Snake Oil

[Gold Dust Kitten]

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

I bought Snake Oil in April and didn't review it because I wasn't sure I liked it. It was very strong & medicinal in the bottle, and too intense and sticky on my skin. I was very depressed, because I expected this to be "IT" from the Lab description. I decided to let it sit so I can try it later.

I started wearing it a couple weeks ago and it grew on me...as in SWOON. Snake Oil is creamy, spicy, intoxicating and sexy. I love putting it in my hair because it smells even more divine.

This perfume works so well with my chemistry. It's the perfect vanilla. I'm going to buy a few more bottles to age and see how much better this stuff can get.

ADDED Aug. 14:

I found a bottle of Snake Oil from 2007. It smells pretty much the same but less musky so the vanilla stands out more. I layered this with Smut and got fresh Snake Oil.

[Kiraze]

spicy dark vanilla - smelled nice in bottle, wet and dry but disappeared completely within 2 hours - what a disappointment but maybe i should retry this outdoors as cold office could not bring out sexiness of this very well

[DraloreShimare]

In the vial - Spicy!

On the skin - Vanilla & spices.

Dry - Sharp, slightly astringent, with a faint musk background.

 

So, I don't get a heckuva lot of vanilla from this, but I quite like it. Not bottle-worthy, but imp-worthy.

[Truelove]

This is the one I was most disappointed in on my skin. It's just too overwhelmingly sweet. I know lot's of people love this so I was anxious to try it. I seem to like a couple of the scents that have snake oil in them, but on it's own it doesn't seem to work for me

[TriGirlJ]

This is my first BPAL that I received as a gift from a friend.

 

When I opened the package, all I could smell was smoky incense.

 

In the bottle, I mostly smell spices, incense, and a bit of patchouli.

 

On my skin when wet, I first smelled only the spices. I was a bit disappointed because I really wanted the vanilla. After it warmed up for a bit and started to dry, I started to get the vanilla.

 

Dry, I really get the vanilla, but it is spicy and warm.

 

It is quite lovely. I feel very sexy wearing it.

[Incendiare]

When I smell the fresh Snake Oil in my imp, all I can smell is strong spices and a touch of incense. As soon as I apply it to my skin, it smells exactly like the head shops in my area. At this point, I don't get a single hint of vanilla. After about half-an-hour, I started to notice a slight sweetness in the background, but it's almost more sugary than vanilla. Even though this is über fresh stuff and slightly on the medicinal side like many describe, it is oddly growing on me. Fresh, I definitely wouldn't classify it as a vanilla scent, but I'll be patient, allow my imp to age, and see what happens.

[Tanya]

I think this must get even better with age. It's usually not my type of scent being vanilla based (so many of them smell plastic-fake-sicky sweet), but this has become really appealing.

[Shealynne]

In the bottle: Delicious.

On me: Strawberry Chapstick. Seriously. I usually have great chemistry for most scents, but Snake Oil just doesn't agree with me.

 

Edit: It smells like the the chapstick from the chapstick brand, not the stuff that smells like strawberries.

Edited October 4, 2010 by Shealynne

[KesHiro]

Sadly, I am apparently one of those people who cannot wear straight up Snake Oil. Fresh or aged, it does not matter. My skin chemistry HATES it. If it's fresh, it smells too sharp and medicinal and if it's aged the scent is overly sweet. I can see why it has such a following, though, and I'm glad it works for so many others. I definitely recommend giving it a try and if it doesn't work the first time around, let it age before writing it off.

[Vega]

Sniffed: Warm, creamy-sweet and spicy. Very, very smooth and quite bold.

 

On skin: Ooh-lala! I usually don't use "sensuous" and "voluptuous" to describe a scent, but there's no other way to describe Snake Oil. It is rich exotic spices, exquisitely balanced vanilla (not too sugary), perhaps with incense and some woods. It has a dry, slightly gritty/powdery air that suggests woods, but this is subtle compared to the smooth, warm, spicy and sweet fullness of this scent. Snake Oil is quite straightforward -- no complexity or layers -- it may not be subtle, but boy, it say what it says confidently, assertively and succinctly! The scent is very enduring and doesn't change much over time (except fade, of course). I tend to slather oils since my skin loves to drink them up, but Snake Oil has the strongest throw and endurance of anything I've tried yet.

