Thirteen (13): March 2009

[LunaLovegood]

This 13, created by Brian Constantine, is a sign of the times, illustrating chaos and hope, and strength during adversity. Bittersweet dark cocoa is surrounded here by 13 complex aspects, including exotic musks, caraway, allspice, aloes wood, lucky hand, Irish moss, and bamboo. Beneath it all is a glowing core of glistening cherry.

Strong throw, lasts pretty long and this is pure chocolate and cherries. Its lovely!

[lothien]

I got this frimped in a DC and it's way more interesting than I expected after my experience with 2/13.

 

I didn't try it for very long today, and I will need to try it again in a week or so but it makes me think of a wicked gourmet chocolate cordial.

The spices don't take over! I smell chocolate (I got no chocolate from 2/13) and distinct dark, liqueur-soaked cherry.

Promising, and I hope that it ages together as well as I think it will...

[fairnymph]

Sniffed: Dark amber colour. Cough syrup red cherry and chocolatey cocoa, along with some boozy musks and allspice and something rooty. Not getting any bamboo. Slightly sweet & medicinal.

 

Wet: Boozy, artificial chocolate-covered cherries. More woody/masculine/dark on my skin; less sweet. The chocolate - on me it's creamy and intense - is a foody note, but this isn't really a foody blend.

 

Dry: The cherry is morphing, from the candy-cough syrup note to a darker, juicier, tarter note - more real, reminds me a little of the cherry note in Beaver Moon 07. It goes deliciously with the chocolate note!

 

Later: That strange rooty note - which is sort of herbal, and a little anise-y - has amped. Lucky hand, maybe? I don'tt get any caraway, and the allspice remains very faint. I do get a general sense of dark, polished, rich wood.

 

Summary: Very lightly spiced and anise-tinged dark, delicious chocolate with both real cherries and cough-syrup fake cherry, over a smooth base of masculine wood. The musks don't ever come out strongly, just linger softy and boozily.

 

Interesting, and not unpleasant, but not for me. Good throw, fades a fair bit.

 

[BuxomM]

This smelled like sweet floral wood with a bit of musk. It's a nice scent but I prefer foodier scents.

[yeahbutnobut]

13 (March 09)

 

In the imp: think Dark Choc Cherry meets Midnight Kiss!

Wet on skin: rich black cherry and dark chocolate, with undertones of musk and spice.

Dry on skin: oh yeah, this is good! This is Dark Choc Cherry enhanced and sexed up with spices and wonderful deep musk! The cherry is fantastic-not a sharp cherry, not medicinal, not sour, not fake or chap-stick scented. This is, like DCC, very much like a Black Forest gateau (even with a hint of cream and cake! I smell a hint of butter here) but I can smell hints of the spices here, though they are much milder than the Feb 13 spices (and it’s gentler than Enraged Groundhog Musk, another cherry-chocolate-musk-spice blend). And then there’s the musk…with the cherry, I am reminded of Hollywood Babylon, which I love. I am sure there’s Indian musk and most probably red or dark musk here. It’s very reminiscent of Midnight Kiss, in that it’s a mix of red fruit, sexy musk and cocoa.

After a while: after a moment when I thought ‘huh? Vetiver?’ and a phase of buttercream, this then settles into a smoother and less foody scent of cocoa, cherry and rich musk, with something at the back which may be the moss or maybe the caraway? But it’s very smooth and coherent, creamy but no longer buttery. It’s very sexy cherry, and reminds me of a deeper, darker Midnight Kiss. I love the dark chocolate here. I don’t smell the bamboo in here.

Verdict: I’ve been looking for the perfect cherry scent, and I think this is it! I liked Dark Chocolate Cherry but I felt there was something missing. This on the other hand is like DCC, but even better, more complex, and quite stunning. Dark cocoa and cherry dominate the scent, and the cherry is the best cherry note ever-not at all fake or chemical-smelling, and smelling more like real black cherries and not bitter almonds or glace cherries. The musk really boosts, enhances and adds a sexy backdrop to the cherry, and the spices are subtle but help to make this smell unique. There was a slight buttery-creamy stage at first I wasn’t keen on but this was short, and the musky chocolate cherry drydown is phenomenal. I’m glad I bought a bottle of this!

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? Definitely.

If you like this, try: Hollywood Babylon, Dark Chocolate Cherry, Vice, Midnight Kiss, Milk Chocolate Buttercream, Enraged Groundhog Musk, Boomslang

[stellans]

I was a little leery of the cherry note in this blend, because I tend to amp cherry to an unbearable sweetness (think Luden’s Cherry Cough Drops). However, that doesn’t happen in this bottle, nope, not at all.

