Boomslang

[Carolyn]

Snake Oil with cocoa, teakwood, and rice milk.

At first there's a top note of Velvet and Snake Oil mixed, and then, a few short minutes later, simply Snake Oil. I put my regular Snake Oil on one wrist and Boomslang on the other, and by golly, I can't tell the difference. I happen to love Snake Oil, so the fact that I now have two bottles of it is fine. Still, had I known it was so very similar I probably would have simply bought another bottle of (cheaper) Snake Oil.

[GoldenRubee]

When I first open the bottle I smelled Chocolate! I applied it to my wrist and it was dark and a little thick like chocolate too. After drying down, the Snake Oil comes to life. The spices come out and every thing amps up. I tried all the snakes on a month ago and made notes and came home and purchased several. They all came this morning and I tried on four different ones today. I am very happy with Boomslang! This reminds me of when I make a chocolate cake and add spices to the batter for an extra kick. It is yummy-both sweet and spicy!

[Nepthys]

This smells just like I mixed Velvet and Snake Oil together - for the first 30-45 minutes, that is. Then it's just indistinguishable from Snake Oil.

[Mianjo]

I almost didn't get a decant of this because I'm not really a fan of smelling like chocolate. But I decided that since I love Snake Oil so much, I would try all the members of the Pit that I could (2 of them have ingredients I cannot have because they interfere with medication I take).

 

In the vial: Cocoa...thick, gorgeous cocoa backed with slight incense.

 

Wet on my skin: Lots of cocoa. Not chocolate, but yes, cocoa. And there's the Snake Oil making an appearance. Delicious!

 

Drying: The cocoa is fading, and I'm getting a ton of Snake Oil.

 

Dried: Roughly 30 minutes after application, the cocoa is gone. Now all I'm getting is *motocross announcer voice* SNAKE OIL! Snake Oil! snake oil! EXTREME SNAKE OIL! Extreme Snake Oil! extreme snake oil! *cut announcer*

 

I say that because the throw on this is amazing compared to regular Snake Oil. I put on about a 1.5 inch square on my forearm to test and it smells like I did one of my "hot-ass date with the hubby" immersions.

 

I don't know if that's the cocoa amping the Snake Oil or if the Lab just used a stronger "dosage" of Snake Oil so that it wouldn't be overpowered by the cocoa...but that's a spicy Snake Oil!

 

I like it, and I'll hold onto the decant and see what aging does to it. If in say, 3 months the cocoa lasts longer than 20 minutes on my skin, I'll look into building a Boomslang Hoard.©

[harmonyfb]

I'm echoing everyone else in the thread, I'm sure, when I say that this smells like the best parts of Snake Oil and Velvet. Mmmm. Long-lasting, too, and with a low-to-medium throw, it's like wearing chocolate silk.

[asciident]

Wet: A straight-up shot of cocoa made with milk.

 

First on: Vanilla and cocoa. Mmm.

 

Dry: Like a cocoa/chocolate chai. A bit dusty, which I think might be the spices of S.O. or the teakwood, but it's gorgeous.

[kraken]

In the Bottle: Dark cocoa with a hint of wood. It reminds me of Candy Butcher, but darker and not as sweet.

 

Initial Wet: A mix of scents, chocolate and wood and the sour note I get from Snake Oil. The rice milk is an interesting touch and I think really mellows out the Snake Oil on my skin.

 

Initial Dry: It reminds me vaguely of Velvet, I think it's the chocolate-vanilla-wood combination, but the rice milk throws me off from that. The Snake Oil is still very prominent, with a dusting of cocoa over it.

 

Drier Dry: Ah, now this is lovely. It's morphed into a dry, dusty chocolate note, slightly spiced by vanilla. It reminds me of cocoa powder kept in a wooden container. This is definitely the scent I was hoping for from this blend, but I wish it had more throw.

 

I must be one of the few people on whom Snake Oil isn't the scent of scents. There's something in it that goes vaguely sour and makes the back of my throat clench when I smell it. But I do love chocolate and cocoa and vanilla, so I just had to get this one. I've never tried an aged Snake Oil, so maybe whatever spice that doesn't agree with me will mellow out with age.

 

ETA: I put this on some felt in my brand new silver scent locket and Oh-My-God... I was getting compliments all night. I don't get a lot of the teakwood this way, but it's cocoa and the lovely, spicy vanilla Snake Oil that everyone else seems to get (when it's not on my skin). The throw is strong enough to keep me in chocolate heaven whenever I wear it.

