Chaos Theory III: Strange Attractors

[wl552]

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.

MCCXCV

Sniffing the bottle all the way through to dry-down, it's nothing but roses, Roses, in your face ROSES!! Very pretty if you like roses, but unfortunately it's not quite my thing.

[Diva Urd]

CXCV

 

Vial: Vial is labeled "sandalwood, daisy and spanish moss". Well, if it says so... I really can't tell sniffing it in the vial.

On: I dunno... I read a review mentioning violet, and I'm pretty sure I'm smelling some here. Sandalwood is probably present, too. The slightly-powdery-yet-green note I can detect might be moss (I've smelled something similar in "Robin Goodfellow"), but daisies, I don't get at all. This isn't very strong or very appealing, although it's far from repulsive, as well.

Later: Violet dominates. I don't know, it doesn't smell very perfumey to me for some reason. I think I'll try to find a better home for this.

 

EDIT 05/07/2011: Tried another variety of this.

 

MXCII

 

In the vial: I honestly don't know exactly... also can't find a review of this number. I would say there is something fruity on top (the closest I can say this smells like is some sort of red berry, though it's neither strawberry, raspberry or cranberry), and the base note seems to be a musk, probably red musk or something similar, as it's not high-pitched enough for white and not deep/soapy enough in the vial for black musk.

On: A fruity note (it reminds me of rosehip now, a musk, and a hint of something floral? Smells okay, although it doesn't bowl me over.

Later: Ripe red fruit, flowers and musk. It's okay, but nothing to write home about.

Edited May 7, 2011 by Diva Urd

[hkhm]

(DLXXII - 572 - received a decant from my switch witch)

 

imp: very light, slightly sweet honey ozone.

 

wet: the ozone is really trying to go all soapy on me but the honey is overpowering it. the honey scent is nicely sweet, like a light floral honey, the ozone provides a nice contrast.

 

dry: this is that scent when you're walking through a fields of dried grasses and wildflowers. where there are just a few flowers still in bloom here and there, swaying in the warm end-of-summer breeze. this is both sweet and sharp, honey over ozone, but neither is overpowering the other. beautiful.

[Gwydion]

DCLXV (665) In bottle: Lovely rich spicy fruit with resin. Or maybe not fruit. On second sniff it’s much more men’s cologne. If it is fruit, I’m guessing a hint of citrus and maybe pomegranate or something similar. I’m guessing fougere and something mildly herbal. It’s really very me, either way. Wet: Curry? That can’t be. I can’t tell if the musk is from the blend or the fougere amping my natural musk. It’s quite attractive in a men’s cologne, vaguely herbal way. I’m still getting that hint of lime/pomegranate and that touch of resin. The curry fades out as it warms. It’s calmly sexy on me at any rate. Dry: The pomegranate or whatever that is is stronger now, along with the resin. Little else remains.In bottle: I’m guessing green tea and bamboo with maybe a touch of sugar cane. It reminds me of hungry Ghost or holiday moon. I’m guessing a touch of linen or silk. It’s got an Asian feel to it. Wet: more complex on the skin, though in the same vein. Is that maybe those sweet rice flour cakes with the bean paste in there? It may have a touch of one of the softer lighter musks, though that may be my skin. It’s a bit less foody and more cologne like than Hungry Ghost Moon. Dry: Dry grass, a hint of something sweet, a touch of silk.

 

DCCXXVII (727) In bottle: I’m guessing green tea and bamboo with maybe a touch of sugar cane. It reminds me of hungry Ghost or holiday moon. I’m guessing a touch of linen or silk. It’s got an Asian feel to it. Wet: more complex on the skin, though in the same vein. Is that maybe those sweet rice flour cakes with the bean paste in there? It may have a touch of one of the softer lighter musks, though that may be my skin. It’s a bit less foody and more cologne like than Hungry Ghost Moon. Dry: Dry grass, a hint of something sweet, a touch of silk.

Edited January 3, 2010 by Gwydion

[pandorasmuse]

Decant of bottle MCCLVII. (1957? Can that be right? There were this many?) I hope I can pick notes out without help!

 

In the imp: ...Aqua Velva? Seriously. My dad wears this. This decant smells like my dad.

 

Wet: Daisies and vodka. Extremely astringent.

