Snake Oil

[dorothy humbird]

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

I wish Snake Oil had worked on me, but alas... no.

In the vial it smells pretty promising... something fairly sweet but mellow - vanilla with an undercurrent.

On my skin at the outset this smells vaguely medicinal and, to my nose, cloying although not overly sweet. Something about the combination of smells really goes plastic-woody on my skin and I can't stand it for the first 15 minutes.

Later the sugary vanilla has overtaken whatever was making me smell like wooden plastic, but now it's much too sweet.

Unfortunately I just don't think this is going to work out. My imp will be hanging out in a pile that I may end up swapping (if I ever dedicate myself to it).

[luna65]

Thanks to silverlilac for the imp.

 

Imp: I get the impression of resinous sweetness when I first sniff this, the Holy Grail. I immediately make an association with Smut, although I know this blend isn't specifically musk. But many notes which go into dark musk blends are definitely present.

 

Skin: I get that powdery quality which others have experienced; and the hint of Play-Doh.

But I can feel the vibration of confidence and command once it has sunk in, it's like a literal wave of warmth and purpose.

Eventually that evocation backs off to let the spices through again, giving more weight to the vanilla. Regardless of the actual impression, I do get the sense that this melds with the skin very well, it's sly rather than brash.

 

Drydown: From a more critical perspective, the popularity of this blend stems from the utilization of one of the classic olfactory dichtomies: sugar and spice. And I believe that given the spices utilized it's a truly innovative way to approach the equation. I will have to continue to experiment to see if there's one perfect day in which it will make me smell as sexy as the inherent promise of its' creation.

[lapetitefurie]

Imp: spice and cherries?

 

Skin: lots of spice; almost like wandering around the organic foods coop in town.

 

drydown: overly rich vanilla and...this is weird, I know...cherry Lifesavers. ::shudders:: I'm just not wild about vanilla and never have been. I had hoped the spice would balance it out, but no. It's just not for me. The ever wonky body chemistry strikes again.

[talula_fairie]

First sniff: Mmmm, sexy. Reminds me a tiny bit of Smut but without the booze note.

 

On skin, wet: Hmmm. THIS is the most popular blend? Smells like sour play dough. Or baby wipes (not even baby powder!). Something sharp and not pretty is overtaking the vanilla.

 

On skin, dry: OH. NOW I see why this is so popular. It dries into a very lovely, rich but not too sweet vanilla scent. Warm, soft, pretty, and very sexy. The vanilla is tainted with something I can't put my finger on, but whatever it is, it's wonderful. Very well blended and complex. Two thumbs up

[phedre]

I was lucky enough to swap for a very old imp of snake oil when I first started using bpal. The oil in the imp is viscous and thick, so delicious. It's what prompted me to run out and buy my first (and only) 10ml bottle right before they were discontinued.

 

When I got my new bottle of snake oil, I was... disappointed. It was nice, but not that thick, heavenly scent I fell in love with and I couldn't figure out why. After some digging on the forums, I realised exactly why: aging. That 10ml is now tucked away in my bpal box, aging merrily. After four months, it's already starting to deepen in that lovely snake oil manner. But I don't think it'll be ready for a long time yet!

 

From vial to wet to drydown, this scent is gorgeous. Spicy, sweet, and sensual all mixed together into a perfect blend. It's no wonder this is the best selling scent on the site! it's so complex and warm, with just a touch of patchouli to keep things grounded.

 

Snake oil is pure sex. Love it love it love it!

[Browneyes]

This is a rich, really warm and yummy vanilla! Not too sweet, just perfect. Rubbed off on my clothes it smells great too.

It's not a very complex scent on me at all, nor very spicy, but that might change with aging? Let's see...

I only got an imp of this, but I'm pretty sure I'll be getting a 5 ml of it down the line

 

ETA: ... or something from the Snake Pit

ETA2: it's a very "brown" vanilla on me if that makes sense. I just wish it had more throw on me...

 

Ok sorry but here comes another edit...

playdough - I now get the infamous playdough note from this too! I don't know what to do... there's still vanilla, but underlying the vanilla I now get the nostalgic (in a bad way) smell of my four-year old hands after playing with playdough... I really hope I find a way to wear this nonetheless, or that at least the Snake Pit oils might work on me...

Edited January 15, 2007 by Browneyes

[girl_android]

My first encounter with Snake Oil didn't begin very well - the poor imp cap had decided to start decapitating itself, for no other reason besides ... it felt like it?

 

A bit of a decanting later (only have some little atomisers as alternative storage at the moment), and I have me some rescued snake oil. I have no idea of the age of the contents of the imp, but it's a lovely red-amber viscous oil, that didn't so much as spray out the atomiser, as just ... ooze out a bead.

