Chaos Theory VI: Recursive Self-Similarity v7

[Little Bird]

42. I kinda love this one. At times it reminds me of the clean vanilla tea in Dorian, and then of the warm vanilla floral in Liz that's slightly powdery. But it also has a bit of a buttery, cake-y sort of vanilla tone to it and a hint of vanilla muskiness as well. It's like all of my favorite vanillas tucked into one perfume. It is really light and subtle on me, though. It doesn't have much throw and only lasts about a half hour on my skin. Still, very lovely, and it makes me wish that I'd gotten a couple bottles of vanilla chaos theory (and more than a partial decant of this one in particular, lol).

[miss_rynn]

After hearing about such a high proportion of cakey/frostingy/foody blends, I thought I'd take the plunge and try my luck with two bottles. Alas, I was not lucky enough to get blends which particularly work for me.

 

378 - this smells pale, wet and cool, like under-ripe watermelon or the inside of the skins of under-ripe bananas. I can hardly smell any vanilla in the bottle - it just smells like cool green humidity. On the skin, the vanilla comes out a little more, but it is certainly not a vanilla in the forefront smell. It's in no way unpleasant, and if watery scents (as opposed to ocean scents) were your thing, I suspect this would work for you. I am not, so it has no love from me.

 

446 - I think I prefer this one of the two, but it's not exactly my kind of scent either. In the bottle and initially on the skin, it is a bright, sharp, strong, sweet lemon scent. Like lemon drops. I must get a little honey, too, because it smells almost exactly like honey lemon Strepsils taste (without the menthol note). As it dries down, it has a pronounced smokey caramel note which reminds me a little of Agrat-bat-mahlaht or Gluttony. Now, I love caramel, but the Lab's caramel note rarely works on my skin. The vanilla is a little stronger in this one than in 378, but it's mostly sweet lemon and caramel. Too bad I'm not a huge fan of citrus scents. :/

 

I'm hoping that with aging, the vanilla comes out more in both of them, and the lemon note fades in 446.

[Juushika]

Lookin' at Vanilla #15

 

In the vial: Sweet, foody/fruity but with a touch of floral, thick but powdery, and it reminds me a bit of Sweet Tarts.

 

On me: There's a bit of resin/amber as it hits the skin, and the scent on the skin smells less liquid than it did in the imp. All in all, though, not much changes: this is a powdery soft fruity floral with a Sweet Tarts edge. It reminds me a little of the combination of opaque white vanilla and dry florals in Antique Lace, and of the powdery sweet floral of Regan. Scent-color is a very pale, opaque lilac; throw is moderate-low and wear length is fairly short.

 

Verdict: This isn't one for me. As in Antique Lace and Regan, I find the vanilla and powdery/dry floral combination is a little stuffy and cloying; the fruity Sweet Tarts aspect doesn't help matters. Vanilla 15 is somewhere between vanilla candle, cheap candy, and grandma's soap, yet stays pretty tame and fades in an hour or three: not desirable, but fairly inoffensive, and still one I'll send away.

[Ajila]

154

 

In the bottle – A milky coffee scent with a touch of caramel

 

Wet on me – Still coffee, but with a slightly dusty, slightly sharp wood smell

 

Dry on me – A soft milky coffee scent

 

Overall – Nice, but I would have likes more vanilla

[minnalavender]

I got #559!

 

I have almost NO idea what the notes are in this scent, but once again my luck with the CTs has won out because whatever the components, this is really, really beautiful. I can detect some kind of light musk, a citrusy note, and a very light, non-foody vanilla, and that's about it. Whatever the notes actually are, they all blend into a sweet, innocent, gentle kind of scent that is both soft and comforting. It reminds me a little of Comforting Plush Companion and a little of Love's Baby Soft perfume from the 70's. It suits me to a T!

 

I'm so lucky! I will treasure this scent.

[Dharklady]

I just received #563.

 

I had a really hard time identifying the notes in this one. The in-bottle scent highlights the non-vanilla note, which I simply can't place. It's not one of my normal favorites, because I'm pretty good at picking those out. It has a lovely creamy, sweet freshness to it. It reminds me of a cross between a slightly spicy light melon and a light floral or resin (if it is floral it's one that's sweet without being very flowery). Wet, a creamy vanilla begins to emerge and blends seamlessly with the fresh sweetness. After about an hour I'm mostly left with vanilla with just the hint of that bright freshness, and another hour after that merely the memory of vanilla (but very few scents last long on me). Because of it's lightness and freshness I would say this is a spring/summer scent. I really like the feel of it though not knowing the note is driving me crazy (maybe it's lotus and/or amber?). It's definitely different then my normal go-to's and I'm strongly debating with myself over whether I want to keep it or not as it really is a lovely summer scent...

