Thirteen (13): October 2006

[SultryWolf]

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?

In our paean to all the mysteries surrounding this enigmatic number, there are thirteen lucky and unlucky components: cocoa and vanilla beans, Mysore sandalwood, star fruit, orange rind, red amber, fig leaf, mimosa, rooibos tea, bourbon geranium, rose otto, nutmeg, and lavender.

This review is for the Oct 2006 formulation.

I don't have my bottle with me, and I'd like to give it another sniff to accurately report the sniffage therefrom, so I'm going to just move on to the "On" description.
[Your assignment - parse the above sentence! j/k!]

Starts off sweet - not strongly chocolate or vanilla or orange, but a nice balance of the three, and not strongly foody. (Yay! I'm not a foodist.) There's also an almost-cologne aroma, which I can't identify, and which fades quickly. Moments later, florals appear, then the woods and resins. When I sniff now, T-3hrs after (a light) application, I get mostly sandalwood with a bit of vanilla.

The throw is moderate, and the staying power is good.

Like, don't love. Definitely a comfort scent. I predict this formulation will be at least as popular as its elder sister.

ETA (one hour later): Starting to love! Darn thing has really grown on me.

[angharad]

10/13/2006 formulation:

 

From the bottle, hints of cocoa, whiffs of orange rind, and lots of sandalwood. Upon initial application, it all blends together so well that I can't pick out any individual notes. I do agree with SultryWolf's remark about the "cologne"-like aroma; it fades after about 15 minutes, and the florals come into play. I'm no good at identifying any of the individual floral notes, but they are there, playing openly with the sandalwood which had made a grand reappearance. I'm so glad I don't get overwhelmed with tea! So far it's got pretty good throw, and I'll update to say how the scent progresses and how long it lasts.

 

ETA 20 minutes later: Something (the vanilla, I think) is peeking out to sweeten this up a bit more. The more I think about it, the more I think the "cologne"-like aroma may have come from the rooibos tea, maybe a combination of that with the sandalwood. (Sandalwood is still the dominant note in this for me.) I get hints of the rooibos tea every now and then, but when I try to breathe deeper and verify, it disappears again...which is odd because normally tea is one of those notes that jumps out and yells, "LOOK AT ME!!!!!!!!" as soon as it hits my skin. Whatever it is, right now the vanilla's making the scent sweeter, which is making me like it even more.

 

ETA 1 hour + later: By now, the florals have disappeared, and the scent is a bit faint. Vanilla has taken over as the dominant note, but the sandalwood is still noticeable. I think the cocoa is making a reappearance, too, but it's very faint.

Edited November 3, 2006 by angharad

[Teggy]

First impression: Orange soap.

 

I had to let this dry for a while and wait it out. It reminded me of another perfume, but I couldn't figure it out till now. It smells almost identical to a combo of Body Shop perfumes I wear together (Altaro + Amorito), but maybe a hair fruitier.

 

13 definately becomes a rather indescribeable scent. As stated earlier, it's not quite fruity, or foody, or floral. It lands somewhere in between all that. *sniffs again* Definately a warm, comfort kind of scent. Good for fall/winter. Could be worn in the daytime. It's not really sexy enough to be a date scent. This would also work on a guy or even a child.

 

/end rambling

[Deiicide]

To be honest, I can't really tell much about this blend aside from something that starts to smell sharp in the beginning and then fades in and out from what it smelled to the beginning coming round.

At first it's all dusty chocolate and rich vanilla. There is a nice depth added to the tea, actually to my nose it smells like a really good vanilla and chocolate tea. It starts to try down rather cologney as others have mentioned before and then back to more of the vanilla and chocolate concoction. There lavender in there is hiding but other then that all the other scents are hard to pick out. Not in a bad way, but in a good seemless way.

This is a more posh version of 13's older sister. Hardly any throw at all and sticks close to the skin upon myself.

[ariedana]

In the bottle: Chocolate orgasmic goodness. Chocolate and orange, mostly.

 

On Skin: Hey, where did the chocolate go? I agree with the reviews before -- it definitely has a perfumey scent, and it's hard to smell anything beyond lots and lots of sharp generic spice. Not fond of this part at all.

 

In Drydown: Around 30 minutes afterward, the chocolate peeks back out, and the orange, vanilla and sandalwood become the most prominent. It hangs around fairly well, too -- could still smell it until about 6 hours later (my skin eats scent, so this is typical for a really long-lasting oil.)

 

Throw: Pretty decent -- I could still smell it easily without sniffing my wrist for a couple of hours.

 

Overall: I was hoping for a chocolate Underpants, and it's at least in the neighborhood. Right now, I like the Candy Butcher better, but I have a feeling this will be getting some fair use in the future. I'll just have to learn to tolerate the first part.

[sookster]

straight sniff from bottle this *is* chocolate/orange/vanilla goodiness!!