 

Verdict: One sniff was all it took to get me onto the Snake Oil Fangirl bandwagon. If the blend was a woman, she is all voluptuous curves with a wasp waist, poured into a shimmering, slinky little black dress. She's haute couture, almost untouchable, but oh so vampish. And I love her very much!

[calivianya]

I love this scent! The first word that came to my mind when I smelled it in the imp was "unusual." I can't say I've ever smelled anything like this. The vanilla is a beautiful, sweet vanilla but this does not smell like food because of the spices. It just smells soft, sensual, and beautiful. It also has amazing staying power on my skin, as well as great throw. I was testing out four different scents on my arms, but unless I smelled the others up close all I could smell was Snake Oil. I could also smell it on my wrist the next day - after I had taken a shower.

 

I'm ordering two 5mls right now, so I can have one to wear now and one to age.

[Ryokumuji]

Finally decided to take the plunge and try good old Snake Oil. It's an interesting scent. On my skin, it starts off spicy and incensey, with just an undercurrent of something sweet. As it drys down, the vanilla comes out and it's got something darker still lurking in the background. It's just a little bit sugary. I don't usually dig scents like this, I'm a floral and fruit lover, but it's an interesting change from what I normally like to wear. Will keep the imp, might even try aging it to see what happens. I'll probably end up adding to this review in a few months!

 

Edit: After letting this age for awhile, I realize it's not me... But my mom really likes it!

Edited January 11, 2011 by Ryokumuji

[DalekParty]

SNAKE OIL. Probably my fav. imp. Vanilla and a dark musk, to me. So thick in the imp and it lasts beyond anything else I ordered.

 

It's weird though, because there is something "off" about it and yet I cannot stop applying it and sniffing it.

 

It's like a beautiful person with something a little off about them, but you can't quite figure out why.

[subtlesiren]

In vial: Incense, incense, and, wait for it, more incense. Even though vanilla is in hiding, I'm rather enjoying this. It's conjuring up a dark room where all sorts of taboo acts are occurring.

 

Wet: Starting to lose a bit of the spiciness and become creamier, thanks to vanilla showing up.

 

Dry: Goodbye vanilla, wish you could have stayed longer. Perhaps this is that fresh as opposed to aged Snake Oil factor. I'm assuming the vanilla will play a bigger part once I've locked up my imp for awhile.

 

Edit:

I had to update this review, because when I first tested Snake Oil, I wasn't too thrilled. And now it's in my top two scents! Just a smidge of aging turned this baby into pure sex. Or as one of my male friends once told me, dripping sex. Some scents are innocently sexy (O), some are a stripped down, dragged into the mud, raw sexy (Bien Loin D'Ici), and then there is Snake Oil. Were sexy a noun in the dictionary, the description of Snake Oil would be the definition.

Edited June 5, 2011 by subtlesiren

[StevenBoatman]

Snake oil:

 

My review can be summed up in one word: LOVE!

 

Seriously, this is one of the BEST scents that have ever graced my nose!

 

I can't pick out any notes, but I do get a very interesting mental image. When it's first applied, there's a burst of spices and I see a flash of bright and vibrant green and red scales, slithering through the underbrush. Then the spices grow sharper, and the serpent opens its jaws wide and sharp fangs gleam in the light as it bites down on soft skin. Finally it dries down to a warm vanilla as venom courses through veins and vision blurs as the world grows dim.

 

10/10!!

[StarBlind]

I'm still in the throws of my first Snake Oil application, so bear with me...

 

In the bottle, it smells VERY much to me like these vanilla beans soaked in bourbon that my mom used to use for baking when I was a child. The vanilla hits me straight off the bat, and there's an underlying medicinal, syrupy sweet alcoholic headiness that is undeniable. Its warm and evocative and comforting.

