Asp Viper (2006)

[Tramp]

Snake Oil with red mandarin, myrrh, and almond.

Oh my Hello amaratto yummyness!. Beautiful almond scent tinged with a taste of orange citrus. As it dries it becomes an almost honey incense scent. Sexy and delicious.

[clover]

Sniffing from the bottle: Sweet and soft. I have to double check the ingredients to even pick out a note, but as soon as I do, I recognize the almond. That's right, that's what that scent is!

 

On application: This is lovely - like Snake Oil in a kinder, gentler version. Almonds always strike me as earthy - well, not exactly earthy-in-a-dirt-kind-of-way, but organic and natural. And myrrh is just a soft, sweet hug of a scent. There's something slightly maternal and warm about this scent. Even though it's a snake.

 

After a while: Asp Viper is also the Snake Oil-iest of any of the Snake Pit scents I've tried. It's like Snake Oil, but softer. If Snake Oil is the scent I wear when I want to go out and attract attention, Asp Viper would be the scent I would wear when I want to stay home and be comforted. Sit in front of the fire. Do some cooking. Feel cozy.

 

I love it. It is perhaps a little bit fleeting on me, but I know it will strengthen with time.

[The_Witching_Hour]

Oh, wow! As soon as I open the bottle and still wet on the skin I immediately get a blast of tasty Marzipan. This is no dry almond but a sweeter, cake batter feel that I can actually wear (Eat Me and Drink Me were nice in the bottle but I had a hard time pulling these off).

 

As this one dries, the myrrh peeks it head out just a bit but mixes so well with the Snake Oil base that its hard to pin it down unless you know its a note listed.

 

Accolades to Beth for her ingenuity in adding perfect notes to a scent that's already a hit (The original Snake Oil) and somehow enhancing it. 2 out of 2 from the Snake Pit and I'm still going!

[ceej]

Cake. Almond cake. Spicy almond cake. Not too sweet, not the kind with gloppy icing. Or maybe a drink with orange and amaretto.

 

It fades down a bit to a more recognizable Snake Oil after the first burst of almond, but it's remaining cake-y on my wrists. Definitely a scent for the foody scent fans. I'm not normally foody, but man, I'll make an exception here. Cake!

[Ina Garten Davita]

Pow! That thick, heady cherry almond scent hits you straight out of the bottle. It settles back to a rich amaretto scent when dry. The longer drydown reveals the Snake Oil components, a touch of orange blending with deep almond.

 

It's very moreish and almond lovers will rejoice.

[savage_rose]

It smells very little like almond to me...there's a hint there, but mainly it's the myrrh and a touch of the mandarin leaping out. But yep, the almond definitely is there, because there's a touch of powder on the dry down (my skin absorbs almond and turns it into powder...it loves almond, not wisely but too well).

Sigh.

 

I'll have to try it again sometime, because so far it doesn't smell good, it just smells like really, really nice baby wipes on me. And I like baby wipes, but not as a personal fragrance statement. Although the powder kind of disappears after a while, and what remains smells like a vaguely nutty Snake Oil. Okay, just not what I was expecting.

 

ETA: OK, and ten minutes later it's a very understated Misk U-like coffee scent. Weird, but nice .

Edited February 2, 2007 by savage_rose

[Quiara]

I smell some almond, maybe. Myrrh, definitely. Madarin, perhaps. Mostly, I smell a gorgeous, complex and spicy scent that lingers close to my wrist making me very happy. I'm loving the snake pit.

 

ADDED Feb. 5:

 

This is probably among my favorite scents out of the snake pit, with Habu being at the top as well. The smell is reminiscent, to me, of Queen of Sheba, but different enough that I don't feel like I've just got a repeat of QoS. It's sweet but not foody, spicy but not abrasive, just a gentle, lovely sweet scent on me. I enjoy it quite a bit.

[edenssixthday]

Asp Viper - This is gorgeous. It is one of the best Snake Oil blends. It is also the first perfume blend (not just by BPAL, but by anyone!) where the almond doesn't disappear upon drydown. While it fades and isn't as bright as it is upon application, the almond scent stays on my skin for the entire wear length of the perfume oil. Upon drydown, I also smell the myrrh in this blend and it adds a lovely, resinous huskiness to the overall blend. I definitely need a full bottle of this!

[zenvodunista]

My skin amps "sweet" a lot of the time, and almond is just too sweet on my skin. Sadly for me, because I think this is a gorgeous scent. If were almond milk I could handle it.

 

Very reminicent of other almond based scents here at BPAL, this definitely gives me the feel of the Asp that Cleopatra used to commit suicide.