 

nothing at all like past 13's...amen!! as none of them worked and i never got

any of the lovely foodie/gourmandiness ...

 

this warms up and reminds me a great deal of the candy butcher but more orange...this is also sophisticated...and morphs to no end...i have had it on for

about 30 minutes now and it has just changed again to the warmest most wonderful cocoa cashmere sweater...it is so like that...and it is "perfumey" ....

which astonishes me because it is achingly gorgeous...normally "perfumey" means

"end all" for me...not this one...i love it to pieces

[charmingdetails]

Oh, wow. I love this right away! It's so well blended, it's hard to discern the individual notes. I mostly get a soft cocoa and a vague, gentle sweetness. Not much orange here. I agree with other reviewers that this is not particularly foody nor is it overtly floral. It's complex, I can't quite put my finger on it! This scent has a surprisingly fresh feel, maybe due to the lavender. And I detect tea- it reminds me of Dorian, just a little, and the sandalwood note mingled with sweetness puts me in mind of Underpants, although this is less sweet.

 

Wow, this is GOOD. Not too sweet, not too strong... just really, really nice. Light throw, decent staying power. I can't stop sniffing my wrists. So glad I bought a bottle!

[nineveh]

This is so not me but I really like it so far!

 

It starts out very chocolate and orange. Then that perfumy aspect emerges that others have mentioned, along with a buttery note. It smells like something from Bath and Body Works at this point. Once it's totally dry, the mysore sandalwood really comes out, and now it reminds me so much of Santal de Mysore by Serge Lutens (one of the Paris exclusives). It's warm, woody, sweet, and still a little perfumy.

 

For those of you concerned about the florals, I am averse to them too, and thankfully nothing in here is striking me as "I'm a floral scent!" It dries down to mostly the sandalwood and vanilla. Everything else is so well-blended that I can't even begin to pick them out. It's beautiful!

 

edit: After this has been on for many hours, the sandalwood has faded and a somewhat bitter herbal smell is all that's left. It reminds me of vitamins, and I got the same scent from Madrid, so I think it's the mimosa.

Edited November 5, 2006 by nineveh

[minnalavender]

Wow - 13 is one complex scent.

 

In the bottle: spicy, floral cocoa, but not foody at all. This is chocolate as it's used in mole rojo, as a savory ingredient rather than a sweet one. It's very faint and somehow delicate.

 

On my skin: what a morpher!! The cocoa note has taken a backseat to the sandalwood, which is strong and woody, and a peppery floral combination. I don't smell any vanilla, orange, or lavender at ALL - not even a smidge of them. Within 15 min. this is strong, peppery florals and tea on me.

 

13 isn't my lucky number. I think this will go off to a better home, where it will be loved.

[space girl lost]

unfortunately i think i was quite correct in my guessing after a few reviews that this would not be a scent for me.

in the bottle it is the most amazing chocolate orange scent ever. juicy and sweet. not overly foody chocolate, but anyone blindly smelling it could tell what it is.

 

wet on skin: not bad. it's less foody and something else is peeking out that i cannot pinpoint.

 

15 min dry on skin: "HELLO! I'M FLORAL!" wtf!?! seriously... it's like crazy floral. no foody chocolate or orange. no sweet vanilla. no tea. FLORAL. my worst nightmare.

 

30 minutes: the OMG FLORAL backs down but there is still no hint of vanilla, chocolate or orange going on. at least not in the sense of "hey! i smell it!". it's all just a sort of soft smoosh of stuff.

 

 

i'm still not sure yet. must give more time but i have a feeling little 13 is going to end up being up for swap. i'm amazingly disappointed.

[jesvet]

The most complex BPAL I've tried so far, and very different from previous 13 formulations.

 

In the bottle- it smells orange; not only like orange rind, but actually like the late afternoon orange light shining through an attic window, dancing on dust motes. An old portrait, slightly yellowed around the edges. I'm not sure what is causing the dust note that others have mentioned but I definitely get it too.

 

Wet, it's a little cocoa, a little orange, a little sweet. I can't decide if it's good or bad- the combination is very nostalgic in some way I can't put my finger on. Must be the tea coming out to play.

 

Dry, the major emergent notes are the vanilla and sandalwood. It has a slightly sweet smell as well so I can see the Dorian mention- not like it at all, but notes that are reminiscent. This scent is quite the olfactory journey.

 

ETA: Several hours later and still going strong, which is rare for me. The final drydown is more floral and it smells almost like it would if you mixed Dorian with some Antique Lace.

Edited November 5, 2006 by jesvet

[batcheva]

This is a very interesting scent to me. Not at all what I would have thought of.

 

On me it smells like cookies. Delicious sugary chocolate cookies. A nice scent but not particularly me. Ah well.

[abejita]

This is an interesting scent. I tried it both on my skin and in a scent locket, with completely different results.

