Australian Copperhead (2006)

[reynardine]

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

 

In bottle: gorgeous berry smell

Wet: berries and almost an orange smell (neroli?) with the spices of Snake Oil behind it.

Drydown: Barely any Snake Oil at all. Berries with a touch of spice.

Later: Oh, this is a winner. Moderate throw, bright berry scent with a touch of spice underneath to give it some interest. Will love to see how this ages!

[DeltaCat]

Very berry-esque wet. Can't really smell much but berries when wet. On dry down the berries are still the prominent (sorry if that is spelled wrong. I'm a phonemic speller..) with only a little bit on Snake Oil spice. Sadly I get no vanilla. This isn't a bad scecnt, just not a favorite. I'd like a bottle, but it's not a major need right now.

[CitizenBree]

In the bottle, it's red berry candy. I love fruity scents, but something about this smells like fake berries. Like candy. Sometimes I get a red cough syrup scent.

 

On dry down, it's very perfumey. I can smell a little of the vanilla in the background, but overall I just get a fruity floral perfume. I'm a fruity floral BPAL person, but not when it has that perfume-y edge to it. In fact, this might be the only scent I've tried so far that dries down that way on me.

 

I'll pass on this one (and wonder if any of the snake pits will work on me).

[Evilynn]

in the vial: mostly acai berry and neroli

wet on the skin: whooahh! Berry! Sweet berry, to be a bit more precise. I think it's the acai mixing with the amber and neroli to make it this sweet seeming. I do amp most berry notes, so I'm not sure it does this on most people's skin. I can't say I get any SO or vanilla at all at this point. They're buried under a mountain of berries.

dry down: Finally getting a wee bit of vanilla among the berries, and after an hour or so the spices in the Snake Oil is making an appearance.

 

I have no idea how old this decant is, but it's a lot nicer than I thought it would be. I definitely thought I'd get more in the way of Snake Oil from this, but it's predominantely a sweet berry scent on me.I've already got a fair amount of berry scents, so I'm not sure if I'll get a bottle of this, but I'm keeping my decant.

[Teaotter]

In the vial, it smells remarkably like cherry cough syrup, enough that I wasn't sure I wanted to try it on at all. But I haven't hated any of the snakes so far, so I figured I'd give it a try.

 

Wet: Fruity, somewhere between grape and cherry, with a medicinal tang that reminds me of cough syrup. Thankfully, that passes fairly quickly.

 

Dry: The fruit pulls back a little, though it's still there -- but it's sharper than cherry and significantly less syrupy. The vanilla and spices of the Snake Oil start to come out and play. For me, it becomes Snake Oil with an overlay of indescribable fruit. Not bad, and much better than I expected from the first sniff of the bottle!

[galahad]

In The Bottle

Berryish and a lttle bit herbal with a faint snake oil edge

 

On Application

Nice. Dry and amberish with a sweet fruitiness without being really fruity.

 

Dry Down

This one is so cool. The acai berry is definitely reconisable as fruit but there is a greenness to it. The snake oil starts to manifest fairly soon after application to the skin but doesn't take over. The fruit tends to turn a little sour and tart but I quite like that.

 

Rating (0-5)

4.5

[Icekitten]

Wet: Berry's !! i do smell snake oil in it wich makes it softer and not to fruity or sweet.

 

Dry: Still smell the berry's but much lighter and more smokey.

 

After a few hours: This stays a very nice scent i detect more snake oil but with a berry back ground and a tad of smoke.

[Incendiare]

In the bottle, I get lots of açai berry with a dot of amber. Wet, the açai berries turn tarter and juicier. Up to this point, I can't detect any Snake Oil. After a few minutes, I can detect a bit of vanilla but it's very there. It just adds a bit of warmth to the blend. After about the minutes, the vanilla is turning slightly smokey and the açai berry has calmed down a bit. Spices finally show up in the background, but they're barely noticeable. Now that it has dried down, the wafts I get are by far more my liking at this stage than how it smells when I sniff up close. The wafts are more well-rounded, warmer, and not as berryish.

 

I've worn this to bed quite a few times already and I've noticed that all that's left by morning is the faintest trace of Snake Oil and nothing else.

[HerbGirl]

Why hello there Acai berry! Wow...this berry knows how to crash a party! I really can't complain because it smells fantastic - with a bit of snake oil peeking around the corner and some amber strolling in...

 

After 2 hours, I'm really enjoying the play between the smoked vanilla, amber, snake oil and Acai berry.

 

Cardamom hasn't shown up yet, (even though I would love to see her!) and I think I decided to uninvite neroli... this perfume is glorious, and I hope to snag another bottle before it leaves town. 4.5/5

Edited February 25, 2011 by Shollin
Removed Lab description

[Gin]

Acai! And that's pretty much it. And that's okay by me, it smells great.

