Snake Oil Help! Layering it, Snake Pit scents, blends with Snake Oil

[Teggy]

In the end, it all comes down to what you like. Each blend ends up quite different from the original Snake Oil (except in my opinion Boomslang). I suggest that you read the reviews to get opinions, then search the swap forums for available imps or post an ISO.

 

All else fails, take a risk, buy a bottle, and if you don't like it you can sell it back on the forums.

[forspecial_plate]

I've tried all of the Snake Pit, and the ones I kept are almost a year old now. IMO, none of them are actually better than Snake Oil. However, I like a good many of them on their own merits. I really like Coral Snake, Cottonmouth, and especially Green Tree Viper. All three of those got better and better with aging. King Cobra and Temple Viper are pretty damn good, too. Out of all those, I think Green Tree Viper is closest to Snake Oil. Especially after it ages, the Snake Oil sort of 'pops out' on that one.

 

I personally didn't like Asp Viper or Australian Copperhead all that much, and swapped mine away. But I think Teggy's right....it's all subjective, and depends on what you like. Although I have to say I wouldn't have expected to like Green Tree Viper all that much......it just sounded so odd. Snake Oil with mint?? Then I tried it.

[sarada]

I don't much care for Snake Oil, but I LOVE the Snake Pit scents. Snake Oil on its own is (gods forgive me for saying this) pure Playdoh on me and when I wear it, EVERYONE asks me all day long why I smell like Playdoh. It's very sad and makes me cry. I only have an imp of SO right now, aged two years, and I'm liking it more with age but I much prefer my one-year aged Temple Viper.

 

My first love was Green Tree Viper because it was so minty -- even though everyone knows I'm not a foody scent person it smelled like Thin Mints and I found it really delightful for reasons I can't quite put my finger on.

 

Temple Viper was my true love though, it's the perfection of what I always thought Snake Oil should be. So rich and deep and smooth, just enough incense to satisfy my incense tooth (?) and generally sultry and fantastic.

 

King Cobra is very similar but hasn't really stood out on its own yet to me. I also have Death Adder which I would hesitate to recommend to anyone that doesn't love vetiver as much as I do. But it's a perfect vetiver combo for me!

 

I also really like Banded Sea Snake, which really smells nothing like Snake Oil but really took me by surprise with its uniqueness. And Saw-Scaled Viper is a must for anyone who likes both spicy scents and Snake Oil. I don't like a lot of spicy scents but I like that one a lot.

 

The ones I haven't mentioned, I wasn't fond of, so I don't think they'd appeal to someone looking for something a notch beyond Snake Oil. I tend to think that the "incensy" Snake Pits really accentuate what's great about SO while taking out the "Playdoh" component.

[sixthsentinel]

I have tried Boomslang, Temple Viper, Western Diamondback, Death Adder & Australian Copperhead. Boomslang was pretty yummy, of course. To me it was quite close to Snake Oil but with a chocolate note that mellowed out as it dried down. Western Diamondback I don't remember that much about except for red sandalwood, which is pretty much a disaster on me & this was no exception, as that note overpowered everything else. Temple Viper & Australian Copperhead weren't all that much Snake Oil to my nose (although Temple Viper is something lovely in its own right). Death Adder, however, is (to my nose & on my skin) Snake Oil, only more dangerous, and dead sexy.

Edited October 23, 2007 by sixthsentinel

[forspecial_plate]

How could I forget Death Adder?? I'm a fan of vetiver, so I like Death Adder a whole lot. However, it reminds me more of Snake Charmer than Snake Oil, maybe because of the coconut.

 

Western Diamondback smells great to me, but it always fades really fast. After less than an hour it's just a ghost of a scent on me, unfortunately. And that's strange because Snake Oil lasts and lasts on my skin. I've held onto it because I do really like it, maybe I can wear it in a scent locket.

