Snake Oil

[Nicnivin]

By far, our most popular scent! Magnetic, mysterious, and exceedingly sexual in nature. A blend of exotic Indonesian oils sugared with vanilla.

 

I really wanted to like this scent. I've read so many positive reviews about it that I figured I'd give it a try when I got it as a "frimp" in my last order, and it just doesn't work at ALL with my chemistry.

 

Although my signature scent is Velvet, which has cocoa vanilla in it, the notes that are strongest on me are the myrrh and sandalwood, and woods/resins work really well on me. Snake Oil... makes me smell like a vanilla cookie rotting in an incense-filled brothel. It's cloyingly sweet, and the exotic spices, on me, give the impression of a wilted Nag Champa stick.

 

I couldn't wash it off quickly enough.

[RayneofCastamere]

Ah, the infamous Snake Oil. I'm excited to finally be able to try out this one.

 

This is a brand new bottle and I've heard it really transforms as it ages, so I might review this again in like a few months or so.

 

-In Bottle: Warm, spicy, sugary vanilla. Very nice.

 

-Wet on Wrist: A little mustier than was expecting. Not in an unpleasant way, though. It's a good musty, if that makes any sense.

 

-Dry: It's turned into Alice. Didn't see that coming. It smells like Alice does on me, at least the Alice in the frimp I got. This is NOT a complaint as I love how that smells on me. It's got a touch of spice to it, but it's still mostly Alice. Absolutely lovely.

 

I really like this. Can't wait to let it age a bit and see how it develops!

 

EDIT

 

One month later and presto change-o, Snake Oil's transformative power has come through!

 

A nice sweet and spiced vanilla, ohhhh so very nice. Add one more to the Snake Oil aficionado pile.

Edited June 12, 2015 by RayneofCastamere

[Malaena]

I have tried and retried Snake Oil. I think it's time for me to accept that it doesn't work for me. I have an imp of the aged version and it is vanilla powder, very strong vanilla powder. It's a shame because it smells so amazing in the vial!!! I'm still going to keep it so I can use it to scent things that aren't my stupid, stupid skin.

[Inscrutable]

So that's what the buzz is all about!

I get a lot of aromatic tobacco leaves and flavorful smoke, from this. I can't place what it reminds me of but it is uncommonly beautiful.

I don't get the baby powder thing, just an enveloping haze of far away smells, tambourin music, burnished lights and silky tactile feel.

Can't. Get. Enough. Of. This. Stuff.

Lasting power: easily all night with plenty more to spare by morning.

Need a full bottle. NOW.

 

... And just my luck: There's something wrong with the order/shopping cart/supply whatever, so I can't place an order.

*flips table*

 

 

ETA: While browsing in the Lab, I found Vintage Snake Oil from 2009 and decided to order 2 bottles. Oh, happiness...

Edited August 1, 2015 by Inscrutable

[marilyn eyre]

ooooohhhhh my goooood

 

i didn't like snake oil much when i first got an imp, but i knew it should age so i let it age for a few months

 

holy mother, it smells f-ing amazing. i can't tell if it's brutally sexual or warm and comforting.

 

I NEED MORE

Edited July 26, 2015 by marilyn eyre

[Teamama]

Had to build up to reviewing the legendary Snake Oil. I got my imp in my very first lab order, and duly waited 4 months to try it. It's warm and wonderful, with lots of subtle resins backing up an excellent sugared Vanilla. I have a bottle on the way, 'cause it's superb.

 

HOWEVER, I am one of the minority on whom SO does not smell at all sexy. Teapapa and my kids all say I smell like a cookie when I wear it. This is not a "sexy cookie," with fishnets and pasties that look like glittery sugar cookies, and a naughty spatula, This is straight up vanilla sugar cookie, like us Scandi types have with coffee.

 

So, all you SO sex bombs out there, good for you! And for any other SO cookies out there, don't worry, there's lots of other BPAL to be sexy with .

 

2022 update: Aged SO is more my jam than fresh, but I don't wear it often.  It's mostly spicy vanilla on my skin. I wear SO variants (Western Diamondback especially,) more often than straight SO.

Edited January 11, 2022 by Teamama
2022 edit

[LizziesLuck]

So way back when I first tried BPAL, I of course tried Snake Oil, as one does.

 

My notes from back then indicated that I did quite like it, however there was this weird, almost medicinal note that was throwing me off and keeping my from enjoying it fully. I must have swapped that imp, and never bothered with another one.

