Kinda Sorta Snake Oil Cream Soda

[violetblue]

We’re running out of room at the Lab, and it’s been a long, long time since we’ve had a trunk show. When Brian and I were rifling through the prototype and snafu shelves a few weeks ago, we dug up two busticated Snake Oils – one that was a mispour of Lemon Scented Sticky Bat, and another involved an Aggravated Vanilla Incident – and we unearthed the very first Samhain prototype from 2002.

 

We don’t have time to do a full-blown trunk show right now, so we’re offering these three for sale. They’re in very, very limited quantity.

Fastest delivery ever! I snatched two of these the minute I saw the link up.

 

I got them today and immediately tested fully.

I am really scratching my head though. I don't know if my sniffer is off but I am not smelling the vanilla/cream soda like I had hoped. This is a sharper snake oil to me without the powdery, almost too sweet/cloying dry down I can get if I put too much on. Maybe there's some added carbonation dryness in this to make one think of soda pop, but this was not at all what I was expecting and shame on me because I should have known the lab would never make something that smelled so simple/one note (unless released as one of course!)

For a minute I even wondered if I got the lemon sticky bat snake oil instead by mistake due to the sharpness/almost medicinal scent, so I tested my 2nd bottle and it still smelled the same on me.

The odd thing is, if you just sniff the oil in the bottle, you def. can smell sweet vanilla/cream soda-ish oil! On I get snake oil, dryer, with a bit of a sassafras note and more stable, consistent dry down. I prefer new Snake oil to aged snake oil so I will probably keep using this and possibly swap the 2nd bottle to someone who maybe didn't have a chance to snatch this up and wants to have one.

I can't wait for more reviews!

[Ina Garten Davita]

Ordered Monday and it’s here!!! We all know that BPAL vanilla is the vanilla that Ina Garten is talking about when she says “use good vanilla.”

 

This is Snake Oil with that good vanilla with the volume turned way up!

 

Much lighter in color than Snake Oil on it's own and much thinner in texture. I'm very interested in seeing how this matures. I'm going to split it and cellar half. I can't wait to layer this with Tombstone.

[Larinessa]

Beth referred to this as a Fuck Up.

 

 

Oh, no no no no no...

 

THIS my friends, is serendipitous vanilla bliss with heady Snake Oil in a bottle. A true creation that was meant to be, Beth and Brian just weren't told.

 

In the bottle: the other posters are right, sort of hard to get the feel on this as it's reluctant to give its fluffy vanilla goodness there. Fresh opened, I got the spicy aroma if Snake Oil, and was vaugely reminded of my aged bottles of Boomslang and Death Adder. This Snake Oil is aged.

 

Wet: Yep, the strong Tang of aged Snake Oil, with a sudden cloud of OMG VANILLA. Fluffy, sweet, teeming vanilla. I wouldn't necessarily refer to this as Cream Soda, but it is VANILLA. No mistake on that.

 

Dry: Down on the skin, it's rich aged Snake Oil, with a massive Vanilla sillage. My skin even has the slightly sticky feel of aged Snake Oil. The throw is huge. The scent is a vanilla lovers dream.

 

Verdict: This is the bomb. But a bomb to wear sparingly, as it announces itself quite loudly. I need another bottle.

 

*Standing Ovation*

Edited October 27, 2018 by Larinessa

[brineydeep]

Pretty much what it says in the label: Snake Oil with a cream soda note.

 

The notes stay fairly true during dry down, though they mellow and meld a bit. This baby has Snake Oil’s usual “hello!!!” level of throw.

 

I’m not big on Snake Oil but I like this vanilla-ish variant.

[reynardine]

Pretty much exactly on target with the description. Snake oil with Cream Soda. And they play well together! Definitely Cream soda and not vanilla on my skin, though. My husband wasn't much impressed with it in the bottle, but he said it smelled wonderful on me. This one is a winner for sure!

[donkehpoo]

Wet: Pretty similar to normal Snake Oil, but a little bit sharper. Not getting much of a "cream soda" vibe to it yet, and not getting any of that extra vanilla.

