HerbGirl

This is the best sandalwood vanilla I have ever smelled. Finally!!!

This amber-patchouli-vanilla is very well blended and takes a while to bloom on my skin. The amber waft is truly incredible. Gorgeous.

My bottle arrived today and I love it. In my book, this is the perfect 'straight up' vanilla. Doesn't get any better than this. (For nava lovers - this reminds me most of moonstone with some creamy crystal thrown in and a hint of kobalt.)

I don't know how I never reviewed Snake Oil in the 12 years I've been loving it! This review is for the newest version, the 'It's back!" version, that arrived just today. I am so happy to say that Snake Oil is indeed back. This is what I remember smelling from fresh bottles in 2010, and from 2012-2016 when I was buying it. Gorgeous dark chewy spiced musked and patchouli-d vanilla. I am soooo excited. This is the good stuff and I am already slathered in it. Eta: there are differences, it isn't the same but it is still gorgeous and I know how difficult it must have been to get it this close! There is a more perfumey lift to this newer version but I love it.

Wow! The strawberry and lavender are beautifully strong! Within 5 minutes I can smell ylang ylang and just a hint of blueberry. I think there's vanilla flower that's helping remind me of Strawberry Moon '09 though, of course, this is very different. I'm smelling a hint of cream and lotus root but the strawberry is still the star 10 minutes in. I'm very curious to see how this develops - right now I am seriously contemplating a bottle. The strawberry calms down and I feel like the vanilla flower (which reminds me of a Henri Bendel perfume from years gone by) is melding beautifully with the ylang and honey dust. This is stunning and comforting and I love it.

Ugh. Why do I smell poudh??? I also smell mint but neither of these makes me want to ever try this again. I tried to bear it for almost an hour waiting for something good to happen but had to scrub it off, which took some time and effort. Glad it was a decant.

The name is perfect - this really is a whisper of spring. I had to apply more than usual to really smell it. Very rare to see freesia so I had to try it! The cherry blossom is definitely the most prominent note at first. I can smell the freesia and pear behind the cherry blossoms but I have to really try. I feel like the pear is giving this a powdery vibe? As this starts to dry, I think I smell plum skin and the bergamot, usually so lovably pronounced in everything, is emerging later in the game. I am curious how this will smell in an hour but honestly it isn't wowing me. Just a jumble of springy scents, but the waft of cherry blossom, bergamot and freesia is very nice. Had to come back for two reasons: 1. This IS wowing me now. The freesia and bergamot are truly beautiful. 2. This isn't sweet - it is truly a complex spring floral. If you are a fan of freesia, this might be worth a try. And the golden musk is giving an amber like support as this dries down which is dreamy...

2021 version. Sweet, powdery, vanillaic amber with a hint of lavender. I like it but it isn't a stand out.

The throw of cherry blossom from this is super intense! In the bottle, it just smells like dryer sheets. I expected that based on the notes. This is still very new and I want to let it settle for about 6 months to see how it changes, but right now I just smell lots of cherry blossom. That's fine with me 🙂 If I try really hard, I think I'm smelling the woad because it isn't any of the other listed notes. It's a nice inky but velvety quality. This is going to be gorgeous and I am happy to have a bottle. Goodness. 30 minutes in, this is such a cherry blossom bomb! I bet the benzoin is doing a great behind the scenes support job because this cherry blossom sticks around. If you love cherry blossom, I hope you take a chance with this.

Oh, how lovely. This went on really light and has just been amping itself up over the past 20 minutes, wow. I decided to wait to test this on a Sunday 🙂 This really smells like a super amped up version of Summer's Last Will and Testament and shares similarities with Red Moon '07 (to my nose), both of which I love. Very interesting - it does smell like sunflowers (or marigolds or mums). Very potent, very well blended, very sunny - like hope in a bottle. Love it. And...my throat is reacting to something here, which is interesting. I'm having the same reaction as when I'm in a room of mums or another related flower 😕 Stealth note???

Whoa. 😯 Milky, caramel Snake Oil. Wow. It's amazing. Very smooth, nothing abrasive, sharp or cloying. This may be my favorite Snake Oil variant yet.

What a red musk dream! It reminds me of Awake, but much heavier. Somehow, this is a really complex scent journey, all of the notes playing out over time but that creamy red musk remains the entire time and this lasts a long time. Big throw. Big love.

This started off promising with white chocolate and strawberry but it falls flat after barely a minute on my skin. White chocolate disappears leaving a very normal strawberry. I was hoping for the bright strawberry from Strawberry Moon '09...nope. Hopefully the chocolate will become stronger and stick around longer with some age.

Creamy peony and rose with something dark underneath. That's exactly what I had hoped for. I am sure it will show its complexities over the next year and I look forward to it but I would be happy if it stayed the way it is right now. Love it. Half an hour in, that broom note shows up - it must be - it adds a brushy complexity that's really neat. I think it is meshing nicely with the amber... Good stuff!

This was the first Luper in my cart. For some reason I absolutely needed it. I was right. I don't even care that I have no clue what is going on behind the tulips (there is a lot subtly going on) because it is SO pretty. So tulip! So glad to have a bottle. Ooohhhh...I can smell the black orchid note now...wow!