Chaos Theory VII: Oriental

[claudia6913]

These scents possess sensual, languid bases, including amber, benzoin, tonka, balsams, and dark, warm vanillas.

 

This is bottle #125. This is a rather low fill just barely at the top of the shoulder and is clear with a slightly yellow tinge.

 

Bit of citrus, maybe some orange blossom. I smell a bit of balsam or maybe a hint of pine. It's a sweet, piney, citrusy scent with just a hint of floral. Has a touch of resin, possibly amber.

[abejita]

Oriental is my favorite scent category, to the point where I'd say that about 80-90% of my collection veers this way. I don't have a signature scent, but I am instantly attracted to every sort of vanilla (and benzoin, and tonka!), I just prefer it in non-overtly foody blends.

 

#196 - Oil is clear. White amber is dominant. Specifically white amber. I think there is a light skin musk/white musk along with it. Pretty in an understated way. It smells clean, but not soapy. Clean skin with light amber perfume. Intimate, but not at all animalic (the musk is not that kind of musk). Dry, but avoids being powdery. I keep thinking there is a touch of lavender, but it morphs into something else, a very slight astringency.

 

#200 - Oil is slightly orange-tinged yellow. This one is maddening. I recognize a central, dominant note that I got from a Chaos Theory II bottle. I loved it then, I love it now. What IS it? Argh. It's sweet, but not cloying or candy. I have a slight knee-jerk "orchid" response, but it's not overwhelmingly floral. It has something in common with the original Dark Delicacies perfume. Oh, Beth, you confound me. In a good way. Some sweet myrrh present. Edit: The scent has settled and now I detect a touch of orris and some pink carnation.

 

Both are gentle and understated, without being bland. I could see these as oils I wear on days I'm just not sure what I feel like wearing. Neither are screechingly perfume-y in the way that Orientals can be. Keepers.

Edited August 4, 2015 by abejita

[Anaire]

I purchased, on destash, bottle #87.

 

I get a floral incense scent, with a hint of the amber in it. I can't place the floral, it's rather sharp and heavy on initial application.

 

Ultimate drydown is a warm ambery incense with a hint of floral.

 

I also tried this on DH and it ended up going heavier to what he described as a "forest meadow with flowers" (hinting at pine?).

 

So it's a total morpher. I love it enough to wear it often the last couple of weeks.

[Anaire]

Bought bottle #1 off of destash.

 

I think it's Black Narcissus while wet with a hint of, I’m guessing, clove. Wet phase, on me, is rather ugly but it only lasts about 15 minutes.

 

It dries down to a gorgeous floral sweet spice. I can get whiffs of vanilla in there and it lasts a good few hours before I end up with an eminently huffable vanilla incense scent that reminds me of “A Stroll through the Quarter”. I could be wrong but I think there might be some oleander in there as well.

 

Keeper!

[littlesparrow]

I got number 267. Wet, it smells like fresh Snake Oil. Dry, it smells like Snake Oil but with a slightly astringent, animalic quality perhaps? Maybe it IS Snake Oil and I got the joke bottle and the labbies are going to be reading this review like (Seriously though, how amazing would it be if they released the lists of notes for all the Chaos Theories and we could all go and see how close our noses were to the truth?!) ANYhow, I love Snake Oil so I'm very happy with this bottle and I'm looking forward to seeing how it ages.

[titania]

Not certain about the notes, but it smells like warmed-through strawberries, buttery cakey pastry, and foodie sugar/vanilla/amber? incense. I hit the JACKPOT.

[iriedanym]

I bought my bottle off of BPAL Sales Madness on Facebook. It's bottle #15. in the bottle is smells like soft amber. On the skin it's faint, with amber and a hint of spiciness. Thankfully the spiciness isn't something that makes my skin itch! After a hour and drydown this scent gets ramped up on my skin into a lovely amber and spiciness. I am so glad I bought this bottle because it's exactly the type of notes that I adore.

[alterosen]

#187

 

This is pretty much all white florals on me - I'm not really sure what kind, maybe a little jasmine. They're melding into a soapiness that is reminiscent of what floral gums candy tastes like (for the record, I do like to eat those, but not smell like them). Strong & long lasting.

[Teaotter]

#187 - from the same decanting circle as Alterosen's review above.

 

In the imp: clean white musk and bright white florals, very soapy. Not promising, since those hardly ever work on my skin. Oh well.

 

Wet: White musk and white leather, brightened by jasmine. Every so often, jasmine decides to play well with me, and this is one of those times. No soap to be had. Yay!

 

Dry: I'm pretty sure jasmine isn't the main floral note, but white florals work so seldom on my skin that I'm not very familiar with them. This is mostly white musk and leather, with enough floral elements to sweeten it up a bit. When I put my nose right against my skin, I can smell something peppery and a little bit cedar-ish, with maybe a hint of lavender.