[ami226]

386

 

You know, this one is really interesting!

 

At first it is a smooth christmas tree scent with vanilla. Sounds strange, but I smelled it and it instantly made me think of Christmas time. Soooooo comforting and happy! On the dry down the christmas tree part fades a bit and it is mostly smooth vanilla with hint of christmas tree. I think there is also a bit of spice here. Just an overall Christmasy scent that is really pretty!

 

I am not sure how I feel about this. I really like the smell, but I am not sure if I will wear it often.

[portalkat]

Bottle #557

 

This came in the mail a few days ago, but I couldn't open it until today because it was a birthday present from my DH and today is the day, so..........O M G it's coffee with vanilla and a sort of amaretto note. This is absolutely perfect. I don't lean towards foody scents, but I love coffee perfumes even though I don't drink coffee. In some ways, this reminds me of Misk U, but with more of a French roast note. The amaretto note is mostly while wet. When it dries, it smells more like French roast with a creamy vanilla and a bit of hazelnut. The throw is pretty strong and I only put a little on my wrists. This is my favorite of all the CTs that I've ever ordered and I will be keeping this and wearing it often.

[panavatar]

I received bottles 43, 78, 84, 116, 150, and 163.

 

43: In the bottle, this smells a lot like Butter Rum Lifesavers, but with a kind of plasticky undertone. On my skin it turns to the spices in spiced rum.

 

78: In the bottle, it smells like lemon and vanilla and a kind of warm baking-bread-y smell. On my skin it smells exactly like the taste of a very sugary lemon candy.

 

84: Hmm...hard to place. In the bottle it's like...a warm herbaly smell? It kind of smells like air conditioner! Not tested on skin.

 

116: This is super boozy. Kind of like Possets' 1000 Proof Egg Nog but more sour. Not tested on skin.

 

150: Some kind of floral. Not tested on skin.

 

163: This one is a real mystery. Kind of marshmallowy. Sweet. Light.

 

I am terrible with notes but those are my best guesses!

[claudia6913]

#505 (bottle received via swap).

 

In the bottle: Smells like a vanilla butterscotch candy.

 

Wet on skin: The butterscotch calms down and I get a fruity sort of scent trying to come through. (I sneezed just prior to testing this bottle and it's not helping lol.)

 

On the dry-down: I'm having a hard time smelling anything at the moment (stupid nose) but I'm still getting a much more creamy butterscotch scent with a sweet fruity type scent. The person I got it from mentioned dragon's blood and I agree. Ether that or a cherry - but it's definitely something red and a little juicy.

 

Dry: This is a creamy cherry vanilla mix with possibly a bit of dragon's blood and another scent that seems to be grounding it, but I can't really pick it out.

 

Overall I like this. It's not heavy, not foodie, but sweet and nice. It does stay close to the skin though.

[mrstkeller]

Just received #535 today from LJ sale and it is YUMMY!! On my skin it smells like Antique Lace and Love's Philosophy had a most advantageous love child. It is creamy and I lightly pick up that saffron note from LP, but has a soft clean linen feel to it as well. Overall. . . just a delicious non-foody creamy scent. My husband actually really likes it (which is kinda rare), definitely a keeper.

[CreamyJade]

I received #170.

 

In the bottle: A strong sweet smelling bourbon vanilla, with hints of citrus underneath.

Wet on skin: I can smell the citrus a bit more clearly; it's creamy, mild and not overwhelming. It's not lemon, nor lime, nor grapefruit (certainly not orange), just very citrus, the way Meyer lemons smell like.

Dry on skin: The drydown is a cotton candy vanilla, quite similar to the one in Antique Lace or Black Lace, along with small hints of citrus. It's definately not a morpher.

Final thoughts: I'm quite happy with this Chaos bottle! It smells foody, without completely being foody, which suits me, plus it lasts & lasts. It reminds me of sophisticated lemon madeleines, without a bakery smell.

[ami226]

567

 

Hmmmmm, this one is very fluffy. Kinda what I thought Fledging Raptor Moon would smell like! I think there is orris here.... It is just a very fluffy/sweet scent similar to Great Grey Witch and Signior Dildo. On the dry down I get more vanilla with the fluffiness. Not bad, but sadly not my thing.

