundy
Jeffrey Dahmer
Albert De Salvo
John Wayne Gacy

And, with a little stretch of the imagination, you can also fit ”˜Jack the Ripper' and ”˜Charles Manson' into that equation.

More current-era paranoia: modern schoolchildren stop their memorization of the multiplication tables at 12. There were 13 Plutonium slugs in the atomic bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki. Apollo 13 wasn't exactly the most successful space mission. All of these are things that modern triskaidekaphobes point to when justifying their fears.

For some, 13 is an extremely fortuitous and auspicious number...

... In Jewish tradition, God has 13 Attributes of Mercy. Also, there were 13 tribes of Israel, 13 principles of Jewish faith, and 13 is considered the age of maturity.
... The ancient Egyptians believed that there were 12 stages of spiritual achievement in this lifetime, and a 13th beyond death.
... The word for thirteen, in Chinese, sounds much like the word which means “must be alive”.

Thirteen, whether you love it or loathe it, is a pretty cool number all around.

... In some theories of relativity, there are 13 dimensions.
... It is a prime number, lucky number, star number, Wilson Prime, and Fibonacci number.
... There are 13 Archimedean solids.

AND...
... There were 13 original colonies when the United States were founded.

Says a lot about the US, doesn't it?

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.

I could smell dark chocolate before I even opened the bottle. Once opened, I could see the cocoa had separated, so I rolled it several times. Even then, the oil wasn't fully blended, but I was determined to try it anyway. I dipped the end of a cotton swab in and when I pulled it out, it looked like I had dipped it in chocolate syrup.

This oil is like thin chocolate syrup. I had to dab the oil on with one swab then spread it around with another so I didn't look like I had spilled Hershey's on myself.

But the smell... A dark chocolate base with clove, catnip, and other herbs. I find it very comforting. Those not into foody scents should probably avoid this one.

[myth]

I'm baffled by the poster above saying her oil is dark. I got my bottle today and tested it without noticing any separation. When I read the review above I rechecked and put a drop of oil on my fingertip... it appears pale/clear, and I can see straight through the bottle if I hold it up to the light. Very odd.

 

I get milk chocolate right out of the bottle. It comes with herbalness and just a touch of floral, but mostly the chocolate sits on top. It's not cocoa like Wulric and Boomslang, it's more of a milky, slightly sweetish chocolate. As it dries I begin to maybe get a leetle of the clove and sandalwood, a tiny bit of spice comes up and the chocolate begins to blend in better with the other notes. Annnd then it disappears, right about the time it's turning into something I could really like. An hour, tops, and it has become very faint, to the point I have to put my nose right on my wrist to smell what's left. Which is sadly kinda nicer than it was at first, and I wish this stage had more throw on me.

 

I've never tried the first 13 but to me this one is very different than the Oct.06 version [which I love]. This is much sweeter/foodier, and less rich/spicy. Personally, I don't dislike it, but I'm also thinking it's not really me as I tend to prefer the darker scents. I'm going to try it again at another time to make sure [and also by itself, as I'm currently testing 2 other things that came with it! ], but as of now I expect I'll be swapping this one away.

[lavinia]

I am wearing this right now and can't stop sniffing myself.

It smells on my skin exactly like how I smell when I have bathed with Lush's Skinny Dip gel.

This is a very good thing because I still miss SD in the gel form (the body butter just isn't the same).

It is chocolately, softly spicy with herby flowers.

The fig gives it a fruited subtle sweetness but the sandalwood grounds it.

A+ from a very happy camper

[Lunaratu]

first off, i have to say that the label is PURPLE with orange letters for all those waiting in suspence over that

 

also, my bottle of 13 was also clear...i don't why someone got chocolate colored oil, hmm...

 

ok, initially this smells almost minty/spicy with the chocolate giving it a DARK feel--not really all that foody at all. almost more resinous and sweet but with that lusciousness of heavily cacao chocolate.

