Thirteen (13): May 2011

[windbourne]

This 13 is all about getting lucky! A base of rich cacao absolute and honey with thirteen lust-inspiring oils: patchouli, vanilla absolute, rose otto, red sandalwood, devil’s bit, caraway, cardamom, cubeb, carrot seed, ginseng, yohimbe, saffron, and grains of paradise.

Fresh out of the box, this is, and no lie, but I have a hard time waiting to try my 13 bottles. :3 It's one of the releases I most look forward to, even though there have been a few that really didn't work on me. Still, they're different every time, so I always get one. The label on this one is nice, too--black with a red '13' that looks like a peephole into a scene of some possible debauch.

So. In the bottle this one worried me. It's a little bit cocoa, like they usually are, but with a weird sour herbal tang that I didn't like much at first (and I generally like herbal). However, on my skin, it blossoms into a definitely strange, but amazing blend of slight rose and sandalwood and citrus. The chocolate scent is -gone-, absolutely vaporized under the herbs. The patchouli starts to grow in strength, but it doesn't seem to be heading towards dirty at all. This is a remarkably clean scent for a lust-inducing blend, though the ginseng lends it a slight earthiness. Like most 13s, some of the notes are a little weak, but I expect they'll grow stronger as they age and, even more, as I let it settle and blend.

It's got a pretty decent throw for the first while; I can smell it wafting off my wrists as I type. Longevity seems moderate. I suspect that I'll have a certain amount of lingering fragrance as the day wears on, but I think I'm the only one who will know it, and then only if I really huff my wrists.

I think I like it, and it's really not at all like any of the others I've tried. I thought the last one wasn't particularly chocolatey, but this one is even less so. I admit that I'm having a little bit of difficulty grasping it. There's something about it that just kind of slips past my attention, almost hypnotic in nature. I'm going to give it a month or so to settle and see what happens then, but I think I can see a place for this bottle in my collection. I don't know about lust-inspiring, but it's definitely keeping me distracted.

I'd give this a color range from medium auburn to creamy golden yellow. It's that kind of scent; mellow in some phases and sharp in others.

ETA: Boyfriend likes it. :3

[VioletChaos]

In The Bottle: the cacao is strong with this one (said in Yoda voice). I'm also getting a hint of something spicy which i think is mostly the ginseng and a hint of the saffron bringing up the rear. Not a bad start!

 

Wet On Skin: Wow! That morphed completely! Now I'm getting all spice and some incense quality to it. I'd say it's the ginseng/yohimbe combo and something vaguely lemony, which I think might be the grains of paradise.

 

Dry Down: This is reminding me of the lemon-ironwood combo from one of the original Tiki blends, with a touch of the smokiness of leather and waaay in the background the cacao/vanilla absolute combination gives a hint- just a hint of sweetness. but make no mistake, this is NOT a foodie blend in any way.

 

In All: Low to medium throw, definitely an "incense" kind of blend. This has a more "serious" feel than usually comes with a 13 scent, and I welcome the change, as I almost always wind up trading my 13 blends after I'be worn them a few times. this one, though, is a keeper. Hold onto it- I have a feeling this is going to be very sought after.

 

[Invidiana]

YES. This Thirteen ties the October 06 one for deliciousness in my book. I don't even know what a couple of components in this smell like (yohimbe?) but I definitely get a warm smoky patchouli backed by cacao, vanilla, honey and sandalwood, in that order, with just a hint of spice. There is definitley a sexy zing from the saffron in there as well. I actually don't smell any rose! If I really concentrate I can tell there's the slightest hint of it there but there is nothing that jumps out as "rose" in this. It's like Banshee Beat's evil cousin and going to age gloriously.

[halation]

This is almost straight from the mailbox. I waited for twenty whole minutes, but then couldn't wait any longer.

 

In the bottle: delicious, delicious cocoa, with patchouli and vanilla in the background. It smells a little like a chocolate version of WILF, but with lemongrass instead of the juniper. The cocoa note is very strong.

 

Wet on skin: the lemony note begins to blossom, though the incense-and-cocoa remains in the foreground. On my skin, this is a lot like Tezcatlipoca is in the bottle -- not the peanut-butter-cup stage, but that awesome sexy cocoa that never happens on my skin. Except with lemon -- is this the cardamom, I wonder?

 

Beginning to dry down: the cocoa is gone! Gone completely. Aw, come back, I LOVE YOUUUUU.

