Thirteen (13): July 2007

[heysunshine]

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?

A base of cocoa absolute and white chocolate with thirteen baneful and beneficial bits including vanilla bean, white ginger, orchid, golden peach, massoia bark, clove, honey, and starfruit.

I know people wanted a cursory review of this, here's mine.

A little information about massoia bark those who like me had no idea what it was.

Massoialactone has an odour that is described as sweet, coconut meat, lactonic, creamy, milky and waxy and, at a dilution of 20 ppm, a taste described as creamy, coconut, green and slightly fruity.

I've also read it has a nutty scent.

Wet this is the most gorgeous pure cocoa scent that makes me want to eat my arm. I get a hint of vanilla very quickly before it fades to cocoa and ginger. Next clove is added to the mix and I get a very faint fruity smell under everything. No honey yet but it is the BPAL note with the most staying power on me so I'm sure it will poke its head out eventually. I'm really not getting much right now but a cocoa/ginger mix on my left arm and a cocoa, ginger and clove mix on my right. The words I can think of to describe this scent is pleasant fire-y chocolate. I'll update in a week or so when I'm off my monthly 'cause I'm not so sure about it yet and my chemistry might be messing with things.

I'd also like to try this again tomorrow when I'm not half asleep from standing outside in the sun all day I think it will be a good scent for curling up with a copy of Harry Potter and some yummy ice cream.


ETA: half hour later and I can smell the honey not on my skin but in the throw. A beautiful scent. Not something I would normally go for but I'm glad I bought a bottle.

July 22: Put this on again today and it is much more chocolate/fruity. No clove or ginger in sight (or would that be sniff?)

 

[sixthsentinel]

I think I am getting mostly the white chocolate, peach, clove & honey. At first I wasn't so sure about it, but it is really growing on me. It smells a lot like a Toblerone to me & now I craving one like mad! It also kind of reminds me of March Hare, just a little... like I can kind of smell it in there, maybe... either way, I think I'm going to have to hang on to this one for a bit.

[willowtreeling]

I like this. A lot. At first, and in the bottle, I got that weird scratch and sniff chocolate smell that I always get from chocolate perfumes...that faded to a real, milky, pretty choco. Then these sort of fruity clovey notes started coming through--and it smelled like Turkish Delight or christmas, in a good way. Doesn't clash with the weather, because I am from So Cal, lol.

 

Then, it started to go soapy on me, for a bit. Luckily that ceased and what I got was pure delight. Really! This perfume smells gorgeous on me! I finally get what people mean when they say something "sings" on them!

 

Candy Butcher reminds me of dark bittersweet chocolate with a blue smell underneath.

 

 

This reminds me of milk chocolate with a rosy red gleaming through--there is that same, non foody smell shining through the foodiness that makes me love this!

 

I might have to search for some more bottles and stock up!!!

 

ETA: I can't wear this anymore:( Sadly, on the way to Comic-con last summer, I got a horrific migraine headache. It wasn't from 13, but I was wearing it in my scent locket and now the smell makes me nauseated.

Edited March 13, 2008 by willowtreeling

[Tramp]

Wet - creamy chocolate and an almost boozy fruit note

 

On - easily my favorite of the 13 releases. The chocolate gives way to a spicyness that I am guessing is the ginger, or maybe ginger and clove working together, and a sweet, honeyed fruit note. What I get is an almost weet incense blend that smells wonderful on me.

 

The only downside is that after about an hour and a half it is mostly faded. Will have to try slathering it on and see if that helps it last longer.

[harmonyfb]

None of the other formulations of 13 worked on me, so I didn't hold out much hope for this one.

 

In the bottle: Chocolatey!

Wet: The same sour chocolate smell that I got from The C.andy B.utcher

Dry: Sour Chocolate. Ugh.

Dry, 10 minutes later: Sour chocolate overlaying a faint, sweet, creamy scent. Bleah. Damn my skin chemistry!

Dry, 25 minutes later: Sweet, creamy and honeyed scent with just a whiff of sour chocolate. Actually, this stage smells a lot like Milk Moon '07, but with a pervading sourness. Urgh.

 

I'll save it to try at a different time of month, but I don't think this is going to work.