 

and it dries down into that same scent with a bit more of the cacao-dark chocolate rising from underneath the spices/herbs. it's spicy in an herby way and it is not technically foody either. but there is a very light sweetness to this 13's chocolate, but almost a more floral sweetness honestly. truthfully, i love it! it's exactly what i was hoping for when I read the notes.

 

it's deep, rich, complex, and like the most expensive chocolate bar in the world that would probably be so complex tasting and full of interesting sensations for the tongue while in an old fashioned store with lovely sandalwood shelving and everything! the sandalwood is just grounding it subtly with some natural spice too that is fabulous.

 

I bought this because at work I always end up smelling like coffee and I hate the smell of coffee--and I thought that the smell of spiced chocolate and herbs would be potent and wonderful enough to combat it!

 

mmm, and I'm getting the most wonderful wafts of smell as I'm typing--both delicate, rich, dark, grounded, and sweet!

 

This is fabulous!

 

Rating: 4/5

Edited October 7, 2007 by Lunaratu

[Sistinas]

a review of Thirteen 2007

 

Vial ~ Dark chocolate with a spicy/herbal undertone to it. At first all you can smell is the chocolate, but after a few sniffs, you pick up on spices and herbs. I think I can pick out the sandalwood, cardamom, catnip and clove.

 

Wet ~ woah, the chocolate is not as strong and I am getting more of the spices. Definitely I am getting more clove and sandalwood. The chocolate is there, but it is not the star anymore, more like part of the ensemble

 

Drying ~ the spices are still strong and the chocolate is blended in with them. The scent has not changed that much from the wet phase. I asked my daughter for her opinion on what Thirteen smelled like on my wrist and she said it smelled like dirt. If I could only be that lucky, I love the smell of dirt.

 

Dry ~ Now the scent is this smoky, spicy scent with just a small touch of chocolate. Up until this moment I would have disagreed with the comparison to Lush's Skinny Dip, but now that it has dried down I can see that it has some similarity, but not a dead on dupe.

 

Fade ~ Thirteen does not seem to stick around that much, but I do have the faint scent of clove on my wrist. The smokiness has faded quite a bit too, what a shame.

 

Final thoughts ~ I am not that huge of a fan of chocolate scents. I always get sucked into buying them, but I tend to never wear them because I don't like the idea of smelling like chocolate. This scent might actually be different. I really liked the way the spice and smokiness took over and the chocolate faded into the background. For me, Thirteen is probably my most favorite of her chocolate scents, I really liked the way it changed on my skin and it was more than just another chcocolate scent to me. On a scale of 1 to 5, I would say this is a 4.

[Viridian]

In bottle: Chocolate, with an undertone of... other stuff. But mostly chocolate. Cocoa more than milk chocolate - it's sweet, but a little darker than candy.

 

On skin, wet: Just like a chocolate orange. Disclaimer: I don't like to eat chocolate oranges, but I do think they smell good.

 

On skin, dry: Still chocolate orange, but some of the other scents are coming out. I smell a little bit of floral and a little bit of spice.

 

As it fades a little the orange note lessens and I get more a sweet/fresh floral undertone beneath the chocolate. After a few hours the chocolate mellows out entirely and I just get a floralish scent with hints of chocolate. And before it fiinally fades away, I'm left with just a sweet and faintly candyish scent.

 

This one, overall... If I didn't own the bottle I probably wouldn't buy it from just sniffing an imp. But it does smell good, and I kept sniffing my wrist all evening. I just expected 13 to smell a little more mysterious, more complex, somehow. However, I've got the beginnings of allergies and it's a bad time of the month for me to be testing out perfumes as everything's been smelling "off" this week, so I'll definitely hang onto it and give it another test before I make up my mind to trade it or not.

[devilbunnyart]

On my skin, this oil is not particularly foody. It has a chocolate scent, but the chocolate is no stronger than the herbs and spices to my nose. When it dries down, it becomes this lovely smoky and sweet scent. It's like chocolate, clove and catnip incense? That's the best way I can think of to describe it.

 

It's lovely and much more exotic than I expected. A keeper!