 

Quite lemony now, with hints of rose. Patchouli does this awkward slight-whiff-of-Port-A-Potty thing on my skin about twenty minutes after application, but the lemon, mercifully, makes that hard to notice, and that stage is passing more quickly than usual with 13. The creaminess of the vanilla is coming out now and softening and sweetening the lemon, and I almost expected it to go in the direction of pound cake, but it stopped short of foodiness. Very light and breezy and summery, but with a sort of sexy, almost hot-and-sweaty feel underneath, which I think is the saffron? The grains of paradise? Something is definitely giving it a little heat. I was worried about the caraway, but if it's there, it just lends a touch of earthy richness. I do not smell like rye bread.

 

I only tested a tiny bit, but the throw seems fairly low. The lemon/patchouli element has more throw than the sexy spices; it sort of floats above the other notes. This is okay, though: the sexiness from the spices makes me want that layer close to my skin. The rose, like the cocoa, was fleeting: for me, that's a happy outcome, since rose usually stages a coup and takes over a blend completely. It didn't even make a bid for power, though.

 

I was hoping for more cocoa, but I kind of love it anyway. This 13 is like long, golden rays of sunlight stretching out over the grass on a perfect blue late afternoon in summer, with a slight breeze in the treetops, as shadows start to stretch out on the lawn. About an hour in, the lemon fades down, and as the incense comes out, that afternoon turns to twilight, then to evening. It's delicious, definitely lust-inspiring, and quite unlike anything else I've smelled. I think it will be a perfect scent for going out on summer nights.

 

After a few more hours, the lemony note faded away, and was replaced by sandalwood, blended with the vanilla. Then, after I went out into the miserably hot weather, the heat unlocked the cocoa! It came back to me! It's been more than five hours, so all I have now is just a hint of cocoa-vanilla-incense on my wrist. Quite lovely.

 

[ETA, 7/15/11: after two months' aging, I found the cocoa! Totally different scent. The lemon and spice is much much fainter, and the chocolate is strong -- almost like chocolate icing. I slathered, but the throw's pretty high and the staying power (10 hours and counting) is strong. I'm really surprised by the change -- it's quite striking. Happily, I like it both ways.)

Edited July 16, 2011 by halation

[chimera87]

 

I was so excited to try this. When I opened the bottle, it was gorgeous, and I thought that if it didn't morph too dramatically on my skin that it would definitely be a keeper.

 

In the bottle it is a most gorgeous cocoa scent with a drizzle of honey and lots of nice soft sandalwood and patchouli with a hint of something fruity and spicy. Must be the Cubeb and the Cardamom?

 

It dries down to just the spicy fruitiness. I smell a little bit of sandalwood still and something else slightly powdery. However, the yummy cocoa and even the patchouli (which normally amps on me like crazy) has vanished. Within less than 5 minutes. I'm now left with a slightly powdery, slightly spicy and slightly sexy bowl of froot loops. Lol. It's interesting but this will probably be finding a new home, because I just can't see myself wearing it

[MadameGorgon]

I tried this fresh out of the hot mailbox. Wait - schmait.

 

One word description: unusual

 

Grains of Paradise:

"A New York Times article written by Amanda Hesser has popularized grains of paradise. She wrote, "I put a few between my teeth and crunched. They cracked like coriander releasing a billowing aroma, and then a slowly intensifying heat, like pepper at the back of my mouth. The taste changes in a second. The heat lingered. But the spice flavor was pleasantly tempered, ripe with flavors reminiscent of jasmine, hazelnut, butter and citrus, and with the kind of oiliness you get from nuts"

 

Cubeb:

"They have an aroma and flavor similar to peppercorns, but with a note of allspice. The berries' pungent flavor with a touch of bitterness and camphor make it a specialty item. Cubeb is still used in the flavoring of cigarettes and spirits like gin and vodka and incense."

 

Devil's Bit:

"The leaves and shoots are edible, and the leaves also provide a green dye traditionally used for tartans. Bees, butterflies, and caterpillars love the flowers, which have a light honey scent. Devil's bit is protective in Hoodoo magic as well. Pieces of the root are added to incense burned to repel negative magic, put into protective mojo bags along with herbs like rue, and placed around the house or under the stoop for protection from baneful work. Growing some by your steps is a great way of protecting your home from violent magical attack"

 

I got the slightest hint of cocoa. A fairly earthy, dusty cocoa. Then ZINGGGG!! ZINGADING DING DING! Citrus. Definitely a lemony zinginess, but not 100% recognizable as lemon.

 

The lemony zing does seem to float around above a core of what must be patchouli and the jasmine element of the grains of paradise. Maybe it smells a little like the cloth that was wrapped around that magical crystal you bought off that blond dreadie chick dressed like a hippie fairy.

