Australian Copperhead (2006)

[Duck Mountain]

Snake Oil with acai berry, amber, cardamom, neroli, and smoked vanilla.

Wet: Yow. Bright and fruity.

Drydown / dry: Not much of a change. Still quite sharp, but with a faint hiss of amber/cardamom beneath.

Summary: Dark green with a sticky shot of incongruous bubblegum - this one's not a morpher. A definite hint that you can look, but you shouldn't touch.

[Suu4LC]

Ooo! This is very yummy in the imp! Sweet juicy berry and vanilla with underlying snake oil. I get a little worried with snake oil blends, since the SO tends to block out any other note usually, but man, I hope this one is as good on my skin as it is in the imp!

 

Huh, this starts to morph immediately on my skin. I get a lot more of the vanilla and neroli, but the berry is still there, sweet and delicious! The SO is not dominating this at all, just staying under the radar.

 

Overall, this is a good blend. It kind of loses it's sweet berry punch on dry down, the neroli gets a bit strong, and the blend altogether gets a bit powdery, so I am not sure I would pick up a bottle, but I enjoyed testing it.

Edited October 30, 2008 by Suu4LC

[marared]

Decant. This is bright and fruity right out of the imp, but not obnoxiously fruity, which is a good thing. It dries to smoked vanilla with a bit of fruit in the background - the astringency of fresh Snake Oil probably makes up a significant portion of this particular scent right now.

 

I'm debating whether or not to get a bottle, because I really like it and it has the potential to age amazingly well, but it also has the potential to start turning sour. It keeps reminding me a bit of Gunpowder without the maple, which unfortunately did sour on my skin.

[Schmoozy]

Oh. This is definitely a bright snake pit blend. On application, this is all acai berry and neroli with Snake oil. It is fruity, bright and really lush. It has this energetic vibe running through it and this is going to be a great wake up and go oil. After dry down, the acai berry and neroli take a back seat to amber, cardamom and smoked vanilla. In fact the cardomom seems to enhance the acai berry, making it slightly spicy and smoother. The smoked vanilla note really appears at the end, as it blends with snake oil and complimenting the spicy, fruity angle of Australian Copperhead.

Edited December 1, 2008 by Schmoozy

[Mimosatique]

Wet: Acai berry, amber, hint of neroli

 

Dry: The sugar from snake oil is covered with acai berry and ONLY acai berry..dewy & glistening acai, not sharp anymore..

 

Verdict: An uplifting delicious fruity red berry goodness...NO powder-ish Snake oil here. Just lovely!!!

[MisterShrapnel]

This bottle is aged a couple months:

Very sweet and tart, bright red and fruity. On the drydown, the floral neroli wafts up along with hints of the smoked vanilla. There's a very slight medicinal tang from the Snake Oil, but I wouldn't be able to tell that this is a Snake until the scent is completely dry. Very subtle hints.

The berries give a bit of a "shiny" or "waxy" quality to the scent, which was more obvious when the bottle was very fresh. A little perfume-y.

I'm interested in how strong of a berry scent this is, but there are other scents that I'd be more eager to wear.

[Seelix]

When I first got Australian Copperhead I wasn't struck by it. It was a sharp, berry mess with the play dough of Snake Oil mixed in. I kept the decant, figuring I would be able to easily swap it if it didn't improve.

 

Improve it did!

 

Now it's a lovely, berry vanilla over a base of wonderfully aged Snake Oil. The berries keep the Snake Oil under control, and the Snake Oil and vanilla keep the berries from going overly sweet on me. The whole thing is a rich, almost gourmand scent that is strong, but subtle on my skin. More likely to get a "something smells good" rather than an "I like your perfume".

[CynicalPink]

I'm not wild over Snake Oil, so this is going to have to win me over on its own merits

 

Imp: Acai berry! Very sweet. Probably neroli, too

 

Wet: Mmm! Cardamom and berry! It's only a few seconds before the warm Snake Oil vanilla comes out to play.

 

Drydown: Mellow berry, some spice, smooth vanilla. Not a powdery note to be found.

 

Overall: Man this is *nice.* Not sure if it's something I'll wear with any frequency, though. I'll keep the decant for bottle auditions, so no swap pile for this one! Kinda makes me want to give Snake Oil another chance...

 

After the full day wear test: Okay yeah, I need a bottle of this. Just wore this for the day and it feels so...comfortable. Like a favorite pair of jeans. Now that I've put a normal (for me) amount on, everything good about this scent just gets better. So this is a definite bottle purchase, and might be enough to persuade me to buy one of those Snake Oil CTs. Snake Oil itself may not have done it for me, but it sure makes a great base.

