Snake Oil

[lionheart]

By far, our most popular scent! Magnetic, mysterious, and exceedingly sexual in nature. A blend of exotic Indonesian oils sugared with vanilla.

Snake Oil was the first scent I ordered a full bottle of, some years ago (still have the little round bottle with the cork). It ages beautifully, goes on so sweet but sensual and smooth. By far, my favorite scent ever. It's warm, and actually lasts a long time on my skin (which just drinks fragrance usually, even oils). Not a very articulate review, I know, but I had to pop in and say it's a gorgeous perfume. My all-time favorite.

[Elvena]

I read through reviews for this and despite the fact that it has patchouli my sworn enemy, it seemed to work for so many people that I thought I would try based on the vanilla, sugary, popularity.

 

I opened the bottle. All I could smell was wretched, nasty Patchouli. I hesitated and hoped and put it on my skin. Plastic and dirty smelling greasy , disgusting, horrible patchouli. I hate you patchouli and I hate you snake oil..hate hate hate! YUCK.

 

ETA: A little later! It smells like the thick sickly yellow hand degreaser my mechanic father used to use. Dirty engine grease and the weird perfumy "soap".

Edited March 31, 2008 by Elvena

[alsatia]

Expectations: I really didn't know what to think of this based on the description. I actually wasn't drawn to it (vague descriptions tend to not attract my attention), but then I snagged a set of Snake Pit decants and decided it would be wise to try the original first. This is a fairly fresh imp—it was decanted by someone who doesn't like her Snake Oil aged and can't use up a bottle fast enough. The label says it was decanted in February.

 

In vial: Spicy and a little bit musky. I don't really notice the vanilla yet.

 

On skin, wet: Very similar to in the vial, with a hint of sweetness which is still not distinctly vanilla.

 

On skin, dry: I keep waffling between finding this spicy and finding it sweet. When it's sweet, the vanilla starts to be noticeable now.

 

After time: After half an hour, the vanilla is much stronger and the base underneath it isn't exactly spicy anymore. I'm reminded a little of maple syrup, although it doesn't actually smell like that.

 

Conclusion: Wow, this is gorgeous. (And I'm cheating a bit, as I've worn it before testing for a review.) There's a good chance of either Snake Oil or one of its Snake Pit variations becoming my scent for daily wear.

[windbourne]

*sigh* This is one that really should work on me -- vanilla does just fine usually, and the rest sounds like other things I've tried and liked...but I've tried it a few times now, and every time, the same result: vanilla flea shampoo. Some of the variations or blends that include it (The Phoenix, some of the Snake Pit) are fine, but the base oil itself just refuses to mellow down and be the beautiful beast I want it to be. I don't know if aging it (or finding some very fresh!) would affect my results, but from two separate batches...flea shampoo.

 

*shrug* Ah, well. Everyone's got something that they wish worked that just doesn't. ^-^;

 

It does last fairly well on my skin, and has a moderate throw. Still, not one I'm going to be buying anytime soon.

[BelleAnge]

I get a spicy and sweet scent from this. Another one I really like.

 

ETA: Wore this one today. It smells like vanilla cake batter to me. I love this smell.

Edited April 11, 2008 by BelleAnge

[arcadelane]

i got this frimp with my first order and was super excited. duh. but when i smelled it i got mostly pathchouli which i do not like, at all. no sir. i also smelled amber and vanilla and something very astringent. I definitely didn't like it so I sent it off to my friend. i regret doing that now. i've been reading reviews and really wanna try it aged when its less astringent.

[donnatron]

Bottle: I sit on my bed, bottle of Snake Oil to my nose thinking "Does anyone really care? Is this honestly going to be the review that causes some poor lost soul to take the dive and try Snake Oil?" But then my OCD tendencies win out and my determination to review every one of my bottles demands I review this. So I inhale the heady, sweet, intoxicating scent of Snake Oil. In the Everything you wanted to know about Snake Oil... thread I just compared Snake Oil to an after dinner liqueur and I think that description holds true. There's something slightly boozy about the whole mixture, but also a rich vanilla creaminess and subtle spice.

 

Wet: The lovely thing about Snake Oil--for me, at least--is that it hits the skin and it just warms up and acquires just a warm, skin scent to it. There isn't a whole lot of morphing from the bottle, it just becomes warmer and a bit denser.