 

Drydown: Daisies and something that makes my nose wrinkle. The daisy part is nice. It burns a little bit, but that might just be my imagination. It's smelling more and more like a massive spill in the liquor cabinet. And varnish, or perhaps nail polish remover. And dish soap.

 

This is making me kind of ill. I have to wash it off. This is horrible on me.

[yamiko]

CCLXII (262):

 

Described on the auction I bought it from, it was "a pink scent: bubblegum".

 

In bottle, I kinda smell the bubblegum, but it smells a little herby to me. When it's on and wet, I smell eucalyptus. When it dries down, I smell warm spice, like a mild cinnamon.

[zankoku_zen]

MCCXXXVIII (1237):

 

So this definitely had some vanilla/tonka in it. On wet, it was like dragon's blood resin combined with sandalwood. Thankfully DBR left, and I got a sort of vanilla, spicy sandalwood. Rich, smooth, sexy. Very evocative. Wasn't my cup of tea in the end but pretty nifty.

 

Previously reviewed by theseagrows.

[jizatt]

CTIII - DCV (605)

 

straight sniff from the bottle this is very aquatic with a hint of fruitiness

 

once applied i get an amped up note of very clean fresh air...the fruitiness

fades away and turns into a slightly delicate floral...apple blossom i think ...

then the waves roll back in and there is the fresh, watery ocean...

 

really a lovely scent esp for summer but just not something that i would reach for often enough so off to a better home she goes

 

I received a bottle of this as a white musk/bitter floral blend -- so here is my take.

 

I do get the fruity something over the top, very very light. I dont get aquatic, but I do get the clean air feeling. The floral I smell is dry, not bitter, and my guess is chrysanthemum (from the similarities between this and Flowering Chrysanthemums). I get the fuzziness of white musk too I think, probably contibuting to that fresh air feeling. Now that its dry,m most of the fruity top note is gone and I have a fuzzy dry floral that I really like - very summer without being a sweet floral feel.

[yamiko]

CCCLXXXVI (386):

 

Holy eucalyptus, batman! This one totally clears out my sinuses. I can't really smell anything other than that.

 

Edit: After it's faded a little, I don't really smell the eucalyptus at all, but now I smell vanilla/tonka.

Edited May 29, 2010 by Kaylee

[edenssixthday]

CT III: DLXX (570) - This smells like white musk and vomit. There's maybe a bit of something resinous in there, too. Passing along...

 

CT III: CDLXXXIX (489) - Click HERE to read other reviews of this particular one. When I first sniffed it, my thought was that it reminded me of something I'd smelled before -- kind of foody and Christmassy... kind of gingery, but also piney -- there's definitely some pine pitch in there and something slightly medicinal, which could be the pine or could something else. It's another odd one. Glad I got to try it, but I'll be frimping this along.

 

 

[moon_lemming]

Chaos Theory III: CCXLI (241)

Previously referred to within this thread as "Zinc tablets," "This smell makes me want to die," and "Vomit Bukket."

 

And you know what? They're all right. All of them. This is an oil which blinds your senses with its great and mighty terribleness. As you rush to scrub it off, you flash to the most foul-smelling moments of your life, and realize they REALLY WEREN'T THAT BAD. Sometimes you try to reason, "well, I will just try to objectively name the notes," only to find that you can't because the blend as a whole is now part of your scent memory and you will never ever be able to smell it piece by piece because you are too busy rocking back and forth, trying to forget the horror.

 

This is not a lie: someone close to me once betrayed me in a devastating manner. I thought of all the little revenge-filled things I could do to him to make myself feel better. I debated putting a slab of fresh fish under the driver's seat in his car. Then, naturally, my thoughts turned to Vomit Bukket. It was perfect; he would never figure out where the stench was coming from and it couldn't really be removed because it would be totally enmeshed in the carpet by the time he figured it out. But I couldn't bring myself to do it. IT SEEMED TOO MEAN.

 

I have gotten rid of all but one decant of Vomit Bukket. I kept one as a sort of last-resort defense against hordes of villagers. Unfortunately I never labeled the decant I kept, and I keep running into it in my imp box and not remembering what it is until I unwrap the plumber's tape and GET A DAB ON MY FINGERS. And then I die a little. It is very hard to wash completely off, by the way. Once I touch the imp I cannot bring myself to come into contact with any other bottles or imps or pets or children in case it rubs off, even after I've scrubbed down with lemon juice.