 

ETA: Tried three times, at different stages of my cycle. All three times: rotting chocolate. ::sigh::

Edited August 4, 2007 by harmonyfb

[bellis]

I have to agree with sixthsentinel, on me it smells like much creamier March Hare with cocoa powder dusted all over it. It's not terribly sweet, which I love because it's almost but not quite foody. Delicious, warm and comforting. This might be my favourite 13 so far, and I've enjoyed them all.

[abejita]

I've liked all the other 13 blends, but none of them have really been "me," so they've found other homes. I think this one, however, may be a keeper. It starts out as straight up, bittersweet dry cocoa. On my skin, however, it blooms into a beautiful honeyed fruit blend. I usually can't do the fruity ones, especially peach. Peach and peach blossom tend to amp all the way to 11 on my skin. I totally get the starfruit, too, which is a pleasant surprise. The orchid and the massoia bark make everything round and rich. This is a honey golden scent and I like it a lot. I was expecting it to be all chocolate, but it really isn't on me. It's a gourmand without being cloying or childish. Very, very nice.

[Jilara]

I like this best of all the 13s!

 

Bottle: creme de cacao

Wet: very creme de cacao, with a haze of peach and tropical floral. It's very boozy at this stage. As it dries down, a spice note that must be the clove comes up, and something that smells herbal.

 

Dry: early dry, there is a prevalent creamy note that must be the white chocolate, mingling with the creme de cacao note. The peach is still strong, but just as strong is a note that somehow reminds me of rum-and-maple pipe tobacco! I don't know what starfruit smells like, and it might be hiding in with the peach, because there's some other fruity quality there. A spicy background, but very subtle, and the herbal note is gone.

 

It's later in the dry period, now, and the cocoa absolute and white chocolate are actually reenforcing from the rear, with the fruit and spice note on top, with a hinting of orchid. Could my skin be eating the chocolate, the way it does with Boomslang? It's no longer the strong chocolate I was led to expect. But I like it better this way! Still that odd "sweet pipe tobacco" note in the background. But I didn't see any tobacco as an ingredient.

 

Very nice, very well blended! The chocolate is there, but after this 13 has dried down, it's not in your face at all. Not even remotely foody, but very warm and female. A distinct winner!

[bettybaker]

In the bottle and on me, 13 smells like a rum-spiked chocolate truffle.

[Iceblink]

I tried one of the earlier versions of 13 last year and although I initially liked it, the tea note ended up turning me off. Thankfully this blend has no tea! It's gone through several stages on me so far (the clove peaked at about 20 minutes in, very nice) and has now settled down into a spiced fruit/chocolate blend that is gorgeous, and surprisingly not too heavy for this hot weather. Comparisons to March Hare and Milk Moon are right on, too--there's that clove and fruit thing of March Hare and the tart honey of Milk Moon occasionally peeks through. It's beautiful overall and thinking about how it will age makes me all tingly.

[jolarocknrolla]

utterly and totally cocoa on me. It gets slightly floral/spicy later on but in a way that makes me think of Mexican chocolate ... terribly wonderfully yummy. (I was sort of expecting the chocolate to go more powdery on me but no powder whatsoever).

[prunesnprisms]

I reserve the right to change my mind in the future, but this is all baby powder and litchi on me (meaning, it smells a lot like Fire Pig, only Fire Pig worked, and this is...questionable). I think I might have to let it sit for a couple weeks before trying it again.

[midnight_aeval]

Bizarre! This is not at ALL cocoa on me. I was bummed at first, but the drydown is like no other BPAL I have smelled before.. super sweet, but no trace of chocolate, almost marshmallowy.. and powdered sugar?

 

Well, whatever is does, I like it and need more!

[Wildbriar]

In the bottle: pure cocoa with a fruity whiff underneath. Mmmmmmm

 

Wet on my skin: Tootsie Roll! On initial drydown this becomes a wonderful sweet cocoa smell, but not milky in any way. I do detect a juicy peach note and a very faint whiff of spice. This is a very warm and very sweet scent that reminds me most of chocolate fondue. After some time the fruit and spice come out and it reminds me of grilled peaches with a chocolate sauce drizzled on top. There is a faint herbaceous undertone as well. Sorry about the repeated foody comparisons but they are the best descriptions I can come up with for this one.

 

This oil is very sweet on me but it is a sweet I can wear. I never thought I would actually enjoy a foody, sweet scent but the other notes in this intrigued me and I'm so glad I took the risk. I'm really enjoying this immensely.

