Thirteen (13): July 2012

[lookingglass]

This 13 was created by Brian Constantine. Voluptuous and somber: a Thirteen created as a reflection on the capricious nature of Tyche - bittersweet cacao and dragon's blood resin sweetened by honey and vanilla bean, brightened by saffron, and touched by the contemplative depths of oak leaf, solemn opoponax, frankincense, myrrh, black amber, hiba wood, aged patchouli, burgundy pitch, and Balm of Gilead.

It's here!

DARK PINK CHOCOLATE, from the dragon's blood/cacao combo, like artisan made raspberry cremes, or cherry cordials...and INCENSE! I'm getting a buttery smell, too...not sure what that's about, but it fades on the drydown. I smell hardly any pitch or woods; I wouldn't know they were there unless I was looking for them. The honey and saffron glide through with their golden dust. The honey grabs the dragon's blood and frankincense and they get delightfully zingy. The fuzzy amber and bit of soft patchouli round out the whole thing, and add a lot of depth. It gets quieter...sweet, creamy, and slightly powdery from the resins, while keeping a red juiciness about it. I love it.

[donkehpoo]

Wet: I have to agree with the above reviewer; "dark pink chocolate" is a PERFECT description for this. Chocolate and dragon's blood smells awesome together, apparently! There's something a tad bit resinous underneath it, that keeps this blend from going too sweet.

 

Dry: The chocolate and dragon's blood are still playing nice. This is definitely DARK chocolate with a splash of dragon's blood. The wet and dry stages are both very similar on me, but the dry stage smells less 'juicy', if that makes sense. Very happy I pulled the trigger on this!

 

 

4/5

[aphrodite]

This is the first bottle I've ever purchased from the lab without having tried a decant first. I just knew. (Well, I knew there was a very good chance I would love it, and I knew it was limited and I didn't want to wait for a decant and then have to scurry to order it, so. )

 

First sniff: So freaking delicious. Dark, complex chocolate. Definitely some hints of dragon's blood, honey, and vanilla, but mostly chocolate.

 

Wet: Same. Fairly close to skin, so I added some more.

 

Drying down: Same, but with the other notes I already mentioned making themselves a bit more known. There's some amber peeking out too. Very close to skin - I applied more. And then some more. And then scampered off to the grocery store (by foot) before I could cannibalize myself for all the deliciousness of this scent.

 

Dry: Unabashedly walking through the Whole Foods parking lot with my wrist against my nose. I'm in love. It's deep chocolate and amber, but the chocolate is like a dark chocolate that's been infused with vanilla, honey, dragon's blood, and a hint of saffron. Maybe one or two of the other ingredients listed, but my nose can't quite distinguish them.

 

Overall: It's foodier than I could wear daily, so I probably won't buy a backup, but delicious enough that I will definitely be keeping my bottle. I woke this morning and it was still there (still very close to the skin, but with great lasting power) and was a warm, glowing amber cocoa. The way I wish Gelt smelled on me. I normally try to wear a different BPAL every day since I have so many that I haven't tried or haven't made up my mind about, but it was already there anyway so I applied some more. The patchouli thankfully doesn't amp on me (it tends to even in small amounts, but thankfully I amp chocolates, honeys, DB and vanillas), the amber doesn't turn powdery, nothing goes wrong. Again, it won't become my signature or favorite, but I will thoroughly enjoy using this bottle on the right occasions for hopefully a long time.

[AmyO'Shields]

This shot into my top 10...it's a perfect combination of dark chocolate, dragon's blood resin and patchouli with the vanilla/honey and saffron sweetening and softening it all up. Oh holy mother of yum...this is the 13 I have been wanting...Bravo Brian. 10+/10

[ih8perfume]

O hai, Lookingglass! O hai, Herb Girl!

 

Why in the world am I surprised to see you here?

 

Whell, hell. Does this have cardamom??? This smells eerily similar to "Milk Chocolate, Coconut, Cardamom, Rum, and Ginger Truffle", which didn't work for me.

 

Or maybe its the honey. Much as Honey sounds like pure unadulterated win to me, it is hit or miss on my skin. O = ....... Against Idleness & Mischief =

 

My only hope is that I had the pink & green 13 (white chocolate, peach, massoia bark) leftovers on my skin from last night and the dregs are messing with my smeller. Because right now, it smells a little like sour milk, artificial fragrance note, and ancient essence of crotch sweat.

