bellumed

Saint? No! Merely a... perfume sleuth 🕵️‍♀️

Yeah, I think all (?) of the Thirteen blends use a chocolate/cacao note so that's not the best clue to go off of. It looks like March 2009 according to the picture on this ScentBase page. I checked the other pages and the ones I own all had the correct label picture attached. EDIT: Oh, yay, can confirm: see this BPAL Etsy page.

The bottle scent is a strong, true-to-life root beer smell with just a little kick of pumpkin spice. It goes a bit flatter and more... green, herbal, kind of? on my skin in a way I don't love. However, it sweetens up a little again on drydown, though personally I get more candy than ice cream.

I'm not going to lie to you guys, this one made me a touch nervous at first because the dominant note I was smelling was the polished wood, which was admittedly... not what excited me about this hair gloss. But I persevered and was rewarded! While that wood note stays present, Lavender Kitchen Mouse becomes a cloud of salty-sweetened dried lavender. I would say the scent is moderate strength, not a big sugary pow-in-your-face foodie but not extremely quiet, either. If you're a lavender fan and you're mourning Mouse Circus, for sure check this out (though I would say that the popcorn note here is subtler than in MC). I think this is going to be nicely versatile, and I'm really happy I picked it up!

Super sugary caramel in the bottle, with a distinctly foodie (as opposed to beachy) note of toasted coconut. That hyper-sweetness disappears immediately on my skin, leaving behind a soft, barely-there caramel scent. I really had to slather to get this one to show up, but what's there is very pleasant. Best used for days when you want something subtle and sweet.

First? Oh, boy! The bottle scent makes me think of fancy ice cream, which I suppose makes sense. I don't think I've ever had a green tea ice cream, but I have had an Earl Grey one (shout-out to Van Leeuwen), and that's what this reminds me of - bittersweet in a balanced way, not strongly one or the other. On skin, I get more of the scent of raw cookie dough, still with the tea leaves keeping it from going sugar-sweet. No chocolate chips here, just the dough. If you are foodie-curious but find them excessively sugary or just generally prefer a subtle scent that is only slightly sweet, I highly recommend this!

I can't find an official announcement, but it must've been... it looks like it went missing back in 2017, I'm not sure whether it came back after that or not.

If you'd like to order directly from the lab, I'd take a look at: The Phoenix Steamworks section (more "scientist" than "mad" but it might do) Possibly A Picnic in Arkham? Some layering possibilities in RPG: maybe Artificier + Chaotic (+ Evil if that's what you're going for?) From Boom! Studios, Mr. Qubit From The Dark Crystal, skekTek the Scientist

I scream, you scream, we all scream for jasmine! In most blends jasmine will immediately and loudly announce itself on me, and Crossroads holds true to form. Anything interesting - earthy and herbal notes - drops into the background of The Jasmine Show.

Gorgeous! Just the right amount of sweet, just the right amount of woodsy. A cream soda you're drinking out at a picnic table after a long walk through the woods.

Pure grass and a sunny blast of verbena! What a wonderful scent. It's aged about ten years and divine. I get more amber and sage on my skin, not quite as good for me, but that's what scent lockets are for.

In the imp, florals with a strong, stinky rose. A little soapy when wet, but still, it's surprisingly sexy, not my usual association with florals. Is it possible there's some narcissus here? I swear that's what I'm smelling on drydown. But maybe it's the indole in tuberose instead. Either way it's a note that tends to read unpleasantly to me, faintly like urine. I had some hope for Marie for a moment there, but I think this one is just not for me.

This is a garden party. Yes, a bouquet of roses, but also some pretty pink cupcakes to go with them! Two, Five, and Seven reads very young to me, not quite "childish" but definitely a rose a teenager could wear.

I can pick up a little of everything here, other than bergamot, which is unusual for me! Normally just one or two notes will jump out. But yes, of course, strong rose. Ah, there we are: almost entirely rose on skin, though there's a woody note present as well. On drydown i get some of the plum back, but it's not the juicy plum I've enjoyed in other blends; instead it's a very dark purple-black note mixed in with dusty woods. Overall impression is a lush rose in another very dry perfume. I agree with the above comment: not a particularly feminine rose!

This immediately made me think of Morocco, though it lacks the creaminess of that blend, as well as Bastet - in that case, more of a contrast. The Lion is the dry, baking-gloriously-in-the-sun scent I expected in Bastet. A little less regal and more housecat on my skin, but not in a bad way! More like when you put your face in a kitty's fur after they've been recharging in the sunlight. It just smells wholesome - with a smidge of haughty spice. The Lion is a really beautiful perfume! I might hunt up a bottle one of these days.

What fun! Bright and fruity in an unusual way, all quince and spicy ginger. A keeper.

All "sandy cider and wooly wine" in the imp, but I pick up more of the floral notes on my skin. Cider is the strongest note in both cases. On drydown I'm getting amber and carnation more than anything else - I still smell apple, but the scent has changed over completely and is no longer foodie at all... mayyybe there's ink at this stage? Queen Alice smells good, but it's not a standout for me, especially dry.

Wet Brusque Violet is surprisingly Christmasy, I suppose from evergreen osmanthus and mint. It's like a Yule version of Samhain. Dries down to a spicy floral that is still very heavy on the greenery.

Penny Dreadful has always been a real oddball of the GC, it just doesn't smell like any other blend I can think of. Copper-smelling without that metallic tang and earth-smelling without the typical dirt note. I do remember, as others have noted, the bizarre scent of peanut butter cropping up when I've used this in the past; however after 5+ years of aging that is totally gone. I don't think I'll ever buy a bottle of Penny Dreadful, but it's always an interesting experience (and usually a pleasant one) to wear it.

I see exactly what the previous reviewer meant by "effervescent" - this stuck as smelling nearly carbonated in the imp. It loses that aspect on skin, but it's still a great, spicy ginger-vanilla. Tragically I must report that, on drydown, I got the dreaded Play-doh effect. Oh, well...

There's gentle florals here, but more than anything the grass note rules here. Simple but pretty! Very springy. Must try for fans of grassy scents.

One of the least dragon's-bloodsy (a terrible word I've just invented) blends of the Ars Draconis line, which for me is a good thing. Mostly just yummy musk combined with that cherryish dragon's blood. I would go so far as to say that this is downright tolerable! Okay, I'm just not big on DB as a note. In seriousness, if you're the same but want to explore this category, I recommend this one as well as Dragon's Hide.

Spicy and, yes, smooth. Smells so tasty! Hay is a comforting, unsung note that I've been coming to appreciate more (see also: The Seekim, My Mommy in a Boat, L’Enlèvement), and the cardamom gives it a sexy kick. Witchy and cozy. Reminds me a lot of Third Charm.

(Oh god) 15 years later, Ivanushka is quite nice. The initial impression is soft and fuzzy. A snuggly, comforting scent. The impression of fur fades off on drydown, leaving a light musk with powdery amber as the dominant note. Still cozy, but I do miss that opening fur note!

Ambrette seed and patchouli stand out immediately - this reminds me of The Triumph of Death, another blend with those two notes. Otherwise, though, Economic Recovery reads more like the TALs I've smelled than a perfume... which makes sense given the premise. Earthy and herbal-sweet on skin, then it grows darker (muskier?) and more bitter over time. Much like the hedonic treadmill at the heart of capitalism! Or something like that. The end result actually smells more like a perfume than it did in the imp, probably the patchouli coming to the forefront. 10 years later, this has aged very nicely.