 

ETA: This is delightful in a scent locket, I've been wearing it this afternoon and have lovely cocoa-honey scent wafting around my nose. Mmmmmmmm

 

This scent evokes the image of a lie-in on a cool, rainy day with a mug of mexican cocoa, fresh fruit and warm, fuzzy blankets (or in my case a warm, fuzzy husband) and a good book.

Edited July 25, 2007 by Wildbriar

[maproot]

On July 23rd, let it be known that Madame carwoman believes she has set a new record for going through most of a bottle. This afternoon it arrived in mailbox. SHe quickly squeed, attached the "saver"cap so kindly provided per her request, and proceeded to dab on her wrist before getting into her chariot for her commute to town. She already had applied DRINK ME in the morning...

 

first impressions-sweet chocolate-Hershey bar cocoa with some gingernut goodness creeping in, but an hour later scent was very faint. Maybe this is something similar to when I eat something I shouldnt the pleasure is mighty but fleeting?

Later in the day she applied more, because she liked it so much the first dab.Who wouldnt want to smell like a wonderful gingery chocolate confection. Applied more while I was at the movies, watching Wizard of Oz and The Princess Bride(a perfect day , movies and new BPAL)

 

Nobody in the row turned around at my newly applied scent; and it mingled well with my buttered popcorn.

Then it was gone again.

Bedtime=now-I wanted to apply it again, and looked at bottle; only to realize that I have clearly gone through at least a third of the bottle since this afternoon. so apparently I must be a super slathere.I love the scent; but wish it hung around longer. I just dabbed it on pulse points (really) dont think it leaked,and had no idea had run through this much!!! Stay longer, my little cocoa ginger love!

 

ADDED July 27:

 

goodbye 13-my bottle is gone now after just a few days; the scent just slithered away on me within a half hour, so I kept trying it again and again, and while it smelled good at first, am afraid it had NO throw on me, so I used it all up in hopes something would change(have never gone through full bottle before in less than a month)

 

bye bye 13:(

[sookster]

straight sniff from the bottle is an almost meaty cocoa scent....

huh?

 

once applied i realize that the meatiness is what i associate with fig...

so on me this is an incredible figgy cocoa ... buttery and boozey this has

me swooning!! and the throw is strong and perfect!!

 

all hail elizabeth! this is a winner indeed!!

[neuilly]

I have to say I was intrigued but wary after Beth mentioned this was heavy on the cocoa...but oddly enough the chocolate isn't that strong on me. The first 20 seconds or so it comes of as complete cocoa powder but is quickly replaced by a honeyed peach mixed with clove (and a slight boozy aspect)...and the chocolate lingers in the background. It is a lot like march hare as others have mentioned.

[Akurarei]

13 - July 2007

 

I was very, very excited about a 13 with an orchid note! I bought 2 bottles right away

 

In the Bottle:

Smells very much like some kind of expensive candy shop.

Quite foody but not necessarily sweet - and there are bouquets of fresh flowers throughout this store, so there are wafts of floral notes mixed in with the overall gourmand flavor of this version of 13.

 

On my Skin, Wet:

Lots and lots of Honey!

I should know by now that honey is a note that will either amp like crazy or swallow the rest of the perfume.

at least I have honey this time instead of an oil disappearing act

 

On my Skin, Dry:

Honey. Oh, wait - and Orchid!

And Starfruit! OMG STARFRUIT!!!

WOW!! I am definitely impressed that the honey did not remain the dominant note!

OMG STARFRUIT!!!

This is AMAZING!

::LOVES::

 

Verdict:

At first this was nothing but honey on me and I had given up hope that there would be anything else to it.

Then there was Orchid with the honey - and my nose was exceedingly joyous!

THEN the Starfruit joined the party and it was all over for me - TRUE 13 LOVE!!

 

10 of 10 rating!

Edited July 24, 2007 by Akurarei

[noumenon]

Going on 24 hours now and I can still smell 13. Which freaks me out because I tested it on the back of my hand and I've washed my hands countless times since then (and taken a shower). I think I'm going to smell like it for the rest of my life! At least it smells good. After the WOAH CHOCOLATE wet phase, it turns into a more complex scent, with clove, ginger, something orange-peel-like and the chocolate all working together. It reminds me a lot of Mexican Drinking Chocolate.

