Thirteen (13): February 2009

[fairnymph]

Considering the state of the economy and other worldwide woes, I think we all need a little extra dose of good luck. A sweet, comforting base of dark chocolate and brown sugar with thirteen herbs of good fortune, including nutmeg, Tonka, allspice, star anise, Jamaican and African gingers, devil’s shoestring, lucky hand root, and thyme.

In the bottle: Sweet, dark, and foody - but not cloying. Dark chocolate and brown sugar reign. Suggestion of herbs and spices, especially ginger, but nothing jumps out. Complex.

Wet: Much spicier - whoa, nutmeg, all spice, and especially star anise- and now it's like a spice cake with brown sugar frosting. The dark chocolate note is quite light. Lots of star anise and ginger give this a sort of root-beer smell.

Dry: Very spicy! Ginger beer with lighter cakey spices. Chocolate note virtually gone. This has gained a sort of 'rooty' depth, and I'm getting the lovely bright thyme. This feels very festive. Edited April 12, 2009 by Shollin
fixed BPAL tags, expanded description --Shollin

[tziporra]

In the bottle: Oh! Crumpet Rebellion! I can't wait to try this!

 

On my skin: All Wrong.

 

There is really no other way to put this. I love this in the bottle, all brown sugar and spice and everything nice. But I loathe it on me. I can't even really tell if it morphs or I just don't want to smell like food. Wah.

 

I'm not sure if I love the scent in the bottle enough to try a couple of other things with it -- a warmer, maybe? Or maybe I'll just swap.

 

Best,

 

Tzi

[Yoginispirit]

In the bottle: Very similar to butter rum cookie

Wet: I can smell something dark, sweet and gritty with a sharp herbal scent underneath.

Dry: The brown sugar seems to come forward more during the drydown and the whole scent sinks into my skin.

 

I agree this does smell like a kitchen spice pantry but something in here (perhaps the thyme?) makes it very dark and herbal. I think of a witch's (or midieval healer) box of dried herbs, oils and powders as she mixes them into a healing potion using brown sugar to make a sweet syrup that hides the bitter taste. I do not seem to get much ginger at all, mostly the brown sugar, a smidgen of chocolate and the thyme. Very nice. When mixed together, the overall feel is a dry cinnamin stick. I love how dark and different this is. Even though it really reminds me of butter rum cookie (which ended up not drying down so well on me) this has that nice cooling herbal touch to make it interesting. Plus I can use all the good luck I can get!!

 

 

[suki]

i agree with those who have said that aging will do this blend some good. the elements are all there- solid, warm notes, a bit of sweetness, though not foodie (i get NO chocolate from this incarnate), and beautiful deep resins. all it needs is some time to blend with itse;f. then it will go from being a great scent to being a to-die-for scent.

 

i can't wait.

Edited March 7, 2009 by VioletChaos

[lothien]

I will have to side with the agers and state that I think this will be better with time. Whether it will be enough better that it doesn't turn entirely allspice and star anise remains to be seen. I like it in the imp, but it's hard to bear in the dry stage because the spices amp and never settle on me.

I *did* actually clean out a spice cupboard today that smelled just like this...

 

Off to the holding cabinet with thee, 13!

 

 

 

[AliBabble]

in the bottle it smells like as cross between a lighter version of wulric the wolfman, mixed w/ gingerbread poppet. wet, it smells like gingerbread poppet. drying, it gets lighter and sharper - an herbally gingerbread poppet, without the cake. in short - ginger, with a touch of the brown sugar. i do like it, and find it warm and comforting.

[CiCi]

In the bottle: light cocoa and spice

 

Applied, there is no chocolate/cocoa at all, just the glorious spicy scent of ginger, cinnamon, and every baking spice all put together and sweetness of the brown sugar. It is very good at first, but on dry down it gets even better. It has a deep richness that I love and that I am always looking for in Beth's oils. After several hours I kept smelling something really nice and it took me a moment to remember that it was me!

