Serpents with Glittering Eyes and Forky Tongues

[IronMollyBlack]

It was a long way to her own house, and the chest seemed to grow heavier at every step. Sometimes she felt as if it would be impossible for her to get on at all, but her greed gave her strength, and at last she arrived at her own door. She sank down on the threshold, overcome with weariness, but in a moment was on her feet again, fumbling with the lock of the chest. But by this time night had come, and there was no light in the house, and the woman was in too much hurry to get to her treasures, to go and look for one. At length, however, the lock gave way, and the lid flew open, when, O horror! instead of gold and jewels, she saw before her serpents with glittering eyes and forky tongues. And they twined themselves about her and darted poison into her veins, and she died, and no man regretted her.

Serpentine green herbs, glistening red currant, sparkling yellow lemon rind, green musk, lime, and snakeskin.

In the imp, effervescent lime.

On the skin, sweet, soft citrus. not sharp, the sweetness I think is the currant, which is not overpowering. The musk is also soft, and beautiful. The herbs in the background anchor it. It is one of those well-blended fragrances where one element doesn't steal the show. It is gorgeous, I can't stop smelling my arm! I expect this one to be a big hit!

Edited to add: Although the site description is "Forky tongues", the label on the imp says "Forking tongues"... No matter WHAT kind of tongues they've got, they sure smell nice...

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Citrus and currant with a bit of green herbs.

 

Immediately on skin: This is mostly citrus (lemon and lime) and herbs with a hint of musk when wet. There’s more of a fresh, bright feel to this than sweet, and it’s a mixture of yellow and green scents in my mind.

 

After a little while: The green herbal feel this had at first fades quite a bit with wear, and the currant comes out a bit more. However, now I get something a little bitter, which I think may be the musk. It’s not overwhelmingly bitter, but it adds a solid, deeper element to the scent. The citrus is still wafting at the top of the scent, and the currant is very light.

 

Overall Impressions: This is a fabulous scent, in my opinion. But it’s actually quite unisex, and I don’t think I would wear it that much. It’s a lot of fun to sniff, however. The citrus and musk are an interesting combo, and the currant really acts to blend them.

[angelicruin]

In the bottle, I smell mainly lime, currant, and herbs.

 

Wet on the skin, mostly citrus.

 

As it dries, the citrus is still dominant, but now I get sort of a snake oil blend with it and as it dries further, I get the currant & herb notes back. A very refreshing, clean scent. Will be a perfect Spring-time oil.

[sookster]

straight sniff from imp is lemony herbs...

 

once applied, fruity and sparklee...just like snake tongues darting out of their mouths....cool!

 

a touch of musk and the fruit is still there... fades fast and furious but definitely a fun blend =-)

[iiinterstate]

In the imp this is very very sparkly citrus, and upon applying it's mostly the same with a hint of herbs.

 

The fruitiness hangs in there... I think it's mostly the currant, but the lemon rind really keeps it from being too sweet. Have we ever had a blend with lemon rind before? Because I'm loving it.

 

 

Overall, this is a solid musky+currant/lemon on my skin, and I like it a lot! Great throw as well. Not sure if I need a whole bottle yet, but I'll be giving this one an all-day slather test.

[Ravenclaw79]

In the imp: Dark and herbal.

 

On the skin: Fruity, citrusy for a moment, then fading down.

 

With wear: Odd... if I sniff my skin, I get musk and herbs and a hint of fruit buried underneath, too buried to tell what it is, just a fruity sweetness. But I keep catching whiffs of it, and wafting through the air, it's much more fruity, currant and musk and a bit of citrus. Fascinating, but I don't think I love it. I do like it, though ... it is very snakelike, mysterious.

[innocent]

A very clean blend, almost soapy on my skin (I liked it better in the imp). As others have said, its very well-blended. A good one for people who like light, clean scents (and whose skin doesn't turn every bloody thing into soap).

[lysithea]

Citrusy & clean without being "WHOA LEMON". It's tempered with a nice musk that keeps the blend as a whole nicely grounded offering longer wear length. The addition of currant (my favorite fruit note) was a definite plus for me. It is herbaly, bright and clean. The musk and the elusive snakeskin note almost push this into the unisex realm, but I think much would depend on individual skin chemistry as to which side of the scent equation will amp. Personally, I amp musk - so the late drydown for me is all musk all the time. Still, I think overall it is a different and interesting combination.

