Chaos Theory

[amberbella]

Each bottle of Chaos Theory is truly unique, a fragrant fractal, and 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.

Wow...do I get to be the first to review my Chaos Theory? How neat!

My bottle is Chaos Theory XXXVII

Let me just say....Beth outdid herself with my Chaos Theory. I LOVE it. It's so delicate and beautiful....not at all what I was expecting, but I'm so pleased. I'm really sad that I only have the 5ml of it...I'm sure I will use it all and want more.

Mine is sort of what I might expect to smell if I mixed Endymion with Old Morocco and Pele...cept, it's not quite floral as Endymion. I'm fairly certain I smell white musk...but that's the only note I can distinctly detect (and I might even be wrong about that one.) It has a wistful, ladylike feel to it. If it were a fabric it would be lace...maybe very sheer silky gauze. It's got a warm tone to it that made me think it would be perfect for Winter...but now that it's dried I can definately see wearing it in Spring as well.

Color....white...absolutely white. I detected cinnamon briefly, but not at all now. Hope hubby likes it cause I think it's going to be my new signature scent (for as long as it will last).

Looking forward to seeing what others are like.

ETA: Hubby came home tonight, sniffed my neck and said "Mmmmmm!" He likes it! Woo Hoo! So glad I got it....so sad I can't get more.

[Red_Hot_Mama]

My Chaos Theory arrived today. It's marked "Chaos Theory XV" & it's beautiful, really beautiful!

 

It's sweet, coconut cream with the really expensive smelling vanilla. There might be a touch of sandalwood & a smidge of jasmine. The blend is so smooth, it's very difficult to pick out individual notes beyond the obvious.

 

A triumph!

 

Enjoy your fragrant fractal.

 

RHM

[Lorencita]

Well My chaos theory is IV. I just have to start off that this is beautiful... I wish I would have bought at least 2! It starts off very strong, like all the scents collide on my skin. The first note I smell is like a fresh magnolia or gardenia (not sure) I suck at this! Then some fruit pops up from time to time, I also get some type of rose there that adds a little powder to it. When This scent finally calms down to a dry state, it has a sweetness to it. It smells sophisticated, yet fun! I love every stage, and I can tell it has great staying power ( I have had it on for like 3 hrs) Every time I smell it, it's changed! I really hope Beth does something like this again! It's truly amazing. This actually has every scent I love... very unique, I feel sorry for all the others I ordered... I will be in chaos for quite a while! Thanks again Beth.

 

ETA: I really wish I knew what was in it, so I could order more scents that are similar!

Edited August 28, 2004 by Lorencita

[GothicMissManners]

Chaos Theory XLIX

 

My first impression is that this is sweet (amber/vanilla sweet, as opposed to chocolate/sugar sweet) with an overlay of crushed flowers. A less heady-mix of Queen Mab and O, maybe.

 

Now that it's dried down a bit, it's mostly vanilla, with delicate whispers of *something* floral. I have no idea what flowers, and I wish I did. It suggests ivory lace, and a table set with antique china for a very elegant tea party with courtly antique teddy bears dressed in faded silks.

 

It's very pretty. It isn't something that I will despair of never being able to replace, but I do like it.

 

-Jilli

 

ADDED Sept. 5:

 

I'm a big fibber. The scent has grown on me, to the point that it is now my default BPAL scent. I will be despondant when the bottle is finally empty. Aaaaaaand, this only reinforces my desire to eventually get a custom scent from the Lab (when they start accepting orders for them again, that is).

 

-Jilli

 

EDIT: Copied a followup post into this one. --Shollin

Edited November 20, 2004 by Shollin

[chai_girl]

I received Chaos Theory III today.

 

I love love love it! I'm trying to detect the notes but this scent has a strange dichotomy that works.

 

There are actually two main scents when you sniff. As I inhale, I smell a fruity scent...maybe cherry, might be pomegranate. I'll have to re-sniff Swank to see. As I exhale, I get a more herbal scent. Not quite a mint but it reminds me of a mellow herbal mint. Mint isn't the right word but it has that freshness of mint without being flowery or herbally. I can't describe it.

 

As I was driving and sniffing (I know, don't sniff and drive), I was trying to describe it in my head. When I put the mint and cherry together, I thought...hey, that's like a cherry cough drop! But this scent is soooo far from that. With the cough drop, the scents mingle...this is so bizarre because it is almost like I'm inhaling a different scent through each nostril and it doesn't really blend, but they complement each other.

 

It has mellowed now and whatever the non-fruity scent is has lingered and is nice and soft. I can't wait to try it again!

