Western Diamondback

[Teamama]

Snake Oil with leather, tonka bean, red sandalwood, and sage.

2016 WD: Delicious is right! Snake Oil, Tonka, leather, and sage are prominent; red sandalwood is in the background. So satisfying! Tonka & Snake Oil are an ideal pairing; serpentine sweetness coiled around a leather, sage & sandalwood base.

WD feels warm and sweet, which is just right for a fat ole Diamondback coiled up basking in the sun near some sagebrush. I love WD the animal, and I'm glad I got a decant so I could fall for WD the fragrance. I wish it lasted longer on my skin; after about 4 hours WD is just a sweet hint of SO.

Western Diamondback is a real pleasure.
Edited to add: one year later it is even better! Smoooooooth. Edited August 8, 2017 by Teamama

[Casablanca]

2016

 

Bottle: This is the most Snake Oily of the snake pit blends I've tried so far. The SO is right there, just warmed and made more rustic by a lovely soft leather, tonka, red sandalwood and sage combination.

Wet: First impression: Snake Oil bundled in soft, tan leather. The tonka seems to merge well with the vanilla in the SO, and the red sandalwood and sage add some hot, arid plains. The whole is soft and subtle, though -- this isn't a scent with a punchy sillage by any means.

Dry: No change. Lasts for less than a half day before I feel like I want to re-apply. (That's a lie. I want to re-apply as often as possible.)

Lovely lovely scent.

[Lunasariel]

In the imp: Not as Snake Oil-y as I was expecting. Yeah, the SO is definitely there, but the sweetness is cut by leather and...sandalwood, I think? And maybe sage, but for me sage is more often an accent than a main player, so I'm not awesome at distinguishing it. But there's a brisk sort of freshness here that I hope will carry over to my skin - something that will make thick, sultry SO wearable for summer.

 

Wet: Oooooh, now that's interesting! Hardly any SO at all - leather and sage and dry sandalwood, with some soft tonka for sweetness. The Snake Oil is only a subtle accent, making what would otherwise be a very dry blend just a little bit juicy and androgynous-leaning, instead of straight-up masculine.

 

Dry: As expected, it becomes softer and sweeter, but stays largely itself. The leather is still dominant, but the tonka puts in more of an appearance, as does the Snake Oil (although it still plays a secondary-at-best role). The sandalwood is also much softer and less...woody. It blends with the sage wonderfully to provide a soft, herbal, resinous edge that helps to temper the sweetness of the tonka and SO as well as the leather.

[milo]

This one is quite different than my superaged bootle of WD, even though I dont think there was a reformulation. My old bottle is an even mix of leather, tonka and Snake Oil with a touch of sage. Oddly, this seems more Snake Oil heavy and at first, slightly sweeted more by the tonka. More sagey and slightly soapy than the older bottle, but I still ike it immensely. You really cant go wrong with a Snake in my books. I predict it will become smoother and more rounded. Curious to see if this is going to remain sage heavy or develop onto the more leather/tonka of my aged bottle...

Edited June 27, 2016 by milo

[torikitty]

Wet: Too much leather for my taste. There's a slight hint of the sweetness of snake oil, but I feel like it's being held back by the leather.

 

Edit: to be fair, after more drydown, the snake oil is coming out to play more. The tonka seems like it might be there to help even out the sweetness of snake oil.

Edited August 28, 2016 by Carrie

[LizziesLuck]

2016

 

Wet: You can absolutely smell the Snake Oil in this, which I like, I found a few of the snakes pits I couldn't even detect it. This smells like a sweeter snake oil, so far. So maybe the opposite issue, I can't smell the sandalwood or leather at all.

 

Dry: This is glorious, but Snake Oil is glorious, and right now I am not sure how different the two are on me! I need to do a side by side. I will say this is a softer, more rounded Snake Oil, more like aged than fresh, and I am loving wearing it. I may pick up a bottle, even if they are really close - one can never have too much Snake Oil!

 

ETA: When I tried this a second time, I could really pick up the differences - the sandalwood and Tonka really made an appearance. I need a bottle of this. It's gorgeous.

Edited December 31, 2016 by LizziesLuck

[Lucchesa]

Wet on me, Western Diamondback is an even sweeter Snake Oil, which was not what I was expecting from dry components like sage, leather and sandalwood. So, tonka, leather and Snake Oil at first, and it's gorgeous. Like SO on me, it has a little throw (and I rarely get much sillage). If you like these ingredients, you can hardly go wrong here.

 

The sandalwood and sage help keep the balance, but on my skin they stay well in the background. Gradually the leather and friends fade away and I'm left with Snake Oil, which does not last as ridiculously long on me as pure SO does. I will be retesting this but may be heading for a bottle purchase. So delighted I got to try this!