 

Just like my nose can easily separate the cocoa note from the Snake Oil in Boomslang, 13 also gives me the feeling of wearing a completely self-contained perfume layered with a chocolate note. I think people who like Boomslang would like this a lot, too, because they're so similar. The chocolate note is different from the one in Boomslang, and the underlying perfume is different from Snake Oil, but they are definitely related conceptually.

[nowxisxforever]

This'll be a short incomplete review, which if BPAL.org is unblocked at work, I can update throughout the day.

 

Morning, sniffing: Hmm...smells a lot like Miskatonic University, which didn't work on me at all.

 

Putting on wet: Cocoa! Yesssss, cocoa. At least it didn't turn "bad" on me right away like MU.

 

Sniffing just before leaving: The cocoa is disappearing, and I'm really not quite sure what it smells like now. Will sniff and report back.

 

----

 

Unblocked, yay!

 

11AM - So, I'm still not sure what it smells like. It smells kind of like Velvet or Bliss, but kind of...nondescript slightly sugary scent with something dark behind it. Still reminds me of Miskatonic University.

Edited July 24, 2007 by «now is forever»

[zenvodunista]

Fruit salad plate in an upscale restaurant, drizzled with honey and chocolate ganache.

 

Not my thing (I prefer sugar cookies with lime zest, rum, and bad karaoke) but I'd pick bits off your plate!

 

N.

[Heavenlyrabbit]

This is a very close relation to Treat #2, for me. It is a wonderous box of chocolates. It is the rush of walking into a confectionary. It is the magic of being in the kitchen and throwing together this spice and that dried fruit along with some cocoa powder and concocting something that turns out unexpectedly marvelous but which you can never duplicate because you didn't take notes.

 

For some reason this is one of the rare blends where I get a feeling or sense of Beth's creative process. Like when you read a Truman Capote story and can hear his peculiar voice narrating it.

 

Why Star Fruit?

 

What a trip this gourmand perfume is.

 

edit to include more love for this... it's not too sweet. it's just perfection.

Edited July 25, 2007 by Heavenlyrabbit

[Ahania]

In the bottle, I thought this was pretty horrid. It smelled like chocolate mixed with rancid milk (white chocolate?), plus mint. Determined, I went for it anyway. The first half hour I had it on I smelled awful. After that, the rancid and minty notes faded off, and the prettiness came out. I don't get much fruitiness- definitely no peach, but I don't get much peach from any BPAL, so that's no surprise. There's some bite from the spices, but subtle enough that without the lab description I wouldn't know what particular spices. The orchid and starfruit do stand out, though not strongly. Overall it didn't seem to last that long, but when I woke up in the morning I still smelled like honey.

I like it once it dries down, but I'll have to try it a couple more times and see if it's worth the smell when it's wet.

[euterpe414]

Yummmm! This one is very creamy and decadent! Besides the obvious chocolate notes, there is definitely a nutty note in this one that hasn't been in the others- it almost smells like almond on me, but I'm sure it's the massoia bark. Aside from those two dominant smells, there is a hint of peach and spice- very much like March Hare as others were saying The cocoa and white chocolate do not go plasticky on me at all during the drydown. Wooohoo!

 

This is very very lovely, but as carwoman said, it doesn't stick around for long and I found that when I wore it yesterday I went through a ton of it in one day. I guess that means that I need to hunt down some more, because this one is definitely too good to let go of!

[autumnbriars]

I had a similar experience to this as Ahania. My initial sniff made me dubious, and wearing it for awhile didn't make me feel any better.

 

In the bottle, I can find the strong chocolate that Beth was talking about, but the fruit cuts through it pretty sharply and feels tropical. Something smalls like sour milk. Maybe its the honey, because its the same thing that put me off of this year's Milk Moon. Beyond that, its very complex and my nose isn't nearly refined enough to pick out most of the notes.

 

After an hour or so on my skin, the sour milk goes away but something still smells acrid. The chocolate picks back up, but its much softer than in the bottle. Hubby says he smells ginger along with it, but I don't get that at all.

 

After about three hours, the scent has faded almost completely, but by the time it got to its last legs, it was the soft, fruity-sweet chocolate that I had hoped for.