 

 

Fast forward 10 years later, and everyone is crazy for aged Snake Oil (sure wish I had kept that imp!). I found a forumite selling 5 year old imps, and I decided to try one.

 

I get it now. That medicinal note is gone. It's smoother, richer, and altogether sexier. This is fantastic, and I will be getting a bottle to age, and in the meantime, enjoying the aged oil from this imp.

[Katlastrophe]

I got my very first imp of Snake Oil today, and I have to tell I'm not a very seasoned BPAL user and this is my very first review.

I don't know much about notes and the way to find them in different blends, but I will try to describe what my nose found in this little SO.

In the imp:
The first thing I get is MINT, not green, but a sweet, soft candy sort of peppermint.
What.

Wet:
Warm wood, like the insides of a antique wooden cabinet that you store linens in or a sun-warm veranda with some crumbs of peppermint candy(my "BPAL mother" thinks it's the patchouli that goes "mint" for me, she might be right).
Fresh and bright with a calm and "round" background.
If there is any vanilla, I can't find it.

Drying:
The "mint" has calmed down(but i'ts still there), and now my nose finds saffron. SAFFRON?
It's not the typical saffron scent, but exactly the same way a Swedish saffron bun tastes, soft and warm saffron baked in a wheat dough.
On top of that, it reminds me of a cool wooden sauna, the way it smells before you turn on the heater.

Dry:
Finally a bit of a vanilla peeks out and makes a little difference.
Now, this is a super cozy scent.
It is nice, calm and does not make a lot of attention, but it's perfect for cuddling with tea and animated movies or such things.

Overall, I think it's a quite boring scent right now, but I know that Snake Oil gets better by time, so I'm going to "forget" it for a year and two and come back for it again.

[ShowOrchid]

One of the reasons I love fragrance so much is that it smells differently on everyone. I love the warm vanilla scent of this with the spices. I'll have to pick up a bottle of this down the road, but I'd love to know how old the tester I tried was, considering everyone tells me it smells lovely aged.

 

I loved this and I'll definitely revisit it.

[meadow_fabulous]

This smells like a subdued O on me, even after two hours of applying. Parts of it almost smell berry-like, perhaps it's the vanilla with a certain spice (peppercorn? cardamom?). Kind of syrupy, but not cloyingly sweet, which is great because sweet amps on me like whoah. Mysterious indeed

Throw is great! I'd take a bottle of this if I got the chance.

[roseus]

Okay I wasn't overly impressed with it, but I was too excited to try it and only waited about a month to break it out. I'll give it some time and see how I feel about it in a few months. Overall it was nice though! A sugary vanilla, with a little patchouli and spice. I find patchouli a hit or miss and I really liked it here. But I'm hoping the blend will get the deepness I was expecting with time.

 

 

ETA: after giving it a couple months I am ready to sign up for the fan club.

Edited May 29, 2016 by roseus

[d0gbones]

In the imp: sugary, earthy, spicy.

 

Wet: More sweet vanilla and some background spiciness.

 

Dry: Lovely mix of vanilla and cinnamon, reminds me of Bastet, which is one of my favourites. I'd been backwards and forwards on this for ages after reading reviews, but there were two frimps in my last order. May well buy a bottle now

[russetfox]

Got this with my TAL order as a frimp. I sniffed it that day and could not stand it, so sat it aside and went on to other smellies. a couple weeks ago I sniffed the imp again and noticed it had gotten a bit better. I was messing with my stash organizing and what-nots. I decided to sniff this again and found something quite appealing to my nose. I went ahead and swipped some on the back of my wrist and my wrist was kinda a light brown yellow color for a couple minutes tell I rubbed.

 

Wet: don't really get much, can slightly pick up on the herbs with a little spice poking up its head. Drying: The herbs settle down and the vanilla starts coming out and playing nicely with the spice and herbs. I put a very small amount on and am not getting any throw, but this is defiantally going to be a bottle in one of my future orders, maybe many so I can stash them away with Do Not open till ... stickers on them

[lexyOZ]

I bought a bottle of this unsniffed since I'd heard so many great things. I've got a 4 year old bottle of Womb Furie so I assumed I would really like Snake Oil.
In the bottle it smelled a little bit acrid so I thought I'd just stash it away for a bit to age.
2 minutes later I'm slathering a bit on just in case it does something different on skin and wow, is this ever a treasure!
Wet: very heavy on the patch, heavy and spicy.
Dry: a gorgeous vanilla comes out and blends perfectly with the spices. My skin has a tendency to turn sweet notes dark and smoky so YMMV with the quality of vanilla you get from this. On me, it's very slightly sweet, quite soft and lush, but not foodie. It's almost a blackened vanilla. My nose isn't sophisticated enough to pick out individual spices other than the patch, but I think there might be clove and maybe nutmeg? Whatever it is, it's really well blended and fantastic.
I know aging is supposed to make Snake Oil better, but I don't think I'll bother. Given how dark my skin turns it already, I'm not sure it'd be worth it and I quite like that sharp herbaceous quality at the start. I love that aging it is an option though for those with different tastes.
This is a best seller for a reason.