 

When first applied, the cocoa note is uppermost, but this lasts only a surprisingly short time. And it’s the dry straight cocoa, no sugar or vanilla or cream adulterates this note. But soon, the warmth of the skin brings forth some amazingly good smells: musk, spice, wood, bamboo and more. These notes swirl together, making one feel lucky to have a nose able to partake of such rich goodness!

 

This blend is probably my favorite of all the 13s to date, and I’m glad I have 2 bottles. Four stars!

Edited July 25, 2010 by stellans

[Blood onmy hands]

In the bottle, this smells like musky, tart cherries and reminds me of Monster Bait: Bloody Mary. I also keep smelling something buttery-spicy that reminds me of pumpkin blends like Jack.

 

On my skin at first, this is all cherry, but it smells better than it did in the bottle. It's a softer, sweeter cherry note. As it dries down, the scent briefly gets darker and more complex. I get a bit of smooth, dark chocolate and an unusual woods note. It makes me think of dark chocolate syrup - glossy, smooth, and slithering down the side of something. It's an interesting chocolate note, but I don't love/like it as much as I love Boomslang and most of the Chocolate Box blends from this year's Lupercalia.

 

Unfortunately, after fifteen minutes on my skin, this morphs into something even less wearable for me. The cherry seems to have creeped back in, and is oddly cloying. It smells like sticky, dried cherries. The chocolate slowly dies off and I'm left with cloying dried cherry smell & stale chocolate.

 

This one is not a winner for me, but I have trouble pulling off cherry fragrances.

[CreamyJade]

In the bottle: Oh hey cocoa! And cherries underneath.

Wet on skin: Cocoa & cherries, vanilla.

Dry on skin: Dry bittersweet cocoa, woods, musks, hint of sweet vanilla, no cherries at all. It's actually "perfumey" on my skin as the cocoa isn't turning foody at all, and is more of a dark bittersweet scent. Finally a 13 that's more "me"!

Final thoughts: Yay for March 13 2009! I was hoping for another non-foody cocoa scent that I could wear (the other one is Boomslang). As June 2008's 13 and February 2009's 13 were busts for me (the caramel note in Feb.'s 13 made me gag!), this one is great for me. It won't be my trademark scent, but I'll definately use it.

[zankoku_zen]

This really is like Dark Chocolate Cherry meets Midnight Kiss.

 

Or for me, it's more like Dark Chocolate Cherry + Plunder.

 

The cocoa is nice and dusty, and you can smell the spices like in Plunder.

 

Very tasty, but I think the cherry is a bit too much for me!

[crebbsgirl]

OMG this does foul and ungodly things on my skin. I don't know what I possibly could have done to offend 13 (3/09) quite so horribly but this is just BAAAD. It smells like damp and rotting vegetation, with hints of chocolate. This smell is really really strong when wet, and against my better judgment, I decided to wait it out to see if it got better.

 

I shouldn't have waited.

 

Damp rotting vegetation with hints of chocolate turns into baby-powder covered damp and rotting vegetation with hints of chocolate and cherry. I did not think it could smell worse on my skin... turns out, I was wrong. This is heading off to swaps immediately.

[Gin]

Thirteen (13): March 2009

 

This one didn't really appeal to me, but I happened to get frimped by a forumite. I'm glad I did! It's a lot more interesting and Gin-friendly than I expected. I get chocolate, musk, spice and the aloeswood. The cherry (a note that's *very* iffy for me) is sort of acetone-y in the bottle and pops up for a minute on the skin, but then dries down into more of a cherry-wood scent.

[djsiberia]

i wasn't sure about this only because of the moss, bamboo, aloes wood and lucky hand. i'm glad i took the chance because this is a surprise like for me. the dry cocoa and the herbs are balanced and one doesn't over power the other.

 

[Ajila]

In the bottle - Synthetic bananas?

 

Wet on me - I still get a synthetic banana scent, now backed by all those dark, dry spice notes

 

Dry on me - Warm cocoa and dry spices, sweet, but without being remotely foody

 

Overall - A little dry, but very nice indeed, a definite winner

[totheo]

Oh, I am getting a LOT of cherry and chocolate! I think this is what Dark Chocolate & Cherry should be (very similar, SC&C has a bit of a plastic-y feel to it, though)

 

Very nommy, for cherry and chocolate fans. All the other notes kind of band together to keep it from being obvious.

[Venneh]

Definitely getting the dark chocolate aspect of this in the decant, the rest of it, not so much. On my skin, it's dark chocolate with... something else, not quite sure what just yet. Went to class shortly after writing it, was in seminar room, whole room could smell it and said it smelled like incense, which is pretty accurate. Ends up as more of a soapy scent for me. Not really for me. Swaps.

