Chaos Theory VI: Recursive Self-Similarity v5

[Juushika]

AMBER 100

 

In the vial: A musty dusty resin. It reminds me a bit more of Heavenly Love and Earthly Love's incense and resin combo than straight up amber. I can't understate the mustiness of the scent. There's another note in the background which I can't pin down.

 

On me: Smells like ... cooking? With spices. Savory spices. Maybe cumin? As it hits the skin this scent is rather confused: it's a powdery dusty amber with powdery savory spices, and that's an odd combination, however texture-consistent it may be. Things improve during drydown, as the savory spice morphs into something closer to a baking spice. There's some brown sugar sweetness to the scent, and it has a warm resinous base; the powdery musty aspect is still there, although it's leaning more towards spice cabinet than unaired closet. This is in a way a cousin to Gunpowder: it's the scent of foodstuffs or food preparation, but its other aspects (here, resin and mustiness) keep it from being foody. Scent-color is tan and scent-texture is powdery; throw is moderate-low and wear length is average.

 

Verdict: Application is a bitch, because the first stages of this scent are frankly unpleasant. But the drydown is growing on me. Amber 100 is still a bit strange, a little too musty and powdery even for me (and I love powdery ambers) and there's still something a little odd going on in the background. But the resin/spice/brown sugar combo is ... quite nice, actually. I'll have to give this one another go sometime, to see if both my fondness and interpretation of the notes stays stable, but for now I'm pretty pleased.

 

ETA: Over a year later, and Amber 100's mustiness is gone, taking with it much of the powder. It's savory spice and brown sugar over a resin base now, with almost no morphing except for some heavy, almost sour spice in the vial and during drydown. Stabilization does this scent many favors—it's still quite strange, something of a masculine and distinctly un-foody take on this sort of spice combination, but everything I liked best about the fresh oil is now consistently and perhaps more potently present, savory and rich without being heavy, made palatable by the touch of sweetness, unusual and subtly fantastic.

 

 

AMBER 124

 

In the vial: There's no real scent in the vial—a hint of pale yellow-golden amber, but not much of anything at all.

 

On me: Goes on as amber, amber, amber—Haunted's golden amber, without any black musk but with a touch of the lemony note Haunted has when wet, and unlike Haunted more resinous than powdery. Drydown is amber, amber, amber—almost a single note, warm and light and just a touch powdery now, a simple but lovely golden amber. But after a while I'd almost swear there's some cocoa in this, adding a touch more powder and giving the scent a bit more color and body, as well as a bit of sweetness. It reminds me of Gelt, except where Gelt is dry and almost arid this is warm, gentle, and much more welcoming. Scent-color is golden and scent-texture is slightly powdery. Throw is moderate—it's a gentle scent, hard to catch intentionally but floating around in a pleasant, accidentally-noticed haze. Wear length is pretty long.

 

Verdict: I'm quite pleased. This isn't a bold scent, and its initial gentle, pure amber might be a bit of a disappointment if I weren't such an amber lover. But it dries down to something gently wonderful: the most palatable sort of golden amber, warm and soft—and, unless I'm mistaken, dusted with a bit of light cocoa. There's beauty in Amber 124's simplicity: it's not complex, but it's lovely and the cocoa (if it is cocoa) gives it just enough depth to hold one's attention. I'm quite enjoying this, and it's a definite keeper.

 

 

AMBER 184

 

In the vial: Drugstore-perfumey men's cologne, alcohol-based and nondescript.

 

On me: Goes on as that same miserable cologne, which isn't a scent I know well or much like, so I can't pretend to pick out notes. Drydown, however, is a marked improvement. The alcohol/aquatic/ozone aspect dies off, leaving behind a pleasant but somewhat generic masculine scent. A touch of cologne remains, and I still can't pin down specific notes—especially because it keeps morphing, from spicy herbal resin to something sweeter, maybe by way of musk. Sometimes it reminds me of an unrefined Robin Goodfellow with a punch of excess sweetness. Before too long (an hour or three), though, it fades away. Throw is moderate, wear-length is low.

 

Verdict: Well that was an adventure. This is a little too masculine a scent for me, and I'm not familiar enough with its general category to pretend to dissect its notes. My general impression, however, is mixed. Amber 184 begins poorly and ends quickly and somewhat overbalanced towards sweetness, but there's a middle period where the scent is fairly pleasant: a spicy, herbal, sweetened amber, masculine and warm, unrefined and indistinct perhaps but not bad. Regardless this isn't a keeper, for me—I'll pass it along.

