dancingchair

2022 version

I also have an imp of unknown age that I've tested and that was very strong on the patchouli. This version of Snake Oil is vanilla-forward on me, which is great because the vanilla is stunning. As of right now, the vanilla doesn't go too powdery on me. I'm not great at telling different types of vanilla apart, but this vanilla is frosting-sweet with a hint of a caramel note. I get a swirl of the patchouli and musks, but they're playing a supporting role to the vanilla.

Overall, I'm very happy I nabbed a bottle of this. It's really nice!

Lots of the lab's dusty dark chocolate note here. The teakwood blends in with the dark chocolate very well. The rice milk is keeping things from being too bitter. I don't get more than a whisper of Snake Oil vanilla, but the musks and patchouli from Snake Oil are definitely present and adding an interesting layer of complexity.

I love the lab's chocolate notes so this is a winner for me!

This is sweet, but it doesn't make me think of caramelized sugar. I am getting a lot of frothy steamed milk and it is very realistic. It blends wonderfully with the musks and patchouli from Snake Oil. This is basically a Snake Oil steamer. I like it!

I've never had a babka, so I can't compare it to that. However, I love almond horns and that is what this perfume makes me think of. There's a lot of toasty almond in this covered with dark chocolate. There is a bready component, which also makes me think of a chocolate croissant covered in almonds. Sometimes almond notes smell more like bitter almond than the actual nut, but this definitely smells like a lightly roasted sliced almond. It's very nice!

I bought a bottle of this after reading the reviews. Like the other reviewers, I don't get a ton of carnation from this perfume. I think I occasionally get the impression of some carnation qualities, if that makes sense? I get a whiff of the peppery aspect of carnations sometimes. In the bottle, I can smell the spicy green stem of a freshly-picked carnation. When smelling the perfume on my skin, there's nothing that I can really point out as being carnation, though.

The coconut cream is just as good as promised. It blends very well with the Lab's amazing white chocolate note, making this  perfume a buttery rich gourmand dream. The clove is very woody compared to what I was expecting, almost a bit powdery or dusty. It keeps the whole thing from being too sickly sweet. Luckily, it doesn't go weird on my skin like it sounds like it does for other reviewers.

I adore this! I really wanted a coconut perfume that didn't read as a tropical drink and I think this is it.

2022 version

Wet, this is a sticky honey. As it dries, it blossoms into a delicate floral perfume. It's powdery and sweet, fitting for springtime.

Compared to my 2010 bottle, this is much less decadent and more of a delicate, refined wildflower honey. I also get a lot less incense than in the 2010 version, but it might be hiding under the florals.

Powdery, delicately floral, and a tiny bit incensy. It is dusty, but it's not sour or acrid like some dusty perfumes can be. It's like how you would want an old, untouched room with a dried out vase of flowers on the table to smell. Very pretty and stays close to the skin.

For whatever reason, I cannot stand fizzy notes in perfume. I took a chance on this one because I love honey and ginger, but this is ginger ale and it is not for me. Wet, this opens with a delicious golden honey and ginger candy smell, but as it dries it melts into bubbly ginger ale.

2022
 

This is primarily a red musk on me. Wet, I do get some boozy sugary goodness but that gives way to a strong red musk note. For whatever reason, the lab's red musk is often very jasmine-heavy on my skin and I am getting a lot of sweet, caramelized jasmine. Luckily it reads more like a sweetened jasmine tea rather than a stanky jasmine that I don't really enjoy, but it isn't quite what I was expecting. It's not very boozy to my nose, but the other notes might be getting drowned out by the red musk? I haven't tried Smut from any other years, so I can't compare to previous iterations unfortunately.

Very cozy! Something about the combination of vetiver, chestnut, and cedar gives the impression of spiciness without being the runaway train that is cinnamon on my skin. The amber is sweetening up the perfume and adding a dusty glow, kind of reminiscent of the amber in Horses, I think? The cashmere wool and hazelnut cream make me feel like I'm cuddling under a warm blanket with a hot drink. I love perfumes that are a blend of woody and foody notes and this is in that category!

This is also a soft floral on me. I think I can smell the white tea, a floral note of some kind, and the cashmere wood. The honey might be adding a sweetness to the whole perfume, but I can't really pick it out?

This one isn't for me, but I think someone who likes florals would probably really enjoy it. Seems like it would be a nice spring scent.

Primarily a sweet, musky oudh. The vanilla is there, making the oudh a little bit creamy. Black pepper adds a bit of spice, but it's not very strong to me. I can sometimes detect the honey, sweetening up the oudh and adding that delicious funky oozy quality that I love in some bpal honey perfumes. It's mostly in the background, though.

I might have to upgrade this one to a bottle. It's unique enough and I actually like how close to the skin this one stays.

Wet, it does have an industrial vibe for me, but this stage doesn't last too long. Dry, it is a bitter cacao powder mixed with dry tobacco. The vanilla fills out the baton and makes it less powdery, but it's not as prominent as the tobacco and cacao. It does smell chalky, like it's been unearthed in an archaeological dig site.

This is a bit too similar to Muddy Armadillo to justify a bottle for me, but it is a well-done chocolate blend that isn't too sweet or foodie.