 

Upon application, I feel an odd familiarity with the scent as it begins to change on me. I can't place it initially...and then...YES! That's it... PIPE TOBACCO! It becomes almost overwhelmingly like pipe tobacco. Rich and unavoidable and smokey and slightly dusty. I get traces of that bourbony vanilla syrup, but its mostly beginning to remind me of an old professor's study - Dimly lit, as glowing embers from an overlooked fireplace cast shadows, a room rife with the smell of slightly stale tobacco and old, leather bound books. Its again a very comforting smell - warm, rich, but also slightly masculine on me. It's undeniably sexy, but in a slow burning, mature sense.

 

Snake Oil continues to soften on me into a more powdery vanilla, and the sweetness begins to take center stage. Its very heady, but I'm still getting hints of wisened professor. I have moments where I ADORE this scent, but then it seems to become almost overwhelming - oppressive, even. I debate washing it off, but then I fall back into the scent's warm and enveloping embrace...

 

I am not sure about this one... I need to give it time and see how our relationship develops. I don't think it entirely meshes with my personality, yet I am undeniably intrigued with it. I am sure that I will continue to keep coming back for more, I am just unsure as to whether this will grow into a flirtation, a friendship, or something more all together...

 

 

Update: Put some on first thing this morning, and it seems mellower on me today. Warm, creamy, sophisticated vanilla! Yes!

Edited December 2, 2010 by StarBlind

[CreamyJade]

In the bottle: Vanilla beans, red musk, spices. It's indeed slightly medicinal when it's fresh, but never disagreeable (to me).

Wet on skin: Warm vanilla, musk, spices, a bit of incense, all amped up on my skin.

Dry on skin: A perfect warm spicy vanilla, with creamy red musk.

Final thoughts: Ah, Snake Oil, I can't believe I've never reviewed you. I've bought a bottle of Snake Oil in my first Lab order (way back in 2008) and I think it's the scent that I bought the most frequently (there's one I buy yearly because, I'm sure this has been said many time over, Snake Oil only gets better divine with age). It's the perfect warm sexy vanilla for the vanilla lovers, it's the perfect spiced up blend for the spice fiends and it's the perfect head shop scent for the incense people. Snake Oil is potent and lasts forever on the skin (often until the morning after application) and it has a way of morphing on your skin to make it absolutely part of you. If there was only one General Catalog blend that I had to choose to wear forever, this would be the one (and it wouldn't even make me that sad).

Try if you like: Mme Moriarty, Misfortune Teller

 

 

tl;dr :

[MandyCassandra]

In the bottle: Very, very sweet.

 

Wet on my skin: Vanilla. Really, really sweet vanilla. Like whoa. A little medicinal.

After an hour or so: A sweet, clean smoke flavor...really sweet incense. It brings me back to my early adolescence...I'm thinking....kinda almost Gonesh "Perfumes of a Spring Mist" incense. A little spiciness is starting to come out. Just a little.

 

After a couple of hours: The creaminess is finally blending into my skin a little more. It smells...yummy. Like, sweet and tasty. I almost have the urge to lick my wrist. ;-)

Speculation for the rest of the night: This very well *could* be a sexy scent on me, maybe especially once it blends with my chemistry even more during the evening. I'm not *entirely* sure about it yet, but I suppose I'll find out when my girlfriend gets back from work and smells me.

Verdict: I like it.

Advice: A little of this goes a long way, ladies...apply with caution!

 

Edit: Smoother wording.

Edited January 7, 2011 by MandyCassandra

[TastyMischief]

Wow, what a ride...

 

In the bottle: WTF #$@##?!?!

 

Wet on skin: I totally get the vanilla coke and fresh cut grass thing. It's also medicinal and weird.

 

Drying: getting more and more balsamic, powdery, smoky... nice.

 

Drydown: And I do get the Fumerie Turque resemblance loud and clear.

 

Verdict: I like it. Can't wait to see what it does when it ages.

 

ETA: oh no... the staying power sucks. It's already gone after 3 hours.

 

Edited again, August 9th:

 

Well now. All the people who advised on aging Snake Oil weren't kidding, what a switch!

No more coke and cut grass, no more Fumerie Turque, although there is a faint and short lived resemblance to Ambre Narguile, but that's very subtle and doesn't last.