 

Seriously, not what I expected. The description made me think of chewy, foody, dark, dank, sweaty, sexy, dirty-luscious. What I got was breezy with a hint of earthy. Above poster described it well. Sunshine, blue skies, grassy, herbal, tiniest hint of floral.

 

I can't resist the 13s. I mean, really. A line of scents based on CHOCOLATE and the number 13? What's not to love? But I haven't decided if I LOVE this one. It was actually warm when it came out of the vial, so I will let it settle a good bit before I make my final decision. Maybe the citrus component was just particularly volitile.

[ajansuz]

This is one strange brew, friends. I really like it, but wow. Hard to put into words.

 

In the bottle, dry, in your face cocoa floating on a swanky, dirty bed of patchouli with something a little zingy/fruity like August 2010's 13 grape note, honey, and peppercorn spice to round it out.

 

Wet, my skin ate the cocoa alive. It was there for all of a hot minute and gone. The scent went all tar and incense, almost camphor-like and kinda scary. I smelled like a hot asphalt road next to some spicy, sun baked weeds. I reeaaalllly wasn't sure what to make of that phase.

 

Thankfully, it went away on the dry down. Now it's sweet, dry, and spicy. I amped the honey and the spices. For the first time I can pull out the saffron. There's still this peppercorn thing going, and the patchouli gets just a little dirty hippy. I happen to like that, though.

 

After about four hours, it's sweet, spicy, and a little powdery. All in all, this scent made me feel pretty powerful, sunny, and pleased without being bubbly or happy. I think with some aging it's going to be fantastic. I'm very glad I bought it.

[toku]

This is the first 13 where I've felt confident enough from the description to buy a bottle, and while it's not what I expected, I'm far from disappointed!

 

I get a strong cocoa scent from the bottle which disappears entirely once it hits my skin. Cocoa is not the best smell on me, so I'm actually ok with this. Wet on my skin it's extremely fresh and lemony, but a lemon that is reminiscent of lemon bars, not cleaning supplies, thankfully. After about 30 minutes it morphs and I don't have a clue how to describe it at this stage - slightly sour, a tiny bit pungent, maybe? - and this is my least favorite part. However, 1 to 2 hours into it the sourness or sharpness is gone and the spices, incensey bits, and honey are now much more prominent and really round it out a bit more. There is very little citrus left at this point. Overall it seems very light, or maybe it's just the weather or my current chemistry; I have to huff my skin to get any whiff of it at all.

 

I like it very much after it's been on an hour or longer, but I'll have to try it in a week or two to get another impression before I decide whether it's a keeper for me.

 

ETA: about 5 hours after applying, this is mostly honey-ish on me. I seem to amp honey. There's a tad bit of spice/incense under that if I concentrate on finding it. Overall at this point it is faint, but considering that most blends I have tend to last around 3-5 hours on me, that's not bad. Still deciding, though!

 

ETA: honey lasted about 4 more hours!

Edited June 2, 2011 by toku

[rinster]

This is my first 13 bottle I sprang for unsniffed, too! The cocoa flits across the stage so quickly that if you blink, you miss it. I'm getting a sweet, powdery lemon and rose that reminds me a bit of a recipe for Turkish Delight. The decants I've had of other 13s have been darkly spiced chocolate, but this is NOTHING like those. This has no chocolate to speak of and it's very light and sweet.

 

I've only had this on about 10 minutes, so it will be interesting to see what happens an hour or two into it.

 

Edit for additional observations: I'm wearing it again today and am noticing more now that it's had a chance to rest. Today I'm getting creamy florals with a hint of citrus over a rich warm base of patch. This is beautiful!

Edited June 2, 2011 by rinster

[wendyb1063]

I actually got a lot of lemony-ness out of this one too... at first I thought it was because I had also put Benevolent Triple Conjunction on my other wrist... I do like lemon, and it smelled pleasant (although somewhat faint in comparison to BTC) but I was hoping for more vanilla, cocoa, and patchouli. I will try it again on its own.

 

It seems like there are a lot of lemony scents lately from the lab!!

[ami226]

Ugh, after my Friday the 13th I definitely needed a bit of luck!

 

From the bottle I can definitely smell cocoa. There is something more, though, but I'm not sure what it is I'm smelling.

 

On the skin: The cocoa disappears instantly. I'm not sure what this is, but I think I am smelling the cubeb. It smells pretty sweet, but this is a strange sweet.