This perfume surprised me because I expected something totally different from the listed notes. I expected a creamy, rich perfume with an interesting interplay between the sage and the apricot. What I got was a very clean, soapy perfume. Together, the white tea, tobacco, and sage are herbaceous, but they give more of an effect of a fancy shampoo than a green perfume. The apricot cream is a fluffy cloud of fruit, definitely more apricot than cream. I don't really smell any coconut in this blend.

It's delicate and well-blended. I don't mind that this is soapy because it smells very fancy and complex. This will be nice for spring and summer because it is light and crisp.

The honey dust is also very prominent in this one for me. Underneath the honeyed sweetness, the sandalwood plays off the toasted rice in a lovely way that smells woody and malty. This perfume is so warm and comforting, like wrapping up in a blanket with a cup of toasted rice hot tea.

2022 version

I love this! The honey note is decadent and sweet, balanced by the almost smoky red leather. I don't really get red musk in this, but maybe that's being engulfed by the oozing honey? A winning combo for sure!

The honey dust also runs away with this one on me. It's very well-blended, so the other notes swirl into this sweet, fruity candy blend that is fun and does remind me of a circus snack stand. The strawberry and lotus root stand out the most to me, lots of bubble gum and juicy red fruit behind the honey dust. I do get a bit of the blueberry in the decant and in the wet stage. It reminds me of the sticky sweet blueberry in Shore of the Lollipop Sea instead of a fresh blueberry. Despite the floral notes, this doesn't really read as a flormand to me. The lavender is the sweet, fluffy variety so it's a nice purple in the offering of candies.

Wet, this is all about the black leather on me. The cacao is bitter and dark, kind of reminding me of the chocolate in A Chocolate Cat or Muddy Armadillo, but it's not super prominent. I'm not a huge incense fan, so I can't really describe what kind of incense it smells like, but it is sweet. As the perfume dries, the incense comes out more, competing with the black leather for the spotlight.

The whole perfume makes me think of a wizard going through a goth phase, someone arcane wearing leather boots and a big leather trenchcoat. The black leather note is making me swoon, so I might have to acquire a bottle. 

I'm honestly not usually a huge fan of red musk, it smells too indolic for me. I was really intrigued by the goat milk note, though, so I took a chance on a decant. I'm glad I did, though, because this perfume is a really nice and unique blend! The red musk and patchouli are both reined in by sweeter cream notes. The cream is so good in this, it almost smells like a honeyed cream. It's a very seductive combination with the red musk. The ho wood adds a dimension to the whole perfume that really makes it feel like a Shunga.

Longevity is good! I was able to easily smell this one on myself for a solid 8+ hours. I dunno if I'll be getting a bottle, but I will be enjoying my decant.

The peach is very sugary, smelling more like pie filling than a fresh juicy peach. Something smells caramelized, maybe the toasted cream? Now that it's aged more, I do get some of the vanilla bean and fluffy marshmallow, but they're secondary to the caramel cream and peach notes. There's something that kind of reminds me of corn chips/doggie feet somehow, even though I have no idea where that would come from? I might be adding that impression to the perfume since it's about a dog. Either way, it gives the perfume a peach caramel corn effect to my nose.

I like this a lot more after letting it age, since I can pick out the peach and marshmallow notes more. Very yummy!

I was holding off on testing this imp because I was afraid I'd fall in love and I did. 

Wet, it's a strong, sweet vanilla reminiscent of the vanilla in Snake Oil. Instead of being mixed with vegetal musks, though, there's a lovely tea note swirled in. Dry, the tea note becomes more prominent, keeping the vanilla from being too sweet. It's very balanced and quite lovely.

This is the softest, fluffiest marshmallow vanilla on me in every way imaginable, like a light fluffy cloud. The vanilla note is a high-quality vanilla bean that smells smooth and yummy. The marshmallow note is very airy and light, giving the whole ménage a pleasant floofiness. The benzoin doesn't really stand out to me. It has quite low throw, but it is very lovely.

This smells like a woodier version of an attempt at making maple syrup from various sugars to me. I get the amber note of honey, but the sugar cane is much stronger on me. It's what I imagined tree sap to smell like as a child: golden sweet and sticky, swirled with dark and resinous notes to keep it from smelling too edible.

Got this as a frimp from the lab with a recent order.

Wet, this is a bit screechy. As it dries, the smoked vanilla smooths out and becomes a beautiful creamy amber-vanilla base. The cypress is also a bit lemony for me. It reminds me of Lights, Camera, Something with the cardamom replaced by the blue cypress because it's a touch lemony in the same way.

I'm glad I got an opportunity to try this, it's a very nice resinous vanilla perfume.

Wet, begins with very strong peppermint and not much else. As it dries, the peppermint fades to a manageable level and is joined by a sweet, creamy vanilla. It might have a bit of coconut in it, which I don't mind because I love coconut. It really does smell like a candy cane!

This makes my skin tingle until the mint fades, like I just applied a mentholated gel or something. I haven't experienced this with other mint perfumes, but this one is particularly strong. It's a solid peppermint perfume!