Instead, Snake Oil has become its own original fragrance, it's deep, resinous, mysterious, exotic, sultry, jaw dropping sexy and omg is it long lasting! I put it on yesterday around midday and I can still smell it.

It's musky, spicy, soft, dark, conjures up images infused in copper glow, gentle fragrant winds, silky hair, satin skin and velvet eyes... And what a nuzzler! Mr. TM spent the entire night with his face and hands entertwined in my hair and he keeps coming back to catch more whiffs.

This stuff is unbelievable.

I'm a convert.

Edited August 9, 2011 by TastyMischief

[blu°]

Wow, never reviewed Snake Oil... I suppose there's not much left to say anyway?

 

So, it's vanilla, the deepest kind, more orangey-golden than pale yellow as far as synaesthetics go...

 

That and something dark, brown-black and gritty... I always felt I get more of a black musk vibe from SO than the often mentioned red musk one, but thankfully I don't get any of those musks loud and clear. It's more of a musky aftertaste, just ever so slightly noticeable.

 

Something else I realized during the years of getting to love Snake Oil: It smells liquid. Like a sweet, creamy liquor of some sort. I think it must be the only vanilla scent I know that does that thing. Never smelled a liquid vanilla before. They mostly smell powdery or if anything, syrupy. But this is a thinner liquid, probably alcoholic.

 

It's sweet, deep and slinky and just perfect!

[whataboutprom]

Snake Oil smells like incense in the bottle, but it turns into pure baby powder on my skin. The smell is so strong and long lasting that I am nervous to try it again. I'm more of a foodie scent person, so maybe this one just isn't for me.

[angburfield]

When I fist bought this stuff I liked it but was not in love with it..a tad too intense for me. Almost 2 years later this has aged into the superlative of BPAL scents. It is THE sweet and spicy, creamy and musky, vanilla/ spice scent (with notes of woods). It is intoxicating, beyond sexy, mysterious, and evocative with it's hidden layers. It is most sensuous, confident, asseritve, beguiling, classy, "come hither" scent of all. In summation: Tantric. Nuf said.

[juniperus]

I know I reviewed this in, like, 2006. September is when I posted it in my lj, and at that point I was doing both simultaneously.

But it isn't here.

So here we go again:

 

Bottle: beautiful (and I have no idea how old this is, FWIW), slightly sweet. I hope the vanilla does not amp too badly on me, I could really love this one.

Wet: sinuous...I can almost feel the steamy heat of the jungle in the warmth here. really lovely - why did it take me so long to try this?

Dry: so far the vanilla is behaving- miraculous that is, let me tell you.

Later: the vanilla is likely louder than is should be, but since is hasn't completely taken over I'll call this a success.

 

ETA: Aged, this is AMAZING on me. Fresh it's less so, so I buy ahead and hold on to them awhile.

[Drarra]

I have a confession to make: I was expecting to hate this perfume. The descriptive words of "sugared with vanilla" were enough to scare me away. I'm not a fan of sweet or foody scents. The Lab sent a frimp to me with my last order. After staring at it for a month, I figured I'd give it a dab and find out what all the fuss was about.

 

In the imp: this is scary sweet vanilla. I can't imagine wanting to smell like this.

 

Wet: Wait, spices? I like spices! The vanilla has turned into a ghost, and I'm smelling lots of wonderful spices.

 

Dry: This is not sweet on my skin. While a breath of vanilla remains, I'm smelling lots of spice and, for some odd reason, cedar. ...I like cedar.

 

My verdict: This isn't my favorite, but I'm going to use the imp. I might even wear it today and see what happens with an extended test. I'll give it a chance and see if it grows on me enough to need a bottle. Plus, I've heard that aging this scent is where it really shines... and since I have lots of other scents to love, that will give my imp some time to grow up.

[Manon]

Just put this on and it now smells of talcum powder. Not sexy. BOOO!!! Definitely powdery and incensey - its not got that thing i'm looking for. I think my pot is about a year old. Might have gone off a bit? doesn't smell off, but maybe its not singing like it used to?