 

I found out that a bead of this oil goes a fair way - this is potent stuff! While it's wet, I get vanilla, in the warm, cakey and teeny bit buttery sense, with a background of something spicy and faintly medicinal? Hmmm ... not sure where that came from!

 

Once dry, I'm walking about in a cloud of heady vanilla, something that makes me think patchouli, and something powdery-ish. I keep thinking, it's rather warm here, and I'm standing in the freezer aisle at the supermarket... Having said that, the outside temperature this evening was approaching something resembling sultry summer night, so maybe this was not the wisest choice as it just felt a little ... oppresive.

 

I like the idea of Snake Oil, I just need to give it a decent go when it's not so warm outside!

[DangerInRed]

The release of the Snake Pit prompted me to dig through my imps and finally give Snake Oil a try. I had been scared of it because of the patchouli in it. I'm not a big fan of patchouli. However, some of the Snake Pit blends sounded so nice, I just had to give it a try finally and see if I should spring for any of the blends (or discourage me from doing so).

 

That being said, Snake Oil is pretty nice. When I first put it on, there was this AMAZING strong, sweet note which I loved, but I think that faded away fairly quickly. Now I'm getting a powdery, sweet patchouli, but I don't mind it. There's something about it which makes it nice to smell (the vanilla, I'm guessing). It hasn't suddenly become my favorite oil ever, but it is nice, and I think a lot of the Snake Pit blends will temper the patchouli and make it even more lovely.

 

In conclusion, I think Snake Oil has cured me of my patchouli aversion!

[tempestteapot]

Well snake oil doesn't do anything for me. I think the patchouli is too much in any form for me. The vanilla is nice, but I prefer some of the other blends over this one.

[Lionesse]

Got my hands on an imp of snake oil, and the verdict is.... LOVE it. Its nice on both me and hubby =)

 

*edit* After about an hour, I started smelling baby powder around me. I was wondering why, then realized it was ME. Everywhere I put Snake Oil, smelled like baby powder!

 

YUCK & DOUBLE YUCK!

 

What a terrible thing =(

 

Lionesse

Edited January 10, 2007 by Lionesse

[Analise]

I can see why this one is popular, it is not, however, my favorite. I do rather like it, and it certainly seemed when I wore it for the first time the other day that several gentlemen of my acquaintance were fond of it as well.

 

However, since several people have mentioned Snake Oil needing aging, I think I'll give it a while before I try it again, just to see.

 

But the basic verdict is: you probably can't go wrong with this one. Tasty.

[Dark Sparkle]

I have to say that Snake Oil did its own little weird play with my chemistry. I initially bought this oil as a decant off the swap board just out of curiosity as it seems to be THE definite bpal oil.

 

Alas, I got disappointed and, as you may well imagine, frustrated because I did not get the dream scent that so many have been getting from this oil. I mean, I love vanilla, I love incense and spice and patchouli - it should work with me

 

I have tried it for a week now, stubborn as I am, and all I got until today was baby powder with a plastic vanilla note sitting on top. Then today, I put some Snake Oil on my wrist and rubbed them together, and voila: Spicy patchouli vanilla goodness! Now I just hope it will behave itself on my skin because this is just hoooey

[maribouquet]

 

Oh sad sad disappointment. It's not you, SO, it's me.

 

Aged, fresh, you just smell like play-dough.

 

I'm so sorry.

[kawaiiferreto]

When I first put this on I was a bit underwhelmed. My fresh from the lab imp when wet, and in early stages of drydown, smells almost identical to the sweet muskiness of the drydown of Smut and I already bought a partial bottle of Smut that will last me forever. However, three or four hours later . . . OMG. This is gorgeous! The vanilla finally came out to play and the musk and spices fall more into the background. I'm assuming as it ages this stage is going to come sooner and last longer; I can't wait!

[waternight]

Just to point out, the Snake Oil that I tried was a gift from Bard, and he told me that it's a vintage bottle from 2004, so this is quite aged.

 

In the bottle: Sweet and spicy.

Wet/Drydown: STRONG. Spicy vanilla, with the vanilla getting stronger as time passes. Ok, it settles down quickly so it’s not so strong. I almost smell a boozy note, though that could be because it’s so old. A little drier – there’s a sticky sweet smell that I associate with the way honey interacts with my chemistry, and that’s not a good thing.

Dry: Had to wash it off, it was too heavy and cloying and overly sweet. Not for me.

 

I think I'm going to order an imp so I can try it fresh.

[alliekat13]

Ew, I do not like Snake Oil. I was terribly dissapointed because I ordered a 5ml unsniffed because vanilla is my absolute favorite note. But the vanilla in Snake Oil is completely overpowered by whatever other notes are in it. It's kind of cloying and sickly sweet and the exotic oils are going crazy on my skin and everything just ends up smelling like B.O. with some sort of perfume over it. Icky, and totally unsexy. I already gave my bottle away.