Edited September 13, 2011 by Juushika

[panavatar]

I received 3 bottles of this: 17, 114, and 152. I want to preface this by saying that I have yet to figure out what amber actually smells like.

 

17: In the bottle, a wee bit potpourri-y with a tart apple undertone. On my skin it does something funky and smells way too perfume-y for me.

 

114: In the bottle, it's this very complex fruity almost chocolatey or coffee smell, but also kind of like Alice. On my skin the Alice note really blossoms. I'm not sure what that note is but my husband says it's baby powder. It DOES kind of remind me of babies for some reason, but baby powder isn't quite right. Maybe baby shampoo? I think it might be carnations, though. I love this scent!

 

152: This is some kind of fresh spring florals. Not tested on skin.

[hkath]

#202

 

I bought this off a forumite who described it as a soft, watery floral. In the bottle, it's a pleasant, soft floral. I smell water lily and lotus. The first time I wore it, 1-2 weeks ago, the amber never showed itself - the scent was pleasant, but never morphed beyond the initial bottle scent and reminded me more of a soft, flowery lotion than a perfume. I considered scenting a bit of lotion with it and set it aside to try again later.

 

I'm so glad I didn't just dump it in some lotion! Tried it again yesterday - it's still a soft, wet floral in the bottle with no trace of amber, but when I put it on this time, the amber sidled up, all glowy behind the flowers, and was all, "Hey, remember Bastet? Yeah, this is the pond I drowned her in." That's what I get now: just enough interplay of the lotus note with amber to remind me a bit of Bastet, with this gorgeous watery lily scent. I couldn't believe how much I liked it; I just kept sniffing all evening!

 

And now I'm thinking, if it's changed this much in just a week or two, how's it going to smell in six months?

Edited July 27, 2010 by Kath

[Greenwoodtree]

Received this as a decant - so no idea what bottle #

 

Anyway, All I can think of is what gummy cola bottles taste like - its got that definite citrus in there, along with the spices of a cola scent. Not unpleasant, but way too sweet & DEFINITELY not for me.

 

Washed off - and soon to swap away!

[cameroncrazed]

Amber 148.

 

In the bottle: Caramel. Or maybe butterscotch. I get the 2 confused. Some sort of syrupy goodness involving heart-attack-inducing amounts of butter and indecent bucket-loads of sugar.

 

On the skin: Prepare a shot of top-quality espresso. Add in a shot of dark chocolate syrup, followed by 2 ounces of hazelnut syrup. Because you're feeling particularly naughty, add just a minute splash of dark rum. Slowly whisk while pouring in 8 ounces of skim milk. Top with a dollop of freshly whipped cream and a drizzle of homemade caramel sauce. Apply to skin every 12 hours (more often would be quite unnecessary as the scent lingers for the longest time).

 

 

Love this scent! Reminds me slightly of Miskatonic University blended with Gluttony, only better. I'm serious about the scent lingering - if I dab it on at night, I can still smell it the next morning. A few days ago, I wore it to work. I'm notorious for my mocha habit - I have to have one every afternoon, and I usually get a blackberry mocha. About an hour before my usual coffee time, a coworker asked me if I'd gotten my fix early that day and why did I switch to a hazelnut mocha? (of course when I explained that it was my perfume, the response was a baffled "girls are weird, coffee perfume whut?" type, but still )

Edited August 5, 2010 by BellaKatrina

[countessmouse]

Amber 51

 

Yum! Warm, wonderful amber and a light, sweet floral (not white, but pink?). What a beautiful scent!

[kyrsed]

#373

 

In bottle: It almost smells like there is a lot of spice and maybe coffee in this one. It reminds me of the initial smell of The Feast For The Greatly Revered Ones - the main difference being no cocoa or wine.

 

On the skin: Definitely spicy! The amber is there but very faint. I'm getting a lot of pepper. Not sure how I feel about this. I'm going to make my SO try it and see how it changes. It's definitely a more masculine scent, which I usually love.

[countessmouse]

Amber 96

 

It's like being in a room filled with brand new plastic dolls. Hundreds of them. And the smell of new plastic is all you get - nothing else.

