MamaMoth

Heh. As if Snake Oil needs any more reviews. But here goes. When I first tried Snake Oil, I was a little disappointed. I can detect vanilla and red musk, but can't really place anything else specific. It has a very medicinal, almost bitter smell when it's wet, which continues about an hour in. But during that time a spiced vanilla starts creeping in, and it sweetens up considerably. As the "medicinal" smell starts to dissipate, it gets a little powdery. But that doesn't last for long. What I'm left with after that first hour or so is a gorgeous, rich, heady, resiny-spiced vanilla. Deceptively simple, but utterly lovely. Now, that opener initially kind of turned me off, even though I greatly enjoy how it smells a bit later. I bought a bottle unsniffed just because I felt like I owed it the chance, based on how much I love BPAL, figuring I could cellar it for a while if I didn't like it, and sell it eventually if it just wasn't for me. But in all stages it is compelling and almost addictive, and I am blowing through this bottle so fast that I'll have to pick up another to cellar, so I can experience this aged Snake Oil phenomenon eventually.

I thought for sure I'd already reviewed this one. Ah well... Brown Jenkins smells wonderful, but so bone-dry that it makes my nose tickle a little. The coconut gives a little sweetness, but it is the dry roughness of coconut husk, not the moist creamy flesh. The sandalwood is really dry and a little cedary as usual for me, () But it seems to be held slightly in check by the coconut and musk. I'm not familiar with orris root, but I've read that it is really dry as well, so that is probably adding to my overall impressions. Overall, Brown Jenkins smells really great, but its dryness keeps me from reaching for it as often as some others. It stays pretty true on my skin, and the throw and wearlength are outstanding. (8+ hours)

In the bottle, straight-up pine cleaner. Yowza, that's harsh. I almost didn't try this one on, it made my eyes water. But I've vowed to give every imp that comes through my hands at least a small skin test, sooo.... Wet on skin, more of the same for a few minutes. Then it starts to morph, and it starts getting better and better. The pine becomes a really soft evergreen smell and fades waaay into the background. I can still smell it, but just enough to enjoy it. Up front, it's now sweet and creamy, but in a fresh way. I can't believe it, but Yew Trees turns into something really nice. This may weasel its way onto my bottle list. It really is reminding me of Brown Jenkins in some ways. Perhaps it shares the coconut-husk note?

What a pleasant surprise! I never would have thought to try this, which just proves the genius of frimpage. This is what I kept trying to urge Eden into, but it never bent to my will. Creamy, sweet, earthy, green, figgy, woodsy. There's no bitterness to this, it's so smooth. This is the bizzaro mental image I get from Strangler Fig: A creeping vine, covered in fat, fuzzy, green pods. If you were to pierce one of the pods, a thin, milky substance dribbles out. If you could sniff that substance, it would smell like Strangler Fig.

This is a fairly straightforward spicy amber. It's a little cinnamon-heavy at first, but that backs off quickly, and settles into a nondescript but very nice general spiciness. It stays clean, and never goes cloying or powdery (as amber can for me sometimes.) At about one hour, it almost gets a orange-pekoe-tea-like quality. Very nice. Unfortunately, it has very little throw, and a very short wear length for me. After two hours, with my nose pressed firmly to my skin, I just get a faint, generic "spice" vibe.

A lovely expensive-vanilla-beeswax-candle scent. The honeyed sweetness of the beeswax is somewhat prominent when it's wet, but as it dries the vanilla gets a smoky tinge and the sweetness backs off a lot. After trying on a lot of complex (but beautiful) scents lately like the Lunacies, this is pretty and uncomplicated and cozy. It's like my favorite fuzzy socks, but for my nose. Lovely on its own, but also rife with layering possibilities.

I like the new ones best, too. They do match the bottles well, and I like how they look aged.

This is one complex blend, it's hard to pin down any individual elements. The black musk gives it an oily, almost soapy quality when sniffed close to the skin, but when married to the resins and the chili, it produces a dark and glittery throw. The dried chili is really cool as a perfume note; bright and spicy but somehow somber. Resinous, musky, spicy. The mental image I get is of an oil slick on black pavement, refracting iridescent strange rainbows. This is lovely, and I can't wait to see how it ages.

