Habu

[naeelah]

Snake Oil with ho wood, teak, black musk, and bamboo.

In the bottle, this is surprisingly sweet.

Wet, it has a strong watery sweet note, which I suppose is the bamboo. Unfortunately, this fades really quickly on me, so before long, I'm left with pure snake oil. The wood notes really comes out on the drydown. After a while (30 min or more), the black musk begins to come out of its shell, which is typical for my skin chemistry. After a couple of hours, I primarily smell Snake Oil enriched with black musk. I think I can detect some very faint woody notes, but the overall effect is of straight Snake Oil.

I'll hang onto the imp to see how it ages. I love the dry down, but since the bamboo note goes away quickly, I'm not sure if this will be a success for me.

ETA: 3 months later

My imp is beginning to age nicely! I'm very pleased with how this scent is growing. I like it much, much better now and may need a bottle. It is still very sweet and watery when wet, but in a richer way. The bamboo sweetness seems to linger a lot longer, and mingles beautifully when the wood notes emerge, which is early in the dry down. The black musk is very smooth and rich, and never takes over. It just provides a nice backdrop throughout the scent's life.

This time, I never get the sense that all of the 'extras' evaporate and leave plain old snake oil.

It's been a couple of hours, and the scent is very woody snake oil enriched with soft black musk. There might be a hint of bamboo, if I look for it. I definitely recommend this snake to anyone who loves wood notes (if you like Snake Oil, of course). My skin doesn't always do well with wood notes, but teak seems to be one that works.

If you're looking for a more masculine Snake Oil, give it a try. If you're a lady who likes dark musk, give it a try. (This is very much unisex.) If you try this one fresh but aren't quite sure what you think of it, AGE IT! This one definitely improves with age.

Edited October 19, 2007 by naeelah

[Ilex]

I had high hopes for this, but they weren't met. I'd really love a spiced bamboo scent, and I love woods. There was a little lemon edge to the Snake Oil, but the extras really couldn't compete with the vanilla note of the original Snake Oil. It went vanilla toffee with a quick shift to strong plastic putty smell on me with nothing else between (I just don't get along with BPAL vanilla, for some reason). Sad.

[cranberry]

I remember when I first got this decant when this Act was first released, it reminded me strongly of the Asian themed moons from earlier this year – Holiday Moon and Dragon Moon in particular. Very fresh and green.

 

Now, after it’s got some age on it, the bamboo is still strong initially, but it burns off quick and I’m left with a light, sweet Snake Oil. It’s strongly vanilla, sweeter than the original. The musk is there too adding a sensuous edge to this scent.

 

I really like how this scent has aged and I am so tempted to get a bottle.

[alicia_stardust]

This definitely reminds me of Holiday Moon and Dragon Moon; I really think it's the bamboo but the teak and ho wood probably add to the asian feel of it. The black musk sort of creates a slight note of discord among the rest of the blend, but this is a good thing. I think it works in this case.

[squirrelmonkey]

This is one of my favorite snakes -- I love the ho wood note in this, it's very strong and dry, and perfectly balanced by sharp green bamboo. I expected it to be sweeter, but I don't get much sweetness out of it. Wood and bamboo alternately recede and come to the forefront, and I keep getting whiffs of both. After 3+ hours the bamboo fades and the wood remains as a tiny whisper along with the calm, subdued snake oil. Normally, I don't wear woody smells, mostly because they end up evergreen-like on me, but teak and ho are wonderful.

[Trish]

At first it's quite a strong and sharp woody green (I'm guessing that's the bamboo along with the teak) with just a hint of vanilla buried way underneath. Gradually it softens and eventually settles into Snake Oil with slightly green and woody overtones. Interestingly the throw was pure Snake Oil from about the 10 minute mark.

 

I like this, but not sure if I like it enough to bother about a bottle. The decant is certainly a keeper though!

[Catmint]

After reading the first page of reviews for Habu, I was convinced my decant was mislabeled, but then I saw 2 people mention a cocoa note, so maybe I just got a really nice batch, or this (frimped) decant came from a well-aged bottle.

 

IMP: sweet, warm and chocolately. No grass or bamboo or any greenery at all.

 

WET: this smells like the love child of Candy Butcher and Snake Oil -- dark cocoa, warm spicy vanilla. Absolutely delicious!