 

<Trudges off to bathroom to wash, while a lone tear streaks down her face>

 

ETA: My Moms tried this on today and it smelled much better on her. I could pick out the cocoa and patchouli, but none of the lovely incense notes I love so well.

 

ETA2: I am compelled to add that I was so certain that this would work for me that I tried it again. Guess my sniffer was having an off day because, while not my favorite, it is MUCH MUCH MUCH nicer than my first experience.

 

I've been wearing it for two days straight.

 

I must say, it is VERY subtle on my skin. Maybe its the oak or hiba, but there is a ~not~ sweet note where I am expecting something sweet and it keeps throwing my nose off balance. Maybe that's not a bad thing. Could even be right in keeping with the spirit of Friday the 13th.

Edited July 23, 2012 by ih8perfume

[suki]

In The Bottle: Dark, syrupy cacao with some nice deep vanilla playing at the edges.

 

Wet On Skin: The bitter green of the hiba wood is showing up a tad in the background and there's a 4th player as well, but I honestly can't quite put my finger on it. It's maybe the opoponax, as there is some spice there that's reminding me of Pink Moon '07...

 

Dry Down: Wow. This had changed *dramatically*. The Dragon's Blood is out and about, with some honey, but not in the sweet fae feminine combo we see in Dragon's Milk, because the sharp edge of the cacao is keeping it more adult, along with the patchouli making it a little more sexy, sultry.

 

In All: Light to medium throw, this 13 is unlike any I've tried before. My (limited) experience with Brian's blends, however, leads me to believe this is right on par with his style- dark, sinister, sexy and always a surprise. It's apparent already that this is absolutely going to get better with age- I look forward to re-testing in the fall when the crisp weather and gathering gloom will make for the romantic bedfellows this scent so richly deserves.

 

 

[ajansuz]

This 13 is just...wow. It's the most chocolatey of the 13s I've tried to date. I started back in August of 2010 for a reference point to that.

 

In the bottle, very deep, dark chocolate with sweet honey and vanilla and an enticing spiciness.

 

Wet, there's a bright floral note. Sometimes dragons blood does that on me, mimics a floral, so I think that's what I'm getting. It is beautiful with the chocolate. There's also an underlying earthiness and spiciness keeping the sweet scents from running away with the blend.

 

The only complaint I have about this is that it doesn't have much lasting power or throw on me. Within two hours, I could barely smell anything at all. For those two hours, it was bliss. This is the dark chocolate answer to April's white chocolate 13 for me. I adore both, and I'm very glad I bought a bottle of this.

[KatharinaNordh]

" like artisan made raspberry cremes (quote adapted) ...and INCENSE!"

 

This sums it up for me - and it is Delicious!

 

ETA that ok, I realise my review doesn't bring anything extra - sorry about that - but given how different one oil can smell on different people, it may be helpful for someone to know that the happy description above wasn't just a one-off

 

...Now to go stalk the Sales and Swaps forums hoping that someone dislikes theirs - I knew there was a bad side to falling in love with this

Edited July 25, 2012 by Asinya

[calivianya]

Whoa, this is good. I'm agreeing with both the pink and raspberry comments. It is definitely a pink sort of dark chocolate scent. There is something sharp lurking underneath the sweetness that keeps it from going in total foody direction. I think it may be the burgundy pitch, I found this description off of a website: "strong forest-like fragrance, balsamic, fresh, slight fruity undertone." I am so glad the dragon's blood is behaving itself. Every other blend with that in it that I've tried has turned to nasty rotting fruit.

 

I really couldn't be more surprised with how this one turned out. I bought it on impulse, realize that dragon's blood and chocolate were in it and it would probably be horrible, but... somehow it works. Fantastic.

[patina]

Whoa. Now that is some powerful cocoa. I can detect a tiny hint of red dragon's blood underneath. I get cherry cordials only because I've never had raspberry cremes. Sad but true.

 

The honey makes this syrupy and wonderfully sweet, but I'm concerned that the faint tinge of baby powder it adds will amp and ruin the scent for me eventually. Right now it's mostly dark and rich with buried resins.

 

This is like a chocolate flavored Womb Furie on me.

 

I may not be a big fan of chocolate in perfume, but this is really nice.

 

Edit: Powderiness has not amped. Instead there's some pitch and myrrh coming out underneath lending a slightly spicy smell. This gets better and better.