 

I am glad that I purchased multiple bottles of this because I know this is just going to get better with age.

[sharybaby]

This new Thirteen is kind of strange. I, too, get spices and no chocolate. It has that slinky, spiced feel, like it could be one of the Snakes. Like any of the Snake variants, it makes my eyes itchy/watery. I'm hoping it will mellow in time because I like the idea of brown sugar perfume.

[ami226]

Wet: Hello, chocolate and ginger!! Wow! This smells exactly like yummy gingerbread!! Unlike other chocolate scents, this one is well behaved and doesn't smell fake.

 

Dry: Oooooh! Brown sugar! I was hoping that I would be able to smell this note! Now I can no longer smell any chocolate. Just brown sugar and ginger. Lovely yummy gingerbread!

[topaz]

In the bottle: I can make out the ginger and brown sugar. Where's the chocolate?

 

Wet: This smells so much like my Butter Rum Cookie without the rum!

 

Dry: Ginger and spice. There is almost a dry, dusty undertone...very faint but it reminds me of opening a bag of ginger snaps. I got compliments on this one all night

 

This is a winner and I'm so glad I got the second bottle

[UploadedLobster]

Thirteen is what happens when Shub-Niggurath grows up and gets its period.

 

(Brilliant stuff. Dark, spicy, sweet and rich. In that order.)

 

Lobster Rating

better than: the inside of a merino-wool sweater

[Mathenia]

This is the second bottle I received this week that seemed to be just brown sugar and nothing else when I tried it on. Not terribly into sugar, brown or otherwise. I was hoping more for the chocolate and spices. I'm encouraged by the idea of aging since I really liked the idea of all these scents together. I'll put it aside and try again later. A month or two? Or six, or a year? Any ideas?

[GeorgeJr]

Oh yeah , this is nice . In the bottle it's slightly more chocolate then anything else . But on the skin it evens out quite nicely . Dying out pretty quickly on me though . Only had it on a couple of hours now & have to hold my skin very close to the nose to notice it . But while it's there it's a real winner .

[kohaisama]

In the imp: chocolate

 

Wet: chocolate and ginger

 

Dry: chocolate ginger snaps (a chocolaty Shub), but after 30min it goes incensy-herbal with some serious throw. I think some aging will tone down the herbal aspect a bit. I'm still on the fence about how much I like it though as I'm rather partial to Shub. I'll have to try these two together and see how that goes (not layered, but "side by side").

Edited March 9, 2009 by Gunny

[abejita]

This has a note in common with Crumpet Rebellion, and has a breath of Shub Niggurath. I absolutely love this rendition of 13. It's the best one yet and I'm a little regretful that I only ordered one bottle. It's absolutely not a chocolate scent. This is all spice, all the time, on a brown sugar (perhaps slightly burnt, in a good way) base. Yet, not foody. I've worn it three days in a row, and I so rarely do that.

[tajana]

A scrumptious blend of spices! The first day I put this on the brown sugar went a bit funky on me but since then it's behaved well, adding a lovely sweetness to the deep, rich spiciness. It is delicious but dry. This is a spice fiend's dream! The ginger is wonderfully prominent, with a fair dose of nutmeg and allspice most immediately noticeable after that, and the tonka replaces brown sugar as the primary sweetening agent after about an hour of wear. Not much anise, which is fine by me, as I don't care for that note! There isn't much dark chocolate here but I've got plenty of other scents to go to if I'm feeling like chocolate. I like this better than Shub, it has a more unique, complex, and intriguing blend of bakery spices (probably thanks to the strongly rooty/herbal undertones), and it doesn't do the buttery cookie or powdery resin thing that Shub does to me on a bad day. (Then again, I've only worn 13 three times, all within the past week!)