Edited March 22, 2009 by CynicalPink

[inkaddict]

Frimp from a forumite.

 

In the imp: sweet, bright, green.

 

Wet: Wow! Sweet (a tad too sweet, perhaps?) berries with a lush, deep, wet green background. Like a bush full of ripe berries.

 

Dry: Stong, with good throw. The berries settle down a bit and I can smell the cardamom, it's just perfect! It lasts a good while too, which is unusual since my skin seems to eat oils.

After a couple of hours something a bit powdery comes out, I guess it's the amber in SO. It's pleasant though, you can still smell the berries and spices. Warm and soft.

 

Verdict: Repeat after me: I don't need a bottle, I don't need a bottle...who am I kidding, I do!

[Andrea912]

I like Snake Oil and I'd love to see the acai berry, amber, cardamom, neroli, and smoked vanilla peek through...

 

Impression: hmmmm. ...it's ok; amber and vanilla mostly; pretty ho hum

 

[TheOneTheyCallLuna]

This one is doing the strangest things with my skin chemistry. At first when I put it on, all I smelled was peanut butter and honey sandwiches for like five minutes. Then, it turned into my roommate's Garnier Fructis shampoo. Now, it's an oddly spicy, tart berryish shampoo fragrance, that just keeps making me think about that one Garnier hair product commercial with that Australian ginger model...Australian Copperhead.

[Spork]

Wet: BERRRRRRRRY!

 

Dry down: berry's calmed down a lot, there's the snake oil and smoky vanilla peaking out!

 

Completely dried down: mmm, slightly spicy snake oil, some smoke, and just a hint of brightness from the berries, yum!

 

[caitilarkin]

In the bottle: Rich fruits backed by Snake Oil spiciness

 

Wet on skin: The fruits are amping--I can pick out the neroli but it's all really very well blended.

 

Dry on skin: After an hour or so, the vanilla in this blend is deeper than in Snake Oil itself, so it keeps the mysterious (sometime medicinal) quality of SO sweeter and fruitier. And the fruit notes themselves aren't going sharp or light, either.

 

Lasted about six hours on my first test. I absolutely love this.

[rayvn1]

Slightly powdery and sweet at first. The vanilla is very prominent in this blend. Mellows and rounds out after sitting for about an hour. Very light throw. More SN-ish than others in the snakepit. Not quite up to King Cobra goodness, but one of the best in the snakepit on my skin so far.

[lucy gray]

In the vial and during drydown: berry. Real berry. EXTREMELY berry. Berry berry berry berry. Berry. Berry berry. Berrrrrrrrrrrry. Unfortunately, the berry wears itself out with all that berry-ing, and once AC has dried, all that remains on my skin is a very slightly more powdery Snake Oil.

[ltrittipoe]

Wanted to like this.... sounded like everything I love. Do NAWT like on me.

 

Of course, this could have something to do with spillage. On me. While applying.

 

In bottle: cherry vicks cough drops.

 

Wet: Still cherry cough drops. Artificial cherry & menthol - the menthol-lyptus they advertise. The cherry seems to be getting stronger, I can't smell anything else. Don't like cherry. Must wash off.

 

No dry down to report. HAD to wash it off, change clothes, and maybe still have to go take a shower cause I think I can still smell cough drops.

 

 

ETA: I only gave it 20 or so minutes on my skin, so maybe it would have changed. I have enough left in the bottle to try this again some other time, will let you know.

Edited July 18, 2009 by ltrittipoe

[Lyrical]

In imp: bright and fruity, but with a lovely depth from the snake oil, cardamom and vanilla.

 

Wet on skin: hard to describe! There's a berry-ish note and a warm amber and cardamom background with some gentle vanilla and an orange-y note that is neroli. But it all merges together into an warm, glowing, fruity-amber-vanilla, that reminds me of Fruit Salad penny chews from my childhood! Only it doesn't smell like candy. This is really soft!

 

Dry on skin: the fruit is going a little sharp on me now, as fruit notes often do. There's an unexpected but definite creaminess. And the Snake Oil is making it's presence known in a very subtle way. It's smooth and well balanced, without much throw, and I will wear it a few times before coming to a final verdict.

 

Second wearing: so far so good! There may be a bottle of this in my future!

[Aldercy]

Oh, I always knew this would be an interesting one!

 

True, glowing Snake Oil, but almost unrecognizable under the extra spike of vanilla and a huge orgy of red and gold fruit. It's such a strange contrast of light and dark-- there are almost two perfect layers of scent. Rich, dark, resinous SO with this glassy surface of sweet, succulent cardamom-laced fruit juice glazed over it. What I suppose is the acai berry is quite bright and there's almost something like soft banana note. Australian Copperhead is a Snake Oil smoothie (note: never ever make an actual Snake Oil smoothie).