 

Edit: You know what? I have totally changed my mind. After 3 months of aging, this stuff is THE BOMB. Way better than fresh and I really liked it fresh. It is just so smooth, yet packs a punch. I love a lot of different indie perfumes, but I think this is probably the first one I've wanted to buy a backup of.

Edited March 23, 2016 by lexyOZ

[jedimermaid]

This is a smoky vanilla that I absolutely adore and has been the favorite BPAL scent (so far) of all my coworkers. (I work at Lush Cosmetics so they know scent! lol)

 

Warm vanilla smells do GREAT with my body chemistry so this one is just perfection.

 

It starts off sweet and smoky, like a dark vanilla incense. I really like it because it evokes memories of my favorite Ren Faire, the Georgia Renaissance Festival.

 

After a while, it lightens up to where my husband likes it more. (He loves vanilla but hates incense. Uh oh. ) He much prefers when I wear EAT ME from the Alice in Wonderland line.

 

I got this as an imp so I'll most likely be buying the whole bottle. LOVE IT.

[joopjoop]

Of course I had to try an imp of Snake Oil in my first BPAL order.

 

In the bottle and when I first put it on I smell delicious vanilla and some spices as promised.

 

When it dries down the vanilla retreats somewhat and the spice comes out more. It really smells like an expensive market stall in Indonesia or Malaysia!

 

Dry/later - ugh, this scent seems to get stronger and stronger on me and the vanilla is amping up and becoming very sweet. I'm not digging it and the joop-man is not a fan. It starts to give me a headache and I have to wash it off.

 

I really wanted to love this - I love food smells and I haven't had any luck with the foody scents from the lab so far. I think that I need to face the fact that while I love vanilla, vanilla might not love me back.

 

Oh well. I'll age it as many posters have suggested, and try it again in a few years.

[kscha2017]

Didn't think I'd like Snake Oil as I generally don't like "spice" anything and I got it into my head somehow that this was loaded with spices. Finally after several years, I ordered some, just to try it, see what all the fuss was about. Fresh bottle, right from the Lab, it's ambrosia for the nose, nasal Nirvana. In the bottle I got marshmallow-rootbeer-patchouli. On my skin I got Rice Krispie bars made by angels. It's glorious. It's not what I expected. It's not "me" at all. But yes! Yes! I will be wearing this. I am a fan. I will buy more.

[Sue Dribben-Dickson]

I ordered a bottle & it smelt oddly familiar. During the first year, I applied it a few times and whatever it was reminding me of was not a good memory, so it sat and sat. I came back to it 2 or 3 years later and either I worked out whatever it reminded of or it morphed because I fell in love with it. It is definitely thicker and darker from when I first purchased it. The men in my life smell something sweet when I where. My teenage son will ask "what smells so good", then he gets embarrassed when he finds out it's mom. It makes him want baked goods, like cookies.

 

I don't smell the sweetness my son and hubby do. I wonder what Indonesian oils make this up, because as I find scents I like, I review the ingredients and then look to find other scents with similar notes.

 

I think I need to purchase a spare to start it aging while I gobble this one up.

[Spaztic]

This was one of the first oils I bought from the lab, I figured that so many people loved that I couldn't go wrong.

When the bottle arrived I didn't not like it at all! I thought it smelled so medicinal without any of this promised vanilla, but I had read enough reviews to know to put this away for a few months and come back to it.

Everyone was right! The older it is the more I like it, it's one of my favs now! My bottle is now 4-5 years old and it's prized, loved and worn

 

I get a gloppy thick dark vanilla that's been spiced. The spices are like the kind you'd used to make spicy/mulled desserts and drinks.

It wears all day and has a large throw, I do get asked what I'm wearing with this one.

