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Thirteen (13) May 2011 (LE): (Company says: 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.)

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.