 

I don't know how old this particular decant is, but I feel that, like SO, this would only get better with time. This one will be making a home with me before the Carnaval leaves.

 

 

[biocarolyn]

I thought I had found my BPAL love. Then Australian Copperhead came along. And the funny part about it is, I wasn't particularly motivate by Snake Oil (Sorry I know, it makes me a heretic)

 

In the bottle this is all tart berry. I love berry, so I thought maybe this would be the hook that reeled me in. I was right. The berry stays heavy on my skin wet, but slowly fade and the blend gets more & more vanilla-ish as time goes on. In the end, the berry is just a hint.

 

 

I want to marry this bottle and have little copperheaded babies.

[cleske]

My first experience of the Carnaval, and of Snake Oil! At first this is a rich berry, not at all cloying, and then it mellows into a vanilla richness that I can only assume is Snake Oil. It's really, really beautiful, and the berry doesn't look like it's going to disappear, which I was a bit afraid of. As time goes on it just melds together to create something seriously unf and hoard worthy.

 

ETA: After wearing it for a full day I've realised that it reminds me of this little Boots rollerball called Dreamcloud I had years ago. I think it was while I was still at school! This is a more sophisticated, less cloying perfume, but there's something about it that sates the agony that (apparently!) still existed from when I walked in and realised they'd discontinued it. I hoarded that little bottle into the fridge until it was finished, and then I never really loved a perfume again until BPAL. Strange...

Edited October 9, 2009 by Charlene

[Venneh]

I'm getting berry mixed with the vanilla and spices of Snake Oil in the bottle. On my skin, it's a pretty equal blend of deeper berry and Snake Oil. Mmm. Right off the bat, I'm thinking this is going to be bottle material (I currently have a decant in a bottle).

Edited October 11, 2009 by Venneh

[saralaughs]

"Serious berry here. This serious bizness," says berry.

 

 

The berry is the one doing all the talking upon first application in this blend. The acai is the only one present for a bit. In about 15-20 though, it's a different story. Vanilla speaks up along with some incense. I then get a sharp note that I really don't find appealing. Neroli and I do not get along that well. I hardly get any amber or cardamom.

[loladae]

I'm not Snake Oil's biggest fan, but I've made it a point to try every Snake Pit scent. I've tried only a few including Cottonmouth, Coral Snake, Boomslang, Banded Sea Snake and this one. Let me tell you, I was not expecting to like this one as much as I do. I thought I didn't like fruity scents, but this one and Bordello have proved me wrong. It's amazing. It smells kind of familiar. Top note accai berry with an amazing vanilla-y middle/base note. I can't detect the neroli, amber or cardamom, but I'm sure they're rounding out the main notes. After it dries down more, the vanilla note takes over with the berry in the background. It's enticing and I need a bottle of this one.

Edited November 1, 2009 by loladae

[laslibres]

In the bottle, ooh, I smell tart berries!...and not much else. That’s what acai smells like, huh? On me...the berry gets a bit more powdery and vanilla-y, but not Snake Oily at all. This is probably the least like SO of the Snake Pit scents I’ve tried so far...just berry and faint musky vanilla in the background. Thankfully I get no cardamom or neroli out of this...whew. Those are both total death notes on me and I didn’t notice when I swapped for the decant of this. Er...okay, maybe a little bit of neroli comes out after a while, but it doesn’t turn bitter and stink up the whole thing. This also gets oddly faint for a Snake blend...all of the notes recede after a short while. Maybe that's because I'm used to slathering Snake Oil and related blends from a big bottle, rather than dibbling from an imp, but it does seem like it's rather fleeting. Nice while it lasted, though!

[ouch!]

This is right up there at the top of the list of Snake Pit. Up thre with Temple Viper & King Cobra.

I loVe all the notes listed especially Neroli & Smoked Vanilla so this one was so hard to pass up.

It does not dissapoint my smellbuds that's for sure!!!

 

It starts out as a berry blast with some Neroli. Lovely fresh with just a hint that there's something else lurking behind. The muskiness of the SO is very apparent in this stage but it's overtaken by the brightness of the berries. I LOVE it!!!

 

On drydown, the SO starts to creep out but doesn't overtake the blend. The berries and orangeness of this blend stay there but they're now intertwizzled with the Snake Oil. This blend is gorgeous.

 

It's like a more youthful version of Snake Oil. I'ts not in any way lighter, it's just like Snake oil with some orange light shining through it.

 

WINNER!!!