Sharp and slightly citrussy ginger, backed by cinnamon and spice. Try as I might, I can't detect any dark resins. It starts off with the fresh bite of ginger beer, but turns into cookies after about 30 minutes and stubbornly stays that way. It smells very good, but I was hoping that the resins would put in more of an appearance. I'll hang on to the imp for when I want a cozy, lazing-around-the-house kind of scent. But I'm not much of a foodie person, so this will be plenty for me.

Oh my. I've been bouncing off the walls for this one since I found out about it because, besides being a longtime patchouli addict, I've discovered that I am really fond of BPAL coconut. This is a gorgeous, SWEET, creamy, patchouli+. Here is this beautiful patchouli that I saw in Depraved, but without the apricot which turned me off thoroughly. Goblin is incredibly rich. If this were a food, it would be something amazingly decadent, and you'd only be able to eat a small serving. I wish the sweetness were dialed back just a smidge on it, but overall this is really beautiful and unique. If I ever get around to compiling a top 10, Goblin will have a home there.

I don't like strawberry, but if I did, this would be a strawberry I might like. It's rich and musky, and the strawberry smells fresh and non-fake. Not too sweet, not too musky... a good blend. If you like strawberry. (Which I don't.)

How odd. I'm left wondering if my imp was mislabeled with this one. It smells like florals to me. Magnolia maybe, or lily. Not what I was hoping for at all. :\

Thanks for the info MamaMoth, I posted a link to this post on the "Postal rants and raves" thread so that it would get more exposure. Oh thanks Portalkat! I was trying to think of where to post it to get it seen, and I completely forgot about that thread. D'oh!

Hi guys, just a quick heads up, in case anyone finds this helpful... I started getting antsy today, as I haven't yet received the order from my 10/16 CnS, and the DC # still isn't in the system, so I called the post office. They are having a problem with the DC system lately, but told me that if you prefix your DC# with the digits "94" when you do a search, it should bring it right up. Worked for me!

Oh good. I was just coming in to ask that. Got a CnS Friday (10/16) that still isn't in the system.

This oil contains the innocence of the Garden, coupled with the Truth and Erudition found in the fruit of the Tree of Evil: fig leaf, fig fruit, honeyed almond milk, toasted coconut and sandalwood. Although not my usual style o' thing, I decided I wanted to try this because it seemed like it would be a light, fresh, alternative to my heavier favorites. I got the imp in a package that also included what is now my favorite BPAL scent (Mme. Moriarty, in case you were wondering,) so everything else got a bit overshadowed by my immense Moriarty squee. I remember skin testing just a dab, thinking it was nice but kind of boring, and tucking it into the "don't trade yet, but maybe in the future" pile. Well, today I was in just such a mood, and I dug around until I found my imp of Eden. Here was me: *dab dab* *tentative sniff* *dab dab dab* *stronger sniff* *waits a few minutes, sniffing every so often* *SLATHERS* Yes indeedy, this is exactly what I was hoping for. It is primarily a fig and coconut scent to my nose. I'm so happy with fig as a note. It's earthy but fruity, sweet enough but not too sweet. And the coconut is definitely toasty. Probably the sandalwood is adding to this impression, but I definitely get a drier, woodsier, grounding feeling from the coconut... not fresh coconut meat. The almond milk is smooth and creamy without being sour (like some milk notes can turn on me.) There is a definite green note when it's wet that is almost too much, but it dies down very quickly, and the transition is fun to smell. Even with all these food elements, it doesn't feel like a foody scent to me. Very calming and soothing. It makes me think of lying in bed on crisp white sheets that are cool and soft to the touch, and napping for a few hours in the afternoon as the sun slants in through a window at the foot of the bed. I'll be needing a bottle of this.