 

ETA: It's now been five months since I've gotten it. The bottle's been opened regularly to feed my scent locket. I just tried it on my skin to see if the aging has changed it at all (the scent locket still smells the same). Now it's OMG delicious. Even the hubby (who wrinkled his nose at it when I tried it fresh) said unbidden, "wow, you smell really good." The Snake Oil sour note is gone and it's cocoa with spicy vanilla. The wood is a nice solid undertone and helps to make it not foody-like-cake. I can't smell the rice milk anymore, or at least, I can't pick it out as a single note. I'm going to have to stock up on bottles before the Carnaval goes away.

Edited July 19, 2007 by kraken

[akw]

Initially strong, but dusty, powdery cocoa. As it dries, the Snake Oil comes out, and I don't specifically get wood or rice milk, but there is something that pulls everything together in a really nice way.

 

After a few minutes, I get mostly deeper, darker Snake Oil. It's nice, but my skin is eating it. Ater 30 minutes I can't smell it unless I have wrist to nose, and even that is fading fast.

 

If this had more throw and lasting power, I'm sure it would work really well.

 

If your skin plays well with woods and you like Snake Oil, you might love this. Woods tend to either amp up or disappear on me, and I suspect that is what's happening. Boomslang minus my skin = lovely blend.

[dawndie]

First off, this is the darkest thickest oil I've ever seen!

 

In bottle: cocoa

 

On skin: cocoa with pretty mellow Snake Oil, which I imagine as amber, glittering resins, sitting on a little pile of brown raw sugar. Fresh Snake Oil smells kinda chemical and harsh, and this is more aged and smooth

 

Half-hour later: very nice sweetened Snake Oil

 

In conclusion: of the Snake Pit blends tried so far, this is what I was hoping for. I was looking forward to Snake Oil with delicious variations of added vanilla or cocoa or berries. This is amazing straight from the Lab, and I'm sure will become orgasmic as it ages.

[sarada]

I had written this off as something I'd never want to try, since I don't like chocolate blends and I especially don't like anything with the word "milk" within five miles of it. So I'm surprised that I don't dislike this after all. It reminds me more of something along the lines of Tezcatlipoca, with absolutely no trace of the dreaded milk.

 

The oil itself is slightly separated, which is fun to look at, though I mix it up well before trying it to make sure I'm getting a good dose of Boomslang (!).

 

Yes, very much like Tez at first. Snake Oil simmers beneath. Thank goodness there's teakwood in this, that evens everything out for me, and gives me a raft to grab onto in this chocolatey sea.

 

Now the really surprising part: the chocolate disappears and I just have a really nice, deep, dark, strong Snake Oil with the barest whisper of that Tez-esque cocoa in the background.

 

Probably not something I'd need a lot of, but I'm pleasantly surprised. And I can already tell this would be a big hit if I wore it around other people, rather than just sniffing it by myself on a Satuday night.

[lushlovely]

Upon first sniff of the bottle I thought I opened up a bottle of Freak Show by mistake. For me they share the exact same cocoa note. I was hopeful!

 

Wet on my skin, it was that same Freak Show cocoa note but with lots of Snake Oil. Now don't start stoning me, but I've never been a fan of Snake Oil, and never will be. There's something about it that reminds me of Campho-phenique, and it makes my nose curl. So why did I invest in Boomslang if I don't like Snake Oil? Easy, the hopes that the cocoa, vanill, and rice milk notes would somehow drown it out. But sadly that wasn't to be the case on my skin. It screamed the lovechild of Freak Show and Snake Oil on my skin for the next hour.

 

Drydown: Pure, straight baby powder to my nose. I'm terribly sad this one didn't work for me because I desperately wanted it to.

[roxyhead]

*dies*

 

Snake Oil and chocolate. Mere words cannot express how I love this scent.

 

I suppose it's the teakwood that keeps it just a bit dark so it doesn't go foody. I'm not really a slatherer, particularly when testing things for the first time, and this was the first scent that elicited unprovoked comments about how good I smelled. If I could just keep one bottle of my collection, this would be it. I don't miss not having any unadulterated Snake Oil around so much now.

[fiddledragon]

Wet, this is very sweet milky chocolate with Snake Oil. The chocolate is an almost Hersheys-kiss kind of scent. It's not as powdery as Bliss. As it dries, the chocolate goes away, leaving something very close to pure Snake Oil. I don't wear SO all that often, so there's probably some difference I'm not detecting. I quite like the scent, but it's just not really my kind of thing, so no bottle is in my future. I'll happily use the imp, and if it grows on me, maybe I'll get a bottle before it goes away.