[sixthsentinel]

How could I forget Death Adder?? I'm a fan of vetiver, so I like Death Adder a whole lot. However, it reminds me more of Snake Charmer than Snake Oil

 

Honestly, I was kind of thinking this too, but I was kind of hesitant to make the comparison in case it was just my weird nose

[Mrs.Black]

Thanks for the answers. I'm pretty sure that next year, as the end of the Carnaval looms, I will break into a panic and get them all... leaving time to order back ups of the ones I fall in love with .

 

I have been reading the reviews and realized that maybe an indicator of the relative popularity of the scents is the number of reviews for each. Boomslang is the undisputable winner with 141 reviews. The rest of the Snake Scale (haha, get it?) looks as follows:

 

2. Saw Scaled Viper, 93 reviews

3. Australian Copperhead, 87

4. Death Adder, 84

5 & 6. Temple Viper and Green Tree Viper, tied at 78 reviews each

7. Western Diamondback, 74

8. King Cobra, 64

9. Asp Viper, 60

10. Coral Snake, 58

11. Habu, 57

12. Banded Sea-Snake, 54

13. Cottonmouth, 52

 

I left out Anaconda due to its limited availability as a frimp with the Snake Pit set.

 

I was surprised to see Cottonmouth at the bottom, as I have read praise for it in other threads. Maybe the addition of floral notes alienate the regular resin & spice fans of Snake Oil? Or maybe looking at the number of reviews is the wrong way to gauge popularity?

 

So how does your personal Snake Scale compare with this one?

[Trish]

I've tried 6 of the Snake Pits, and Temple Viper is without doubt the winner. Do I like it better than aged Snake Oil? Uh.. maybe not but damn it would be close. So very very close. It's also quite Snake Oily on my skin, just lighter and more sugary, and with the added incense oils. It's not as sexy - kind of day to Snake Oil's night.

 

My scale:

 

1. Temple Viper - as above. I love this and it gets smoother and yummier with age. I am hoarding this. Oh and it lasts on my skin longer than Snake Oil!

2. Saw-Scaled Viper - I adore spice so this was always going to be a winner. It also ends up very Snake Oily after an hour or so, but with spice.

3. Green Tree Viper - My only quibble with this is that it doesn't last all that long on my skin. But yummy mint tea with vanilla underneath. Not overly Snake Oily on me.

4. King Cobra - Thought it was just ok when I first got it, but this REALLY gets better with age. Mine's 8 1/2 months old and it's much richer and warmer now, and seems to have melded together more. Plus the orris isn't powdery now and the frankincense is more apparent (and I love frankincense).

5. Habu - The most Snake Oily, but with green woody undertones. The throw is pure Snake Oil. I like enough to keep my decant, but not enough to get a bottle.

6. Western Diamondback - This is the one that just didn't work for me, purely because of the sage which I simply don't like much.

[euterpe414]

Snake Oil is my favorite BPAL blend, and also love the Snake Pits scents, but I find them all to be very different from Snake Oil. I think the SO adds a certain richness to all of them that really makes them all quite amazing, but really, like the others said, you should choose based on what other notes you like. I have a hard time picking a favorite b/c I love them all, but my Snake Scale (lol) would be something like this...

 

1. Asp Viper/ Western Diamondback - both completely different yet incredibly addictive! If you like Bow and Crown or Quincey Morris, you have to have WD

2. Banded Sea Snake

3. Temple Viper

4. Death Adder

5. Boomslang

6. Habu

7.King Cobra

8. Green Tree Viper

9. Saw Scaled Viper

10. Australian Copperhead

11. Cottonmouth

12. Coral Snake - last b/c it lasts the least amount of time on skin but is still yummy.

[Electra]

I actually hate Snake Oil, but I love Green Tree Viper (so if you want something that smells like Snake Oil, this might not be the one for you). It's delightful. Boomslang smelled too much like Snake Oil (just with a heavy hit of chocolate, which I also don't like) to me, and Banded Sea Snake was nothing special on my skin. Saw Scaled Viper was pretty good, but not enough so that I wanted a bottle. I did like it much better than the original Snake Oil, though.