 

Verdict: this is definitely a winner on my skin!

 

I never would've ordered a decant of this if I'd had any idea of the notes, but it works so well for me, I'm definitely glad I got it. One of the things I love about Chaos Theories is how they knock me out of my usual comfort zone and let me try out perfumes I'd usually rule out.

[Lady_Fire]

CT Oriental #206 was an interesting ride. I don't think I've ever experienced a cedar topnote before (it evaporated within the first 5 minutes or so, whereas usually I amp it more than other notes), but it definitely has one. Then it goes a little in the hairspray/bugspray floral direction for a short time, finally setting in as a sort of light creamsicle-vanilla, possibly with a bit of floral or amber support. Overall maybe it's a little like Pallas Athene, because that has a similar drydown on me.

 

I swapped for bottle 206. It starts off a strong incense to me, heavy on the frankincense, which is giving it a citrus-y sort of vibe. As it dries I also get that bug spray smell, which I associate with rose. So I think there is a hefty dose of rose in here too. Dry, that rosiness has faded slightly but the frank is still detectable with it's citrus tang. I'm not getting any vanilla sadly. I don't particularly care for this, but I think my mom or sister might, who both love florals and incense, which I think this has both in spades.

 

edit: Now that I've been wearing it for a couple hours it has indeed calmed down into a soft, sweet vanilla type scent. I still think I smell rose, and some sort of resin (maybe the frankincense I smelled earlier?) that does give it a slight creamsicle scent.

Edited July 13, 2015 by Lady_Fire

[stellamaris]

I have Oriental 309 here. This smells like gorgeous and winning. That is all.

[MoonriseSiren]

My bottle is marked #114. I noticed someone else's bottle was apparently also marked with the same number, so I dunno what's up with that. Is that common? This is the first time I've ever ordered a Chaos from the Lab.

In the bottle, it's very fruity and bright. It sort of reminds me of Eris, but less fruity than Eris was. It also has a hint of something wilder and windswept, so I'm thinking some sort of balsam was the base note for this.

On the skin, it remains pretty fruity, but something a bit sharper rises up. A lemon scent? I think there might be something peppery mixed in as well.

It's very interesting. I think...I might like it? I will admit to being a teeny bit disappointed; I was hoping for something sexier, with tonka or benzoin perhaps. It will be interesting to see how it ages though!

[cameroncrazed]

Decant of Oriental #190

 

Wet in decant: Pure cherry or almond; I can’t tell those two apart. It's so strong that I can't detect anything else.

 

Wet on skin: Cherry or almond, with a base of leather? A hint of something sweet and citrusy, but it’s just barely there. There’s something about this one that reminds me strongly of Aizen-Myoo, so I’m guessing there’s some cherry blossom and maybe yuzu is that citrusy note.

 

Dry on skin: Absolutely beautiful! Some of the harsher notes in the wet stage disappear, and it gets lighter, sweeter, and creamier. Very much like sweetened cherry blossom floating on a base of tonka and maybe some amber. The cherry/almond note has almost disappeared, but if I breathe in deeply I can find it. I’ve completely lost those hints of leather and yuzu. I think there might be a touch of sandalwood as well, but it’s so faint that I’m not positive. It reminds me so much of a lot of my favorite scents that contain orris root, so I think that might be in there as well.

 

Overall impressions: There’s not much throw; it lingers really close to my skin. This has led to me burying my head in the crook of my elbow trying to sniff myself all day. The scent is incredibly long-lasting, though. I put it on first thing this morning and it’s endured all day and didn’t wash off in my evening bath! This is another very “me” scent – I know I’ve been describing a lot of my Chaos Theory decants like this, but it’s true! I’ve gotten so very lucky this round This one is so gorgeous I wish that it (or something very much like it) was offered again so I could buy a huge stockpile of it!

[JazzieCazzie]

Bought three CTs because, you know, I love the mystery and game of chance.

 

ORIENTAL #311

 

In the bottle: Unlike my single bottles of Gourmand and Woods, which hit me like a ton of bricks on sniffing, this is so light I can't quite get a feel for anything other than possibly some sort of very light flower.

 

Wet: Super-duper light. More than notes I'm getting "feels" ... it's very clean, maybe slightly soapy. I still do think it's a floral but maybe something like a lemon-verbena or even cherry blossom or something. I DON'T think it's lotus or anything in that family because that tends to make me queasy and this is pleasant if not recognizable. Definitely not anything like amber or benzoin or any of the notes I love and had been hoping for. Maybe tonka?

 

Dry: So light it's barely noticeable on me. Very pleasant. Not a wash off but not something I'd reach for, only in part because I have no idea what it is.