 

There' a lovely creamyness on the undertone. Almost "foody" but really more gourmand. Very lovely, even if I can't hack it.

 

N.

[forspecial_plate]

Asp Viper starts out strongly almond scented. The almond fades after a little while, and then it's an uncomplicated myrrh scent with just a touch of Snake Oil and a little dusty almond still there. I didn't smell mandarin at all the two times I wore it. This doesn't smell bad at all, but for some reason I just don't feel very excited about it. Out of the whole Snake Pit, this was one that I thought I would like a lot and ended up not liking as much.

 

Edit: Whoa, I was on the verge of swapping this, and decided to try it again today. It is 10x better today for some reason. The almond is staying around longer, the Snake Oil is adding warmth and spice, it's not turning dusty....sweet smokey almonds, this is good.....lol.....maybe I should try Cottonmouth again, too, since I thought I didn't like that one either....

Edited February 9, 2007 by Forspecial Plate

[Little Bird]

I was hoping for a foodie marzipan scent touched with hints of Snake Oil, but the notes in Asp Viper seem to go all awry on my skin. The scent opens up with a strong blast of almond, which smells like maraschino cherries on my skin. Super-sweet and with something of a chemical edge.

In the drydown, the almond calms and fades, but a sharp citrus note and a really smoky resin takes its place. It quickly morphs into something of a dry, powdery version of Snake Oil with a sharp citrus squeezed over it. it's smoky and dry rather than foodie on my skin.

Love the label art, not so fond of the fragrance.

ETA, June 2008: I've let this age a bit and the almond is even stronger and more terrifying on my skin . The almond is hyper-sweet maraschino cherries, and it's so strong and sickly sweet that it makes me ill. It's rare that a scent is too sweet for me, but this is just too much. With age (or maybe my skin chemistry changing), this has turned into crazy, bad, long-lasting almond that starts going to baby powder after about an hour. I think this is my least favorite of the Snake Pit.

ETA, May 2016: I'm retrying this to compare it to the Asp Viper 2016 blend and it's actually REALLY good now, lol. It's finally the creamy, vanilla and nutty almond marzipan with the dark musk of Snake Oil that I always wanted it to be. It smells like an earthy red musk and hints of marzipan. It just took 9 years to get here, and I can't believe it's been that long

Edited May 5, 2016 by Little Bird

[gwyllgi]

At my local mall, there is a stand that sells candied almonds, pecans, and cashews. Their slogan is "This is what smells so good."

 

That was the first thing I thought when this hit my skin. Right after the 'mmmmmmm'.

 

The first thing that hits me is the almond. It's definitely a sweet almond, like baking with almond extract, as opposed to some of the bitter almond blends. At first, that's all is it - and, honestly, I would've been happy even if it had never evolved. As it dried, though, the mandarin came out at the very tail-end of each sniff, just a hint of tartness to top off the almond. Fifteen-ish minutes later, I can finally pick out the Snake Oil base, which tones down the almond and gives it a cozy sort of feel, like sitting on the couch in your favorite sweater and sipping a cup of almond tea.

 

It doesn't seem to last terribly long on my skin, but I fully intend to stock up on this enough that frequent applications shouldn't present a problem at all.

 

Mmmmmmm.

[twistygirl]

Mmmmmmm, ALMONDS. Beautiful delicious almond blended with lovely resinous myrrh. I don't really pick up any mandarin as almond is one of those scents that locks into my skin and knocks most everything else into the background. Which for me is a good thing, as I loves me my almond.

 

It does soften to a less purely-almond, softly spicy and absolutely GORGEOUS scent rather quickly. This is another masterpiece and one of my favorites of the Pit so far. I will definitely need more of this. Good throw and lasts a long time. Thank god I stocked up on Snowcake at Christmastime, as I now have another PERFECT almond scent to wear with it.

[Athenae]

When this hit my skin it was bitter, bitter almond, almost too sharp, like raw almond paste, but now it's settled into something rich, lovely and spicy. I think I need a bottle.

 

A.

[keltic]

in the imp ~ mmmm, almond and myrrh, making this the most interesting incense-y type scent i've ever smelled.

 

wet ~ almond. and more almond, and honey sweetness. oh, this is lovely!

 

dry down ~ the myrrh comes out more, actually holding a lovely incense note on my skin that usually does awful things to incense blends. the mandarin starts to peek out as well, giving this just the right balance of sharpness to the almond sweetness. pretty decent throw, allowing me to swoon in my own deliciousness. this is such a winner!