[elspeth]

I would have to say:

 

1. Temple Viper

2. Habu

3. Green Tree Viper

4. King Cobra

5. Coral Snake

6. Australian Copperhead

 

The ones that really didn't work for me were Boomslang (it smelled like pure nuts on me and turned kind of bitter), Saw Scaled Viper ( I can't do cinnamon at all) and Western Diamondback because of the leather. Coral Snake on me is really fruity and Temple Viper is pure love.

[phantasmmysteria]

AUSTRALIAN COPPERHEAD.

 

I have tried every Snake which had notes I thought would be interesting, and after everything Copperhead was the only one I even like, let alone adore. In the interest of full discolsure, however, I don't much care for Snake Oil (new or aged) -- it simply does not suit my chemistry. The acai berry really makes Copperhead sing on my skin, though.

[naeelah]

Like others have said, it just depends on what you like. If you like your snake oil pure, probably nothing will replace it. But you might find you like some of the snakes just as well. Just think about what other notes you like a lot, and pick the snake that has that note. If you love, say, mint, and you also love Snake Oil, then you'll probably love Green Tree Viper.

 

My decants of the snakes are beginning to turn with age (they're about 3 months old), so I've been testing them all again in the last week. So far, the fruity ones haven't shown as much development in age as the other ones. The others, though, are aging beautifully.

 

If you like black musk and/or woods, try Habu.

If you like leather (and want a cleaner, drier Snake Oil), try Western Diamondback.

If you like orange (or apple), try Coral Snake.

If you like mint, try Green Tree Viper.

If you like the scent of rock sugar, try Temple Viper.

If you like earthy scents or frankincense, try King Cobra.

If you like cinnamon (earthy and dry), try Saw-Scaled Viper.

If you like florals, try Cottonmouth.

If you like almond, try Asp Viper. (To me, this one is the most similar to regular Snake Oil. It's just a little bit richer.)

If you like dry, mossy scents, try Banded Sea Snake.

If you like fresh, green, berry scents, try Australian Copperhead. (The Snake Oil part here is very light.)

If you like coconut and/or vetiver, try Death Adder. (The vetiver here is strong, so avoid it if you hate vetiver.)

If you like cocoa, try Boomslang.

Edited October 25, 2007 by naeelah

[The_Witching_Hour]

naeelah!

 

I couldn't have said it better. Your post ought to be put in the recs thread on which Snake Pit blend to try.

 

[Delirium1009]

I have a bottle of snake oil, but sometimes when I wear it I get a sharp medicinal note (I need to just seal it up and age it). But I've noticed that the snake pit scents don't have that note at all, which I love. My favorite out of the bunch are Green Tree (tea) Viper (like crisp snake oil tea... so nice!), Coral Snake (snake oil with apple and a touch of orange), and Australian Copperhead (a nice berry snake oil).

[fatalbellydance]

I don't actually like Snake Oil, so it's not difficult for the Snake Pits to be better even though they are based around it.

King Cobra is my favorite so far because it's what I wanted Snake Oil to be.

[forspecial_plate]

Just skimming through the Boomslang reviews (I picked page 5 at random and scrolled down the whole page), I saw a good number of non-commital or even negative reviews of it. I think that scent got a lot of good word-of-mouth hype, and also the unusual look of the oil itself (try holding it up to sunlight......there is NO light coming through the dark part) made lots of folks want to try it.

 

Personally, I like it but don't love it. The cocoa turns just a tad dusty on me, just like in Velvet. I've kept it to let it age, and also it just looks so gloriously dark. I know that's a dumb reason to keep it, but there ya go.

[AEris]

naeelah's post definitely said it best, props to that awesome list!

 

For my personal preferences, here's my faves:

#1. Green Tree Viper

#2. Death Adder

#3. King Cobra

#4. Habu

 

#5. Temple Viper (on the edge of liking this one, maybe it will age into something better, but I got a fake grape note that kind of ruined the experience for me...but in the imp it smells divine if you like incense blends)

 

I am going to buy bottles of green tree viper, death adder, and temple viper. King Cobra and Habu are yummy, but are not different enough (on my skin) from Snake Oil for me to justify spending the money.

