Chaos Theory

[Gin]

Each bottle of Chaos Theory is truly unique, a fragrant fractal, an exercise in the joy of chance and uncertainty! Each is a one-of-a-kind, utterly random combination of scents, the composition of which is based on whim, mood and gut instinct. Each bottle is numbered, and comes with a small parchment certificate.

Chaos Theory - XXXVII

Also reviewd by amberbella and magikfanfic.

Lovely. XXXVII is a quiet scent, a sort of subdued Pele. Subtle and close to the skin. There's maybe a bit of floral, a bit of musk, but mostly, it smells like ... well, skin. This is a "me, only better" type of scent.

[Penance]

Chaos Theory LXXVII (77)

 

Origin:

 

Mini sniffy from Joseybird.

 

Preconceived notions:

 

All I remember is pine and I really like pine, so I'm hoping to like this one.

 

First sniff:

 

Hmm...that's pine, but it's dangerously close to the cleaning fluid pine note in Jabberwocky that I absolutely despise (it's the olfactory equivalent of nails on a blackboard). It might improve on my skin, but right now things aren't looking good.

 

Wet on skin:

 

A little better. Slightly more like Nocnitsa than Jabberwocky now, but not enough for my to really like this at the moment. It's rare for me to dislike pine unless it smells like a fake Christmas tree, but both Jabberwocky and this one just grate on my sense of smell somehow.

 

Dry down:

 

A little better still, but not improved enough. I have no clue why I dislike this when Josey finds it so beautiful, but maybe it's a blessing in disguise. At least now I won't be beating myself up over passing on this one when I had a crack at the bottle.

 

The bottom line:

 

This is only the second BPAL pine scent that's been unappealing to me and I'd love to know why this and Jabberwocky are so different than BPAL's other pine scents. Oh well, I'm going to look at this as a blessing in disguise.

 

Previously reviewed by Neko and Chirp.

Edited August 3, 2005 by Penance

[blood*rose*flowers]

LXXX (80)- also reviewed by GIN

 

In The Bottle (Imp):Something sweet here and a touch of soft floral underneath ??

 

Wet:Sweet possibly lotus or something similar though I am also getting something else now, I see it as coconut and maybe a vanilla of some sort. There also seems to be some possible amber of a sort in hear as it dries even further it becomes a bit more resinous in its dry down.

 

Drydown:This totally reminds me of something I have smelled recently but can't quite place it. It is a sweeter scent though not a food scent. Its a really nice resin scent with its sweet touches. There also seems to be some possible amber of a sort in hear as it dries even further ot becomes a bit more resinous in its dry down.

[rhubarbbear]

from the chaos run amuck circle!!

 

LXXXVII- faintly spicy, creamy, and woody. reminds me of a lady's dressing table with several perfumes, powders, and cosmetics on it. you know, the kind of dressing table where you sit down...old fashioned. pretty, tho. as it dries the spices come out.

Last reviewed by paperdoll.

 

XVII- this is a slightly toned down lemon to my nose- but toned down by what? tonka, maybe? i love the lemon/citrus blends in theory, but they never seem to mesh well with my skin.

Last reviewed by yellowrose.

 

XLVIII- mmm, sandalwood. and florals. my goodness, my nose is weak at individual florals! LOL! something light, and white. mostly i get sandalwood from this. i love sandalwood. on me this is very light, tho, i have to put my nose right up to it to get a good "fix" on the scent. i love it, tho!

Last reviewed by Gin.

 

CLXXX- i am IN LOVE with this scent. it's very full, and looks new, so i'm thinking noiroseleen might have added it to the circle? it's fruity, but doesn't do any of that icky fruit stuff that many blends do. it's tropical fruit, perfect for summer!!! coconut, for sure, also some pineapple, i think? yes, maybe a touch of pine, too, to keep the tropical-ness in check. this is just melding perfectly into my skin and all i want to do is sniff my shoulder. i actually can't think of another bpal that has matched my skin so well. as it dries it becomes woodier, palm maybe? it bears some resemblence to manila, but without the incense. kind of reminds me of summer camp in santa ynez. so glad i got to try it!

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

My chaos-run-amucks have arrived!

 

XCV

 

This one contained less than any of the other imps, whether b/c it spilled or b/c everyone liked it the most, I can't tell! Anyway, it is an airy white floral, very graceful. I think there's a touch of aquatic in there. I'm having a very hard time isolating notes--it's not powdery, but it has a pale, light feeling to it. It's colorless in the vial.

 

Last reviewed by paperdoll.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

...and on the other wrist,

 

XXIX

 

There's got to be rose in this, which I always love. But there's something else--a hint of spice, a hint of green. The rose is fading into a wood note, and now that's fading as well--this one didn't linger long on me at all.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

Wash, rinse, repeat--literally, had to wash off the last round to try some more.