 

DRY: goes through a phase of smelling smoky and tobacco-ish, but then the smoke evaporates and leaves a warm spicy vanilla scent, like a vanilla version of Candy Butcher. It's much sweeter and mellower than plain Snake Oil, which I didn't get on with at all.

 

I'm totally in love with this -- but I'm scared that if I order 5ml, I'll get a batch that's all sharp bamboo and it won't smell anything like this.

[mspixieears]

A greener, fruitier Snake Oil upon initial application. I can definitely smell the black musk as it begins to dry, and the Snake Oilness gets dominated by all the other notes. Very breezy and masculine, I love it and would also like to use as a room fragrance. A deeply refreshing scent. It doesn’t have an amazing amount of throw and is a warm, comforting scent as it dries down though retaining the greenness it initially has at beginning. An hour later it smells exactly like Snake Oil.

[theseagrows]

i just want to say i am continually amazed by the snake pit scents. i am not a big snake oil fan, but so many of the snake pit scents are doing me right habu is one of them! this is a gorgeous, warm, musky, sexy scent. i can't really pick out individual notes, but i can smell the musk the strongest. it is not as murky as black musk usually is, however. in the beginning there is a sweet fruityness (bamboo?), but it fades quickly and i am left with a gorgeous warm musk. this may have to be a big bottle purchase.

[maribouquet]

imp/wet: I smell the bamboo! Very fresh. Plus a sweet, fruity sort of wood. Nice!

dry: sexy - rich, almost chocolaty in texture with no hint of powder.

 

I'm digging this - it is a little masculine, and Snake Oil has a tendency to turn on me, so I'll have to test it some more over time to be sure that it works and I like it.

[Gwydion]

In the bottle, surprisingly sweet, almost chocolaty with a strong musk scent. Surprisingly womanly and seductive, very femme fatale. On the skin, the vanilla really comes out. I like the way the musk and wood blends with the snake oil scent. It smells delicious, like sweet tea and sex.

[Torrain]

In the imp, rich, soft, and sharp—Snake Oil with black musk and the juiciness of bamboo.

 

On my skin, the sweetness of the Snake Oil and the wood and teak notes start coming out. 3 min: the wood's faded somewhat, and I'm getting that pale packed sweet smell of Snake Oil and a hint of bamboo.

 

5 min: Oils and vanilla, and not really picking out anything else.

 

10 min: rallying if faint appearance of something woody and the faintest hint of black musk. 20 min: the faintest trace of wood, still, and the oils. I think I've lost the vanilla, weirdly. Nice enough, but bland.

 

30 min: the musk can't decide if it's barely there or not there at all. Still the oils and the very faint wood.

 

An hour in, I've got the oils from Snake Oil. No vanilla, and the wood could be my imagination. After about half an hour of that, I get the *very faintest* hint of musk drifting in, but it's barely noticeable and doesn't stick around.

 

On me, this just seems to be half of Snake Oil. It's a shame, as it's got lovely potential for someone with the right skin chemistry, and I was really hoping that the bamboo would come out.

 

Love and coffee,

Frances

[moderngypsy]

I'm thinking that Habu must be one of those bottles that either a) varies between batches or changes significantly with age.

 

The reason for this is that I have a decant of this from an old batch, and I *love* it. Perfect mix of sweet and spicy and woodsy, all in one. Deepens on the dry-down and lasts forever -- I can seriously smell it the next morning.

 

Then I ordered a bottle, because I was starting to fall into that perish-if-it-is-not-mine category.

 

The bottle? Lemon. Lemon and *something*. But Lemon. No spice, no deepness, no woods...just, *lemon*.

 

I'm hoping, after reading this thread, that a three-month aging will take this back to the imp's richness, because it's possibly my favorite of all time.

 

ETA:

 

So here we are, two months later, and after letting it sit and doing the famous roll-to-mix a few times...I'm almost back to the way it smelled in the (much older) imp. I'm probably going to let it rest and age for a little while longer, just to give it a little more time to develop, but I'm definitely pleased with where it's going.

 

Now if I can just talk myself out of ordering the whole Snake Pit, life will be good and largely ramen-for-dinner-free.

Edited April 8, 2008 by moderngypsy

[hkhm]

bottle: very green, pretty sure it's the bamboo i'm smelling...

 

wet: bamboo and musk. there is a bare hint of snake oil in the background. this is definitely one that will have to age a bit.

 

dry: bamboo with very light musk. i like it okay now, but am looking forward to how it might age.