 

Dry: As the majority of the reviews attest, there is a reason this is the most popular scent. It's a beautiful, sultry, skin-warmed vanilla scent that can alternatively bring to mind ski sweaters and hot cocoa by a fireplace and sun-warmed skin under a filmy sarong. It's versatile, it's evocative, and it just smells damn good. This is an amazing scent.

 

Throw: Ample and delightful.

 

Overall: I acquired my bottle of Snake Oil without even bothering to stop for an imp first. It's a beautiful scent, it adapts to most people's chemistry in unique and beautiful ways, and it never fails to compliment whatever mood I'm in or trying to get into. It's the great chameleon of the BPAL blends and definitely deserves the status it commands.

Edited April 10, 2008 by paperrose

[ambersparrow]

 

I so wanted to love this. I wanted warm, spicy, sexy vanilla. All I'm sniffing is spicy. No vanilla at all. I had such high hopes. Oh well, I guess I'll age it a bit and see how it goes from there.

[oravannahka]

Had such high hopes from reading the reviews/forum. Of course, I also know that aged Snake Oil is supposedly heaven in a bottle from reading the reviews/forum.

 

Imp: Spicy and sweet. Hm...

Wet: patchouli attack! Also, lots of gritty spices. No vanilla.

Dry: still no vanilla, and the spices are making my nose twitch in a rather unpleasant way. This is pure spice on me, and not the good, sensual kind. The kind you season meat with.

 

As I said, the forums have taught me to hold onto this one in the hopes of the vanilla/resin coming out. I do hate waiting, but for the lab's best-selling scent, I will do it.

[poolsoflaughter]

In the bottle: Soft, yummy vanilla, and nameless spices that I cannot pick out.

 

Wet on skin: Not too strong, and cannot stop sniffing! I still detect the vanilla, and the sweet/dry spices are lurking in the background.

 

Drydown: Numerous friends sniff the air in my general direction, get wild looks on their faces...then they demand to sniff me, and proceed to tell me how nice it is! This happened several times just today! I love the soft scent of a not-to-sweet and spicy vanilla that attracts positive attention. Two thumbs up!

[gypsysingleton]

This goes all smoky incense on me - it's a creamy vanilla smoky incense, but I'm really incensed out - maybe better in some of the snake pit blends...

[diamondstars]

I bought a bottle of Snake Oil to see what all the hype was about really. Glad I did! I love it. To me it smells a bit like Glowing Vulva..maybe that's just my funny nose though, who knows..

 

I'd like to know what an aged bottle smells like for comparison.

 

Can't stop sniffing wrists!

 

[brsis]

Frimped to me by Tartchef!

 

Initial thoughts: Snake Oil was never on my wishlist, for no apparant reason other than it's insane popularity with women. However, when Tartchef asked me to pick out some frimps with my bottle of Herr Drosselmeyer *Love* it was on the list, and I thought well, hey, that many people can't be wrong.

 

Also it has vanilla in it, and I really like the way vanilla smooths things over.

 

In the imp: Okay, I can smell the vanilla. I can also smell something that smells like a spice - not spicy, but like a mellow spice like saffron. Something else I can't quite place - it's sweet, but not sugary. Might be a floral, but it's a really odd floral if it is. And something reminiscent of patchouli. It's also a slightly alarming dark yellow colour that shows on your skin wet o.O dissapears quickly, though.

 

Wet on the wrist: Oooh, spice! Sweet spice! Something else... actually, I think that is patchouli. Hmmm. Maybe some ylang ylang? The vanilla's not so distinct, but it's starting to smell slightly like baking, which is probably the vanilla's fault.

 

A minute later: Oh dear. There's a sharp, sour, smoky note - my mother thought it smelt like old cigarettes on her. On me, it smells like someone burnt down the hippy shop. It's starting to mellow, but that's seriously unpleasant.

 

Five minutes later: Still burnt and sour. It's also a bit too strong for my liking, and is giving me a slight headache. I'm getting the vanilla now, but that only results in smelling like burnt cakes.

 

Ten minutes later: Is that eucalyptus?! I know Snake Oil is meant to be a cure-all, but it's not Vics Vapour Rub. Is it?