 

XV:

 

Oh, this one is *insane*! It smells like cherry candy with a slight hint of strawberry--like a Jolly Rancher, basically. Sometimes cherry turns to cough syrup on me--that's not the case here, but it's not like a "real" cherry either. Just very candy sweet. Rather fun.

 

Last reviewed by yellowrose.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

...and on the other wrist, round two:

 

XLVIII:

 

This is really hard, with no notes listed to help me out. This one has a woody basenote with something light and floral on top. It's a *light* wood--balsam, perhaps? The floral is a little powdery on drydown, and there's a wee hint of spice. Rather nice, but faint--I have to really snuffle my wrist to find it.

 

Last reviewed by rhubarbbear.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

I cleaned off after yoga and now have 2 unscented wrists again, so...

 

XVII , decanted by Hypothermya, whom I really miss! Come baaaack!

 

Oh, this one is nice. Fresh clean citrus topnote (lime, I think?), followed by a clean linen sort of scent. Like White Rabbit without the tea. This is a summer tea party when you can't face hot tea--sipping homemade limeade from a crystal glass at a linen-covered table on the porch in summer, and feeling oh-so-glamorous for it.

 

Last reviewed by rhubarbbear.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

And the next day of testing begins...

 

Now there is no question who decanted this one, due to the Mickey Mouse icon on the imp!

 

LXXXVII

 

Andra's Chaos is a beautiful color--peachy-pink. It's a spicy one; a strong cinnamon over floral. *This* floral is one I recognize, alas--jasmine. Spicy florals are great (exhibit A: Hamadryad), but jasmine, of course, is not my friend.

 

Last reviewed by rhubarbbear.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

...and on the other wrist:

 

XXXIII:

 

33 is pale yellow in color and smells like...a pineapple! Similar to Baba Yaga, actually. There are other fruits in here; I think I'm detecting a hint of cherry. This is a Chaotic Fruit Salad, which sounds like a 1950s recipe.

 

Last reviewed by paperdoll.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

XXII came to me entirely empty; must have been a popular vial. Oh, well, on to...

 

CLXXX

 

A fruity, sweet-syrupy oil--pineapple and coconut and...what *is* that? Something lush, gardenia perhaps? Adding extra depth to the fruits. Very tropical and heady.

 

And thus concludes my foray into the world of Chaos!

 

Last reviewed by rhubarbbear.

[tesao]

many thanks to the lovely lady ell who gifted me with a decant of chaos theory XXI.

 

this smells just like tom yum on me. that's right. thai coconut milk soup. flavoured with lemongrass and lime.

 

it's delicious.

 

on my husband, there was much more of a pronounced tobacco note...reminiscent of perversion.

 

i just love how these blends smell so different on all of us! and yet....oddly similar.

 

 

Last reviewed by glampyre.

[monet]

I too have received the Chaos Run Amuck!

 

So here is what I have tried thus far.....

 

XLXIII - Super floral at first. Way too heady for my taste.

Then it became more powdery and softer. Definitely more tolerable.

After awhile sweet glorious vanilla all the way. Quite an interesting blend for sure! Me likes.

 

XVII - Liz Claiborne HELL! Oh my God I am in college dorms again and all I smell is Liz Claiborne. MUST RESIST URGE TO WASH OFF!

Later - still f'in Liz Claiborne only much lighter. Not for me.

Last reviewed by Laurel the Woodfairy.

 

33 - Floraly but with an eau de cat piss. No seriously it smelled like my cat peed on a lovely bouqet of flowers.

Later - ICK! Very heavy cheap floral on me. Not good one on my skin.

Last reviewed by Laurel the Woodfairy.

 

LXXXVI - Oh my goodness. What is this smell? Kinda like dried eucalyptus, cinnamon and pipe tobacco all rolled into one. Very intriging.

Later - the same - no change.

Much later - dead rotting flowers in old water. Hmm. Bummer.

 

XXIX - Shower to Shower afterbath powder. Funny! I kinda like it.

Later - softer very little change. Much later - Dried flowers. Nice.

Last reviewed by Laurel the Woodfairy.

 

XCV - Light and manly with a faint hint of citrus. Nice.

Later - Where is it???? It has completely vanished! How sad.

Last reviewed by Laurel the Woodfairy.

 

More later. I need a bath!

[malanna]

I think this was CVIII.

 

This starts out as a strong pine sniff, but then soft florals come out into play. There's a slight undertone of soft ozone that brings everything together. Eventually, the pine recedes into the background, with the florals and ozone in the foreground. The ozone is like the tang from Lightning, but it isn't one of the ozones that has hints of rotting wood or humid heat.

Edited September 5, 2005 by malanna

[Ina Garten Davita]

Chaos Theory CVIII

 

This was decanted my malanna for me and the label is written in Walt Disney Script.