 

In the bottle: Sharp, medicinal lavender with a jumble of other sensory impressions, bitter cocoa.

 

In the locket: Lavender and bourbon geranium dominate, followed by dry cocoa. Some light vanilla and orange. Sharp, new sandalwood. It's not bad, just not to my taste and smells very perfume-y.

 

On my skin: Whoa, hold on a minute. Is this the same blend? Rich, gorgeous chocolate and pure vanilla bean. Hello, red tea! Hello, star fruit! Sweet, complex warmth. The lavender has softened and calmed. I can't pick out the rest of the notes, they blend into a rich warmth.

 

Scents are often different in the locket versus on skin, but I've never had them be so markedly different before. I won't be wearing this in the locket again, but oh, my skin loves it so.

[zenvodunista]

In the bottle: Chocolate & Vanilla, together at LAST!

 

On: I was worried that the sandalwood would go bad on me - it's an iffy note often... But on me this is all Chocolate & Vanilla. The sandalwood is there grounding it, the other stuff is just sweetening it a bit. Maybe a moment of lavender and then it's ball back to Chocolate & Vanilla goodness.

 

And unlike a most other chocolate blends, there is not a hint of the hated hazelnut.

 

I am SO happy! At last I can wear one of my favorite numbers!

 

 

This is a very fun scent. I think it'd be great for pretty much anywhere except for the high/end date, super sexy mama type thing. Totally fine with going out with friends, home cuddling, going to the movies, at work, whatever.

 

Thanks, lab!!!

 

ETA: Yesterday while wearing this, I would notice that the throw (the "sillage") would change a lot. Sometimes it was lavendar, then it was a sweet brightness which I think was mimosa & starfruit, for a bit tea-like. The cool part was that while the throw was morphing, by my skin it stayed true to chocolate/vanilla/sandalwood. By the end of teh day the throw was what was nearest my skin.

 

It's a wonderfully complex scent. And SO much fun. Comforting too.

 

I 13.

 

n.

Edited November 6, 2006 by zenvodunista

[mudpuppy]

My first review!

 

In Bottle: sweet chocolate vanilla...with a bit of a floral undertone. I can smell a bit of the lavender, but it really goes to the background. yumm! I was really looking forward to this scent!

 

Wet on Skin: I still smell a little chocolate but the floral/perfumey undertones are coming out much more strongly. I can really smell the rose on me. ack!!

 

On Drydown: Rose, rose and more rose... *sigh* This smelled so chocolately sweet in the bottle, but turned all rose and lavender floral with my body chemistry.

 

Alas, 13 is not for me. I like rose, but this was just too overpowering for me.

 

I'm also starting to get the impression that my body does not like rose of any flavor. I think this is the fourth scent I've tried that has even the tiniest bit of rose in it and my chemistry just amps that like crazy. Who knew I was allergic to roses

[tamburlaine]

The minimalistic design of the label is lovely and very appealing; there's an eerie meaning behind this formulation, so it's spooky and effective being confronted with nothing but the ominous number 13 on the label.

 

In the bottle: First whiff is definitely chocolate and orange. I also smell a bitterness lurking -- likely the rooibos tea or the orange rind.

 

On the skin: Yes, this is definitely a morpher. Wet it changes from the bitter cocoa/orange to a cocoa floral. I can distinctly smell the mimosa and the lavender is popping up to say hello as well. Luckily, I'm a fan of lavender's, because it become surprisingly dominant in the blend. Just the other day I used Baku and The Candy Butcher because I had been wondering how a lavender/chocolate blend would work out.... and then in my mailbox I find 13. Whaddaya know. The chocolate in this is much more bitter than in The Candy Butcher, however, and the orange rind and the rooibos add a kick to it that is actually slightly unpleasant. Yes, unpleasant, but that's all. I'm surprised as well, but when I take a deep breath of 13/2006, I gag a wee bit. But it ain't awful. I like it, but I can't think of ever wanting to wear it. I may use it as a sleeping blend or put it in my oil burner.

 

Completely dry, it smells like lavender aromatherapy Play-Doh. I really don't mind it, but it's not a scent I'd wear going out. I admit I'm disappointed that I didn't detect more fig leaf -- I love woodsy, musky fig leaf and it's rare to find it in BPAL blends, as they usually stick to the fig fruit proper. All in all, I'd give 2006's formulation of 13 a 3/5.

Edited November 6, 2006 by tamburlaine

[Taniwha]

I'm reviewing with faulty sinuses; the cold I have is keeping me from fully enjoying this, but I can still tell how much I'm going to love it.

 

Wet, it's a creamy orange mixed with the dry cocoa/sandalwood combo that I love so much in Velvet. As it wears, like so many others have said, it really changes. I've been catching whiffs of lavender, of a sharp tea (I've given rooibos tea as a gift, but never tasted it), of vanilla. The cocoa seems a constant underneath it all, though. I'm not getting any of the nutmeg or rose, but there's probably lots I'm not getting at the moment.