 

Hmmm, this scent just gets stranger. It is still sweet, but there is something weird here. I think it's the honey going kind of weird on my skin...

[countessmouse]

Holy morpher, this one is all over the place! In the bottle and wet on my skin, it was a box of chocolates. Within 10 minutes, a Lemonhead candy. Fifteen minutes later - wood. Now, after nearly two hours, I'm still getting the wood but now the spices and the patchouli are mellowing it out. It's getting softer, too.

 

It's interesting. The chocolate and lemon initially were offputting and I was certain this one would end up in the swap/sell pile. I'm reconsidering at this point.

[Jenn2D2]

This is definitely an odd one, but I like it. In the bottle, and wet on the skin, I get a lot of chocolate and an amorphous 'spicy' scent in the background. Once dry, it changes into what I can only describe as 'smoked chocolate.' There's a hint of sweetness, a lot of sharp spice, and the cocoa in the background. It didn't morph too much after that, but sometimes it was sweeter than others, and the chocolate faded first after a couple of hours.

[blktauna]

So far this is the only 13 to show any cocoa on me at all.

 

in the bottle, wet and dry are all the same for me, a close to the skin incensy cadbury drinking chocolate with just a tiny bit of patchouli.

[GypsyRoseRed]

Immediately applied to my skin, I get something that smells like grain, chocolate and spice with a tang of lemon. For the first hour, that lemony note combines with honey to create a horrid smell that's reminiscent of pee, that somehow floats above the main body of the scent which is beautiful spices, light patchouli and cocoa. I had a friend test a dab of this on her wrist, and she didn't get the pee note, so maybe that was just an unlucky twist of my currently odd chemistry. After that first hour passes, that yucky layer is gone, leaving the rest of the fragrance behind and it's lovely. The question is, can I handle smelling weird for the first hour? I don't know.

[absinthetics]

Morpher and a half. In the bottle, spicy chocolate lemons. Wet on skin, it's like lemons draped over Storyville. No... Really. But Storyville always turned into baby powder on me. This isn't.

 

Currently she is sitting there, lemony. But the sharpness of that lemon is drifting away. The warm spiciness of Storyville is dying down a little. Will edit when she's dry.

Edited June 2, 2011 by Absinthetics

[prettybird]

I was a little afraid this would smell like other chocolatey scents, but as soon as I opened the bottle, I knew it wasn't so. The cacao is tempered with spiciness, for quite a lovely combination.

 

On the skin, it smells like... verbena? Quite the inexplicable morph, because there isn't any verbena in this at all. There's the same incensey spicy quality to it, but most of what I get is verbena. Perhaps I have an odd nose.

 

So, it doesn't smell anything like I thought or anything like how it smells in the bottle, but verbena's one of my favorites, so I love it!

[edenssixthday]

Thirteen (13): May 2011 - Only one 13 has ever worked on me, but that one (10/06) was so amazing that I keep trying them when they come out "just in case". This one is definitely different from most of the other 13s I've tried: it's not nearly as foody and gourmand sweet. Also, I totally get what absinthetics means about the similarities to Storyville. I would imagine Storyville lovers who also like chocolate could possibly dig this scent. On me, it's mostly chocolate, honey, ginger, cardamom, red sandalwood, and a hint of the weird sweet rooty oddness of carrot and bitterness of caraway. Overall, there's a weirdness about it that I think is coming from the carrot and caraway, that makes me unable to stop sniffing my skin, but certain that I'll never try to wear it in public. It's intriguing in its uniqueness, but also, to me, not wearable as a personal fragrance due to that carroty/caraway oddness about it. And yet, I can't stop sniffing my skin. I need to figure out some way to experience this weird scent, even if it's not on my body as perfume.

[stellamaris]

This smells absolutely like it has at least 13 things to me, it's like watching TV with someone who likes to change the channel every two minutes, except with this set all the programs are good. On me right out of the box and a week later, it's dark baking cocoa, then lemony sweet no vanilla, then patchouli and finally roses. And lots of other stuff I don't know what it is but it's fantastic.

[miss_rynn]

I'm not a fan of this, which is sad because I really wanted to like it.

 

In the bottle it smells like very dusty, dry cocoa and patchouli; no sweetness, just very dry, dusty and almost herbal.

 

On the skin the dryness eases up, but unfortunately so does the cocoa scent. It has a strong lemon note to it, which is a little sweet and not sharp. It's not just lemon by itself, though - there's a haze of herbal notes that tempers it. It's not particularly sweet, and I don't get any honey, cocoa or vanilla. I'm sure if you like citrussy/herbal scents that aren't sweet you would like this, but unfortunately this was not at all what I was hoping for.