[Astarial]

Hrmph.

 

I really like this - on me, it starts out a blend of citruses and morphs quickly into a lime-dominated scent, but softened somehow, almost sweet. It makes me feel like I'm wearing a fancy green dress and standing on a sunny balcony having an elegant drink. The boy took one sniff, made his yuck face, and went "Smells like camphor".

 

...What a strange one he is. I guess this one is for me to wear when he's not around.

[windbourne]

Brilliantly fruity and shining, but in a menacing way. Something (the green musk? the snakeskin? I'm familiar with neither of those notes...) makes this scent smell very dangerous. The currant and citrus notes are pretty much as I'd expected, but there's a sinuous aspect to it that sets my nose on edge.

 

I give it credit for being exactly what it says it is on the label -- it's full of slippery snakes and shining fruits, but it's not one I will ever want to put on my skin again. I don't have a problem with snakes as animals, but smelling of snake is not something I want. :/

[kelpsoda]

Mmmm, green musk! I love the green musk in 51 and Green Phoenix, and it's just as good here paired with the fruit (limes? melons?). It's sharper and more citrus-y than 51, and more like Green Phoenix to my nose. This is very fresh smelling, and will be great for summer.

[FeatherQwill]

I loved the name so much that I was kind of afraid to actually try it and possibly not like it.

 

Wet: My first impression was Gummy Bears!!! But more like the way a gummy bear tastes than the way it smells. I think it's the citrus.

 

Dry: Still that gummy bear-ishness, but tampered down a lot - it's very definitely a perfume at this point. Faded a fair amount.

 

 

Overall: Delightfully whimsical. This isn't an everyday smell, and one I'd wear more for myself than for others, but it's definitely a keeper. I'll most likely get a bottle when my imp runs out.

[Seadreamer]

This is absolutely gorgeous, and my new BPAL favorite. I'm still not having a lot of success at picking out individual notes, but here are my general impressions:

 

In the imp: GREEN!! Sparkling lime, citrus with a bite. How appropriate.

 

Wet: Clean, fresh and still sparkling like mad.

 

Drying: Now becoming more complex. There's a richness behind all that fruit that I've never encountered before. Maybe it's the green musk? Swirling herbs and *sniffs* is that the currant? Yum!

 

Final: Soft and clean, but still green citrus. My only question is how many bottles I should stockpile.

[jencallisto]

In the imp: Sweet fruits and a strong sense of bright green. Gorgeous, actually.

Fresh on the skin: Green and citrusy, quite glittery, but with a soft padded depth at the back that I can't explain. A little dishsoapy, but not in a bad way.

15 minutes later: I'm definitely get a little of the red current, almost candyish in its sweetness. It still smells rather like dishsoap, but everything else about it is quite lovely. Very complex! All that green lemon-lime, with current around the edges and though I have no idea what green musk and snakeskin ought to smell like, I suspect that they're part of what's giving this it's depth. I think it's getting better as it goes, too.

30 minutes later: The red current is growing, giving the scent a fruity chapstick part to it within the green citrus. I think I'm also starting to smell the fuzzy-musty smell that plagued Shoggoth for me -- I wonder if that's the lime. It's too bad, because normally I love lime, but perhaps there's something about the note the Lab uses that disagrees with my skin.

1 hour later: The sillage is really quite nice at this point, mostly a slightly plasticky red current with a little green citrus. As long as I don't get so close that the mustiness hits, anyway.

1.5 hours later: Musty smell is getting stronger, boo hiss.

2 hours later: And now it's lessened again? Yay.

3 hours later: Herbal red current, light and warm and not too sweet. Nice!

4 hours later: Ah, we seem to be fading out to a very indistinct sweet laundryishness, but a rather pretty one.

6 hours later: Make that extremely pretty.

14 hours later: There's still a hint of it on my wrist.

 

Verdict: I don't love all the stages of this, but I do mostly like it. I think I'll try it again and see if it grows on me or does the opposite; if it stays basically like this I'll most likely just keep the imp but pass on a bottle.

 

One phrase: green citrus and red currant.