[themerrybaker]

Bite my Asp!! This reminds me of cookies baking to the extremes of crispness. Just smokey sweetness on me, no noticeable citrus. A comfortable scent that makes me want a cup of tea.

[LiberAmoris]

Asp Viper's like a sexy almond cookie! That initial hit of almond is really strong, but it fades quickly to a warm, marzipan-ed Snake Oil with the mandarin and myrrh rounding it out.

 

I wasn't expecting to like this as much as I do, as almond's one of those notes that kind of makes me queasy sometimes because it's so strong and sweet, but here it's perfect. A definite keeper.

[parrot_suspect]

This is sweet and almondy, but grounded by the base notes of Snake Oil. It's like taking Bastet and adding Snake Oil. I really like it; it's warm and comforting without being too "foody." My skin seems to really eat this oil up, so I'm going to try layering it over regular Snake Oil and seeing how that works.

[shelldoo]

in the bottle: almond

 

wet: sweet, i am detecting mandarin, and definitely almonds.

 

as it dries, it becomes more snake oily, but retains the almondy quality. sweet incensy, almondy, spicy...gorgeous.

[Loligo]

At first the mandarin and the strong, sweet almond jostle with each other, but then they blend -- unfortunately -- into something that smells sort of like baby wipes yet sort of masculine. WTF? Later on it all turns to a plasticky sweetness.

 

Considering that Snake Oil is great on me, and that the Snake Pit scents don't have any of my known deal-breakers (like jasmine), I am really not having great luck with these.

[sofaking6]

At first, I get marzipan. A little too foody for me, but I can already smell the resins and spices gathering force. After a few minutes, I just fall in love. This is like a point midway between Bastet and Snake Oil. It's extremely luxurious, and layered. The incense is muted and sweet, the mandarin is not sharp at all but rather just gives a little shine to the blend.

 

This is the only Snake Pit oil that I got a bottle of unsniffed, and I couldn't be more pleased. And now I can't WAIT for the other decants I have coming! I really wonder about aging it since it's so great already.

[wolfie13]

In the botte: Almond! And a bit of spice and a bit of Snake Oil.

 

Wearing: For the first 30 minutes or so, still a lot of foody-spicy almond. At this point it reminds me a lot of Port au Prince. (I even tried them on together for comparison. But after this point the scents diverge dramatically)

 

Just after 30 minutes: The almond calms down. It never goes away completely, but stops being so overtly sweet and foody, and the myrrh really begins to make itself known, amping up the incense aspect of the blend and Snake Oil is coming more to the fore. I never get the mandarin as an individual note, though I'm sure it adds to the blend nicely.

 

Conclusion: This one is a real surprise! I actually like it the best of the Snakes I've tried thus far (though that's only 4 - I have 4 more coming) which I would not have expected. It's another snake that I feel the notes really combine to create something new.

[kakiphony]

In the imp: High, but dry (rather than sweet) almonds with a citrus tang.

 

Wet on skin: The almonds are dryer and deeper (more toasted) smelling than they were in the imp. They're the dominate note at this point with the citrus being detectable only when I hold my wrist to my nose. The citrus isn't quite as sweet as the mandarins found in Chinese chicken salads. It smells more like a tangelo to me.

 

Early dry down: As this settles on my skin the almonds get drier and more toasty. It's almost a desert scent at this point. The mandarin is almost completely gone in the backdrop of hot almonds.

 

Late dry down: After about an hour and half the myrrh has made an appearance and the mandarin is completely gone. What I'm left with is a the hot, dry-roasted almond smell paired with a slightly bitter/herbal myrrh. It no longer smells edible to me, and instead seems very regal and sand-swept. I get the feeling that this is something with which an Egyptian priestess might have been anointed. It makes me feel very poised and unattainable. I like it, but am not sure if I need a bottle. I'll have to see what the boy thinks of unattainable and mysterious...

[gingersnapp]

Yes. Snake Oil. Almond. This is soft and warm and delicious.

 

I washed with Lush's almond buttercream this morning, so I am just a sexy almond cookie this morning.

[Emma2403]

In the bottle: oh waw, it smells just like amaretto. And while I love drinking amaretto, I’m not sure I want to smell like it!!

 

On my skin: rich, creamy almond. Some spices maybe. But no mandarin. Where’s my mandarin, dammit?!! I smell like a marzipan cake, now!

 

After a couple of hours: ah, I get some citrus now… it marries very well with the marzipan, er, I mean, almond head note.

 

Verdict: I have to try again. I wish the mandarin would show a little earlier, because the first hour of marzipan meets amaretto meets almond cake is a bit too sweet for me.