 

Gorgeous refreshing green color in the vial and so is the scent. It smells like straight up fresh rosemary at first. The drydown is crisp, herbal, refreshing yet warm and inviting at the same time. Wonderful!

 

Last reviewed by malanna.

[LyndaM]

I received a lovely gift of an imp of Chaos Theory XCVI in a swap.

 

It smells lovely and green in the imp, very herbally, and with a bit of citrus. I think I am detecting rosemary, something in it suggests Catherine to me. It's a very complex and beautiful scent, I'm so grateful I got the chance to try it.

[Shollin]

Thanks to latzoni for the decant of Chaos Theory XXXVII.

 

First sniff: Whoa. Good chaos. It’s very warm but also very green, and those two things don’t often combine. I think I smell oakmoss, and also… well, my first impression was dragon’s blood, but this oil is absolutely clear, so I’m guessing not. Oakmoss and a light musk, maybe? It’s really nice, in a swoonworthy sort of way.

 

Wearing: A very soft, green white-musk scent. It’s lighter and almost sweet on my skin. Very, very pretty.

 

Last reviewed by Gin.

[malanna]

Chaos Theory XX

Decanted for me by the wonderful allamanda, way back in June of 2005. I'm currently trying to review all the oils I have.

 

This starts out as a sweet rum, a really sweet rum, almost candy-sweet. I love my sweet scents, but there's something that bothers me about it, because the hyper-sweetness smells familiar, yet I can't pin down how to describe it.

 

Over the next hour, there's cedar, unfurling in the background. Another half hour, and this is pretty much all cedar and some other woods. In less than an hour, this doesn't smell so woody and gets even lighter. In fact, it smells a bit like warm Oriental (I mean that in the perfume sense) spices and amber. Interesting!

 

Reviewed by allamanda, Penance, and paperdoll.

Edited December 17, 2005 by malanna

[brownbear]

XLVIII -

 

I'm really glad I got to try this. It started out smelling a lot like vanilla. It is a very light scent. Now it has faded a bit to be more floral, but I still get hints of the vanilla. Not bad at all. ETA: dang it. The vanilla is going a bit off on my skin. I'll have to try it with a carrier oil.

 

(Last reviewed by Laurel the Woodfairy.)

Edited February 3, 2006 by Shollin

[malanna]

Chaos Theory XXXI

allamanda gifted this to me a while back. What a sweetheart.

 

Immediately upon application, I'm hit by grape juice. Really tart Welch's grape juice. After about ten minutes, there's a hint of florals that rounds out the tart sweetness of the grape juice. Further along, it's very plum-y well mixed with a floral that seems rather familiar. It makes me think of gardenia, in the whole sugary sweetness wafting about sort of way, but I'm pretty sure what I'm smelling isn't gardenia. It dries down to sweet herbs, herbs in the vein of Leanan Sidhe (maybe also like the herbs in The Dormouse's drydown, but I can't quite remember what it smells like).

 

Reviewed by allamanda

[sofiaviolet]

XIV: smells like baby powder and feels like powder up my nose. The imp I have says it also smells like ozone and strong florals, but I get absolutely zero of that.

[Little Bird]

Chaos Theory: LXVIII

 

I got a bottle of this one on ebay (it was supposed to be a "never even opened before" bottle, but I now see that andrabell has reviewed it before me. oh well). In the bottle it smells wonderfully creamy and sensual.

 

On me at first, it reminds me a lot of LUSH's Sultana of Soap scent that I *love*. Lots of creamy tonka and vanilla and hints of something tart & fruity. Sweet, but not overly so. The tart notes give this a bit more of a bite, and there's something lingering in here that makes it unbelievably sexy.

 

Tonka, vanilla, sexy skin musk, and a pinch of citrus or tart berries. That's what I imagine to be in here. It starts off great, but as it continues to dry down, it turns to plastic.

 

Previously reviewed by andrabell.

Edited March 30, 2009 by Little Bird

[supremegoddessofall]

CT1: 1

 

Yes, 1!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I can't believe I get to review the very first Chaos Theory, ever. This came to me as a frimp and I was dancing with glee! And it smells like cinnamon bliss! This is almost pure cinnamon, with maybe a dash of pepper. Definitely hanging on to this!

 

Last reviewed by nevermore.

[wikkidraven]

i got two very old chaos theories frimped to me today, and i was so pleased that they both were on the sweet side. someone cared to check my favourite types of scents!

 

so, XX decanted by allamanda, oct 04. this is a bit OVER sweet at first if there can be such a thing. but it does quickly die down into something more tolerable, a bit more green. i can't detect any single notes, especially since i have a berry CT blend on my other hand and it's about all i can smell. but i do like this one as it morphs, will have to give it another try on its own.

 

Last reviewed by malanna.