[hkath]

This might become my go-to scent this summer!

 

I definitely got the citrusy thing most people seem to be experiencing, but instead of herbal I think I'd describe the scent more as... I don't know... seasoned? I usually associate herbal with a more astringent scent, while this one is sweet, with some sexy spice. My cocoa didn't disappear so much as hang out in the background, like the wall the other parts of the scent were hanging on. It actually smells to me a bit like a lighter, fresher, summery-er Snake Oil: when I put on my sweater at the end of the day, I definitely got a Snake Oil feel from the oil that had been clinging to my collar all day.

 

Basically: total win!

[kattharia]

I think my nose is brken! I don't get any lemon at all! What I get in the bottle, and wet is cinnamon and I'm a little frightened because cinnamon amps like the devil on me. After about 20 minutes, the spice backs off and the Patchouli steps up. I loves me some good Patch. and this is a very good one. About 45 minutes later a dark rich cocoa comes and sweetens the blend. At this point I can't pry my nose off my arm. It doesn't seem to have a lot of through on me, (dry skin), but I'd be willing to slather heavy. Perfection in a bottle, and only the second 13 that I've liked.

[Flightless]

This scent description intrigued me. I have hardly any incense or lemon in my stash, and the cocoa piqued my curiosity so I figured I'd give it a shot and was lucky enough to get my hands on a full bottle second-hand.

 

First Impressions/In the bottle: Cocoa and mint hit me almost immediately... it reminds me of mint chocolate (of which I'm not a fan) so I was caught a little off guard. I'm finding a sweet, powdery, slightly dry blend with hints of incense in the background (I can never keep patchouli and sandalwood separate in my head, so it's just "incense" to me).

 

Wet on the Skin: Baby powdery now but the cocoa and mint seem to scurry to the shadows and the oil develops a slight lemony tinge. The sharp, sweet lemon that comes about kind of reminded me of lemon drop candy and is tamed just enough by the spice of incense.

 

On the Dry-down: about 15min later the incense and baby powder is all that remains. Is still dry and sort of sweet to me. Very soothing- warm and nice: Kind of a lazy late-summer/autumn feel.

 

My husband hated it wet, but liked it better on the dry-down after it mellowed out.

 

Because this blend is so complex I'm sure I didn't pick out all the scents, and I'm very new to all the more exotic notes so I'll probably wear more of this tomorrow to see if it does other interesting things on me. All in all, this is a fun sort of scent: it morphs in so many different ways from bottle to dry-down; kind of unexpected but not at all unwelcome... just odd and new and wonderful.

 

6/15: I think I'm picking out the hints of rose this morning: they're sunning gently in the background dusted by a fine layer of baby powder... a nostalgic sort of smell for me, but not pronounced enough to remain wistfully in the past while wearing it. Today, I find myself wanting to find more rose in this blend... Rose is usually a "have to be in the mood to wear it" type scent, so it might be a rose kind of day.

I was a little worried when I put this on first thing... I kept thinking I wouldn't like it because the cocoa stuck around a little longer than last time but I think it's warranted a couple more trials.

Edited June 15, 2011 by Flightless

[Gwydion]

In bottle: I am not familiar with many of the elements in this blend, which will make this rather harder to describe. There are dark dusty herbal elements in this that remind me of things from Rappaccini’s garden, like Devil’s Claw, without actually smelling like that blend. The patchouli blends with those dark roots scents to create the dominant impression. The rose and vanilla lighten it rather, but the effect is still rather dangerous, like a sweet cordial or pastille laced with poisonous roots. The cacao is dry and lies between the bitter roots and the sweeter elements, smoothing the thing out rather. It’s fascinating, rather, creating a unique scent poem. Wet: I normally don’t skin test rose as it and my skin chemistry do not get along, but I took a chance given the make up of this blend. The rose clawed its way to the top, along with something vaguely citrus. I can actually pick out the cardamom now. The patchouli and root-like herbal scents have been beaten down to a soft background. Really, it’s rose citrus with a hint of something dark swimming underneath. It’s a shame, as the in bottle scent was more interesting, but it’s not that surprising given my skin chemistry. Dry: It chills out to a soft chocolate, vanilla rose, with just a touch of spice.

[Dark Alice]

Wet: Honey and hints of chocolate.

 

Drydown: Bam! Instant fruity cubeb with the barest hints of cocoa. And that's where it stays. Cubeb, hints of cocoa with vanilla and some honey. Lovely...glad I found just a partial as this is all I need of this 13.