[Lycanthrope]

Wet, this reminds me very much of the LEs Faue Boulanger and Moana, in that it has that wet, greeny splort of quasi-aquatic. Where those fragrances take a subtle turn towards both slight violet and seaweed, respectively, SwGEaFT (bllaaarh!) tends towards rindy, pulpy green fruits. Not quite honeydew, but with that same sort of squishy, aromatic essence.

 

I'd say this falls in the line of fruity wet melony scent.

 

I like it. If I ever run out of Moana or Faeu, this is where I'm turning next.

[Dark Alice]

Slithering Green musk with a hint of Currant. That is what I smell in this....its goregous....and the lemon doesn't take over! yay! My skin eats the fruitiness...but leaves the musk behind....this is fast becoming my signature fruity scent!

[Iceblink]

Herbal and fruity--there's a terribly soapy stage that this goes through about 30 minutes after application, but it seems to have passed. I'm definitely picking up the green musk here; it reminds me of Area 51. A "perfumey" blend, not too sweet and not too green.

I have to admit I have no clue what snakeskin would smell like, though...

[hkhm]

imp: lime and currants.

 

wet: this smells like candy, both sweet and tangy at once.

 

dry: this is still very sweet lime, currant and that wonderful, undefinable green something. very nice.

[stefrand]

ITI: This is a fun smell! Bright, fizzy sweet citrus and musk. I like it!

 

Wet: Still bright, sweet, and citrussy, with no soap or "home cleanser" smell. The currant keeps it from getting too acidic, and the herbs add a nice undertone. Cool and light.

 

Dry: Wonderful! Warm, light, sweet citrus and fruits. A little herbal, a touch musky. Very layered and deep. I like it very much.

 

Drydown: Fruity, but not foody. Sweet currant with an herbal, musky, sharp undertone...that's the snakeskin, maybe? It keeps the scent from becoming too young. A wonderful spring/summer scent, although I could see myself wearing it anytime. Light and clean.

 

Final thoughts: Definitely a keeper.

[Little Bird]

In the imp, this smells like a soft, green smell with a bit of fruity citrus. It isn't sharp at all, just smooth and lightly sweet. It makes me think of fruity, green scented shampoo - clean without being soapy.

 

On my skin, the citrus sharpens and comes to the front, and this starts to go a bit soapy on me. After letting this settle on my skin for five minutes, I don't really care for it at all. It goes all perfumey, sharp, and suffocating on me. It's like cheap musk and a bit of lemon with a chemical undertone that makes me think of cheap hairspray.

 

I had to wash this off after a half hour, as it was giving me a headache.

[zankoku_zen]

This one is a nice softly green scent - limey, fizzy currants with herbs. Very pretty, crisp and clear. Yum!

[kjirstiben]

My notes for this, the day I was testing it, read as follows: "Bright-colored! Fruity! Starts to go sour around 1 hour in…" Sadly, like many sweet or fruity scents, this and my chemistry do not get along very well. The bright, sweet juiciness that made it so outstanding at first seemed to disagree with my skin--I will definitely be trying this one in a scent locket.

[rayvn1]

Hm, odd - I get something sweet and red like dragon's blood and something a bit flowery and fruity. I may need to try this again on a different skin chemistry day.

[FallDaze]

Initial thoughts-> When I read the description of this, it just jumped out at me and yelled "Try me! You will love me!" Hopefully it wasn't lying.

 

Imp-> fresh and green with a bit of lime tart. I love this so much! It's a vibrant sparkling green color.

 

Wet-> The herbs are making a big appearance and the musk is revealing itself slowly. I'm still getting a lime color association, but where it was a neon toxic green before, now it's a more baby lime green. I'm also getting a dry, serpent like feeling from this as well.

 

After a while-> That bright sparking scent never quite comes back, and it remains a pale musky green scent. I prefer it as it was straight out of the imp. I'll definitely be keeping my imp, but probably won't be getting a bottle until I have a locket of some sort.

[milo]

This smells so great in the bottle. I love green/aquatics, but they do not love me most of the time. There is a sharp aquatic or green note that just amps on my skin, and unfortuneately, Serpent's is no exception. (mind you to a much lesser extent than pretty much all greens/aquatics that I've tried) The lime and fruit's are taking only a slight background to the greens, and is actually quite pleasant on my skin 20 minutes after wet. This would be a great summer blend, nice and cooling, quite reminiscent of SGA. I like this, but do not love.

Edited January 24, 2009 by milo