 

-ETA- This scent lasts a loooooong time. Now all I can smell is a lovely, yummy vanilla.

Edited July 27, 2010 by Catseyes

[bloody sore]

40: Sweet vanilla and coffee. I think. This reminds me of my mother. What she smells like when she's been baking. A very comforting and soft scent, it sticks close, but lasts a long long time. Wife says it reminds her of gingerbread dough, but I do not get any of the spice, just the creamy sugar part. Amazing.

 

175: If it didn't know better I would think this was the forest reverie. It has the same sharpness that I can't place and throws me off a bit. I need to try these two side by side.

 

213: This is mostly vetiver, which I love. It's the same one that's in typhon, sweetened with just a touch of vanilla. Very nice. Especially nice that it is full way into the neck.

[yokaitenchi]

Vanilla CT: 653

Vanilla and some sort of sugared flower and berry. A lot like Faith without the metal. would be beautiful, except the vanilla is doing its cloying-powder thing on me

[megank4]

360.

 

This is a sugary vanilla, full to almost overflowing.

 

Nice scent, first CT I have received that I like.

 

360.

 

This is a sugary vanilla, full to almost overflowing.

 

Nice scent, first CT I have received that I like.

[steelgossamer]

I have imps of:

 

#315 - This one was lightly fruity, creamy, and with a bit of a spicy drydown. I think there's apple in this one, along with nutmeg and cinnamon. I can't pick out any other notes as it's really well blended and mostly dries down to a creamy spicy slightly fruity scent. I really really like this one.

 

#1?? - This imp came from a smudged label bottle. It had a 1, what looked like a backwards 3, and what looked like a backwards 6. The last two numbers were really smudged, and neither myself nor the decanter could figure out what they were. At any rate, it started off all smoke. Like the smoke note from Djinn. As it dried down, I got leather like from Liz (Hellboy), and the vanilla came through. Dry, it smells just like Liz without the florals. It's gorgeous and I wish I knew which number it was so I could try to swap for more of it! Curses!

 

#349 - A bit sweetly soapy. Clean, very lightly floral, and sweet. I like this one a lot. It gets sweeter over time and a bit softer too. I can't tell which floral notes are in this one. They all mingle together nicely, and none of them are too heavy. No lilac, lotus, violet, or jasmine here, though. If I had to venture a guess, I would say there are likely lilies in there.

 

#222- Herbal and head shop like. The vanilla smells strong in the decant, but fades away during the dry down into an herbal, slightly astringent head shop scent with underlying sweetness. Very strange. It morphs over time into something a little sweeter and softer, but still weird. This stuck around for a while, and ended up being sweet, soft, and a bit spicy with an herbal edge to it.

 

#354- FOODIE! This one smells like delicious vanilla cake with spices. A bit like a vanilla pumpkin pie. Definitely a keeper <3

[hkath]

I got #691.

 

In the bottle, I get a rich, round vanilla and a bit of soft chocolate. This may or may not be the kind of foody that I'm not crazy about.

 

Wet, the chocolate is barely detectable. Excellent. It's more of an impression of chocolate, really. I also suddenly notice myrrh, which you'd think I would have noticed in the bottle!

 

Dry-down: There's this slow back-and-forth between soft smokiness and a kind of heady sweetness. Wow. Chocolate is all gone at this stage - I'm not entirely convinced it was ever there. Possibly my nose was just very confused when sniffing the bottle.

 

Dry: Fades to a sweet, smoky, resinous vanilla. Not at all overwhelming or foody. It's kind of amazing, actually. *clings to bottle*

 

ETA: I left for dinner and couldn't update, and it was on my mind all night to edit this post! Right when I left, so about 45 minutes to an hour into wearing this, it morphed and this GORGEOUS worn leather note came forward. Vanilla, myrrh and leather - nothing I would have sought out on my own, and it's breathtaking! I would not give this bottle up for anything!

Edited July 31, 2010 by Kath

[Concupiscentia]

CCC or 666 (Anyone knows if it is letters or numbers, cause I cant read :-S)

 

In the bottle: A spicy floral, but also dusty.

 

On the skin: Creamy cardamom floral.

 

Dried down: Antique lace. Or a twin sister with a hint of cardamom. Cousin to Black lace, but far more innocent.

Once dried, it is better on me than the other two laces. Total win! I only wish there was more...

