Thirteen (13): October 2006

[hackess]

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.

Imp: Light chocolate (or maybe it just feels light because of the vanilla bean), orange...and something that feels just a bit spicy or richer. Nutmeg? The tea, maybe?

Wet: The sweetness of ripe juicy star fruit just under the cocoa, and a slight woodsiness from the sandalwood.

Dry: It's foodsy, for sure, as I don't get any of the floral notes until the very end of the scent's life on my skin. Then the geranium comes out in full strength and I can't stop sneezing. 13 is pretty, but not something I'd wear and risk aggravating an apparent allergy.

[alicia_stardust]

The sandalwood, starfruit, and mimosa are the most prominent notes for me. This starts out almost foody, but dries out into a sort of bright but sultry scent that leaves me feeling comforted but leaves my husband leaning in to sniff for more. I think this is a keeper.

[arabella]

October 2006 version

 

First Impression: Chocolate and spice

Dries down to: Deeptens and gets richer

Additional Comments: This verison os more adult than the original. I like both, however.

Lasted: 3-4 hours

Rating: 4 out of 5

[DifferentDances]

Bottle: Chocolatey yumminess.

Wet: Mmmm chocolate. A really nice, rich chocolate.

Drydown: Wait, what's that plastic-y smell? The chocolate's either turning into plastic or some other minor note is amped up to become plastic! Knowing my skin, it's probably the amber or the starfruit. Shoot.

Dry: Out of nowhere, lavender and rose kick in. O_o The plastic is slightly subdued, but it's still there, and making me nauseous.

 

My rating: 2/5. The chocolate was SO nice before my skin chemistry did a whammy on it.

[aleciarivas]

Mmmm first chocolate then white chocolate- then vanilla. Almost every other scent fades into the background and all I end up with is Vanilla with slight, occasional hints of other scents. The thing is, I LOVE this!!! I have tried every vanilla scent I could find before BPAL, and they ALWAYS morph into strange, not-yummy things on me. This is the scent I have been trying to find all along!! It makes me think of the yumminess of adding mexican pure vanilla extract to fresh sugar cookie batter... That yummy, seriously!

[Shollin]

First sniff: Chocolatey with fruit and tea. Decidedly yummy.

 

Wearing: Ooh. It smells like expensive truffles with unexpected gourmet ingredients tucked away inside. Chocolate is definitely the base, slightly bitter dark chocolate, but there’s so much else going on here… a little bit fruity, a little splash of tea, a few drops of vanilla. It’s delectable and I cannot stop sniffing myself.

[jwhxtna]

IN THE IMP: Something fruity that I can't identify, with a little chocolate, some tea, and orange. And some spices. But it smells very perfume-y and not foody in the slightest. Hm. It's very bright and cheery. (But the last time I opened the imp, it smelled a lot like Velvet to me. Which was all chocolate and sandalwood.)

 

WET: Ooh, it turns darker and deeper. Everything's blended really well so I can't distinguish any particular note, but it's good. Pretty sweet, which must be the chocolate and vanilla coming out, and more sensual than before. ... And I'm also getting random wafts of plastic, which isn't very pleasant. I'm starting to wonder if a chocolate blend will ever work properly on me.

 

DRY: Oh, the vanilla has come out a lot more, so it's very sweet and creamy. The plastic comes and goes. There's also some chocolate and sandalwood. It kind of gives me the same feeling Tamora does, in that it's warm and sweet, but in a sensual way.

[kirakira]

Since I'm terrible at deciphering notes, I'm not going to try with this one. I really like unusual scents like this one. I was expecting something foody but this is not foody at all to me. I mainly smell the cocoa and vanilla with a floral undertone. I don't really smell strong spice or fruit although this blend contains both. I will wear this often.

[Emera]

I have been twice smitten in one night - first by Perilous Parlor, then by 13, thanks to a friend wielding a formidably large foodie collection. Oh foodies, why are you so delicious?! (uh... duh.)