 

Fifteen minutes later: Okay, that's definately eucalyptus, but it's calming down. The sour note is becoming less burnt. I'm getting sweet vanilla sometimes. This has potential, I guess.

 

Twenty minutes later: It doesn't smell like burnt cakes or eucalyptus anymore. I don't know what it smells like, but it's too strong and I don't like it. Every so often I get a wiff of the sweet vanilla I really like, but overall I'm not impressed. I might wear the rest of the imp, maybe, but I'm not going to be sorry to see the back of this one.

 

Twenty five minutes later: STOP MORPHING! STOP IT!

 

It's mellower now - still nose-tingling, but this is much more wearable. Still got the eucalyptus when I snuffle up to my wrist, can only trace the sweet vanilla in the throw (Which is pretty damn far). It's still giving me a bit of a headache - I think I need to wear it a lot more sparingly.

 

Later (Like, forty-five minutes. Not funny, guys): Okay, it's... bareable. And not exactly unpleasant. But I still don't like it that much. If it went to this strait away, I'd probably use up the imp eventually. As it is, with nearly an hour of messing around before it gets to sweet hippy shop smog and sour old smoke, I really can't be bothered. Goes in the swap pile.

 

An hour later (AN HOUR): Okay, now it's kind of alright. Still not really my thing, but it's sweet and the vanilla has come back - actually, it smells kinda edible. At this point, it's quite nice, but I really can't be bothered with the amount of time it's taken to get this far. I may use the rest of the imp, I may not - the fact that the first hour smells absolutely foul on me, and it's very strong with a absolutely incredible throw (And gives me headaches) is definately not in it's favour.

 

TL;DR: Morphs, morphs, morphs some more, and although after an hour it's quite pleasant, getting there really isn't. And it's strong. Probably not a keeper.

[DogNPonyShow]

I know that non-foody vanillas always go musty and powdery on me, but I wanted to just try this. It smells fine in the vial. Once on, though, the spices are too heavy and the powdered vanilla made me sick. After showering I was left with a nice soft spicey vanilla. I wish that's how the entire scent was.

[FelinePulse]

This smells exactly the same in Imp and on my skin.

 

Medicinal.

With a faint Dr. Pepper smell.

 

Not at all what I was expecting, or wanting.

 

I believe I shall age this and come back to it. Hopefully it morphs into something beautiful, I had such high hopes!

 

EDIT:: Evidently all this scent needs is 2 weeks to age. It is now smelling like spicy vanilla goodness. I can tell that as this continues to age, it's going to get even more yummy. I am very pleased it decided to transform this way!

Edited May 12, 2008 by FelinePulse

[wavechaser]

I get vanilla in this only dry as an end note (if there is such a thing).

 

What I love about this is that it isn't typical hippy patchouli, it has a darker spice to it which is entrancing to me, also I detect a bit of tobacco.

 

I also layer it with a lot of other scents (Lysander today) and it gives me a new experience each time!

[SilverSerenity]

I can't decide if I like this or not yet.

 

It is a lovely warm sexy spicy vanilla (smelling it makes me feel warm and slightly flushed), but I'm also getting a weird plastic-y tone to it that I don't like.

 

I think I'll put it away for a while and try it again later, see if aging it a bit helps.

[Indigo78]

Wet, just applied: Goldschläger Cinnomon Schnapps. Completely. I can practically smell the gold flecks that dance around in the bottle. Past experiences render schnapps of any genre a not-so-favorite "memory scent"

 

Half an hour later: Subdued are the schnappy whiffs...they've morphed into sweet, sticky-rich tobacco smoke. Vanilla is starting to billow up with her head held high. She's crystalline... Cream soda? No, slightly more sophisticated...Vanilla Twist!! She's a chilled glass tumbler of Smirnoff Vanilla Twist on the rocks. Lazy, curling ribbons of sweet Southern tobacco smoke lick her frosted edges. On my skin, this morphing stage goes from being acutely spiced and boozy into a sexy, languid swoon.

 

Three hours later: A softer version of before, Vanilla is now clearly running the show. As she fades , she's on the verge of mimicing...well, a vanilla tic-tac. The earlier smokiness is just as faded, and on my skin the two will likely die together.

