Chaos Theory VI: Recursive Self-Similarity v5

[Monday]

#203

 

I've had this one for a while now, time for a review.

 

Smooth amber and rose, the rose doesn't overpower the amber nor does it scream in your face. When it's dry there's also hint of what might be orchid in the background. Very gorgeous, this is one of those scents where I don't really know what to write. It's just so pretty.

 

Sadly I don't wear this Chaos Theory often, it might be better off with someone who does.

[Sidhechaos]

Chaos theory amber series number 44

 

 

 

I purchased this bottle from a former member wishing I had known when the series had been available. And the huge fan of amber fragrances. Number 44 is a bit of a surprise though, in the bottle the fragrance is almost a pure note of strictly frankincense. It takes several minutes of wear before a faint floral note starts to weave in, something vaguely aquatic perhaps lily. After about an hour the scent of amber start to weave in but the predominant notes remain as frankincense with a mild amber you really have to work at picking up the floral note. I like this, it's not going into the trade pile but I definitely wish it had been more complex as my previous forays into chaos theory fragrances have been.

[JazzieCazzie]

Was able to acquire a full bottle of #390 (reviewed in entries #24 and #49) as well as a bottle containing about an imps worth of previously-unreviewed #94 which the lovely EllaLaRose threw in as a "frimp" for me in our swap!

 

Man, I wish (though my wallet doesn't) that I'd known about the Amber and Frankincense CT series at the time of release. Two of my favorite SNs.

 

#390:

 

IN THE IMP (I decanted an imp as I always do from new bottles): A deep almost red-gold color. Along with the amber, I get a slightly fruity and sweet deep note. It's both green-forest and red but not red-fruity if that makes sense (for example, not cherry or plum or any of my dealbreakers).

 

Applied to wrist and into crook of arm.

 

WET: I think the note I can't put my finger on -- the deep, sweet, fruity/not-fruity scent must be the black musk everyone is referring to because it's really predominant and while it's familiar to me, it's not something I could have put my finger on (and I do like the note and I do like musk). The more it dries, the sweeter it gets.

 

DRYDOWN PHASE ONE: There is no question in the world that there is myrrh in this blend though I didn't see it noted in the other reviews. I happen to like myrrh a lot BUT when it combined with my body chemistry in the crook of my arm (not anywhere else) as it dries down it has an absolutely unique and immediately identifiable "funky" smell for a little while. I really like this as it dries down, funk and all. Sweet and sinuous.

 

DRYDOWN PHASE TWO: About four hours later, this is still sniffable on wrist and in crook of arm and it's really morphed a lot. It's sweet and smoky, like the final embers of a campfire that has several dropped burnt marshmallows in it (I confess this is what I am hoping my pending bottle of Gorobble smells like). This part of the drydown is so amazing that I'm thinking maybe next time I slather on more of this just to get more of this phase later.

 

OVERALL: I absolutely love this. I am kicking myself for not having known about the series ...

 

#94:

 

Since this had no previous reviews, I worried that I'd be completely unable to put my finger on a single note and flunk BPAL school. This turned out to not be an issue.

 

IN THE IMP: Deeply golden scent, very pale gold color. Amber combined with a familiar sharply sweet scent.

 

Applied to wrist and in crook of arm.

 

WET: Boom. CEDAR!!!!!!! Hello cedar!!!!!!! Come to mama. For some reason, not really recognizable in the bottle but the minute it hit my skin it amped ... and I LOVE LOVE LOVE cedar! I think there may be some frankincense in here as well but it's possible that just the combo of cedar and amber is making me think of my myriad of amber/cedar/frankincense blends and am having trouble determining that particular detail.

 

DRYDOWN: As is usual with cedar, it changes very little on me from wet to dry. Divine divine divine.

 

OVERALL: While I really wish I had more than an imp's worth of this, I at least can take solace in the fact that, as mentioned, I do have several amber/cedar/frankincense type combos to go to. But this is delicious.

 

I think that the wet version of 94 is my favorite wet Chaos Theory ever but the late drydown of 390 is my favorite drydown of a CT. (I make an exception for one mystery scent that I can't even find my review of, that I got from long-gone and much-missed forumite Gdogs in the summer of 2005 when we met in Sacramento ... several of us, including Cupide340, sniffed that bottle and NONE of us were ever able to actually figure out any of the notes).

 

Anyway, on a scale of 1-5 BOTH get 5s.

 

UPDATE WITH ANOTHER IN THE SERIES MARCH 15, 2014:

 

#200. Acquired an imp in a swap. Reviewed in this thread by Venneh, post #6.

 

IN THE IMP: Faint amber and other resins.

 

Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm.

 

WET: A beautiful medicinal amber with a slight indefinable sweetness which worries me a bit, but which I suppose could be frankincense. When wet this is pretty fabulous.