 

First on, it's signature BPAL chocolate and crisp, gently spicy lavender. Yum. Only a little bit later, it's rich, creamy vanilla and gentle sandalwood, along with a little bright, citrusy lavender. Final wear, I'm not sure how to describe it as, um, orgasmic. It's the same creamy, perfectly foody vanilla as in Perilous Parlor, like a warm, smooth custard sauce, with a whole slew of bright and blended fruits thrown in. Excellent throw, and I pretty much want to smell like this for the rest of my life. I might also add that I applied it right next to a little patch of Jezebel, which gives me a perfect, pure honey note, so together they're... wow.

[Lyrical]

In bottle: I can smell chocolate, sandalwood and vanilla, and a medley of other yummy notes.

 

Wet on skin: faint at first, but mostly soft chocolate on a gentle, woody background. Yummy!

 

Dry on skin: I think I need to slather this, because it's not very strong. The chocolate note fades into the background, leaving a very soft and pleasant medley of notes, dominated by sandalwood and vanilla.

 

*applies more* Wow - I love this! Chocolate and sandalwood and vanilla, slightly reminiscent of Haloes only nicer, blended with all the other notes so that nothing stands out. I keep using the words "soft" and "gentle", and that's what this scent is.

 

Later on, the chocolate, vanilla and sandalwood fade, and tea and fruit come into prominence, with a malty hint of nutmeg, but it's still a very smooth blend. Good stuff! I layered some Bliss on top, after the chocolate note had faded, and it was a good match.

[gypsysingleton]

Where white label was much more chocolate and tea, ORANGE label is much more FLORAL - I get NO chocolate or vanilla, Little fruit, More of the Spicey (maybe lavender) and Floral (maybe thgeranium). I'm wearing white and orange and I think the white feels more grounded (might be the tea), BUT if you like florals - ORANGE LABEL 13 IS FOR YOU!!!

[jentifer]

First sniff definitely has a lighter, sweet fruit feel that quickly deepens and becomes more herbal. I don't get but a smidge of chocolate from this one, more of a Turkish Delight vibe.

[AEris]

This smells so strongly of yummy dark chocolate caramel from the decant, it was a joy to pop open and smear on my skin.

 

Once it settles with my chemistry, I can still smell the cocoa, along with a hazelnutty-caramel yumminess, some candied orange zest, a little sandalwood, and some contrasting florals - hard to describe.

 

This is so cool! I should try the other formulations!!

 

4.5 out of 5

[Lamia]

This is vanilla-orange fudge.

 

Oh, how I love you, vanilla orange fudgey goodness!

[carbide]

In the bottle, it's chocolate and orange, not overpoweringly either.

 

First 15 minutes on my skin, it cycles from orange to...curry?! Cardamom-heavy, nothing that makes a whole lot of sense on rereading the notes. This then disappears.

 

On drydown, it gets even weirder - it's pure Dorian, but with less throw and wear-length. I checked several times to see if anything I was wearing might have Dorian on it, but it was all clean.

 

I tried it a second time another evening, and went to bed smelling of Dorian, too.

[zankoku_zen]

Oh man, this one is like a cookie version of 13 --- I get the cocoa, the spices and something that just screams "Cookie!" at me. I think its the combination of vanilla and sandalwood that is the most prevalent.

[Suu4LC]

The only other 13 I've tried is the '08 Green Label version, which I adore. This one sounds very promising though! In the imp, this is WAY different from green label! This is sweet tart orange and fruits over cocoa and sandalwood. Yum! Very unique.

 

It immediately starts morphing on my skin, going a bit sour. Tart, bittersweet orange is the standout note. It's sweet, but not sugary sweet. I definitely cannot pick out all the notes in this blend. Hmmm, as it dries it goes weird though...hard to describe. This reminds me of some other blend, but for the life of me I cannot remember which. It smells off to me and I don't know which note it is.