 

 

ETA: I did a sniff comparison between Red Moon and my Chaos Theory. I think they have several of the same notes, but my Chaos Theory is like Red Moon amplified...the difference between Jazz (Red Moon) and Rock-n-Roll (Chaos Theory). Red moon seems to blend a bit more...while the notes are more distinct in Chaos Theory. I like them both...I think of them now as my equivalent to O and Dana O'shee...one is a kindler gentler version of the other and I love them both!

 

ETA again: okay, today I don't smell mint...it is a cinnamon blend. I don't know what I was thinking. It is a distinct cinnamon. It is blended with a fruity scent that almost overrides except for that tang that is cinnamon.

Edited August 31, 2004 by chai_girl

[minouska]

I have Chaos Theory No. VII. I can't pick out the notes but it's lovely and spicy and creamy. At first it reminded me of Snow White, but heavier. Then it reminded me of Snake Oil, but lighter. Kind of like if you mixed those two, but not exactly, maybe. (Can I be any more vague??) I think maybe there's vanilla in it. Minboy sniffed my arm and thought there was chocolate in it and I think he might be right. It's just really well-blended--I can't pick out the notes and they mesh together really well. It blends into my skin like it's part of me, which is something that all my favorite scents have in common. It's definitely delicate and feminine, but with a hint of something mysterious or sexy underneath.

 

I think I'll be wearing this often. The concept is a brilliant idea.

[minilux]

I got Chaos Theory XXXVI and I'm afraid it's an instant headache scent for me. My first thought was that there was something floral in it, but then I realized it smelled very familiar, like something I had recently tried. And then, I realized it's very similar to Old Glasgow which also gave me an instant headache. I think there may be moss in it, though I'm not sure if it's Spanish Moss or Irish Moss or if I'm mistaking something floral for moss. Anyway, I'm going to have to swap or sell it.

[supasonicsage]

I got Chaos Theory XVII. I am horrible at notes, but this has to have cucumber in it. I would also venture a guess at aloe. There is also some sort of light, white floral, but I am not sure what it may be. The cucumber stays right through the end.

 

It is a very pretty, light summery spring scent. It reminds me of sitting in an upscale spa with pretty flowers all around. It is very relaxing.

 

However, it really isn't "me". I am debating about this one over. I may keep my eyes open for someone else who has a chaos theory that didn't agree with them... or I may keep it. It really is pretty... maybe it will grow on me.

[ipb]

i've got 32.

 

-> anyone who wants to swap an imp's of chaos theory, i'd love to try some of these others.

 

i smell some musk and maybe vanilla, and sweet.. and a hint of leather. some sort of flower is peeking out. this one smells way different in the bottle than it does on me (bottle->'ick, sharp, what did i get myself into?', me->mmm yummy). this is well blended together enough that it's hard to pick out notes. and the fact that i spilled a little snow white on my desk didn't help much

[k00kaburra]

XXX - I wonder how many Beth ended up making in the end.

In the bottle I think can smell wine - there's definitely some sort of sweet fruit note.

 

When applied to my skin I smell floral...I think a bit of rose and some aquatics. It's very light on me so it's difficult to tell. There's definitely nothing sharp in this bottle - no mints, citruses, vetivert (ugh!), etc. No wood, either, which is good because I can't stand that. Very interesting! I can't wait for my other bottles to arrive.

 

CX: In bottle: Eeew. I do hate to start off a fragrance review with eeew, but one of the notes I find detestable is in here. Vetiver and cedarwood are both incredibly strong in this blend!

On me: Oh, do I have to put this on? My nose is already tingling as it is. Cedarwood mellows a bit and this becomes a sharp but forest-like smell. Fans of Arkham will probably love this. I think there's some juniper here too.

 

CXXI: This is a complicated fragrance that changes a lot from bottle to skin. I'm quite poor at identifying the notes in this; it is blended extraordinarily well.

In bottle: Red fruit. It's like strawberry wine. The strawberries are quite strong, almost like Bon Vivant, but there's something darker in there, which deepens the fragrance.

On me: My strawberries are fading away...smells like Aromacreme, a deodorant made by LUSH, only with a faint berry note. Aromacreme is described as 'ylang ylang, cassie flowers and lychee fruit' so imagine these beautiful things with berries in the shadows and it is really quite lovely. This fragrance aged quite well; at the year mark the strawberries are much stronger, switching this from a 'don't much care for' fragrance to one that I like!

 

CXXIV: In bottle: Oooo, delicious. It reminds me of spicy cake, almost gingerbread, but without the cloves. Oh man, I want to eat this. The vanilla is very strong.