[Eemia]

This smells so good on me! I like vanilla notes but I hate that generic quality that so many vanilla fragrances can have. Also, I steer clear of foody or overly sweet vanillas.

 

This is warm, deep, rich and full of spice. The perfect intense vanilla blend. Only a dab goes a long way too...my boyfriend can smell this one across the room when I wear it on my wrists. This is my most commented upon BPAL fragrence. Needless to say, I'm thrilled it worked with my body chemistry and I'm glad I have a 5mL in this one!

[GoldenRubee]

I received this as a gift imp and liked the spiciness of it. I could smell the vanilla, which I normally don't like, but was pleasantly surprised when I applied this. It lasted all day and my husband really liked it too! He told me to "go place an order" for a few things (who am I to turn down such an invitation?). A hundred dollars later .......

[Mamacat]

Snake Oil doesn't seem to work on me. I'll keep the imp and try it again later. I wish I got just a little more vanilla out of it.

 

I'm still trying some of the snake pit though!!

[laslibres]

Snake Oil does distinctly different things for me depending on the time of the month. *cough* So I feel like I should review both of the ways it smells.

 

During my period, I tend to amp resinous and incensey scents. I don't know why, I just do. 'S weird. So when I put Snake Oil on at this time, I smelled like a headshop. I also got the dreaded baby powder note that other reviewers have bemoaned, only because of the super incenseyness, it was slightly BURNT baby powder.

 

However, now that I'm about halfway through my cycle, Snake Oil is amazing! It's still resinous, but the vanilla is more dominant, and it's a lovely natural vanilla, not fake or overly sweet. It still has a sort of incense/patchouli base, which makes it really sexy, but no headshops or baby powder to be found. It's a perfect spicy+sweet scent...and it's this good now, less than a month after arriving from the labs, so I can't wait to see what this'll be like when it ages.

[roxyhead]

Warm, sweet, yet sensual instead of foody, and I can't stop sniffing myself.

 

I find this scent hard to describe, I don't seem to be able to smell the vanilla properly in any of the blends I've tried, yet I smell it in those that don't contain vanilla, but I'll take other people's words for it that the sweetness is coming from that. I can't identify any other particular spices, either, or the patchouli that's supposed to be in there.

 

I don't care. I like it. *sniffs wrist*

 

Ahhhh...

[quarble]

It's been about ten minutes, and all I'm getting is spicy Play Doh. I really hope this goes through a dramatic and delicious metamorphosis soon, because I wanna wear Snake Oil, dammit! The whole point of this imp was to smell sexy x 100000, but instead I smell like a kid with some ginger snaps and a bunch of blue goop.

 

It also kinda stings my wrist a bit. Uh oh.

 

[edit] Wait, wait, it's changing! To baby powder. Luck is not on my side with Snake Oil.

Edited February 9, 2007 by Canpake

[asciident]

Got this as a swap (thanks again jesvet!). This imp is just starting to age; I believe about 4 months old.

 

Wet: A strong patchouli perfumey scent.

 

First on: The oil is thicker than anything else I've tried before, but from what I've read here that's what S.O. does as it ages. I'm mostly getting the Indonesian oils in this. Patchouli is pretty strong still.

 

Dry: S.O. dries down into a sugared oil blend with a warm glow of smoky vanilla. Not at all what I expected out of it, but it's surprisingly nice. Unfortunately, my boyfriend seems to think I smell like hand soap. Specifically, he said "you smell like my hands after I wash them at the Safeway gas station bathroom." Why he can be that specific, I have no idea. =P

 

I'm getting the Snake Pit soon, so hopefully S.O. mixed with other notes will remind him less of bathrooms. Heh. I'd also like to give fresh from the Lab Snake Oil a try, too.

[wikkidraven]

oh snake oil, how i've missed you!

 

my friend was generous enough to give me a couple of aged imps until my 10ml arrives...snake oil was in the pack of imps i got when i was first introduced to bpal, but the lid was faulty and, despite my best efforts, it spilled during my move. snake oil is amber, vanilla, and gorgeous spice rolled up into one of my favourite bpal blends...i hope that after a bit of time, all of the snake pits will be as lovely.

[nikkoblue]

Fresh snake oil, only worn becuase my son picked it out of my BPAL box and insisted I wear it (he has very good taste):

 

Wet: mmmmmmmmmm non spicey resin, heavy vanilla.

On my arm, this starts off heavy on the baby powder vibe, but a baby powder with an extra shot of madagascar vanilla and some yummy patchouli and amber. After an hour some spice starts to peek out from under the vanilla and amber. Gorgeous, strong throw, I think if I'm loving it now I'm be adoring it in a year.

I'll use my imp for now, and my 5 ml will age......

 

I bought 2 bottles of each snake pit i got; i think I'll age 1 of each of them....it'll be interesting to compare them, and to see how the aged snake oil smells with all the other notes.