Edited November 13, 2009 by Venneh

[gingiemay]

Delicious dark, musky chocolate with a cherry core, but it's not too sweet or cough syrup at all. As the cocoa fades it leaves behind moss, bamboo and spices. Really gorgeous and a huge win based on a previous 13 blend I tried. I love Brian's scents!

[taramarie]

On me, this is dark chocolate, musk, what I think is the bamboo, and cherry. It's not my favorite 13, but it's really good.

[damonkitty]

This is my favorite Thirteen released to date . I have three bottles now and would probably buy more if I saw them posted. I think this is a blend of sexy and sweet all in one. I see this was one of Brian's creations so I want to thank him for such a wonderful blend. It is in my top 5 favorites because when I wear it it makes me feel good. I get a lot of compliments on it. It was my first BPAL purchase too so I have to thank this little bottle of Thirteen for helping me find the BPAL community.

 

I think it is the cherry, musks, and dark chocolate that make this special. I would call it the Snake Oil of the Thirteen blends because I think it gets better with time .

[whisperstilled]

In imp: Interesting! Sweet cocoa and wood, with a touch of herbiness. Very nice so far, reminds me of something that I can't put my finger on, some sense memory just out of reach. Regardless, it's kind of like a plant dusted with cocoa.

 

Wet: Much fainter. The herbiness is sort of astringent and sharp, and now I'm getting that almondy cherry note at the center as well, still with the cocoa around it. I don't know about bamboo, but right now I do get a little wood, definitely cherry, some herbs, and a touch of the cocoa.

 

Dry: I'm digging the way this dries down. It reminds me of Dark Chocolate and Cherry (for all the obvious reasons) but with a lighter cocoa. I still can't put my finger on what this smells like, but it's a pleasant, slightly woody chocolate cherry by the time it dries down, sweet but with that woody/herbal aspect that tempers the sweetness. Interesting and unique! 3/5

[Schmoozy]

Spicy dark chocolate and cherry mingles with fresh greenery. It's an unusual combination and it almost works, except that cherry is utterly nasty on me, and it is overtaking the blend.

[portalkat]

This is the "13" that I am wearing today. On me this smells like creamy milk chocolate with black cherry over a lovely wood note. It's almost like Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia ice cream melted over a wood picnic table. I love the way that the sweet notes mingle with the wood. I'm glad that I have more than one bottle of this.

[alioth]

I don't get cherry at all on me in this, which is a fantastic thing, because cherry notes tend to go all luden's cough drops on me, and this didn't at all. It's got an undertone of deep sweetness that's probably the cherry, but I wouldn't actually identify it as cherry-ish at all. Mostly this 13 is dark dusty cocoa, musk, and all kinds of woods on me, with that dark sweetness pulling it all together. My favorite of the 13s that I've tried.

[Larinessa]

Some of the reviews have compared this as a cross between Dk chocolate cherry (which I have) and either Midnight kiss or Enraged groundhog musk (neither of which I have tried). To me this smells like Dk chocolate cherry meets Countess Willie. The deep cocoa is there, as is the wonderful blooming red cherry I so love. But this is mustier, spicier, and very sensual. Very me. I don't get much 'Green' in here. But that's fine by me. Great to have to alternate with C W when I want have this 'tone' of scent to wear. Whoever let their bottle go on eBay, thank you so much! It has a loving home with me!

[Lady.Pirate]

In the bottle, the chocolate is pretty much all I get. It's a lovely complex chocolate, very dark and full of spicy interesting hints, but they're subtle. Wet, it's even stronger, but a more balanced blend. Spicier, fruitier (very dark fruit though, not what I associate with cherry), dense and lovely. It's so potent that it's hard to pin down any specific notes. As it dries on me, I get very little morph. After an hour, once it starts to mellow a bit, it sweetens up and gives a softer vibe and the chocolate takes on an almost powdery smell (sort of like is cocoa powder made of very dark chocolate). This is one of my absolute favorites and I love it dearly. Definitely worth multiple bottles!

[Honey]

Imp: Oh yum! This is rich cocoa, sweet spices and maraschino cherry (almond)!

 

Wet: The cocoa is a bit.. dusty and dry, could be a richer kind of chocolate. Has a very dry nutty (almond) note with a fruity cherry undertone.

 

Dry: Dries down to something a bit.. yeah, smells a bit like paper, cocoa powder (dry) and almonds. Meh, I guess my skin soaks up the wrong parts!