 

ETA: This has aged very well so far, I'm very glad I have a bottle of this gem. It's gotten more potent, and the smoky, dark, herbal rooty scent really came into its own, and it's better integrated with the blend of spice and brown sugar. It's gotten smoother, but, thankfully for me, not sweeter. Weirdly enough, after hours and hours of wear... over eight... the only thing left is a hint of dark chocolate. Strange that it's the only survivor after being virtually nonexistent before.

Edited September 8, 2009 by tajana

[Pottersville]

Ahhh, this is my first 13 and it's a winner! I was lured in by the spice notes, and they certainly deliver. To my nose, the chocolate is barely present in this blend. Instead, I get rich molassas, the snap of ginger, and the warmth of nutmeg. It smells like I wanted Gingerbread Poppet to smell! And it's got great staying power. Glad I sprang for two bottles!

[scarletgenesis]

Wow. This is the least 'foody' of the Thirteen blends I've tried and my favorite.

 

Even though the base is dark chocolate, I barely get any....just a hint of that and the brown sugar. On me (at least right now) this is mostly gingers and nutmeg. It's spicy and dark without being sinister.

 

Interestingly, the chocolate and sugar are more noticable in the scent locket than on my skin.

 

Perfect to wear today, Friday the 13th!

Edited March 13, 2009 by scarletgenesis

[taramarie]

In the bottle and wet on my skin, it's dark chocolate, brown sugar, and ginger. Dry, it's ginger, nutmeg, and brown sugar. I smell like fresh-baked gingerbread. Hopefully, age will bring out the chocolate.

[stellans]

I have to admit the ginger gave me pause when I applied this first thing this morning. Evidently I amp ginger like whoa.

 

However, upon drydown, this blend is amazing! The chocolate notes are perfection, and give way smoothly to the spicy goodness which comprise this blend, which also seem to keep the ginger in a nice check so that it merely spikes my nose a bit, not overwhelmingly. And the brown sugar/molasses notes are very, very warm and appealing...Yum!

Edited July 25, 2010 by stellans

[Ravenclaw79]

This one comes off as a bit of brown sugar and a chunk of artificial chocolate smell, mixed with a bit of candle-shop potpourri. Not bad, but not great, not on me, either.

[Ajila]

In the bottle - Surprisingly it'sthe ginger and the thyme which stand out most, although there is a hint of the bitterness off the dark chocolate

 

Wet on me - Quite faint. The green herbs and something a little buttery

 

Dry on me - The chocolate and the brown sugar do come through slightly, but it's still all about the herbs

 

Overall - I guess I was hoping for more of the chocolate and the brown sugar, as it is, it's nice, but not really me.

 

[portalkat]

I have a collection of all the other "13" blends, so although the notes for this one did not entice me, I had to order it anyway. Well, this is one of my favorites even though the chocolate is not the focal point. This is heavy on the ginger and nutmeg and has sort of a deep smoky edge to it. The brown sugar and the tonka do a good job of sweetening things up and I absolutely love this.

[crebbsgirl]

I agree with all of the others that chocolate is not predominant in this blend. Here, the spices were rich and amazing, and the brown sugar provided a sweet but not cloying undercurrent. I do indeed smell like a spice cabinet. In the wet stages, there is a herbal overtone that I think may mellow with a bit of aging. It's not sharp per se, but rather a greenness. During wear, the herbal vibe settles and the spices/sugar take over. I wouldn't term this foody either, just to be clear. I like it now, but I think I will LOVE it as it gets a little older.

[maewitch]

This smells exactly like a local magic shop, The Magickal Blend. I mean EXACTLY.

 

It's that mix of working herbs, sweetness (from the vanilla incense cones that the newer folks always seem to take first and perhaps the beeswax of the candles), spicy incense, candlesmoke and dusty book pages that stays in your hair for hours after you leave the shop.

 

I do get the comparisons to Shub. The ginger is very similar and noticeable when you go from smelling it on one wrist to the other. Actually, the subtler notes of chocolate are more noticeable then as well - otherwise, it's definitely the herbs and an overall smoky spiciness that takes center stage.

 

Love. It.