[Honeygirl]

Bottle: Snake Oil with bamboo

 

Wet: There's something very green and fresh but still so sexy, which isn't two things I associate together.

 

Drydown: This is very sexy but at the same time, very spring-like. I like it so much and currently have attached my nose to my wrist.

3.5 outta 5

[SarahScent44]

In the imp, this is almost fruity.

 

On my skin - I can't explain this - it's very light, and I don't get any sense of the woods; the foundation of the scent is almost chocolate-y.

 

When it's dry, it's so interesting - I don't get any of the scents I'm expecting. I'm passing it along, but it's truly fascinating.

[lainevierge]

Wow, this is the first time I got Play-Doh from a BPAL oil. Luckily that does not stick around. What began as lemony Play-Doh turned into a lovely woodsy, slightly fruity, amber spice scent. Nice enough, though I don't think it will be one of the Snake Pit scents I get a bottle of.

Edited March 27, 2008 by lainevierge

[arabella]

First Impression: Snake Oil, Mint and Benzoin.

 

Dries down to: Snake Oil and Teakwood.

 

Additional Comments: This isn't particularly woody or musky. I can't really pinpoint what this smells like, other than that it's very dry. It's not bad but neither does it do anything for me.

 

Lasted: A couple of hours.

 

Rating: 2 out of 5

[lilacea]

Wowsers, wet this is so bright and startling. The ho wood adds a camphorous, almost citrus like note, juicy bamboo lifts this right up there as well, the snake oil is barely detectable at this point. But the dry down on this is the best, the snake oil is there, the musk just amping it a little, and all those wonderful top notes have lifted it just slightly. It's pretty, but still sexy. A touch fruity (which I'm not too keen on).

[alsatia]

Expectations: Meh, probably won't like it. I don't care much for wood scents, and it's a rare musk that works on me.

 

In vial: A little bit citrus, and some kind of furniture polish, maybe? It's a strange scent, and not one for which I can easily find a description.

 

On skin, wet: Woods, but they're soft and pulpy and wet.

 

On skin, dry: A slightly faded version of the wet scent, with a bit of lemongrass.

 

After time: After 35 minutes, I'm noticing a bit of the Snake Oil. It blends pretty well with the additional notes, and I'm getting good throw.

 

Conclusion: This is quite a bit better than I expected from the description. Not sure I like it enough to keep it, but I wouldn't have a problem wearing this again.

[voodoocatwoman]

My Snake Pit decants have been aging for 7 months. This is the first time I have tried Habu.

 

in the imp: Snake Oil and wood.

 

wet: there IS a little bit of cocoa here- definitely not like Boomslang, but just enough to add a little sweetness. Oh, man, am I being reminded of a perfume from my childhood... I just can't remember what it is or who's wearing it.

 

Dry: This is one of the sultriest and sexiest fragrances I have ever sniffed in my entire 52 years of life. It purrs like a kitten but reminds you at the same time that a lioness lounges nearby. God bless Snake Oil.

[FandF]

lemon, woody, berries, fruit, YUM wet; it's getting light and very green on dry down. green light a young piece of twig that you are stripping the bark off of. I love this scent. Good all the way thru.

[jentifer]

With black musk and teak as components, I was expecting this to be somewhat dark. It wasnt' at all. I think the bamboo really lightens and brightens it up. And adds a nice wetness to it. I sort of picture shopping in an unfinished furniture store.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Snake Oil and melon?

 

Immediately on skin: The bamboo is very fruity and juicy… and very green and bright as well. I can sense the wood notes too… they’re mingling with the warmth of the Snake Oil.

 

After a few minutes: Fruity green Snake Oil. The bamboo note almost reminds me of cucumber… it’s watery and green, but not GREEN. It’s not overly sweet either, which is nice.

 

Overall Impressions: To me, Habu is Snake Oil, just not as sweet and creamy. It’s a drier scent but it still manages to be brightened up by the bamboo. I think I would recommend this one to people who prefer something a little less sweet than the original Snake Oil.

[greenranger]

Wet, I smelled the bamboo.

 

Drying, the black musk is coming forward and sweetening like it usually does on me. Then it fades and leaves room for the woods?

 

This one is interesting. I suspect it will last pretty well on me with all that wood. It's still light and fresh. Spicy light wood, and it is still a refreshing scent.

 

I'll have to see what it does over time, but, so far my skin really likes this one. On me, this is a really good scent for hot days and iffy air conditioning.