 

Like I said, if 13 smells this good with a stuffed up snoot, I can only imagine how great it's going to be when I'm clear. I also think this will age like a dream - I'm so glad I got two bottles.

[HennaFairy]

initially sweet foody, too much so for me (along the lines of underpants perhaps?)

 

dries down and becomes herbal lavender... not bad...

 

now, it's sandalwood, and something.... nicer.

 

not as crazy about this one as i thought i would be. but still very unique. quite the multiple personality scent!

[dawndie]

In bottle: chemical cocoa

 

On skin: the cocoa is more sophisticated than the original 13, it reminds me of the perfumey bite of Stardust, but more foody

 

Half-hour later: yum, the cocoa is more creamy but nothing else stands out, it's so well-blended. If I look for the orange rind, there it is, but it doesn't jump out at me

 

In conclusion: I like this blend more than the original 13 (2005 version), this seems more grown-up and ooh-la-la. I wish it were stronger and lasted longer, or had more of an "oomph!" to it, but not every blend can knock me on my ass with how great it is I'll keep the bottle for now and see if it amps as it ages.

[wolfie13]

In the bottle: chocolate and vanilla and a little bit of orange - almost cakey scent.

 

Wearing: The same for a few minutes, and then it does become rather choco-floralish for awhile when I get a lot of the tea and lavender. A bit later, sandalwood pops out and mellows and blends things quite a bit.

 

After 30 minutes or so: Still pretty chocolatey on me, with vanilla second, and a touch of the flower/tea/wood etc combined as the "third" note. The orange mostly disappeared on me, and I don't get specifics on other notes listed.

 

This is interesting. It's actually what I thought Dia De Los Muertos 2005 would smell like when I got it at that time (however that one ended up being all floral tobacco on me.)

 

In the end though, it's still too much on the chocolate for me. (Never a note that I like, so that's no surprise on my end - I just had to try, though!) I think that fans of the chocolatey versions of Dia, the other 13 and Velvet will be interested!

[GypsyRoseRed]

To think, I almost didn't bother buying this since I wasn't a fan of the original 13! I'm very, very picky when it comes to foody scents, and I'm not a fan of anything overly chocolate-y or buttery so I was anticipating this being doomed to the swap pile. What a lovely surprise! THIS is what I expected and hoped Treat #2 to be, but that ended up smelling just plain *wrong* on me. 13 ends up being a fabulous blend of just the right amount of chocolate (not too much!), orange, and sandalwood with an undercurrent of light vanilla. Strangely enough, it's not overly sweet, either - this ends up smelling mysterious and a little bit sophisticated instead of the gourmand blend I'd expected.

 

Now, why didn't I buy two bottles?

Edited November 7, 2006 by GypsyRoseRed

[spanishviolet]

This is so very beautiful. I liked both previous releases of 13 that I had, especially this spring's, but I can tell this one is even better for me. I can't stop sniffing ... Cocoa, lavender, rooibos, nutmeg, with just a bit of vanilla & sandalwood. It's a very sophisticated foodie blend. Why hasn't anyone combined dry cocoa & lavender before?!

 

[Babylon]

I don't really smell too many of the listed notes on my skin. Doesn't matter, I like what I'm able to smell.

 

Wet: Cocoa, the sharp herbal smell of lavender when it's wet, and a little bit of orange.

 

Dry: It's predominantly cocoa, a bourbon vanilla, and a softened-up lavender. The throw smells like dark chocolate.

 

Mmm, it's pretty good.

[waffelo13]

Oh my, this is one delicious scent! I want to twirl in happiness over 10-06 13! (but can't because I'm at work)

 

In the bottle, it's definitely chocolate, vanilla and orange - it has a chemical bitterness to it.

I can't recall exactly the notes of the initial application, since it was a few hours ago, but I do recall fresh orange and cocoa.

I'm (happliy) not getting the florals that others have mentioned. At the moment one wrist has that slightly perfumey quality, but a spicy perfume - not a cloying one, must be the sandalwood. The other wrist has morphed into a gorgeous warm vanilla and the cocoa has deepened into a dark, rich chocolate. It's very complex and well-blended, I'm in

 

I can't say enough wonderful things about this blend. I do have a feeling that this might not be as long wearing as I would like, but hopefully this will change with age. Actually this smells like an oil that's already been aged... it has that depth to it right from the beginning.

 

And a big "YAY" that I bought two bottles!!! *swoons*

 

ETA: Holy momma I smell so good I can't even stand myself.

Edited November 7, 2006 by Wasabipea

[themerrybaker]

Thirteen is sandalwood, vanilla, nutmeg on me with the other nine contributing "but better". No complaints here.