 

As an aside, the boyfriend commented that if I put enough of it on and sat in the car for a few hours, it might recapture that new car smell...

 

Off to the swap pile for this one.

[countessmouse]

Amber 140

 

Amber and dusty floral. A little sweet, but not unpleasantly so. Quite nice.

[countessmouse]

Amber 159

 

Wow! Amber, chocolate and a rich, boozy Bourbon vanilla. And what a strong throw!

 

ETA: Add a rich, outrageous floral to the description. That came out to play after a couple of hours. 14 hours after application, I smell like I just put it on.

Edited August 17, 2010 by countessmouse

[countessmouse]

Amber 385

 

This has a wet floral note to it. I want to say lotus, but I haven't had lotus come off like this with an odd plasticky smell. Not totally obnoxious, but slightly weird.

 

This one goes into the "interesting" category and perhaps off to the swap box.

[Ondine]

#398. Previously reviewed from a decant circle as "shortbread cookies to me. It's got that dry/flaky cookie scent. Not overly buttery, but pretty rich" and "caramel corn on this one. Totally overpowered the amber, too."

 

I get buttery caramel or kettle corn with very little amber. This is amazing and perfect for me. It's like what I wanted Shill to be. Buttered popcorn, but sweet, not salty. It smells exactly like movie theatre popcorn on me. The only downside is that it's a light, brief scent. It's gone pretty quickly. But while it's there--man! It's wonderful.

[milo]

Amber #27

 

Wow, this is truly amazing, I wish I had more than the imp of this!

 

Wet, and in the imp, it's kind of a fresh amber with a resin, possibly frankincense? It almost smells a bit citrussy from the freshness

10 minutes in, this is pretty much a dead ringer for Zenobia. The freshness is gone, and it's more sweet resins at this point.

After half an hour, I'm thinking that I smell Snake Oil, but now it's a warmer, amber Snake Oil oozing with some kind of sweet vanilla musk. The closest Snake it reminds me of is Western Diamondback, so maybe there's some tonka here? I'm in LOVE and if anyone from Jen's circle doesn't want their #27 Amber Chaos imp, you know where to find me!

Edited September 18, 2010 by milo

[plainjean]

#207

 

In the decant, it's very much melon. Sort of a mix of watermelon and honeydew, with a bit of a perfumey air, probably due to the amber. When wet, it's very much the same and I quite like it. The thought that came into my head was, "This would be perfect for summer." But then..THEN. It turns into generic bathroom cleaner, possibly pine scented. I had such high hopes for you, #207! Alas. To the swaps pile you go!

[fairestrocza]

#118

 

Notes: Amber, lotus, and probably honey, a bit of red musk, and something 'golden'

 

In the Bottle: A golden, honeyed, spiced amber.

 

Wet on Skin: A brief burst of bubblegum (lotus?)

 

While Drying: The lotus disappates, and a deep, rich, creamy, spicy amber blooms.

 

After a Little While: Warmer and sweeter than most other amber blends I've tried.

 

Later: This has major lasting power. I can still smell the scent after more than 12 hours. After the lotus disappears, the scent remains constant though the other stages - a warm, glowing, substantial, smoothly spicy scent. This is my #1 scent, without a doubt.

 

Final Thoughts: I was wavering over whether or not to order an Amber chaos bottle. Ultimately, I decided I should, because I like amber, but I don't have many amber blends that I love, and thus, if it worked out, it would not be redundant. I am SO glad I ordered this bottle. It is the most gorgeous amber blend I have tried. The amber reminds me of Tamora, Haunted and The Lion.

I finally have a context to put this in: Imagine combining The Infernal Lover and The Lion, tamp down the red musk note from TIL, and add a bit of lotus. I'll be using the Lion+Lover combo to approximate this chaos blend when I run out.

Amber #118 earns a 5/5 (ok, a 500 out of 5) on my skin. This is my #1 for all time scent.

[Dark Alice]

99: Bright clean amber with hints of clove. It is lovely..but a wee bit strong. I think with age this will be beautiful.

[slayheim]

I haven't tried many scents with amber in it, so I wouldn't be able to pick it out unless I had an SN of it.