 

DRYDOWN: Ruh roh. The more this dries, the more a note that had not been that noticeable when wet amps more and more and more. It's definitely not frankincense (which is not to say that there is not frankincense in here, as speculated by Venneh). But it's a creamy, sweet scent ... perhaps ambergris or orris? I do think it's some sort of resin. It's not floral or foody. But the more it dries, the more this note overwhelms the amber and anything else there, to the point of going from kinda icky to nauseating to rancid. And, of course, hard to wash off.

 

OVERALL: Sadly, this is just blerg on me. That one bad note is the only thing I can smell. It might be good on someone else, it's just something that my body chemistry does not like one bit.

 

On a scale of 1-5, a 1.

Edited March 15, 2014 by JazzieCazzie

[unlaced]

Number 134:

 

In bottle: Sniffing from the bottle this scent smells perfumey, There's definitely something floral in here.

 

Wet: Very herbal, whatever that floral was it's way behind all the herbal green-ness.

 

Drydown: I recognize this scent but I can't put my finger on it. As it dries the green note transforms from herbal to a wet green planty smell. This is like the cast off stems from someone's floral arrangement, with a few blooms still clinging to the ends, wet from the water they were kept in. I'm not getting much, if any amber from this. I know it's there but it's not apparent.

 

I applied this on my wrist and elbow. On my wrist it's green herbal/floral plant stems, while on my elbow it's a much warmer, rounder, smoother scent. I'm getting the amber there. I get tiny whiffs of something that smells like leather from my elbow, but I don't think it is leather. I don't know what it is.

 

Dry/long wear: The herbal notes are fading a bit, and a warm, slightly sweet scent is coming through (Ah hah! There's the amber!). It's really pretty right now and I don't usually like herbal or green floral scents.

 

I'm trying to figure out which other scent this reminds me of. Maybe Succubus a tiny bit? It smells like something that should be in the Rappaccini's Garden section.

Edited January 22, 2014 by unlaced

[Dark Alice]

#45. Soft amber with woods. It is amazing! That is all.

[forspecial_plate]

184

 

Papery white amber, just a hint of saltiness. This has to have the same white amber that's in Court of Honor, and maybe white sandalwood too. It's very light, so it's hard to tell what's in it. For all I know, it could be white amber single note. White amber, maybe some very light wood, and who knows what else. Thumbs up. It's a low-level partial, so that means I got it from another forum member, but I can't remember anything about buying it (like if there was a description).

[twilighteyes]

114

 

I just received this bottle from someone else, there is less than half left so maybe it was well loved?

 

Sniffing the bottle, I get honey as the first note.

 

Wet on skin: Amber with a hint of honey.

 

Dry down on skin, a non-foody vanilla, amber, and possibly a bit of musk or spices, as it's getting kind of a snake oil vibe.

 

it's gorgeous. (It smells a lot like O but less honey mixed with snake oil.)

Edited October 28, 2017 by TwilightEyes

[brineydeep]

114

 

TwilightEyes gifted me a decant from her bottle (posted above). This one practically disappears on my skin. I get baby powder amber and maybe a hint of light clean musk. It's hard to tell because it is so faint.

[marzstar]

#775! (good thing I wrote the # on the label I put on top!)

 

I haven’t seen any number this high mentioned in the reviews, so I dunno. I’m still not sure if we really all get a different number per bottle or some people share bottles of the same number. Since there’s multiple reviews, maybe people share/smell them with imps..?

 

I’ve had this in my swap pile for years, but now  some one showed interest in it , so I had to test it, again, and maaaybe I don’t want to give it away ha, ha, ha ha, right? Sorry. (No,, yes, of course I will keep my word. Bye Bye little bottle.)

 

It’s def morphed with age, I think, also, my nose, taste, and chemistry has morphed with age, too. And there's the monthly hormones...

 

When I put my nose right up to my wrist I can almost smell a super slight Antique Lace(!), way in the back, which is one of my all-time favorites. Next to that, there’s also a sort of slight plastic smell, but I totally do like that. & It goes w the AL.
On top of it all, it smells way purple. I think it reminds me of Purple Phoenix, which I loved, and devoured rather fast, but I used to layer so many, also, at the time. So I can’t compare it. I’m pretty sure, though that it's one that lived in a pocket of my leather jacket, (because the label was rubbed off, significantly,) which was the best smelling leather jacket one could ever have because I would slather it in various bpal oils night and day. 
 

I think BPAL Amber is like a light skin musk, to me. I can smell something that smells better than my plain skin, but it’s really faint. I used to have Amber resin chunks to burn with a charcoal for incense & besides all of the amber oils I’ve had over the years, that’s what I measure that against. BPAL's is faint, on me.
 

Depending on if it gets more purple predominant, or that AL or Plastic smell comes forward, which I’d prefer, I will have to wear this  for more hours, to smell the dry down, and throw and longevity, to try to determine if this is a giver or a keeper. 
 

I really like the smell, but I’m not sure I want to smell like that anymore. So I guess I’ll give it a 3.8/5 for now. (eta: lower after learning the longevity and throw is weak on me*)

 

*something must be up with me as nothing seems to give much throw or last very long on my skin  

 

Edited September 8, 2023 by marzstar
correct bottle number and typos