2008 decant I would have bought a bottle of this unsniffed if it were available, that's how sure I was that this would be a home run with me. I love incense, and wax, frankincense and myrrh. On me, this amps beyond all control. It feels like undiluted frankincense, pine, and cedar resin. Waaay too sharp, waay too woody. Insanely strong and not pleasant at all. I tried putting the tiniest little dab on and rubbing it around to cover my whole arm. Still amping out of control, and giving me a headache. And my arm got really red and blotchy. YIKES!

Wow! I expected something rather heavy with this, but the saffron gives it a... spicy freshness? heh. It's hard to put into words, actually. Spicy without being heavy or opressive. Clean-smelling, sweet without being SWEET. I mostly smell the saffron, wet and dried down. A few hours in, I get a vague reminder of Morocco, but still overlaid with that great saffron. Really lovely, and unique.

I decided to try this on a lark. I just had to smell bubblegum perfume. I truly expected something fruity and sticky and gross, but that's not what it is at all! It really is like one of those dry powdery sticks of gum... maybe a little old and dried out? The smell of this oil is really faint, like that. It even has that slightly cardboard undertone! It's gone in about 30 minutes. I can even see the oil on my skin still, but all I can smell is the faintest whiff of sweet cinnamon. How strange. What a fun perfume! I'd never want other people to smell me like this, so I'd not wear it out. It's a shame that it fades so quickly, but it's almost like my body chemistry rejects sweet pink scents instinctually.

In the vial and wet on, this is heaven. A kick of almost pure patchouli. I was ecstatic. As it dries down... it's still good, but I like it less. It reminds me of Anne Bonny, in that it gets dry cedary-woods on me. It's not quite as agressive as Anne was, so I call it Anne Bonny lite. I'll be keeping the imp, but probably not a bottle purchase. I'm beginning to think that BPAL patchouli does not work on me unless it's paired with something sweet, which is somewhat disappointing.

Sugar Skull 2008 (decant) I was hoping for smooth, sweet, and light fruit. What I get is so sharply sweet it's almost bitter, with just a touch of overripe fruit thrown in for good measure. Yuck.

... soap? Really, Dorian? No tea? No vanilla? Just soap?? *wistful sigh* I hope this is not an indicator of what tea notes will do for me, but now I'm ascairt.

Oh Lawn Gnome... how I wanted to love you. The currant is the overwhelming note here, and it smells of fake strawberry to my nose. Syrupy sweet fake strawberries n cream. And moss. I can't detect the patchouli, I may be mistaking it for the moss as a single earthy note. Lawn Gnome is definitely fun and quirky, and I can see how it might work on the right person... unfortunately, that person is not me. EDIT 7/19/22 new tastes, new skin chemistry, aged bottle retest! really enjoying this now! patchouli forward, with a pop of creamy tart currant (not strawberry wtf past me. >.<) the molasses just reads as brown sugar sweetness, and the moss (a tricky note for me) meshes with the patch to make it extra green, if that makes sense. exactly what i'd hope for from the notes list. so glad i gave it another shot!

Snake Oil with cocoa, teakwood, and rice milk. What I have is a decant, not sure how aged. This it is the thickest, darkest, oil I've ever seen. It just coats the tester wand. So beautiful. In the vial and wet on my skin, it is Snake Oil with rich cocoa. Not exactly dry cocoa, but rich and sticky, dark, and a little bitter under the sweet. As it dries, it smells of vanilla and cocoa, with the rich sexy spices of Snake Oil whispering underneath. Boomslang is so many things. It's totally warm and sexy, but it is soft and comforting too. I could put this on to go out on a date, and I could also put this on to cuddle up in bed with a book and read 'til I fall asleep. A little foodier than what I generally like, but judging by how often I go back to huffing my wrists I call it a winner.

WOW. Just wow. With this oil, I've found something my nose has been searching for a long time. Musky incense, earthy patchouli, luscious vanilla, and juicy plum/pom. They all blend perfectly, with this wonderful system of checks and balances. Each one shines without being overwhelming. My god, this is just too good for words. Knowing this is an LE, I'm feeling my first ever impulse to hoard. I may have to get an extra bottle or two of this to tuck away, as I can tell it will only get better with a little age on it.