[ShleepySnorlax]

To my nose, on me - sage from the garden, sweetened by snake oil and tonka, with soft warm white leather. I can't detect sandalwood, but it may be giving the snake oil some extra smoothness.

 

This is unisex, I think it could be wonderful on anyone, skin chemistry permitting. It reminds me of what Claire (snake oil), Owen (leather, sage, tonka, sandalwood), and Blue (leather) might smell like if they weren't running through a muddy jungle in Jurassic World.

 

Very comforting and alluring.

[torischroeder9]

In the decant: Snake Oil, leather, sandalwood, and tonka. 

 

On my skin:

 

Wet, I get Snake Oil and a considerable amount of sage, with an undercurrent that is either leather or sandalwood (or both). As it dries, the sage recedes a bit until I get Snake Oil plus dry, dusty leather (that's partly the sage's effect), smoothed and mellowed by the tonka. This is legit like Snake Oil hanging out in the Old West. Given some time to warm and develop on my skin, the sage makes a partial comeback, so it's clearly detectable over the leather. 

 

This is a very dry Snake Oil variant on me, so I'm not sure how much practical wear I'd get out of the scent. However, it is a perfect encapsulation of what a Western Diamondback version of Snake Oil should be. 

[doomsday_disco]

The first time I tested this, I thought, "Snake Oil Root Beer!?", which, while that was something I was down for, I knew that probably wasn't right. So I decided to hold off on reviewing it until I got to retest it.

Western Diamondback smells like a lovely aged tonka-infused Snake Oil in the decant (which says it's from 2018). It goes on that way, too, but my skin chemistry seems to amp the sage for a while, so that it's very sage-y Snake Oil until the leather joins the party. The leather in this is a smooth, well-worn variety that complements the sage very nicely, and I am really enjoying the sweetness that the tonka brings to the scent.

 

I have so many Snake Oil variants in my collection already, and since I already own a bottle of Snake Skin, I probably don't need to rush off and buy a bottle of this just yet, but it is really lovely, and I am so glad that I was able to try it. The decant is a keeper for sure.

Thank you to the lovely forumite that gifted this one to me.

[bkwy.aesthetics]

I have yet to experience Snake Oil on its own, but the SO blends are out of this world. This one is no different, and features some of my favorite notes (leather, tonka, sandalwood.) This is a dry, dark, and sweet scent that has great wear time and good throw. 

 

In Bottle: Smooth and sweet! Tonka bean and vanilla are the most detectable notes on the opening. This opens up to a dry, earthy musk that leans more masculine. 

 

On Skin: Sage and sandalwood amp, drying out the scent and giving it a woody, dried herbs quality. Sweetness is still detectable, but much softer than in the bottle. 

 

Dry Down: Becomes softer and sweeter as you wear it, but the scent profile remains mostly the same throughout.

 

Wear Time: 10-12 hrs

 

Throw: Medium; about 8-10in

[Estamets]

This is extra-vanilla-y snake oil rubbed onto soft brown leather, in a landscape of desert sage. 
 

The sandalwood is there in late drydown, but it reads as dry, fresh desert air. 
 

This beautifully evocative of my Southern California desert home, and I need to always have a bottle. 

[Nemo]

The first time I tried Western Diamondback, I hadn't let the scent settle after arrival. This, after some time to settle, the scent is very different.  In the bottle it is..a strangely ambiguous scent. I almost think I smell a hint of lavender in there, though I think it's really the clary sage, reminding me of a long-gone lavender-sage blend I loved. On: Almost at once, it's a glorious bloom of clary sage, amber, vanilla. A warm and generous green-golden scent, like the sunlight through the leaves.  It gives you a little while to luxuriate, and I use that to spend as much time huffing my wrist as I can.

 

  The drydown is more gradual, though not very slow. Golden sunset light slowly fades to a soft and dusty whisper.  Maybe a bit of leather but I suspect it's just the musk of clean skin and a hint of the spices from the Snake oil. It's mostly imagination, though, as the throw is very slight, and the duration isn't long. I don't mind, as I have a nervous dread of being someone who bathes in perfume. It's a lovely evocation of my time in Arizona, both loving, and feeling very much like a stranger in the desert.

[monocainsheresy]

Sweet, herbal, powdery, little bit of Snake Oil. Very nicely balanced, so much so that it doesn't read as a Snake Oil blend unless you get really close. Oddly enough this reminds me a lot of Lush's Twilight/Sleepy, even though I don't consciously notice the tonka. Fresh, sweet, and slightly warm. Extremely similar to Dee.

[dancingchair]

Wet, this is mostly vanilla and tonka, very creamy smooth. As it dries, I get more sage and dusty sandalwood. The leather adds a warm, soft backdrop, like the feeling of stepping into a hot dry summer day. I don't get much of the Snake Oil spice. I think it's lurking under the sage, adding a tiny bit of flair to the whole scent. This seems very easy to wear. I really like it!