[PurringPulsar]

Boomslang

 

In the imp: whoa, dark, deep, rich chocolate. Pure cocoa. Slightly sweet and a little bit like chocolate cake too! The oil is the colour of dark chocolate, and is a little grainy.

Wet on skin: looks like I’ve put iodine on my wrist…but thankfully this doesn’t smell like iodine, but chocolate Snake Oil! Yum!

Dry: chocolate Snake Oil! Now it smells very, very Snake Oily, but with a covering of rich dark chocolate. This is so delicious. So far, the most Snake Oily scents in the Pit have been the Asp, the Saw Scaled Viper, and this. It is rich and deep and mixes the beautiful vanilla-musk-spice with a sexy, dark, and very realistic cocoa scent.

After a while: the cocoa takes a back seat as the Snake Oil comes out even more. There’s still a gentle fringe of chocolate, this still is cocoa-covered, but now the Snake Oil is really showing itself. It smells like the aged stuff I have, with the richer spicier notes and a mature vanilla and musk, they really get on very nicely and work well with the chocolate. I don’t smell teak or rice milk. The drydown becomes even more and more identical to just Snake Oil, which is a good thing, especially since this smells like aged SO, even though it is fresher than my year old imp! I just wish the cocoa stuck around for a little longer…I still smell traces of it but it seems to have merged into the SO as to become almost indistinguishable.

But then when I think the chocolate is gone, the cocoa returns once more! Dark and rich yet sweet and cake-like, now I smell like delicious Snake Oil brownies. Which in theory sounds like a delicious recipe but I wouldn’t recommend consuming Snake Oil in any food! This is better than Lump of Coal. The cocoa actually ends up as the strongest note once more as the scent fades after a few hours, with a little bit of amber coming out as well.

Verdict: yet another hit from the Pit! Remember the Candy Butcher’s chocolate covered snakes? One of them must have slithered into the tent of freaks and joined the rest of Faiza’s friends. This smells just like the most wonderful fusion of cocoa and Snake Oil ever. Like chocolate covered Snake Oil, or this oil makes me want to nibble my wrist. The cocoa note really shines at the start and finish of this scent-at first it is like fine dark chocolate with a Snake Oil centre, and then the cocoa temporarily leaves and the scent is almost all SO, the aged variety, but I was worried that this would be just Snake Oil, nothing more, which I can get as a GC. But then after an hour or two, chocolate makes a comeback. And what a comeback…it smells like Snake Oil flavoured brownies! This really blows Lump of Coal out of the water. The beautiful dark cocoa mixes so nicely with the deep, rich, sweet vanilla and exotic spices of Snake Oil, this is a perfect match. A wonderful, indulgent scent, this is now my new favourite chocolate scent, and one to get lots of bottles of. The only downside is that it stains, but that isn’t getting in the way of me smelling like SNAKE OIL BROWNIES! *insert Homer Simpson drool here*

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? Definitely. Now I want Snake Oil flavoured brownies…I don’t think Snake Oil tastes good or will do you any good if eaten, even if it smells gorgeous!

If you like this, try: Snake Oil, Snake Charmer, Asp Viper, Saw Scaled Viper, Wulric, Velvet, Bliss

[mtlaise]

I think I'm in love! I ordered a Snake Pit set from a decant circle, and it's so odd, but the ones I thought I'd love are "meh", and others that I wasn't really interested in - like this one - I've loved. I typically like foody scents (more on the foody spices side), but chocolate and snake oil sounded like a horrid mix to me. Thank goodness Beth knows more about scents than I do!

 

As soon as I put this one on, I was hit by the chocolate. It sort of reminded me of the chocolate in Candy Butcher - rich and dark, like a chocolate ganache. Ironically, I usually find Snake Oil a little on the sweet side, but this blend , with all its chocolate, seems a little less so to my nose, and I love it. As it dries, the chocolate recedes a bit, and something else seems to be taking the lead (I think this might be the teakwood), alongside the Snake Oil spices which are starting to come forward more assertively.

 

I think this has to go onto my next purchase. I wish it had a bit more throw, but I'll definitely have to try it in my locket, and see if that helps the issue of my skin drinking this up.