 

 

#6: Illustrated Woman! It smells almost exactly like Illustrated Woman (which is possibly my favorite BPAL other than Bake Sale v3), but with something a little sweeter attached to it. Like a fresh powdered doughnut got dunked in it. It's gorgeous!

#360: It starts off as a very sweet, feminine-masculine scent (you know the kind of men's cologne that women don't mind wearing?) -- it strongly reminds me of Burberry Brit/Burberry Weekend, but as it dries down there's something spicy-sweet, cinnamon or maybe ginger? It's really nice and the throw is great!

 

Edit: six hours later, 360 smells very much like just an SN bourbon vanilla. Om nom nom.

Edited October 5, 2010 by Lucille

[forspecial_plate]

100

 

[Previously reviewed at the top of this page]

 

.....and I get a totally different impression of this one! If I didn't know I would guess it's a vanilla Chaos Theory, not amber. It smells like lemon vanilla cream with some ginger. I do get a little of the dusty note that Juushika mentioned, but other than that you'd think I have a totally different scent here! This is like a dessert that I would want to eat. Lemon ginger cream pie or something. Yum! Must be a white or light amber because I'm not getting powder at all, just a faint flat dusty-ness. Who knows.

[CreamyJade]

Amber #214

 

In the bottle: Sweet tobacco, ylang ylang, very strong amber, it has a caramelized scent (not burnt caramel, but maybe a brown sugar note).

Wet on skin: The same, but stronger!

Dry on skin: Strong powdered amber, tobacco, brown sugar, ylang ylang. It's no morpher, but what a throw!

Final thoughts: I like to think that the Chaos bottles I order choose me, even though I've had some misses in the past (aquatics! strawberry bubble gum!). I've kept #214, though I haven't worn it much. The blend has the same mean streak as Interfector (which is why I won't need a bottle of that one), but sweetened by a brown sugar note similar as the one in Spicebush Swallowtail and by ylang ylang.

[milo]

#138 Wet, this is candied fruit and amber. I think it is of the red fruit variety, probably strawberry, I don't think it has the raspberry tartness or 'feel' of it. Whatever the case, it's really juicy, and there is also a bit of nut vibe and of course, the musky amber, which is really a lovely note on me. Not really a fan of candied fruit or nut scents, though, so I'll pass this imp onto someone else who will enjoy it more than me.

 

eta: Ha, I do believe the fruit is juicy blackberry syrup, not strawberry.

Edited March 29, 2011 by milo

[dreamingjune]

#231 Amazing vanilla richness, lightly spiced, lightly musky. Like the best possible combo of how Morocco used to smell and how it currently smells. There is definitely a Celeste style vanilla in there too.

[AEris]

I got a testable sniffie of this as a swap freebie, and I LOVE it!!! I've gotten several compliments on how I smell good. It's musky and warm, powdery undertone but not annoyingly so, and a sweet thread of creamy vanilla (although not foody). The spicy-sweet that Lucille mentioned makes me think of Calypso St. Barth's "Lea" perfume, which is musk, vanilla, and almond. This scent is so happy with my chemistry. I'm really digging it!

 

#360: It starts off as a very sweet, feminine-masculine scent (you know the kind of men's cologne that women don't mind wearing?) -- it strongly reminds me of Burberry Brit/Burberry Weekend, but as it dries down there's something spicy-sweet, cinnamon or maybe ginger? It's really nice and the throw is great!

 

Edit: six hours later, 360 smells very much like just an SN bourbon vanilla. Om nom nom.

[alterosen]

#176 starts out kind of citrusy (maybe some kind of peel?) & then the slightly syrupy floral I always think is champaca but perhaps is something else. Not much amber but quite pleasant.

[Monday]

#390

 

Previously reviewed here.

 

This is the fullest bottle of Bpal that I ever seen.

Wet: this starts out as amber and black musk, nice and powdery. Yup there's definitely black musk in here it resembles Haunted. It's getting more spicy and woodsy when it dries down.

Dry: well the musk and amber are still present, there's also a hint of spiciness coming through. It's still mostly amber and black musk though. It's the love child of The Lion and Haunted!

 

I love black musk but I already have a bottle of Haunted. Off to the swaps with this Chaos Theory.

[Monday]

#28

 

This is a tough one. Amber, moss and a green floral. Chrysanthemum? Marigold? It's bright and cheerful. Not something for me though.