 

ETA: I love it I love it I love it! I haven't tried the other versions, but I hope this one will come back. It's amazing!

 

ETA2: More than a year later, ha, I just wanted to add I love this scent. It's chocolate and clove. The ultimate Halloween scent. When I wear this, it evokes the Halloween season for me more than any of the official Halloweenies. <3

Edited December 15, 2008 by Jennifer Rodgers

[locuraelegantia]

my oil is really thick, but when I first applied it, it was seperated. partly clear and partly thick and dark. I had to shake it up.

 

on my skin it smells like dusty chocolate with clove over the top. very strong clove. not foody at all.

[bookofblues]

I feel sorry for my other 5mLs that will now be neglected since 13 has arrived!

In the bottle, very similiar to Tezcatlipoca. The same rich cocoa undertone, but cooler and sharper. Perhaps that's the clove.

On the skin it warms up quickly. The cocoa doesn't fade completely, but the catnip and clove come up to the forefront. Frankly it reminds me a little of the illicit hand rolled "cigarettes" my father used to smoke in the '70s until the clove balances the herbal scent out. This is complex and earthy, with just the right cocoa base to ground it.

Staying power isn't great. It's mostly gone in a few hours, but I did apply it most sparingly. I want this to last!

Mmmmmmm, 13. A new favorite.

 

ADDED May 16:

 

An interesting observation:

I got my first bottle of 13, and loved it so much I decided to swap for a backup bottle. The first bottle separates with a visible cocoa layer at the bottom, about a 1/2 inch thick. The second bottle is clear throughout. Scentwise, they are both identical but the layered bottle seems to last lnoticably onger before fading away! Both are just lovely though.

[filigree_shadow]

Curses! Too many herbs in this for me. I was afraid that would be the case, but I wanted to try it anyway because I really liked the Oct 06 version of 13. This one smells rather masculine on me. Not foody at all.

 

It's not a bad scent, I'm just not a fan of the herby scents, personally. This has a really nice spice to it though, and I'm sure that lots of people will adore this version.

[hecate_jones]

When mine arrived, it was also seperated out, clear on top and opaque on the bottom layer, yay, cocoa absolute! After rolling it to mix, I opened the bottle up and whoa! Chocolate! Spicy chocolate with a hint of mint, so that'd be the catnip.

 

I was hoping for more cocoa, but this is pure chocolate with a spicy bite wet on skin, it's not till the drydown the herbal notes begin to peek back through. Then I got a very slightly minty, herbally 'green' smell with an undertone of, yes, chocolate. Even with all the chocolate, it's not really a 'foody' scent, it's more of an herbal scent with a bit of bite that just happens to have a chocolate element.

 

I was hoping for more cocoa, I think I'd have preferred some bitterness with the herbs, but fans of chocolate scents will probably love this one.

[Loligo]

It starts out pure chocolate mint -- not mint chocolate the food item, but chocolate mint the herb. (If you have an herb garden you must plant this! It's amazing stuff! I like to go weed the chocolate mint bed just for the amazing scent it gives off when you brush up against it, and it tastes pretty good, too.) Over the first hour the clove note grows until it's a clove/spice/herbal blend with just a touch of chocolate sweetness. It doesn't last quite as long as I would like, but it's not one of those instant evaporators, either.

[dixiehellcat]

Wow, Sistinas could have written straight from my brain. I can't say much else! I got an imp of Bliss as one of my first frimps & really disliked it...so I was already cruising the swap forum looking for anybody who might want the 5ml of 13 I'd already ordered. I find I don't like foody smells on me at all. And when my 13 arrived today, I opened it & smelled nothing but chocolate & went 'oh no' But I screwed my courage up & dabbed a bit on...and a few minutes later the spices started coming out & the chocolate fading...then hints of herb & smoke...and it all blended so beautifully, I had to go dab more on before I went out to dinner. I'm so happy! This was my first full bottle order, let alone of something I hadn't even smelled, & I LIKE IT.

[Eemia]

It smells on my skin exactly like how I smell when I have bathed with Lush's Skinny Dip gel.