Edited March 31, 2007 by mtlaise

[filigree_shadow]

I'm so glad this is cocoa and not the chocolate note. Chocolate sometimes goes sour on me, but cocoa is always good. This is like the cocoa in Tezcatlipoca. Lovely and dry.

 

I guess the rice milk is what's making it smell like a creamy cocoa without being chocolate. I can't smell any teakwood under the other notes, but there is a barely detectable earthy dryness to it, and I'm guessing that's from the teakwood.

 

The cocoa is strong at first, but after a couple of hours it really just smells like Snake Oil to me. (Which is fine!)

 

I'm not quite sure that I prefer this over Snake Oil (I have an aged bottle that's extraordinary), but I'd like to have a bottle of Boomslang when I'm in the mood for a little twist on an old favorite.

[lady_pandora]

Wet: Chocolate-flavored lip gloss. Like the kind I used to wear when I was 12.

 

20 minutes later: Gone. Poof.

 

*scratches head*

[Naamah_Darling]

Chocolate-flavored yum!

 

This is Snake Oil with a strong shot of chocolate liqueur. I really think this adds something to the original, completes it in a sweet and foody way. I realize Snake Oil is the Lab's most popular scent, but it's always been a 3 out of 5 for me; that said, this chocolate version gets 5 out of 5 for being just generally delicious with just a hint of sweet, sweet perfume underneath.

 

Wonderful! If you like Snake Oil and cocoa scents, try this. The cocoa is so thick here that the oil will actually separate, and you have to shake it to mix in the absolute.

 

Delectable, creamy, perfumey chocolate. And people wonder why I love this hobby.

[phedre]

Note: this oil is incredibly prone to separation. Even on my skin, it separates into different colours.

 

In bottle: chocolate covered snake oil is right!

 

Wet: Warm cocoa mixed with a touch of wood. Snake oil is very present in this one, more so than any of the others I've tested so far.

 

Drydown: I normally hate cocoa in scents, but this one? I think I love it!

[Beatrice33]

I don't have anything original to add, but I just have to say that this really is almost exactly Snake Oil on my skin after drydown, but it's Snake Oil that doesn't go to Play Do powder on me. Yay! The cocoa somehow keeps it deep and rich and spicy. I love it!

[eternalargus]

Note: I had to shake mine as the different oils separated.

 

 

Bottle: Creamy spicy chocolate o00o!

 

On Skin: Holy crap this is dark! And sticky! I smell the teak underlying the chocolate, but it doesn't take away from it at all, it accentuates it.

 

Dry: This took awhile to dry, but it smells like a wonderfully chocolatey musk. Love it!

[steffanina]

Boomslang-

 

In Bottle: Spicy and musky, as close to the original Snake Oil as I can imagine.

 

Wet: The chocolate blooms quickly, quite nice! It's overwhelming any other scent, this chocolate.

 

Dry: The chocolate recedes; I find that what remains smells simply like Snake Oil. Not that that's bad, but after that first chocolaty smell the novelty is over. Again, not a tragedy, as one's left with pleasant Snake Oil.

 

Overall: Nice, like Snake Oil.

[Phaedra]

Wet this is Snake Oil and cocoa- yummy! When first on it smells the same, deep cocoa mixed with Snake Oil. This is warm, velvety and sensual like camel colored suede. This stays pretty much the same from beginning to end. It's very long lasting too. I love this one! Another instant classic.

[Sunshine the Werewolf]

This will be an interesting as I have never tried Snake Oil!

 

In the imp: Cocoa. Wow, I can't believe how dark the oil!

 

Wet: Chocolate covered goodness... oh yummy

 

Dry: The chocolate has calmed down and the resulting smell is just utterly lovely. Deep, warm, just sweet enough but not too sweet, woody, spicy... it ticks every box.

 

*adds to next order plus an imp of Snake Oil!*

[Jilara]

In the decant, this is just fabulous. It's like Lindt dark chocolate that's been melted with vanilla.

 

Wet, it's still incredible, dark rich chocolate, with vanilla and a hint of spiciness.

 

Then, after half an hour, poof. No chocolate. It's pure Snake Oil. Which is good, but I wanted chocolate, too!

 

But then I found the restorative. I layered Candy Butcher over it. It took it back to mid-drydown, and it's still staying at that point, five hours later. Which is interesting, because Candy Butcher doesn't stay that chocolate-y that long. It's like Boomslang and Candy Butcher mutually reenforce their chocolate notes. It's interesting, because I have one pure Boomslang wrist, and one layered, and both still have a lot of throw, one with chocolate and one without.