On me: A spicier cake, but this time with a bit of rum in it. The cinnamon is much stronger on the skin, too. If I were a foody fragrance person, this would be simply HEAVENLY.

Edited May 20, 2005 by k00kaburra

[ismene]

I received bottle XII on Saturday. When I first opened it and smelled flowers, I was trepidatious because I normally dislike florals and the feeling is mutual. It's sweet and soft, with a bit of rose and perhaps honeysuckle. I'm sure there are other things, too, but I'm not good at identifying floral notes.

 

When I put it on I was pleasantly surprised to find that this floral actually smelled good on me. I was getting excited about having a floral I could wear on those rare occasions when I wanted a floral, but I thought this too soon. After it dried down, it morphed into a sickly floral dryer sheet smell and ended up giving me a headache.

 

Florals still hate me.

[pekeana]

I have Chaos Theory XIII.

 

In the bottle, it's sharp lemon and grapefruit -- so sharp that it cleared my sinuses right out. There's something green lurking beneath the surface, though, however faint.

 

On me, the grapefruit and lemon stay strong for a while, then relax to let something green almost like grass and white almost like pikake or plumeria through. And beneath it all is a hint of sweet (vanilla bean?), and a hint of spice (probably myrrh).

 

Anyway, it's delightful!

[riddel]

Chaos Theory VI

 

I'm terrible with notes and I'm truly sorry for that because I'm dying to know what exactly is in mine. Oh, well. I'm pretty sure it's aquatic. I'm also smelling something a bit herbal underneath... Maybe. Also, a touch of floral? I... I really don't know. It has, at various times, reminded me of both Desdemona and Old Amsterdam, and there's something in the drydown reminiscent of Dragon's Tears. I also think there might be a bit of Embalming Fluid going on. Is that the "herbal" note I'm smelling? (Insert Beth's laughter here, as she thinks, "Oh, silly Tiffany! I blended no such Chaos Theory! I've succeeded in fooling you with my complex creation!")

 

I can't see this getting a lot of wear. Also, I'm not sure it works well with my skin chemistry, because something in it stays a bit sharp on me. For a while there I thought it might be growing on me, and I don't hate it, but I am an obsessive minimalist, so...

 

This whole experience has certainly been chaotic, but you know what? I'd do it all over again, in a heartbeat. I blame my Gemini sun.

Edited April 7, 2005 by riddel

[morleigh_s]

Holy shit! Beth has outdone herself this time. All I can think about is how sad I am that I only get to have one bottle of this!!

 

In the bottle: This smell is verryy deceiving!! It smells very green...reminds me alot of Old Dublin in the bottle. I can smell the green of a plant and a bit of white rose.

 

Wet: This scent stays green for all of about 30 seconds before morphing into this completely beautiful autumn wine scent. I can't pick out specific notes but just wearing this made me sooo happy.

 

Dry: I can still smell this wonderful wine in a backdrop of autumn florals. Think of being out in a field on an October day right at dusk and smelling the breeze. It's a very homey, comforting scent. The wine in it is reminiscent of Bordello...but this is no bordello...it's your grandma's huge victorian house complete with pumpkins on the front porch.

 

Perfection...

 

Oh yeah...almost forgot...I have Chaos Theory XXIII

[sigh]

I was gifted with Chaos Theory XIX.

 

This smells like late winter/early spring snow showers that pop up out of nowhere and are gone in 10 minutes. There's a chilly white breeze, a tiny bit of mint lurking in there somewhere with an undercurrent of almost warm, sunny spring flowerbuds.

 

 

[darestodream]

I just received my package today, and I could not resist trying Chaos Theory XLIV immediately. I had to see if I could pick out the notes. Sadly, my nose is far from parfumiere grade, but I will do my best.

 

The first and most undeniable note is vanilla. It hit me right out of the bottle, is the main scent I picked up during the first five minutes and even now, 4 hours later, is the defining note of this scent. However, there is something lying under it that I simply cannot identify. It's a little earthy and spicy, just enough to ground the vanilla. It smells yummy, but not foody. At first, I thought I was picking up a tobacco type note, as in Roadhouse, but that popped in and out enough that I could be imagining it. There also seems to be a less-sweet floral, such as ylang ylang, and possibly some woodsy notes. Of course, I could be making all that up -- the vanilla is the only note of which I am sure.

 

This is a lovely scent for daytime. It is light and classic, and very feminine without being sweet. I can easily see wearing this to work or to interviews, and putting everyone in smelling distance in a slightly better mood. It is a very happy scent, and I am quite pleased with it. I will definitely use up the entire bottle.