This is a very good thing because I still miss SD in the gel form (the body butter just isn't the same).

 

My thoughts exactly. Loved SKinny Dip and this does feel very familiar. Same mellow, muted, white chocolate goodness. But this has much more depth, and it doesn't smell as straight up foody as SD. This is very warm and slightly spicy as well, probably from the sandlewood. I love sandlewood as a side note because otherwise it can be overwhelming on my skin. It's lovely in this...not too woody or dry. I notice a little bit of a green note here as well, but it's very sweet and hidden. I keep wondering if it's the catnip, but so far my cat has not gone nuts yet so maybe not. It only peeps out after it has dried a bit, and it's very unexpected and pretty.

 

I like this much more after it is dry. It smells more complex and rich. It does have a mysterious smokiness that just works so well with the other notes. I do like this alot, but I am not crazy about it. My true loves are always florals. But I'm glad I got a 5mL of this because I will enjoy wearing it from time to time.

 

Had to add that I didn't notice any separation in the oils at all. I looked very carefully and as far as i can tell my oil is light colored with no variations.

[waternight]

My first blend with cocoa/chocolate! I was nervous to order this because I dislike smelling like food, but all the herbs and spices convinced me.

 

In the imp: Chocolate mint! On a deeper sniff, I definitely smell the clove and sandalwood too. Plus a general spiciness and floralness. Really yummy.

Wet/Drydown: Chocolate clove with a lovely minty undertone. It’s not candy chocolate though, it’s true cocoa, with a dry herbal blend grounding it. The spices are gently supporting the other notes. All the notes are blending smoothly and producing a gorgeous scent.

Dry: Clovely, herbal chocolate. It’s staying strong, too, with lots of throw.

 

Overall, I'll definitely keep this one around and wear it when I'm in the mood for something sweet, complex, and unique. A very enjoyable blend.

[tempestteapot]

Cloves and cardamom. They overwhelm the the chocolate on me. I'm sad to say that it didn't work out NEARLY as well as my favorite (Oct) 13. Hopefully better luck in July.

[tarotgirl99]

In bottle: Mostly chocolate

 

On skin, wet: At first, chocolate, but then almost immediately, other things. Less pleasant things. Catnippy.

 

On skin, dry: Such a morpher this 13 is. Sometimes it's chocolate mint, other times it's a hash brownie. More hash than brownie.

 

As the drydown dries down more, I am afraid this is not a keeper for me. Too herbaceous.

[Xiabelle]

 

This is my favorite 13 yet! I'm not a big foody girl, although I like chocolate and cocoa as an accent note to add depth. But most straight-up foody scents and I don't get along. But I'm so glad this works, because it has some of my favorite notes in it.

 

In the bottle, it's spicy chocolate with an herbal edge. When I put it on, it just blossoms. The chcoolate mellows and the cardamon and clove comes out in spicy goodness. Yummy. The chamomile and catnip add a backdrop to it.. it really reminds me of chocolate chai. I keep getting a tea note, and I'm sure it's the herbs. Sandalwood is gorgeous on me, so it really mellows and smooths it out.

 

The drydown fades on me, though... I kept getting beautiful wafts when I first out it on, but now I just smell soft spicy herbs when I sniff my wrists.. I have a feeling this will need many reapplications.

 

But it's fantastic, and I'm sure the oil will meld even more beautifully after it has time to age a bit -- I find many oils are better for me after a few weeks.

[bryghtrose]

It's a rich, spicy, herby chocolate.

 

But I don't like smelling like food. Oh well.

 

And it throws, so all I could smell was choclate.

Edited May 7, 2007 by bryghtrose

[Jilara]

I can testify that although the main scent I get from this is catnip, my cats are all indifferent to my wrists, and they are catnip junkies. I was almost disappointed. I wanted cats to come out of the woodwork and follow me like the Pied Piper!

 

But back to the review...

I shook the bottle, so the oil I got was only vaguely dark. (I've been reading reviews, so I was forearmed.)

In the bottle and wet, it's heavy-duty dark chocolate and catnip. Strong catnip.

