Batty Snake Oil

[zankoku_zen]

Deep, rich, earthy notes swirled with vegetal musks, sugared vanilla bean, brown leather, and dark spices.

[frizzlechicken]

When I first received this, the leather note was pretty strong up top, but within 24 hours it had calmed down. Upon application, there is a distinct note of leather, I described it as a sun-warmed leather jacket that you’ve worn in some early autumn air. After the initial burst of leather starts to fade, there is a really stunning sugared vanilla that blends gorgeously with the familiar snake oil. For the rest of the time wearing this, the sugared vanilla was the note I smelled most, and it was glorious.
 

interestingly, when I woke up the next morning the only trace left behind by the scent was leather! I was super surprised since other than application that faded for most of the wear. 

Edited October 31 by frizzlechicken

[elissamay]

This is Snake Oil and rugged brown boot leather, for me. It seems extra vanilla-fied, and at first I called it "black" boot leather, but on further reflection it really is more English saddle than Doc Marten. Super wearable, super classic BPAL.

[Numanoid]

This is so good. Smells like a close relative to Snake Skin. On, it still reminds me of that but I detect the spices coming through as well! If you are any kind of fan of S.O and leather, this is a scent for you!

[MamaMoth]

i'm always a bit wary of leather notes, but i'm very fond of snooty bat, and my love for snake oil is practically boundless, so this was a must-try. and i wasn't wrong.  this miiiight be one of my favorite sneks.  

 

is leather really the only additional component listed here?  i'm shocked.  it's snake oil, but so much more, too.  it's more leathery upon initial application, with a touch of the plastic quality that sometimes puts me off leather blends.  but the leather slips under the surface and joins the chorus soon enough, morphing into a soft brown almost doe-skin of a thing.  the spices and vanilla seem a bit amped here from og snake oil, too.  it's sweet and musky, cuddly and sexy like a lazy evening under a blanket with someone special.

 

backup bottle, please. 

[Weirdgirlpilled]

SO MUCH LEATHER. I don't know that I like it. Snake oil is twisting around under it somewhere. I just kind of smell.... airport. 

[GypsyRoseRed]

Once on the skin and long into the dry down, this is Snake Oil with a deeper complexity, less herbal, softer with a hint of caramel and spice. It's so, so pretty. Definitely buying a backup!

[roseus]

In the bottle all I get is fresh, snappy leather. The kind that tends to go headache-y on me. I applied with not very high hopes. At first I get mostly SO with the vanilla amped up, and while I can't pick out the leather it's giving me that twinge of headache. As I let it sit the leather comes out and smooths out a bit but unfortunately the headache wins out. I might sit on it for a bit longer but I think this might be skin chem fail. 

[asterope]

The leather is stronggggg. I swiped just my arm and ended up scrubbing and having to wash my sweatshirt. It's a black leaning leather with a chemical undertone (my skin doesn't play well with leather so ymmv). The snake oil I do smell in there is beautiful, but, alas, the leather wins out. Not reminiscent of snakes kiss for me which I was hoping for.

[AbbyNormal]

When I first received this I adored it straight out of the mailbox and then decided to let it rest a few days to recover from the shock. When I opened the bottle again it just smelled musty, and plasticky, and generally unpleasant with just a hint of Snake Oil underneath and I was super disappointed. Tonight I decided to give it another shot based off of how much I loved it in the beginning and I wasn’t disappointed! The smell in the bottle still isn’t the best but on my skin it blooms into a very vanilla-y Snake Oil with just a touch of soft suedey leather. Along with something almost nutty, but more like the leftover skins from nuts in the bottom of the bag after you’ve eaten them all if that makes any sense. 

[Rspades]

Ugh headache city. Leather why do you hate me so? No snake oil to be found.

[DigitalCoyote]

Wet: BIG BLAST OF LEATHER quickly subsumed by vanilla, both crowded out by the vegetal aspects of Snake Oil. 

 

Semidry: Plastic.

 

Updates: if you can endure the shift to plastic, the reward is the worn leather + spicy snake oil center of Western Diamondback (e.g. sans sage and sandalwood) with vanilla.  It's love.

Edited Friday at 05:24 PM by DigitalCoyote

[LavenderCoffee]

I received my batty snek on 6th November, and I remember she was maaaad as hell about being confined in a box and transported across state lines. The leather came across more synthetic black than brown and made me nervous.

 

However! Since then she's recovered from the shock quite nicely. I definitely get brown leather, and there's a slight animalic edge as it dries that really sets it apart from the sleeker Snake Skin - maybe a bit of a different musk in the mix. Takes a bit, maybe 20 mins, for the sweet vanilla to pop out, but the combined effect is intoxicating.

 

This wears well for me now, but as with many SO blends, I think it will continue to improve.

[Supertrooper Omni]

Almond extract + extra vanilla + classic og snake oil. I might could retest this, but I wasn't having the leather musty experience that seems to dominate the previous reviews.

 

Definitely more of a please scream in your snake oil type experience for me. Floofy and pleasant.