sunshinedaisybliss

The hype on this was so strong and the raving so loud that I eventually caved and bought a bottle. Maybe my judgement is influenced by my little hoard of well aged (10+ years) Snake Oil, which is truly magnificent, but for me this does not live up to the hype. For one thing, it’s very light - I was expecting a much more ballsy blend. And I feel like the Smut has smothered the spicy musk and dark rich vanilla that I love so much in SO. I’m getting no leather and no patchouli - just a lighter, warmer Snake Oil. Disappointing, but not entirely unexpected. So I will do the only sensible thing, and put this away at the back of the drawer then see how it feels ten years from now.

Weenie Weenie on the wall, what’s the smuttiest ’ween of all? Well here’s the thing. At first this was ALL pumpkin - dark, boozy, oven roasted until it’s all caramelised type pumpkin. It reminded me of some of my favourite Pumpkin Patch blends from the very early days. But no Smut. And then.. half an hour later, it’s all sugary musky smutty booziness, not as swarthy as Smut on its own… so, Smut Lite. But no pumpkin. Eventually this balances itself out and that’s the sweet spot where the pumpkin and the Smut are there together. Musky, boozy pumpkin. But by then it’s not enough of either and nothing particularly exciting on my skin.

Disclaimer: I’m not hugely into florals, but this was kindly frimped to me, and I believe one should always test all the things, so here we go… On me, this is a strong white floral that leans slightly toward the sour side rather than sweet. It’s very soap-y and very perfume-y. As others have mentioned, the orris is subtle and doesn’t really appear until the oil has fully dried into my skin. Only then does the moonflower mellow out a bit, but it’s still very strong. So this is definitely not my style at all - for me it has no complexity, it is what it is but it’s not for me.

On me, the tobacco is definitely the dominant note here - and I agree, it’s that same rich chewy one from the French Tobacco SN. But where the FT SN was very “golden” to me, here the tobacco is warmer and softer thanks to the red benzoin which is a perfect compliment. Slightly woodsy, slightly sweet - it’s just tempering the tobacco beautifully, holding it back from turning this into The Tobacco Show. The ylang ylang is just quietly doing its thing, minding its own business, adding little glimpses of fruity floral sweetness but never taking over. I think this would appeal to people who like red musk but find it cloying, and people who like tobacco but find it too strong. This trio has some good throw, but it’s not as heady or heavy as other tobacco blends I’ve tried.

Ok so yes, this does smell like LUSH’s Honey I Washed the Kids. Except a grown-up, naughty and boozy version of it. More like Honey I Washed Lenny Kravitz and Slash In A Bath of Molasses And Then We Rolled Around In A Bed Of Donuts. It’s dark, delicious, sweet, rich and syrupy. And it stays that way for hours! I lovelovelove this one 👍🏼

Ooh this is the same dark, treacle like boozy honey that’s in the Honey, Tuberose and Vanilla Sugar trio - so rich, like molasses - borderline burnt brown sugar. It definitely has some balls, it’s not a sweet sunshiney honey. And - just like the honey in HT&VS, this one has a strong throw and lasts for hours. So with that said.. it takes a little while for the black lilies and the gardenia to come out - I couldn’t really find either of them until about 20 minutes in, but once they kicked in, that boozy honey backed off a bit. If you’re looking for sweet gentle honey and pretty florals, this is not the one for you. But if you like a smokey, boozy honey with a sploosh of sweet heady florals, this might do the job for you. Overall, this is interesting and a bit different, and it has great wear length.

This one had a lot to live up to, because I already have a honey/patchouli love in Tricksy (the one that rules them all). So on me, the honey really doesn’t come out to play (surprisingly, because it’s usually an amper), but the labadabbadumdum (what? that’s how I say it ok) is beautifully smokey and the sandalwood is dusky and warm. The benzoin is more woodsy and balsamy than sweet, so with the absence of the honey overall this definitely leans dark and smokey rather than sweet. The patchouli here is earthy but clean, and - as usual for me - it does end up being the lead singer of this little band. I am a bit sad about the lack of a “sweet” element, because I think it would have been more interesting. So in the end, I have a nice earthy smokey patchouli that’s nice and all, but not anything I’m too excited about.

Ugh.. at first this smelled like bad farts that someone has tried to cover up with one of those “Sunshine Fresh” kind of sprays. Nevertheless, I persisted. Then it changed into poop smell that someone has tried to cover up with one of those “Garden Bouquet” kind of sprays. Nevertheless, I persisted. Half an hour later, it changed into water from a vase that’s held dead flowers for a month smell that someone had tried to cover up with a few good sprays of an engine lubricant. Nevertheless, I persisted. In the end all I have is a dirty sour floral with a tinge of poop and hint of metal. I no longer persisted, and washed it off.

hmm.. this is an interesting one! At first, I was getting a strong menthol vibe from the aldehyde, which was messing with the coffee and clove in a weird and clamorous way. Once fully dried down though, the menthol fades - there’s still a slight hint of mintiness, but the benzoin has created a nice base of gentle sweetness which stops it straying back into menthol land. Unfortunately, the coffee has pretty much disappeared from my skin. And I’m not getting any nutmeg, but I’m not mad about that because it’s not a good note for me anyway. I’m not really picking up any amber or sandalwood individually although I know they’re there - they have blended in beautifully with the clove and nag champa to give off a lovely soft clove-y incense vibe. Very nice 😊

I’ve noticed that all the previous reviews here are from a year ago or longer, so I wonder whether - now that this is another year older - things have changed? I’m wondering this because.. what I have here is pretty much just a sweeter, softer version of Snake Oil. I do recognise the honey but it’s not really obvious, it’s just in there somewhere. I can’t really find “vanilla cream” but this is a bit more vanilla forward than regular SO. Honestly if I didn’t know what this is, I would have thought it’s just nicely aged Snake Oil - albeit a less SO and more vanilla version (which doesn’t change my impression, as each of my old SO bottles has aged slightly differently). So thankfully, I don’t have to hunt this one down - I’m happy with my little hoard of lovely old Snake Oil 😊

Ooh! This has the same rich, dark, syrupy blueberry that I love in Blue Unicorn Moon - not a candy blueberry, but a genuine actual fresh blueberry smell. YAY! The cream isn’t sweet or sugary, and very neutral rather than buttery or milky. YAY! The cardamom is unfortunately a bit too much and it feels a bit itchy on my skin. BOO! So - two YAYs and one BOO! But cinnamon, cassia or cardamom are always problematic notes for me so that’s pretty much what I expected with this one. The blueberry has a strong throw though, so thankfully the cardamom only really bothers me when I smell it up close - if I wave my arm around, I can make my very own little cloud of blueberry cream scrumptiousness 👍🏼