As it dries, the chocolate notes back off and a spicy herbal comes out. There is something warm and comforting about this. It smells a lot like a warm day in the coastal chapparal, for some reason, but with a backing of hot cocoa.

Dry, the chocolate fades but goes creamy. White "chocolate" aka cocoa butter dominating? Blends nicely, and I still smell catnip and something herbal, but can't identify anything as "spicy." Just intriguing. And not sweet at all.

 

I wasn't sure if I'd like this, as I was expecting warring food notes. However, this is very complex and intriguing, and I like it a lot. Dry, it's not foody at all, even with the chocolate notes. At this point, it really defies classification. Nice.

[AliBabble]

i like this version. it reminds me somewhat of wulric in feeling, minus the heavy metallic edge i get from that one. as others have noted, it is a spicy, herbal cocoa scent, somewhat rich and complex, but not particularly strong or heavy. there is also something a bit fruity at first, then something a bit creamy. it is not musky, like the last 13, however, and, to me, less "feminine" than that one. i was hoping for more clove, which i hardly detect at all - i was kinda hoping for more of the skinny dip vibe, others had mentioned. the oil in my bottle is indeed separated - light and dark, so you have to roll/shake it. as the scent dries down, the cocoa becomes much less present, and it is more of a light, herbal scent with a vague cocoa backdrop. at this point, i can also smell more of the clove too, which is nice, but still faint. overall, i find this scent very pleasant and wearable.

[xoe]

delicious, sweet and spicy. unlike anything i've tried.

LOVE IT!

[minnalavender]

None of the previous incarnations of 13 have appealed to me or worked well with my skin chemistry, yet when it returned I bought another bottle of it unsniffed anyway. Hope springs eternal, etc. Luckily, this version works much, much better! I think it's the cocoa absolute and the cardamom. Oh man - on my skin, 13 smells like what I wished Enraged Groundhog Musk smelled like, rich dark cocoa and cardamom being the predominant notes.

 

In the bottle and wet on my skin, cocoa absolute is the main player. (My bottle did have a small amount of c.a. at the bottom, necessitating a good spin to mix it.) Once it hits my skin, it starts morphing. Cocoa, slightly bitter spices, and a brief whiff of sweet, rich cardamom... each stage another note comes to the fore. The drydown is the gem in this scent. Oh, the cocoa and the cardamom... it's EGM meets Treat #2! Mmmmm. It continues to sweeten as it fades, too.

 

13 is fairly gender-neutral on me, nothing floral or too sweet, really more foody than anything else. I think this would smell delicious on the right man.

 

I really like this version and unlike the other two, I'm keeping it!

[Brianne]

In the bottle:

Mmm sweet, clean fig

 

On me:

Right away, I can tell that this 13 is a bit different than the others and yet still maintains a base of cocoa. But this one has a more unisex feel to it than the others did. This is definitely unisex in that it isn't too flowery, too sweet, too woody. It's got a somewhat clean and herbal feel to it - that rice flower and chamomile combo give a wonderful "white" base and the clove isn't too spicey here (not that I mind it spicey) but instead just adds a sort of woodsy spiced depth. This one is hard to describe, you get a lot of notes and the general result is a nice, clean/slightly woody/barely sweet scent.

 

Final note:

I love all the 13 blends, I enjoy them. This is no exception but something about this one in particular makes me think I'd wear this one more often than the others. Especially in warm weather, where I think it could be refreshing.

[emzebel]

Interestingly, I get less chocolate out of this version of 13 than I have out of any previous. There is a rich sweetness here, but mostly, it is the wonderful ethereal mysterious scent of an Indian sweet shop - the cloves and the cardamom and the herbs (I could have sworn I scented roiboos or green tee in here, but that must just have been the herbal bits) making for a wonderful cacophony of scent.

 

This is not a scent that clings to me, however...a friend of mine was in town when I got this bottle and this scent melds with her chemistry like it was made for her. So I think I shall be sending it to her as a gift. An evil, evil, enabling gift.