 

As it dries, the orange fades almost entirely away, and its sort of a Gladdener of All Hearts-esque super powdery sweet lavender. O_o

 

This is a TRUE morpher. It was an interesting scent experience, but thankfully, I will not need to seek out a bottle of this.

 

 

 

[awesomeoverlord]

Yum. Chocolate and orange and starfruit and just a touch of lavender...I'm sure everything else is in there as well, but those are the notes that pop out at me right away. This is lasting longer on me than most chocolates tend to, as well -- very promising.

[spoilsofwar]

Late to the party, but better late than never.

 

In the bottle, this smelled SCRUMPTIOUS. It came with my first series of BPAL a few years ago, and I was dying to try it. Out of all of the ones I'd gotten, THIS one was the best smelling in the bottle with its orange, chocolate, vanilla notes. Dabbed it on, and proceeded to spend the next few hours at my computer, taking deep breaths of myself.

 

The next day, I went to work, and wanted to wear it. I'm a receptionist so people have to walk by me all day, and now every time I wear this, five people will make the comment, "Is there birthday cake somewhere? Who's birthday is it?" And I have to tell them it's me.

 

This has become my signature scent!

[Dragon0514]

In the bottle lots of cocoa and vanilla and citrus. On it smells similar but the cocoa is lighter and the nutmeg and sandal wood come out. It has a warm spicy food smell that reminds me of baking. Another winner I'm glad I found.

[sylvanusurban]

 

In bottle: Rose, orange, a bunch of stuff

 

On me, wet: It’s like this is exploding on my skin – a different scent combination with every sniff! Cocoa becomes prominent. I think I’m getting the rooibos and the geranium. I also smell rubber, but that’s probably because I was just wearing dishwashing gloves.

On me, drying: The sandalwood and amber begin to come out. A few hours later, it’s still smelling nice and warm and mellow on my wrist.

 

Verdict: Nice one. Not in the upper echelons, but certainly pleasant, and it ages well. One to try again.

 

[Invidiana]

Now before I commit potential blasphemy here, I just want to say that the analogy I'm about to draw probably has everything to do with my skin chemistry, but....

 

This dries down to a chocolate-covered and slightly spicier Underpants on me. No lie.

 

Thankfully I get no florals at all, not a bit. What I do get it a very rich and postively ambrosial cake-battery vanilla swathed in chocolate, and as it dries down further the additional warmth of the sandalwood, amber and nutmeg. Though I can't smell it distinctly I think the rooibos tea (which I love drinking--ever try vanilla rooibos?) is also adding to the autumnal warmth. The florals, most thankfully of all the Geranium Gorgon of Doom, have lost the battle and left the building, and I'm left with chocolate-covered Underpants. Let me just say my skin was really fighting for me this time.

[Venneh]

In the decant, I think I'm getting orange and vanilla first and foremost. On my skin, it's that same vanilla orange floral. Hrm. Ends up being a vaguely spicy, creamy orange scent. Going to give it a second round of testing. On the full skin test, get the orange and cream again, but it's going a little funky, which I think might be the geranium and lavender finally asserting themselves. Don't think I'll be keeping this one.

Edited June 6, 2010 by Venneh

[Schmoozy]

My favorite 13. Creamy vanilla and cocoa drenched in sandalwood and amber. Whiffs of herbal lavender come out on drydown alongside hints of orange. It is creamy, slightly spicy, full of sandalwood and amber with cocoa. To die for.

Edited August 13, 2010 by Schmoozy

[yamiko]

I'm having a lot of trouble picking out notes on this. It's mostly made up of stuff I'm not super familiar with. I seem to mostly smell the vanilla and lavender, with hints of tart fruits and rooibos. It's a very smooth, rounded, slightly herbal scent. It's not really heavy on the cocoa like a lot of the other 13s are. I'm usually not a big fan of the 13s, but this one is pretty awesome.