Edited September 2, 2004 by darestodream

[TygherRayn]

Our Chaos Theory: XVIII

 

First of all, let me just say that I love this concept. Another, please! *winks*

 

Now that that's done .. I'll review. jason says he thinks he smells grape in this .. but I don't quite get that. Well, maybe a little. What it does smell like to me is something sooty and smoky, and almost a little medicinal, right out or the bottle. Kinda like a cough-syrup I used a while ago when I was death-bed ill, and this was the only thing that helped it. I can't really pull out any of the notes in this .. I stand by my whole smoky-medicine-y description.

 

Fresh on my skin it becomes much sweeter .. perhaps more of that wine/grape smell Jason keeps telling me he smells. I guess it's just not a 'grape' smell to me. It kinda tickles my nose .. but it a pleasant way. It reminds me of days when I would stay home sick, and mom would pull the loveseat closer to the wood stove, slather my chest with Vicks' Vap-o-Rub, and make me lay there by the heat all day. Following the wood-stove image I'm also reminded of burning pine branches in a campfire, the smell as the pine sap sizzles and pops. That's what this smells like to me.

[clephan]

I have bottle number X. (Or is that letter X, number ten? I can never remember how you reference Roman numerals. )

 

Anyway. The scent.

 

In the bottle, this smells citrussy sweet, with an underscore of ... mm, something reminds me of Gluttony, is it hazlenut? For some reason I'm thinking of Christmas.

 

On, wow and kaboom, coconut. For those of you who have tried Spooky, it's the nutty part of that without any of the rum or mint. Ah. That's why I was thinking of Christmas then! However, instead of the festive air of Spooky, this makes me think of summertime. It's coconut and lime.

 

It's actually the photograph from an old cookery book I have, one by Delia Smith of all people, of coconut ice cream with lime zest sprinkled over, and thick sweet lime sauce poured over the top. The picture is lit in glorious liquid golden sunlight, and looks sublimely tropical. That's what my lovely Chaos Theory smells like to me.

[jj_j]

We got two bottles of Chaos Theory, rather than share, and from the beginning, they've been chaotic!

 

Picking up the package at the post office, we opened the pull-tag on the priority mail box so we could breathe in that Lab-melange smell in the car, and while I ran into Kinko's to pick up a fax, Matt started digging through the packing peanuts to see what he could read through the bubble wrap. When we got home and started unwrapping the other bottles and digging through the packing, we had cards for Chaos Theory bottles IV and VIII, but only bottle VIII. 15 minutes of digging around in the box and car later, bottle IV reappeared.

 

After sniffing the two scents, we both wanted IV as our own, and nearly got into an argument over the concept of sharing it. Then, when I went upstairs to put the new bottles on the shelf, half of the bottles on the tray slid into the floor when I put VIII in the collection. Chaos at work!

 

As for the scents themselves, VIII is an interesting blend of cinnamon with a distinct floral tone and the tiniest bit of amber and sugar sweetness. While it dries down to a fairly gentle warmth, it spends most of its time smelling like Christmas potpourri; in fact, that was Matt's first comment as he wrinkled up his nose. It's definitely more likely to end up in an oil burner around here.

 

IV, though, was another story. Faintly aquatic, sweet, and only vaguely floral, it makes me think of a lighter, lusher version of some Angel-type oil thrown in as an extra in a swap one time. It's not the kind of scent I'd usually appreciate, but it's compelling in its near-edible quality - and by that, I mean that it doesn't smell like food, but that you want to breathe it in and taste it on the tip of your tongue like champagne.

 

We're not using either of the Chaos Theory scents any time soon. Our exes have put so much chaos into our lives in the last month that we don't want to encourage any more, and are already liberally covering ourselves with Aunt Caroline's Joy Mojo and Block Buster, instead. Once things calm down, though, I can't wait to use Chaos Theory IV and to go back and try Chaos Theory VIII again to re-test my initial impression.

 

Previous review of IV posted by Lorencita.

[omly]

Hey I got Chaos Bottle I. How neat is that? This fragrance was everything I wanted Hespirides and Red Moon to be, but weren't quite.

 

Without even opening the bottle I could smell apples, fresh juicy apples right after you take a bite. Once the bottle was opened though I could see there were a bunch of other orchard fruits in there as well including pear in just the right quantity that it didn't overwhelm the smell. While wet this stayed pretty true to the bottle, although with a little more apple. I was getting so hungry! Then after drydown I noticed cinnamon. BUt wait... I don't care for cinnamon right? Wrong I guess! The cinnamon added a little more warmth to the orchard fruits, while avoiding becoming the smell of those little red heart candies. This is the perfect autumn scent. I don't know what I will do when I finish going through this bottle, but I will enjoy it very much while it lasts.