[mimosa]

I did so well with my first ever chaos I ordered two more.

 

696- a perfect number for my number obsessed daughter, divisible by three and palindromic, a really good omen so we tried this first.

In the bottle very faint spice, possibly some almond and maybe the tiniest milk note. On the skin, this is perfect, beautifully blended, I can't pick out any notes but it is absolutely gorgeous.

 

686- Wet green vanilla smell (like Love's Philosophy). Unleashed from the bottle, mint/eucalyptus and vanilla.

On the skin the eucalyptus is dominant initially, then the mint with a background of vanilla. Where Tokyo Stomp is sweet Murray mint, this is snow covered icy green mint vanilla. I wasn't too sure about this to begin with, as it is a little weird but it's growing on me. I think it will become a favourite too.

 

So that's three out of three keepers, I wish I had ordered more now.

[iriedanym]

I've got a rather full bottle of #579. In the bottle it smells like an almost lighter version of Khajurho. On the skin-still smells like vanilla and some wildflower, or maybe even dandelion sap. On the drydown- hmm, can't really tell the vanilla is there other than a slight cream and flower scent.

 

I was hoping for a foody scent, but this one isn't bad. And at least it doesn't smell like burnt plastic.

[ami226]

51

 

In the bottle: Butterscotch? It might actually be bourbon vanilla because apparently it always smells like butterscotch to me. Veeeeeery foody.

 

On the skin: Yep, pretty much the same from application to dry down. A rich, rich, super rich butterscotch vanilla. Definitely getting vanilla. This is just so crazy foody to me, and I am afraid that I just can't handle it! I would love to eat it though!

[sunshinedaisybliss]

Bottle #49

 

Opening up the bottle, I can immediately smell gingerbread cookies! But not in the style of previous gingerbread-based BPALs.. this has a sweet softness atop the spice and sugar feel of the gingerbread. On my skin, nothing changes much for the first 5 minutes.. but then the lovely vanilla comes out, and the gingerbread smell takes on a different dimension. I can smell the spices more now (there's definitely some cinnamon and maybe a touch of nutmeg in here), but the vanilla is creamy and rich. Hmm.. this is getting interesting!

 

Half an hour later, and the vanilla has warmed up nicely to be more of a match for the gingerbread. Now I'd say it's about even.. the spiciness of the gingerbread has softened up, and whilst there's still a definite gingerbread cookie vibe here - the 'nose tickling' feel of the spices in the gingerbread has gone.

 

One hour in, and now I've got a deliciously soft and creamy vanilla/gingerbread mix. The spices have mellowed nicely - they're still in there, but more in the background. The vanilla's beautiful here - it's rich and creamy, rather than sweet or sickly. Now it's more like gingerbread icecream.. is there such a thing?!? if not, there should be!! - yum! Oh.. and I should mention, it's been on my skin for six hours now, and it's still smelling great - this one has excellent staying power.

 

As gorgeous as this is, I'm not sure I'll wear it enough to justify keeping it.. so I'm putting it up for swaps. It's far too nice to just sit in my drawer!

[kikithepirate]

#659

 

One of the faintest, lightest BPAL oils I've ever gotten! It's so faint, I've lathered it all over my wrist in my attempt to really figure out what in the deuce it actually smells like. Very light vanilla and... maybe a bit of musk? White musk, probably? It fades so quickly, I seriously have no idea -- and I'm usually pretty damn good at picking out notes. It's slightly feminine, though not overwhelmingly girly. Huh. I'll come back and edit if I ever reach a conclusion. I LIKE how it smells on my arm, I just have no idea WHAT it smells like.

[Ondine]

#575, previously reviewed by claudia6913:

 

There's a dark layer of sediment on the bottom (not very much) and a much lighter, almost clear probably, layer at the top. After mixing them together I get an almost-masculine, Yule-like scent that is quickly replaced by vanilla/resin incense--something like Fred Soll might make. This is definitely a fall scent and very pretty!

 

#543, previously reviewed on Livejournal as "slightly sweet, dark-ish vanilla, tart, zesty, zingy lime, a little booze (possibly rum), and something grassy/herbal, perhaps lemongrass and some fresh ginger."

 

Pretty much all clear here--no layers. It smells kind of like an evil Tiki Bar scent! I smell something greenish and herbal, but it's not a planting or floral type green, more like a herbal green as noted above. I do smell something citrusy and maybe it's lime or lemon. Not much lemongrass coming through. It's a really interesting, complex scent.