[Helas]

Australian Copperhead is mostly berry and cotton-candy-like vanilla with a hint of cardamom on me. I don't get any neroli, which is a shame, since the slight tang would probably offset the almost overwhelming sweetness of this blend. Australian Copperhead is delicate and ethereal and a exotic and strikes me as the sort of scent a rainforest fairy might have. I enjoy it but find it just a bit too candy-like for regular wear. The Snake Pit is my favourite collection, though, so even a relatively less successful blend like this one stands head and shoulders above the bulk of ordinary perfumes.

 

Four out of five stars.

[Penance]

Origin:

 

5mL from the Lab.

 

Preconceived notions:

 

I've been working my way through the Snake Pit and Australian Copperhead has always been towards the bottom of the list (above Asp Viper, which has almond and is automatically guaranteed to be a scent I don't like, and Cottonmouth, which just doesn't sound that appealing since I hate florals), so I'm not sure how well it's going to work for me.

 

The Snake Oil, amber, cardamom and smoked vanilla sound good, but I despise neroli with a fiery passion and I've never smelled acai berry before (I'm not much of a berry fan in general, so it's probably not going to be one of my favorite notes). Fingers crossed that Australian Copperhead likes me. I've been pleasantly surprised before by the Snake Pit blends.

 

First sniff:

 

Sweet but tart berry. I can see where people are getting candy out of this. It has an almost Sweet Tart sort of scent, but Sweet Tarts if they were made in an exotic berry flavor. I get a tiny bit of Snake Oil and smoked vanilla, but mainly this is berry, and a rather unique berry at that. It's not looking all that promising at this point, but I never give up hope on a blend I buy (and most that I get as frimps) without at least testing it, so I'm forging ahead.

 

Wet on skin:

 

Okay, we're getting somewhere now. The berry is still the dominant note (it's smells deep red/purple and tart but sweet at the same time), but I'm starting to find some of the other notes peeking out. The Snake Oil is putting in a barely there appearance and I get a tiny bit of smoked vanilla and what could be the faintest touch of amber. It's less candy-like now, but still sweet.

 

Dry down:

 

Ooh, I like this once it's dried completely. The end scent is soft, sweet, and feminine. Smoked vanilla with a touch of Snake Oil and amber and an overlay of slightly stronger, sweet/tart berry. The dreaded neroli never puts in an appearance, which is fine by me. It's not something I'd wear every day, but it's much more wearable for me than I expected it to be.

 

The bottom line:

 

Australian Copperhead definitely isn't my favorite Snake Pit blend (that honor goes to Western Diamondback), or even a runner up, but I really do like it. It's oddly innocent smelling for a scent named after a venomous snake.

[Gwydion]

In bottle: Acai berry dominant. The acai berry blends well with the snake oil, extra vanilla, and neroli. I haven’t the age of this sample, but judging from the snake oil, I’d guess this is well aged. The amber is understated, the cardamom is mostly gone. Wet: My skin eats a lot of the berry and gently amps the amber. The result is a heady, berry sweetened incense heavy snake oil blend. It’s very well balanced on my skin, with enough berry to give it a fruity edge, but not enough to overbalance the complexity. Yum. Dry: The berry comes back up, highlighted on a background of aged snake oil.

[porcelina]

as with other snake oil scents, i feel like the true test will be a year or two from now when australian copperhead has had time to age- but i can't resist giving it a try right now.

 

it's surprisingly fruity. the acai is stronger than the snake oil and at first it's all i smell. but the dark, heady snake oil is there in the background, filling in the cracks. there's the barest hint of smoke, and the cardamom tickles my nose with a dry spiciness.

 

given time for the berry to calm down and for the whole thing to age, i think this could be a beautiful blend, but it's still very delicious and wearable as is.

[OctoberGwen]

I'm not a fan of berry scents in general, but this was a very pleasant surprise...the sharp/sweet acai is beautifully offset by the vanilla and spice. I've never smelled anything like this. Really gorgeous.

[acidrica]

I mostly get acai berry when I first put it on. Then on the drydown it blooms to include my lovely snake oil and vanilla. It actually started to fade a bit quicker than I like, so I broke down and slathered some more on. It stays close to my skin, unlike normal snake oil. It smells absolutely divine after a while. It's very smoky and just gorgeous.

[wishingwell]

Urk. I think I'm starting to get the idea that me and acai berry just do not mix very well. In the bottle, it's all acai berry, all the time. Wet on my skin, it turns into some sort of strange.. soapy acai berry floral. Very hard to describe, but it's very strong. It's kind of like that generic public bathroom floral soap, though, so it's not really a nice backdrop. As it dries, the acai turns a bit bitter and the Snake Oil takes over the soapiness, but the vague floral undertone stays. An hour in, and it's a very bite-y acai berry throw.. I can only pick up the Snake Oil if I snuffle my wrist. This would probably be really lovely on someone who doesn't bring out the bite in acai berry like I do.