[allidavie]

I opened my bottle last night. And my first reaction?

 

"Oh crap. This is going to be my favorite BPAL ever and I'll never be able to get it again."

 

I'm wearing it today. It's fabulous. Somewhat reminiscent of Blue Moon (another fave of mine) but less sweet and more crisp. I can't pick out any notes in it at all. It smells to me like sitting on the beach wearing some suntan lotion (but not coconutty lotion) and getting really really hot and then all of a sudden having a sunshower. So clearly some aquatic notes, but I can't pick anything else out. I ADORE this. To the point where I may have to get Beth to do a custom scent for me that is just an exact recreation of this.

 

Only downside is that it's not the longest lasting fragrance. Given that I'm going to want to conserve this, having to reapply a lot is going to be a problem!

 

ETA: I have bottle XXXIV!

Edited September 2, 2004 by allidavie

[Sistinas]

I got my two bottles Chaos Theory XXV and L yesterday. I had some friends over to drink some margarita's and while partaking of drinks we played guess the elements.

 

Chaos XXV is truly awesome and I adore it. At first I was guessing that maybe it had vanilla and musk in it, which musk it is, I have no idea. My friends agree with the musk and now that I have had more time to inhale it, I don't detect vanilla. The musk is warm and delicious and I believe there is some sandalwood in it also.

I cannot quite smelling myself, it is truly fabulous.

A male friend who was with us last night really liked it and commented on how this scent did it for him,* mental note to self: NEVER wear this around him, since I don't want his attention.

 

 

Chaos L is like on the other end of the spectrum for me. In the bottle it is tropical. Coconut comes out, but there is a juicy fruity scent that underlies. I am guessing guava or passionfruit, I wish I could be sure. On the drydown the coconut is still there and the fruit is not so strong, but there is also a buttery smell too. It is making me hungry. It is nice, but I am not into tropical scents for myself. I might try using it in the oil burner, if not it will go up for swap.

[antimony]

I've got Chaos Theory XLII

 

In the bottle, I can't really pin down any notes... tropical fruit? something like that.

 

Wet, it's tropical fruit and melted butter, but it's settling really quickly. There's flowers in here too, but I think they're not normal flowers. It's not rose or "white florals", maybe it's orchids? No coconut, though.

 

Now that it's drying, it's really mixing with my own scent. It smells like my skin, if my skin was made of tropical Starburst candies? It's hard to describe, but it's definately not one where you just smell the oil, I am willing to bet it's very very skin-chemistry sensitive.

 

I'm not really into the whole tropical thing, so I wont be freaking out that I can't get more. But it is awfully pretty, and I can see myself wearing it occationally. Good for a day at Six Flags, or some other very summery event.

[TrayLynn]

I got Chaos Theory XLIII

 

Smells like shredded rose stems and Van Van. I can definitely live without this one. I was hoping I would get one of the vanilla, coconutty, spicy ones. I'm not really that big of a floral fan and Van Van just smells dirty to me. Oh well I'm glad I didn't get a second bottle, two of these would have made me ill. I'm just disappointed after I read all the lovely reviews of the other mixes. Mine just smells boring like I mixed up two imps. Luckily I have my other obsessive Beth made scents to slather myself in

[lorajc]

I'll try my best to review my Chaos Theory V. My bottle had a defective cap and I only have about 1/4th of a bottle of this, so I hope I don't fall in love with it too much. On sniffing from the bottle, it smells similar to Black Phoenix....their signature oil, but with something spicy in the background. It burns slightly when applying and the only 3 things that have burned me are cinnamon, white cedar or the oil Black Phoenix, so I can't really pinpoint what it is. The oil is clear, not a color. It could have cinnamon in it or white cedar. Sometimes I sniff it and I think cinnamon and other times, I say mmmmmm....white cedar? There is a very sweet top note ....I'm guessing some type of sweet flower, but I haven't a clue. It stays about the same on the drydown, spicy and sweet. I don't think the base is musk, as it doesn't have the softness to it that musk does. It is a sharper scent. It may have a resinous base...myrrh?? It has taken me a couple of days to warm up to this scent. It still reminds me of a spicier version of Black Phoenix. I've never smelled anything quite like this. I'll give Beth kudos for making this a truly unique scent. I like it. I have 2 more bottles on order, so you'll see a couple more reviews from me. I ordered them all in separate orders.