 

Overall: Pleasant. Definitely not something that's a keeper but nothing offensive. Probably a good starter scent for someone.

[cameroncrazed]

I've got a decant of #187 like alterosen and TeaOtter. This one's just not working for me, at all

 

 

Wet in decant: Gack. What IS that? It's so chemically smelling. Vaguely reminds me plastic or new car scent (is that a leather note?). I really don't want to try this, at all.

 

Wet on skin: Rotting leather. I don’t get any jasmine or floral notes. There's something there that might be musk, but it's very faint under the very, very wrong leather note.

 

Dry on skin: The rotting note has toned down a bit, but I'm still not enjoying. I'm not getting any florals or soapiness or anything redeeming. I was hoping I'd get jasmine, but if it's in there, it's not coming out to play. That's a bit strange since I tend to amp jasmine, but I'm apparently amping the leather and something else far, far more. It's vaguely, slightly powdery. Antique Lace is one of those scents that everyone tends to love but that plays very badly on my skin – this one is strongly reminding me of that. Maybe it's some of the same florals from that? I'm getting a headache from this; need to go wash off.

 

 

Overall: This one just doesn't work with my skin chemistry. I'm glad that I did see good reviews of this one; that gives me more confidence that I'll be able to re-home this one to someone that can wear it without problems Oh well, I'm 5/6 on Chaos Theories this year, which is a great percentage – and the rest are such loves that I'm not disappointed.

[annemathematics]

#26

 

straight from the mailbox, this was my favorite of the CTs. it was the most wearable when fresh. mostly a nice vanilla base that turned confusing and muddled on the dry down.

 

after a few weeks, in the bottle the scent turned into strong red tea backed by mango. very nice, very strange. not as wearable on me now as when it was fresh, so I ended up rehoming it to someone who will hopefully wear the heck out of it.

[white_jenna63]

#193

 

Citrus industrial cleanser. There might be some white musk in here, and maybe a resin/incense that's going powdery on me.

[alterosen]

#191 (decant)

 

Strong citrus & pine - kind of orangey at first, then more pine, then something peppery, really peppery - I'm almost thinking chili rather than black. Possibly some resin under it all but I couldn't say what kind. It sounds chaotic alright but it actually works together well. It's not a pretty scent but it is very interesting - my nose keeps returning to my wrist!

[DJ Sin]

# 249

 

I am guessing lavender, tonka and orchid. Very floral!

[zankoku_zen]

Oriental 245

 

This one breaks my head a little - there's something that smells like green musk, a touch of orchid, maybe even a blush orange blossom. This one has a green planty musk whiff at the very end of the drydown.

[dottie_doom]

Decant of #247

I have to admit, I am really bad at picking out individual notes. To me this one smells like a sweet, fresh orange blossom with perhaps a little musk (green?) thrown in. It's fresh and warm at the same time, the citrus notes are predominant with a lingering sweetness. Overall I quite enjoy this scent.

Edited August 4, 2015 by dottie_doom

[quickdrawkiddo]

I've got a decant of bottle 242 and it is BRACING. It's almost entirely ozone, with something soft and powdery underneath that's making it veer toward laundry detergent rather than rain. It's not exactly what I think of when I think "oriental," but it's pleasant. If your dream is to smell like laundry fresh off the line, this is the CT for you!

[zankoku_zen]

Oriental #248

 

Bracing mandarin citrus, white florals, and did I mention mandarin? It's sweet, sporty and juicy. Fun and summery.

Edited August 7, 2015 by zankoku_zen

[zankoku_zen]

Oriental #244

OMG, this is like a super red juicy fruit. I get red currants, touch of benzoin, and something else that almost smells like champagne grapes.

 

Oriental #250

This one is a much more traditional floral perfume. I get something powdery, a hint of sandalwood, and some bright lime-rimned white floral.

[Mountaingrrl00]

Oriental #19 has an initial opium note that's a bit like hairspray, followed by a warm, deep sandalwood underneath. There might be a little bit of fruit here, and something of the ambergris accord that's in Autumn Overlooked My Knitting.

 

Edit: The opium note fades away on drydown, leaving the sandalwood note and a vanilla sweetness. Good staying power, medium throw.

 

Second edit: Wearing it another time, I get a strong impression of Chanel No. 5, and the BPAL scent Ozymandias. This is weird, not only because I didn't pick up on this association on previous tests, but also because the top notes I'm catching are what give No. 5 its "arctic air" impression and Ozymandias its "dry desert air" feel. Well, I suppose they're both "air" notes. I'd love to know the ingredients, but they'll remain a secret, even to the creator.

Edited September 15, 2015 by Mountaingrrl