Edited July 28, 2012 by patina

[violetblue]

Have any of you ever tried a flavored tootsie roll candy/lolly? This is total raspberry tootsie roll to me (when just applied), with an incense/resin in the background. I have never smelled anything like this and I keep sniffing my wrists trying to figure out what else this smells like. Really different - maybe a bit heavy for the hot summer but I see myself using this when it gets cooler and I want a comforting snuggly scent.

[Dark Alice]

Dark chocolate raspberry. On my skin. From wet to dry.

[dreamingjune]

In bottle: Dark chocolate, a deep oak note and something fruity?

 

Wet: Definitely rich dark chocolate and some of my beloved Dragon's Milk peeking through.

 

Dry: This is really quite sweet on me. I am getting a sweet berry note that many others are getting, but it is also going the direction of Womb Furie. I am not really getting the wood or balsams notes in here.

 

Overall: Cacao is usually a major win for me, but on my skin there is more of a rich chocolate note that I am just not quite into. There is something almost sour here that keeps me from loving it as I should. However, I could see this being absolutely divine on others. So curious to see how this one ages..

[manuberu]

.

Edited February 13, 2013 by manuberu

[Innocuousmold]

This is the first 13 I've ever tried, yay!

 

I think everyone has already hit it on the head- this is dark chocolate with a pink/raspberry quality over incense. It's seriously to die for, and the dragon's blood appeases the goth in me. I definitely see myself wearing this frequently.

[Blood onmy hands]

This isn't as dark, heavy and rich as I was hoping for. I wanted cocoa, vanilla bean, myrrh and amber to stand out, but it's pretty much a faint chocolate and wood scent on my skin. As it dries down, it's like faint chocolate and a whiff of faded Dragon's Milk with a hint of pencil shavings. I'm really hoping that this one improves with age, because the list of notes sound dreamy to me.

[ljaylh]

Proving once again that Brian can do no wrong in my eyes when it comes to creating smellies... this Thirteen is scrumptious! Scrum-diddly-dumptious, even.

 

The chocolate note isn't bitter at all on me - actually it's really quite dry and dusky, kind of similar to the chocolate/amber feel of Gelt. It does have a touch of warmth/spice to it - but I wouldn't say it's spicy. It's yummy and sumptuous without being all CHOCOLATE. It's not obviously chocolate, it's just chocolate-ish. And it's not really foody as such - it's definitely more in the incensey/woodsy camp - but it's also kinda snuggly. I wouldn't complain if this had a bit more darkness/richness to it - if I could somehow just turn the dial up a couple more notches - it's not 'weak' or 'soft' as a fragrance, but I still would like it to be just a bit.. err... more. The honey manages to be almost invisible for well over an hour, but starts to amp more once the chocolate starts wearing off at about the 90-minute mark (damn you, honey). The surprise win in here for me is the mix of the resins with the cacao - I had a feeling that cacao + DB was going to be awesome, but I wasn't sure about the opp/frank/myrrh on top- I figured this one was either going to be a spectacularly epic stinkfest on me.. or a spectacularly scrumptious smell-o-rama. Thankfully, it's the latter.

 

Honey that doesn't smell like baby poo? Check!

Smooth wood and patchouli? Check!

Dusky soft amber? Check!

Comfy blankety balm? Check!

Om nom nom vanilla? Check!

 

And for the bonus points.. does it have good staying power on my skin? *drum roll* Check!

 

DING!! DING!! DING!!

 

This one's a winner.

 

Oh - and I'm really not getting 'pink' like others have mentioned.. on me this feels more like a deep burgundy. Like Ron Burgundy. Yes, this is the Ron Burgundy of 13s.

[zankoku_zen]

Dark chocolate, amber, patchouli, and dragon's blood. The chocolate note is soft and cocoa-like, a la Gelt, and smells sweet, with a touch of amber and patchouli to ground it. It definitely smells sweeter on wet, and almost like there is a light cherry note to it.

 

To me, it really does smell like amazing dark chocolate, particularly on the drydown. It's a very soft, chocolate blend after about an hour. At this point, its almost if I got cocoa powder on my wrist.

[milo]

Bittersweet cocoa at first, kind of like milk chocolate, but with an extra 'kick'. Fades into a honeyed chocolate with a touch of resins. I really like this, as honey does play nice with me, so it's kind of like a chocolatey Womb Fury on me with the resins and honey. I like this, and glad I have a decant.

[JazzieCazzie]

My last entry from the Ts as I move into the final stages of testing, reviewing and revisiting every BPAL scent I have ... purchased a bottle of this on the forum a few months ago, and am testing from an imp I decanted from said bottle.