 

As far as actual reviewing goes: this smells like badness to me. I can't really pick out any notes but I would feel okay going with "vomit." I hate to be so down on a blend, because somebody had to create it and I don't want to insult them, but that's exactly what it smells like, bad things, so maybe it was done on purpose, in which case, kudos. I can pick out a little bit of that vitamin edge that was mentioned in the first review, which I tend to pick up from raspberry-plus-citrus blends (like Arcana's Ruby Crow), but I wouldn't say this is a fruity blend at all. More sour. At least it's not floral. Perhaps in ten years this will age into a sort of ambrosia, but for now I'm sticking one of those little poison stickers on the decant so I don't forget what it is and unwrap it again.

Edited June 14, 2010 by karen

[yamiko]

MCLXXXVIII (1187):

Sweet citrus, like a freshly peeled orange. As it dries, it doesn't really morph at all.

 

XXI (21):

This starts out smelling like sage and leather, and dries down to a sort of metallicy, oily, leathery scent. It's a little like Rivet.Goth, only a little more tolerable to my nose.

 

DCCCLXXII (872):

Woods and leather and a bit of musk and spice in the bottle. On me it's mostly clove with a bit of woods. Slightly masculine, but not overly so.

Edited March 26, 2011 by Kaylee

[donnatron]

MCCLVII

 

Bottle: Very strong violet with a hint of fruit. Not plum or black currant but definitely a berry of some sort.

 

Wet: Candy violets. Smooth and a little powdery like parma violet candies. The fruit lingers but dies down before the full drydown. There is a white floral in this. A night blooming white floral but I can't place it further than that.

 

Dry: Strong, strong violet with a white floral. The berry note prevents it from becoming too stuffy and old fashioned. It's definitely classic and very floral. I'm a fan of violets so I love this.

 

Throw: Strong as hell.

 

Overall: A soft, powdery feminine violet that's not too foody or astringent. I love it.

[zankoku_zen]

CLX (160)

 

This one has a strong, buttery, salty note. Very much like in Shill. But underneath of it, I want to say I smell peanut butter. So it's a peanut buttery kind of Shill.

 

Sadly, neither of those notes are things that play well with my skin chemistry.

[Teaotter]

DCLXIV (bottle)

 

I've seen this described as "incense-y or maybe foody", "fresh ginger," and "fruity and boozy" in various locations on the board. I love these Chaos Theory bottles because you never know what you're going to get, and it's fun to guess.

 

In the bottle: Buttery, sweet incense. It reminds me of Jacob's Ladder, so it's probably benzoin. There is something fruity behind it -- maybe mandarin?

 

Wet: The butter gives way to a drier woody scent, something richly floral -- roses? Oh dear, I hope not -- and a spicy yet green stem scent. Hmm. Not at all what I was expecting from the scent in the bottle.

 

Dry: This one morphs a lot. No significant roses after the first wet rush, thankfully. I've been getting hints of patchouli, mandarin, and ginger, along with something that goes powdery -- that might be the benzoin again, unless there's amber in here, too. Various notes come out, then settle back and let another come out.

 

I think I love this! It's strange, because I thought I'd hate mandarin as a note, but I'd never tried it before. Mixed with the spices and resins, it's luscious!

[ouch!]

CCXCIII - 293

 

Ok so I've had mine and never really used it and never reviewed it either. I got this in a swap a long time ago, can't remember who from now.oops!!!

 

Anyway, I'm not feeling amazingly eloquent today so this review may be rubbish!

 

This opens with PINE!!! or Hemlock...or something of the evergreen family, this is bad for me as I hate pine in perfumes...

The good thing is though, it's sweetened a hell of a lot by something, it's like a soft...almost sugary pine. I'm not talking burnt brown sugar...just..a light sweet sugar that's taken away the floor cleaner vibe of this perfume.

 

The rest of the perfume completley baffles me, the drier stages see some kind of soft fruit emerge with....linen? I'm getting that laundry kinda smell along with the pine and the fruit, very bizzare. It's strong....this stays on me for ages...and my clothes even longer. I wish I was a pine kinda guy!!!

 

Eventually the green element fades and I'm left with the smell of some indistiguishable fruit that's been put through the Laundry.