 

I think I will be keeping my acai berries in my yogurt from now on, instead of on my skin.

[brilliantcat]

In the bottle: Tart berry.

 

Immediately after application: Berry and cardamom with neroli.

 

Warming up: Tart acai berry and cardamom. I like the smell of acai, it smells very clean to me. Not getting any SO or vanilla yet.

 

Fading: Stayed fruity till the end when I got the faintest breath of vanilla-y SO.

 

Faded: Average throw, average wear.

 

Overall: Not my favorite of the snake pits.

 

Rating: 3/5.

[cadenza]

Sad. There is something in this scent that doesn't like me, for sure. My first whiff was pure berry-and-spice-and-vanilla gorgeousness, and it stayed that way for approximately two minutes on my skin. Then I think the acai berry turns to lemon wax on my skin, and pushes all the other scents away. It's weird because unlike other notes that don't work for me (I'm looking at you, jasmine), I'm not amping something horribly unpleasant, it's just like the wear length is exactly two minutes for all the notes except the sharp, mutated, gross-smelling lemony wax. Those first two minutes make me want a scent locket, though. Super jealous of all of you for whom it works well.

[mermaidsdream]

In the bottle: soft. First whiff I get spices. Second whiff I get ... bubblegum? Not quite as sweet as Jailbait, but still very sweet. Since this is also Snake Oil, I go for it.

 

Applied: Woah, Nelly with the sweet! Wowza sweet.

 

Drydown: It seems to fade fast, and I get no hint of Snake Oil out of this. Every so often I'll get a whiff of sweet, a whiff of floral, a whiff of spicy. Every so often, I'm reminded of my grandmother. I love my grandmother, but I don't want to smell like her.

 

3 hours later: I get a little creamy vanilla, but it's very faint. Alas, not one I'll be keeping. The sweet was far too much for me.

[GoddesShel]

OMG this is luscious! First whiff, I get a tart, juicy berry smell (the acai, I'm sure) with just a whiff of orange/neroli. Behind is the smoked vanilla and amber. I was sort of worried, because *smoked* vanilla - smoke and I do not get along, but this is wonderful. Loving it at this stage.

 

Dry, this is amber and vanilla with hints of tart berry/neroli every so often. A huge winner for me. I will need to hoard this when CD comes back. Actually, every single snake pit blend I've tried, I've fallen in love with.

[inhumation]

ughhh, I so badly wish this worked out for me. in the bottle, it is a lovely spicy fruit tea scent. as soon as I applied it to my skin, it all but disappeared. I didn't detect snake oil in it at all. what I could barely smell on my skin was nice - vaguely tart and sweet and creamy - but I have to press my nose to my wrist to detect it. I'm so sad, haha

Edited September 16, 2014 by inhumation

[whoahorsey]

I really wanted to love this -- I adore Snake Oil, and also love berries, so the combination intrigued me. However, on my skin it mostly just smelled like Robitussin. Sadness! I envy all the people for whom this scent worked out. It sounds great, if only my picky body chemistry would cooperate. :-)

[renfair]

I got Australian Copperhead as a frottle partial with another order from a forum member. I was excited to get it because I'd been wanting to try and aged Snake Oil blend since regular, new Snake Oil did not agree with me.

First Sniff Impression: Urk. Robitussin.

Wet in Vial: The acai berry is super strong, making it a bit cough syrupy.

Drying Down on Skin: So the acai isn't too strong on skin, and the rest of the notes make a kind of nice woody, smoky, sweet berry smell. It's settling into something like the smell of a really nice shampoo. Further drying, it is getting a little powdery on me. So with the fruit, it's like soapy powder?

Dry on Skin: Dry it's basically Snake Oil, even so slightly less "baby diaper" than regular Snake Oil is on me. I just don't think I like the scent. But I have to say this is my favorite of the Snake Oils I've tried so far (original, Lilith Victoria). I feel like I can *almost* smell why people love it, but there just something about it that turns me off.

Conclusion: This one was almost ok, but Snake Oil simply isn't my friend. I'll probably hang onto it since it might be good for swapping, being so aged.

[donkehpoo]

Wet: Lots of acai berry and neroli! This is very bright, fresh, and a little "green" smelling. Not getting any Snake Oil yet.

 

Dry: Welcome to the party, Snake Oil! Snake Oil, with a little bit of acai berry and a little bit of smokey something. (Not really reading as smoked vanilla to me, but something in it DOES seem smokey.)

 

While I think it's nice, it's not one of my favorite SO blends, and it's probably time to let this go to a better home.