Temple Viper

[alsatia]

Snake Oil with sugar cane, frankincense, champaca, opoponax, labdanum, and hyssop.

Expectations: A cacophonous mix of incense. It might blend beautifully, or it might give me a headache.

In vial: Sharp herbs and incense.

On skin, wet: Ew, unpleasantly herbal and something a little bit sweet.

On skin, dry: Sweet incense. A little fruity.

After time: 30 minutes later, the sweet fruity incense is the same. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I wish this scent was slightly more complex. The throw is fabulous though.

Conclusion: Really plain incense. It's nice, but not something that's going to make me smile when I get a whiff of it on myself later in the day. Edited April 21, 2008 by Alsatia

[whisperingmachines]

In the bottle: Ooof, this is strong.

Wet: Uh oh. HONEY. I amp honey and honey doesn't like me.

Dry: I walk out of the room and my suitemate exclaims "OH MY GOD! I smell apple strudel! I want some!... wait, that's your perfume isn't it?"

 

Spicy and warm and not too Snake Oilish, but that's okay because it works nicely on its own. Now Saw Scaled Viper, that's another story...

 

EDIT: A few months later and my imp is even better now that it's aged a bit!

 

It has that nice, sweet incense and resin smell that I like in scents such as Death Adder and Snake Charmer. I actually think it smells a bit like Snake Charmer before it completely dries. This is really beautiful.

Edited July 26, 2008 by whisperingmachines

[voodoocatwoman]

Oh, yes indeed.

 

This has been aging since 10/07. I definitely get the fizzy grape soda that others have mentioned. I am also picking up something that reminds me of Play Doh right out of the can (which is not a bad thing). I also smell powerful vanilla.

 

I really like it. A lot.

[anardana]

I really wanted to like this one because I like Snake Oil and I lOVE frankincense, but this just smells like an even sweeter Snake Oil, which is a bit much for me.

[Scanmike]

Not bad. No sign of snake oil, however. I do get a touch of that grape soda scent, but it's not artificial smelling. I think I much prefer Boomslang and Death Adder. Will give it another go before I decide.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Golden and resinous Snake Oil.

 

Immediately on skin: This is very resinous and a little sharp. It’s a golden scent, but it’s quite bitter at the same time… like frankincense and burned sweet resin. The champaca is coming through as well. The Snake Oil is there, but it is overpowered quite a bit by the other notes.

 

After a few minutes: This is a very strong scent. The champaca is very strong, but it is blended nicely with the frankincense and Snake Oil base. It’s not an overly sweet blend, which I was expecting due to the sugar cane. Instead, it is rather resinous, flowery, and deep. Everything blends smoothly together and it’s very pretty. The Snake Oil adds some creaminess to the scent.

 

Overall Impressions: I really like this blend, but the champaca is rather strong. The other scents blend seamlessly together, and the end result is a flowery, golden, resinous scent that is just lovely. I already have Khajuraho as my go-to blend for champaca, but if I didn’t, I’d buy this one for sure.

[milo]

I find this scent very reflective. It does indeed smell like something from a "temple", and I know this isn't going to make sense, but to me it is neither masculine, feminine, or gender neutral. I could imagine a priestess wearing this, in a candlelit temple, very serene and beautiful. The snake oil is definitely in the background, but mostly I smell what must be the champaca and frankinscence. This lasts pretty much all day on me, and again, I can't really picture a season in which this would wear best. You could wear it anytime, but then again it shouts out "No, not at this time" Very mysterious.

[meeow712]

Temple Viper is my absolute favorite snake, and I will be hoarding several bottles of this.

 

In the bottle: It definitely has a strong Snake Oil presence, but with a sweet incensey quality. I get mainly frankincense, champaca, and sweet sugar cane. The labdanum and hyssop are there in the background.

 

On me: A bottom layer of Snake Oil with sweet incense blooming on top. Still a very strong frankincense, champaca, and sugar cane presence....but now the other notes come out to play with them. Opoponax and labdanum blend in with the frankincense to make it even more incensey delicious, and sweetens it up a little more. The hyssop gives the blend a touch of herbal goodness, but not overwhelming.

Love!

[tativa]

i didn't get any incense or snake oil... in fact after temple viper was scared to try snake oil until the lab frimped me with it.

 

temple viper was grape baby powder on me

 

went right off to swaps so it can be properly loved by someone with different skin chemistry.

[greenranger]

Resin. Frankincense and something else I don't know yet.

 

Sweet incense. For a moment there was a note or a clash of notes that I wasn't sure of, but, it was just a moment and the scent seems to be settling into resinous beauty on my skin. This is a complicated resin scent on me. Very interesting.

 

I like.

[nekogrrl]

This smells a bit dry and herbal in the imp. I already tried a frankincense oil earlier tonight, and am curious how this is going to smell. On skin, it's very herbal and incensy. I don't think I particularly like this type of scent. Doesn't do much for me, and I liked King Cobra better.