 

A maybe...I'll bet this one ages very gracefully~

 

ETA: It's 6 hours later, & I just woke up from a nap with the fiercest craving for a 5,000 calorie slice of Black Cat Pie - without the ingredients and/or ambition to make one, I'll resist... But Snake Oil's gourmand drydown is making it rough, rough, rough...

Edited May 15, 2008 by Indig0

[LadyLuckDoubt]

In the Imp

Okay, this smells intense. I'm detecting the patchoulli and musk, not sure about what else is in here.

 

On Me

Initially, it smells very high-end. A friend told me it went like Poison by Dior or whoever on her, which is what got her into it. In the first fifteen minutes, it IS like that on me: only lacking the plastic note of the conventional, and it's nowhere near as "loud." I'm liking it.

 

About half an hour later, it sweetens, and there's vanilla and musk present, with a cedar-y undertone. It's pretty, and nice, in a dark, understated sort of way, but it hasn't grabbed me to the same level as other BPALs have. It's still a bit smoky, but not too smoky. I suspect there's a touch of Dragon's Blood in there somewhere, too.

 

 

All in all-- yummy and beautiful initially, and I can see why it's got the rave reviews and the obsessive devotees... I don't think I'm one of them, though.

[charshark]

In the imp: Exotic and a bit spicy. Different.

 

Wet: Warm. I detect amber and musk. Can faintly smell vanilla.

 

Dry: Smelling more vanilla now as it balances out the spices.

 

Overall: I got this as a frimp so it's something I probably won't wear normally because I'm not that big of a fan of vanilla.

[greenranger]

After O didn't work for me, I worried about this one. I was afraid that this would be the second popular vanilla scent that I couldn't wear...

 

I was so wrong to be afraid.

 

 

In the imp, vanilla and something spicy behind it.

 

On me, wet, vanilla and cherry. I know, there's no cherry in this. My nose just interpreted the other notes there as "cherry scent" for some reason. My nose got cherry from Dragon's milk, too, but, I had thought that was because of the Dragon's Blood.

 

On me, dry, eventually the "cherry" scent fades out and the spices become more apparent.

*sighs in bliss*

First of all, beyond the vanilla, everything is so well blended or unfamiliar that I can't pick out notes, but, its a warm inviting sweet spice mixed with the vanilla.

Second, on me, the throw is about perfect. I can smell it in whiffs, though I only applied an average about on my wrists, hands and elbows. I don't have to get up to my wrist and sniff to smell it, but, I don't feel like I am slapping everyone around me in the face with the smell either.

Third, it has lasted all day long! I applied it at 6 AM. It is now 4 PM. I am still getting whiffs of it now and then.

 

The only thing that could top this is if my husband decided that he likes it too, but, given his opinion of perfume in general, that is unlikely.

 

~later~ Husband's response, "It smells like perfume." Ah well. Otherwise, the scent is wonderful.

Edited May 21, 2008 by Aerinha

[taramarie]

On me, Snake Oil seems to be sandalwood and vanilla, with the vanilla getting stronger as it dries. Unfortunately, it started to burn, so someone else can have this.

[savage_rose]

I've never reviewed this?

 

Wet, it smells like a lovely, lightly spiced, warm vanilla. But on...the sandalwood goes straight to powder on me . I love the smell, but only as a layering note or in a diffuser. Sigh.

[Stephanie]

A very sultry patchouli-vanilla scent with slight spiciness. If it's brand-new it can smell a little medicinal and bit like the inside of a new car. But after a while, as it ages, it definitely grows into itself and becomes beautiful. I have a 2004 10ml vintage that is gorgeous! All thick rich resinous, earthy sweetness.

[starwild]

Finally, finally got around to trying this!

 

Imp: Holy crap, it's Mme. Moriarty without the fruit and musk!

Wet: ...holy CRAP, it's Mme. Moriarty without the fruit and musk!

Drydown: *sniff sniff* Is that playdough? o.O

 

From there it turned into a battle between "Non-fruity Mme. Moriarty! Playdough! Non-fruity Mme. Moriarty! Playdough!"

 

It's settled down into something in the middle. I really, really like it and want a bottle to age.

 

I think I've broken my fear of vanilla! Thank you, Lab!