 

All the other ones I didn't care for, and here's why (this is purely based on my picky preferences)

Boomslang was dusty, dark chocolate, and was too cocoa-ey, almost a dry feel.

Coral Snake was apple, and I didn't really dig it.

Cottonmouth was too intensely floral for me, it made me a little naseous.

I didn't care for the leather note in Western Diamondback.

Banded Sea Snake was too spicy for me.

Asp Viper was almond, and I absolutely hate almond.

Saw-Scaled Viper was too cinnamony and gingery for me.

Australian Copperhead, I never even put on my skin. I just didn't like the smell.

[hackess]

Snake Oil isn't among my favorites, but I don't hate it. Which is good, because I can smell it in nearly every Snake Pit scent I've tried.

 

I have a bottle of Green Tree Viper and can justify a bottle of Saw-Scaled Viper (I think I like it more than Shub)

 

I didn't like Asp Viper, Boomslang, or Coral Snake. The only others I could see myself trying are Habu and Temple Viper.

[dzurlady]

Thanks for the answers. I'm pretty sure that next year, as the end of the Carnaval looms, I will break into a panic and get them all... leaving time to order back ups of the ones I fall in love with .

 

I'd actually recommend getting them now, or getting aged decants/bottles - it really has made quite a difference for many of my snakes. ETA: Because you don't want to fall in love with an aged snake that has become unobtainable!

Edited October 25, 2007 by dzurlady

[ouch!]

Out of the one's I have tried, none are as nice as Snake Oil, however TEMPLE VIPER is indeed close, it's beautiful! But smells nothing like snake oil to me...it's like a completley new scent.

 

 

Gawjusss!

[olympia301]

Nothing beats Snake Oil for me. But I like Boomslang very much and have a bottle of it and might go for at least another one.

[naeelah]

Thanks! I'm glad people find the list helpful!

 

As for my personal favorites, I like Snake Oil but I'm not a devotee. It's good, but it seems to be missing something. So, I looked to the Snake Pit hoping that one of them would be what I wanted Snake Oil to be.

 

Boomslang, for me, is the perfect Snake Oil. It's rich, dark cocoa starting out. The cocoa fades in an hour or so, so after that it's mostly plain Snake Oil, but it still has a darker, duskier quality. I will be hoarding Boomslang like I'm preparing for nuclear winter.

 

I love half of the snakes, really, because the Snake Oil acts as such a good balancing point for a lot of scents that I don't normally love. Drier notes that don't always win me over -- such as leather or mint -- harmonize well with the richer, sweet, sultry Snake Oil. I'll be getting whole bottles of Habu, Western Damondback, Coral Snake, Temple Viper, and Green Tree Viper.

 

Asp Viper is a very likely candidate for bottles, but I'm currently undecided on the almond. I'm also still deciding on Australian Copperhead. It's fabulous in theory, but on my skin, the Snake Oil component is so faint, and even the berry part is very light. So, at that rate, I'd do better to layer Baneberry and Snake Oil. (Mmm, I think I have a new lotion recipe!)

 

The three that I don't care for are Death Adder (I loved the coconut, but vetiver gives me a headache), Saw-Scaled Viper (I like ginger or spicy notes, but all three together was too much for me), and King Cobra (it was suffocatingly musty and earthy). I'm just indifferent towards Banded Sea Snake and Cottonmouth.

[Indigo]

Nothing beats Snake Oil for me. But I like Boomslang very much and have a bottle of it and might go for at least another one.

 

 

I haven't tried the other snake pit scents, yet, still being a baby bpaler. But it was love at first smell for Boomslang, and a bottle of it is in my future.

[lookingglass]

I tried a whole bunch of 'em and I still like just straight up Snake Oil the best.