Love it and need to buy a back-up...if I can ease up on purchasing all limited editions haha

 

edited (again) because I need to learn how to proof read

Edited February 13, 2016 by Spaztic

[BeyondBad1313]

everyone knows what snake oil is, but i finally gave into the hype and swapped for a bottle. Wow it is exactly what it says it is. Slinky sexy vanilla, with lots of wonderful spices. It isn't my favorite, but I do still really love it. I have only tried aged snake oil so I can't say what new snake oil smells like on me, that is something to try in the future.

[porcelaincrypt]

Imp: Really strong, a little musky, cologne like. A bit masculine, not sure what the note smells like, maybe sandalwood, don't know, but some note that is common in mens cologne...and a hint of vanilla. I think this would probably smell very good on a guy.

 

Skin: On my skin I get more of the sugary vanilla, but it's sexy not sweet, and it is nice! There is a clear divide, each scent is strong and battling the other, on one end is the vanilla and on the other is the masculine smell. I like it and I can see why Snake Oil is one of the most popular scents, it is very intriguing. But at this point I don't think I would get a full bottle. The longer it is on my skin though the two opposing smells start to blend and eventually the vanilla starts to devour the sandalwood type scent. I now begin to like it even more. It really does morph into a gorgeous vanilla on my skin, potent but not overbearing. Maybe I'll have to rethink that large bottle thing lol...on one hand it is a strong scent...walks a fine line of almost too much..on the other hand, my god, that vanilla smells amazing...hypnotic and intoxicating! Vanilla is one of my favorite scents so if you like it too you have to at least give this one a try and see for yourself!

[naflatem]

I am not good at picking out notes and individual scents but I will try to review as best I can. It is warm and spicy and round. I didn't think I would like it because I wasn't sure "spicy" was something I would like but I do and I like it a lot. It is exotic and deep but in a good comforting way. On me it is still spicy like patchouli or something maybe a little vanilla in there somewhere rounding it out. It is a little powdery but not in a choke you way. I smell the resins I think too. It is very good on me and I want my car and purse and everything I own to smell like this lol. I only have an imp as this was one I chose in my first ever BPAL order but I will definitely be ordering a bottle and soon.

[Kay Torres]

The first time I tried this scent it took on a Play-Doh/plastic smell that made me ill. But, I had a hunch that my special time might change it. So, I waited. And when I tried it again, let me just say, "Ooh!!" It's pure sex appeal... This smells like rumpled sheets and midnight romps. It's a skin smell - lushly vanilla, sugar, and oh-so-much-spice... I'm at that point where my happy time should come around again soon, so I added a few drops of this (around 5) to my bath and a few more to my lotion (about two for my entire body). Let's just say that I'm very happy that I'll be going away with the man tomorrow and I'll report his reaction... I'm hoping he loves it every bit as much as I do right now...

Edited April 9, 2016 by SunsetKay

[freyasfae]

This is my first time trying the infamous Snake Oil as a perfume! I have tried it (and used up all of it) as a frimp hair gloss, and Womb Furie from this year's Lupers is an absolute BPAL favorite of mine, so I am already biased towards this one. It's not for me as far as a perfume goes - I like how the honey in Womb Furie softens it, though I like it as a hair glass. It's definitely exotic, but the sugared vanilla gives a coziness.

[Candice Chen]

Womb Furie from this year's Lupers is an absolute BPAL favorite of mine, so I am already biased towards this one.

 

Exactly how I feel about Snake Oil.

I tried Snake Oil before Womb Furie, but I ended up loving Womb Furie more because I like how the honey sweetened and smoothed things over.

With Snake Oil, I kinda have the strange feeling everyone else likes it on me more than I like it on myself though. Compliments galore. People mentioned "baby powdery" a few times, but in the best possible way. Like it is intriguing and familiar, and they want to sniff more.

 

Out of the bottle, none of the "Indonesian spices" (I think I smell clove and patchouli in there; maybe even a little anise?) stand out particularly on their own; they meld together to create a vaguely spiced-incense vibe over the vanilla, which is very prominent and smells like smoky, dark, resiny absolute rather than the more recognizably-foody vanillin note commonly used in perfumes. (If you don't think you smell vanilla, it MIGHT be because you were looking for that sweet ice cream cookie cake vanillin.)

 

On the skin, it smells darker and more sensual up-close, and softer and more powdery-sweet to those smelling it some distance away. I also echo reviewers who mentioned Shalimar. This smells somewhat like the divine powdery-smoky amber-vanilla dry down of Shalimar in the extrait de parfum form after it's been on your skin a few hours.

 

Despite the compliments, to me this is sensual, not sexual. More a purr than a growl.

Edited June 13, 2016 by Nightphlox