 

IN THE IMP: A light and slightly fruity chocolate, though there are no fruits listed in the notes ... someone else described this as Pink Chocolate and I'd say, at first sniff, that's a great description.

 

Applied on wrist and in crook of arm.

 

WET: Light, slightly spicy and more chocolatey than chocolate ... not sure if that makes sense but it does in my mind. It's sweet and sort of gourmand-y, a little nutty and light.

 

DRYDOWN: I keep thinking there is something SO familiar about this scent and I finally realize it smells like a chocolate Tootsie Pop.

 

OVERALL: For whatever reason, it doesn't really work for me, although there is not a single note in this that I don't like. I think if I could have turned it into two different blends -- one with the cocoa, honey, vanilla and even the saffron to make it different, and one with the dragon's blood, galangel, opoponax, frankincense, myrrh, amber, patchouli etc. etc. etc. I'd have had two fabulous keeper scents.

 

Instead, I have a scent that was really interesting to test-drive but will, in the end, go onto my soon-to-be-comprehensive swap list.

 

On a scale of 1-5, I give it a 3.5 for effort.

[mymymai]

ITB: The full force of the cacao assaults my nose. I'm having trouble getting past this on my initial sniff. After I spend some time, I can tease out the patchouli and the vanilla bean, but the cacao is rather intense.

 

Wet: Ah, here we go. Cacao, honey, vanilla, something that comes off as floral, and opoponax.

 

Dry: Now it's like fiery, resinous cacao from the dragon's blood. I can still pick up the vanilla, but now there is some saffron, frankincense, myrrh, and amber. It's delicious!

[Poenari]

I rarely purchase Thirteens - I have only tried three. I had never tried any of Brian's creations and realized that I was missing out on something special. When I read that this 13 was created by Brian, and then read the notes, with dragons blood added to the cacao? I knew I needed a bottle of this right away. So here we are, over a year later and I'm finally reviewing it. I retested it this morning, and OMG it has aged so beautifully. There is a darkness but a sweetness to this blend. The cacao is prominent, but the dragons blood is definitely present and overall this has aged into smelling the way I wish Chocovine, that nasty chocolate/wine concoction, actually tasted.

 

Love this one!

[Alethia]

Thoughts before testing: I've never tried a 13 before because I don't like chocolate in my perfume. But this was released on my birthday last year, and even though I initially passed I immediately regretted it. My lovely mother gifted me with a bottle this Monday, so here we are! I'm not really expecting this to work due to the cacao and the long list of notes (the BPALs that work best on me are the ones with shorter note lists), but let's see what happens!

 

Wet: Strong chocolate and dragon's blood resin; it's like being in The Heart of the Dragon (a local metaphysical shop where they burn DBR incense) and eating a really good strong dark chocolate bar. Quite lovely actually.

 

Dry down: The patchouli and amber make more of an appearance and it changes from the foody wet stage to a really sophisticated, dark, smooth scent. I'm really surprised at how much I like the cacao here.

 

Dry: This dries down to a really lovely, smooth scent. The cacao is completely in the background after about 90 minutes and I get a strong smooth vanilla mixed with the DBR (which is surprisingly amazing here) and just a touch of honey with a lovely backing of resins. Smooth, dark, and absolutely beautiful.

 

Final thoughts: I never thought I would like a blend with chocolate/cacao, but this is wonderful. It's complex and sticks close to my skin. This will definitely be getting a lot of love from me this fall/winter!

 

Verdict: Keeping

[alterosen]

I, too, get the Tootsie Rolls comparison but a lot of the chocolate scents do that on me so I'm not worried. It is pretty strong with a hint of pinkness, raspberry rather than cherry to my nose. No dragon's blood, fortunately, because that usually smells like lilac on me & as adventurous as I am with my edible chocolate, I really dislike lilac & wouldn't want it mixed in here. On drydown, something familiar emerges - honey with a hint of vanilla. I don't notice any incense & any wood is smoothly mixed in with the Tootsie Rolls note, if it is there. This is a rather yummy scent with pretty good staying power. I suspect my kids are going to nab it

[gloame]

First sniff: warm, dry chocolate. Chocolate fudge brownies, fresh from the oven. I love trying out all the variations on 13. This one I'm just now trying for the first time, 5 years later, so I don't know what it was like right from the lab. But now: brownies. Many many brownies. Very hard to low carb right now. All the 13s are chocolate forward but this one seems to be THE MOST chocolate forward of all.

 

Where I'd wear it: Baking Sunday with granny, and licking the spoon clean