[Lavada]

*screams* DIMETAPP. THE PURPLE POTION OF DOOM. *is bracing herself for the blow of the cleaver on her arm*

 

No, wait, wait... now I'm getting sweet incense over the typical Snake Oil nasty. I'll keep my arm for now, but I do not care to have this snake in my house.

[lilacea]

Wet, this is super resinous and oh boy, is it sweet. I get something like jasmine once it goes on my skin, then the patchouli starts to show it's head. Once it warms on my skin, it is warm, sweet, resinous, deep and very oriental, very head shop. I think I detect some tonka or something similar here. The dry down is like a lot of the other snake pits, with a little more emphasis on nutmeg and vanilla (I don't know if I'm imagining this or not, most of the snake pits I've tried don't wear very well on my skin and tend to get washed off after only a few hours). Champaca gives it a warm, sweet, almost effervescent quality. For lovers of sweet incense.

[iiinterstate]

This definitely has the incense note I LOVE in Midnight on the Midway, and it doesn't turn into scented toilet paper after a few hours.

 

I really don't get a whole lot of the SO spicysweetness in this blend, but its there, and it goes with the incense surprisingly well. Think I'll stock up on Temple Viper instead of MotM!

[gingiemay]

Wet in imp - Spice and frankincense.

 

Wet on skin - Some of the sugar cane sneaks in.

 

Dry on skin - Spice, frankincense with a sweet tinge. It reminds me a little of Cathedral, but with a bit of dragon’s blood in it. It’s a sexy scent.

[zankoku_zen]

I have to say that the sugar cane is fairly prominent with my skin chemistry in this blend. This is like a sugary, incensey version of Snake Oil. More resinous, sweeter version of Snake Oil.

 

If S.O. is your type of scent, I would say that I quite like the sweeter version in Temple Viper. S.O. and I have never gotten along, but this is still quite nice.

[CreamyJade]

In the bottle: Something in there reminds me of Midnight on the Midway, but less flowery. It's delicious, and incensy.

Wet on skin: Sweetness, frankincense, something herbal behind.

Dry on skin: Ahh, there's my beloved Snake Oil! It plays well with the other notes.

Final thoughts: Wow! This is definite love! I've tried many of the snakes, and this one rates on top, along with King Cobra. I'll need another bottle before the Carnival leaves! <3

[Czarina]

Reviewing the very same imp reviewed above by Zankoku Zen!

 

In the imp: sweet Snake Oil.

Wet: sugar, incense, and herbs.

Drydown: plain Snake Oil (not necessarily a bad thing). Okay, maybe a little sweeter than usual.

 

Not so much different from regular Snake Oil to justify rushing right out and buying some IMO. However, not unpleasant.

[jizatt]

I think it's the champaca here that I love, but I also get quite a bit of the sugarcane. Its sugar sweet, but in a plant way, not in a grainy candy way.

[Lamia]

Fresh, it's complex vanilla with murky touches.

 

Drydown, it becomes sweet vanilla with fruit - Cyborg says "You smell like Pez!" and while he agrees that it's not candy store sweet, but rather fruit sweet, he continues to call it Pez. However, he also said that he likes it. So yay!

 

After reading the reviews above I can say "okaaaay, maybe grape soda maybe, if I think about it." But it doesn't leap our and shake me crying GRAPE JELLY DAMN YOU, GRAPES WITH SUGAR! for which I am heartily grateful.

[Dark Alice]

The champaca really helps calm down the snake oil and frankincense is just yummy!!! I think I will need yet another bottle of this from the Carnivale before it leaves town!!!

[Iceblink]

Midnight on The Midway + Snake Oil--this is beautiful! Sweet and incensey. I'm starting to think champaca is a full of win note on me, always. One of the better Snake Pits I've tried.

[vikitty]

This is what I had been hoping the original SO was! The sugarcane cuts out so much of the spiciness in the vanilla that I hated in the original SO -- leaving behind a yummier version of SO.

[femmefatale]

Absolutely beautiful, sweet (but not too sweet) incense. It's the incense in the box, not while burning. There is no smoke in this, which is fine with me.

 

It reminds me of the funky, eclectic shop I used to work in where we sold some really good, high quality incense and candles. It had the most delicious smell. Whenever I would walk in I would take a deep breath and smile.

 

I need multiple bottles of this.

 

 

Oh, and no grape soda for me.

[crazyredhead17]

In the imp: Very slinky incense

 

Wet: Incense

 

As it dries, the sugar cane comes out and makes it a very sweet scent. It takes about 10 minutes for the incense to extract itself from the sugar.

 

It's pretty, but.. before I put on the blend my nose and sinuses were clear, and now I'm all congested. It's pretty, but it's giving me the same reaction I get from incense of the unlit variety (once burning, the lit stuff gives me different woes).

 

It's really really pretty, but I'm going to have to migrate to the bathroom to wash it off and blow my nose.