 

I'd LOVE to know what's in here....grrrr OCD moment! LOL.

[PixieMoondust]

Chaos Theory III Strange Attractors: DCCLIII (753)

Purchased from [i'm not sure who, because of a computer crash!] Received on 16-Dec-2009.

 

This is citrus and white blooms, with a slightly soapy undertone. It's soft, a bit warm, quite nice for summer.

 

However, I have quite a lot of citrussy/light floral summer scents so this one may get passed on.

 

Pixie

[KingMobUK]

CT3: MXXXVIII - decant with a handwritten label. I think that's "1038"?

 

I acquired this as a decant in a swap from amarissirama and although I lack the skills to determine notes and this is my first BPAL review ever, I kind of had the impression that reviewing Chaos Theories was something that had to be done, for the benefit of all, or something So here goes!

 

This is a very heavy scent - of the musky/incensey/resin kind with some sort of floral over the top that gives it a talcum powder kind of feel. Maybe a little leather going on too - the expensive type, not the sexy type?

 

Not the type of scent that I would wear or even try on my skin, usually. but I will brave it in this instance!

 

One thing I will say for it is that it has a lot of depth while wet, and a lot of throw too.

 

Unfortunately, once on my skin and drying, it reminds me strongly of the scented things my grandmother used to put in her wardrobe to keep moths away and which lingered on her clothes, especially her coats and gloves. In fact it's giving me a very "stern, elderly victorian lady" vibe overall - all starched black ruffles, lace edging and jet jewelry, with a hidden fascination for seances and ouija boards. It's fading surprisingly fast too and the floral has retreated a lot though the talcum powder impression is lingering.

 

About as far from my thing as you could possibly get but interesting as an experiment. I imagine I will swap this out at some point and will look forward to seeing what someone else makes of it. Totes grateful to amarissirama for giving me the chance to huff one of these though!

[achromance]

MXCII

 

In the vial: The oil is a unique chartreuse colour; I've never seen anything quite like it. As for the scent, I just can't pinpoint anything. It's not floral, fruity, gourmand, smoky, green... It's somewhat aquatic and there's some oxygen. There's perhaps a hint of musk lingering about in the background.

 

On my wrist: There's a fruit, but I can't quite pinpoint it. Possibly mango. Thre's also a floral note, but I'm terrible at florals so I won't even try to guess what it is. The aquatic effect is back too. This is a really pretty scent.

Edited July 26, 2011 by achromance

[forspecial_plate]

CXCVII.....

 

I don't really like this one and I'm not sure how to describe it. I think there is vanilla but it's the kind that turns plasticky like a doll head on me. Maybe a little fruit or berry, and maybe a little tropical floral. It's not terrible but I wouldn't wear it.

[Monday]

MLXXXVI

 

This smells a bit like Monster Bait: Underbed on my skin. Which means for me that it smells of vanilla plastic . There's also a hint of milk and something fresh. This one is tough for me to describe as the plastic overwhelms everything in it.

So vanilla plastic with fresh laundry... This one isn't working for me.

[Monday]

VIII

 

This is one very full bottle! It's basically SN strong clean floral. I get pure lilies out of this (I've checked Cottonmouth as it smells a bit similar and it might just be Calla Lily, but ymmv), very enticing and summery. A little of this Chaos Theory goes a long way, a very long way.

It's gorgeous but I'm not sure if I can handle the boldness of this scent. Sign me up for the I'd Like To Know What Exactly Is In Here-list as well.

[ReallyZeb]

DCCXIII

 

Green, cucumbery, light, fresh and with green herbs and an aquatic feel - if I could buy a bottle for summer then I would,despite aquatics never usually working on me. It's most like Squirting Cucumber, but there is some background floral that I can't identify.

[Quillifer]

DCCXIII

 

Green, cucumbery, light, fresh and with green herbs and an aquatic feel - if I could buy a bottle for summer then I would,despite aquatics never usually working on me. It's most like Squirting Cucumber, but there is some background floral that I can't identify.

 

I find this just gorgeous. On me it's also slightly minty too.

[Ordo_ad_Chao]

MCCLVII: I get a light sunny green with a floral that's not overly sweet but has a bit of warmth to it. It's making me think of the Sweetgrass SN, perhaps with some heliotrope?