 

Dry: Powdered Snake Oil with an extra touch of vanilla. Hm...

 

Since Snake Oil ages fabulously, I'm going to hold on to this and let it do its' thing. Right now, it's not knocking my socks off though.

[princessbeena]

My bottle smells like snake oil with lots of vanilla on top this stuff is the sh!t

[boomtownrat]

It's exactly like a spicy cream soda in the bottle. When I put it on, the cream soda kind of floats away after it's dry. Then it's like a softer Snake Oil that seems to disappear into my skin too quickly. I'll need to try it again when I'm not in a Halloween costume and have moisturized well.

[cassiejaynebunk]

it smells like drinking a cream soda ice cream float while wearing snake oil lol. it's exactly what it says it is.

[Poenari]

OMG keep f*cking up, because every time I try one of the "mistakes" I love it.

 

I adore Snake Oil fresh and aged and in-between. This blend is like Snake Oil lite on my skin. The "cream soda" smells like the vanilla syrup I ask to be added to my Diet Coke in restaurants. This Snake Oil variant will be perfect for wearing when I am in close quarters and not wanting to overwhelm people, but still need that whiff of Snake Oil for myself.

[VioletChaos]

I love Snake Oil. I love Vanilla. There was no way I was going to pass this up.

In The Bottle: Snake Oil and DELICIOUS DOLLOP OF BUTTERY VANILLA right on top!

Wet On Skin: I can see where the "cream soda" vibe would be , but to my nose, it keeps shifting away and more towards a french vanilla- AND I LIKE IT.

Dry Down: The vanilla becomes a bit more subtle and integrated. I'm definitely one of the masses that isn't a huge fan of fresh Snake Oil- I like my SO WELL aged (i.e. at least a year, and preferably more) o I will say that I'm super delighted to have snagged some, and I'm *especially* excited to re-visit this scent 12 months from now when it's had a chance to 'cook' a little more!

[JazzieCazzie]

In the bottle, I definitely got Snake Oil with a little effervescence of soda.

 

Applied to my wrist and in the crook of my arm, I actually got straight-ahead Snake Oil for the first few minutes (nothing wrong with that since my collection is pretty light on Snake Oil).

 

On drydown, it disappeared pretty quickly off of my wrist with just the teeny-tiniest bit of a can't-quite-put-my-finger-on-it spice (maybe cinnamon?) BUT in the crook of my arm it's Snake Oil blended with a deeper, darker, drier velvety scent.

 

Definitely a keeper ... especially knowing that Snake Oil ages so gorgeously!

[theshapeshifter]

It's like Snake Oil's (mostly) innocent little sister. The vanilla is in the foreground and it's generally more subdued in the throw than regular SO. Will be interesting to see how it ages.

[DianesTulpa]

Like a lot of people on this thread, I too smell a cream soda when i sniff the bottle. 

And maybe a little bit when I apply it.

 

But also like some have said already, the cream soda dissipates quickly and all i get is basically snake oil with cinnamon. I am starting to think I amp cinnamon, which is fine because i love that note. This is just not exactly what I'd been hoping for. This dries to a powdery SO with cinnamon and some vanilla in the background, but I'm not getting any cream soda after the the first minute or so.

[BathtubBarracuda]

Cinnamon. Sadly Cinnamon. I can smell snake oil and vanilla trailing behind the cinnamon but cinnamon is the star of the show when it comes to my bottle. I’m a bit disappointed because I’m sensitive to cinnamon but perhaps my loss will be someone else’s gain. Spice lovers should rejoice in this blend tho, it’s still stunning. 

[zankoku_zen]

This opens with a giant hit of vanilla cream soda, but quickly the Snake Oil spices reassert their dominance and I end up with a spiced vanilla incense, which I tend to associate with Snake Oil. Medium throw and wear length.

[LizziesLuck]

Being obsessed with both Snake Oil and all things vanilla, there was no way I was passing this up. I have put off testing it because I am one of those who actually can barely stand fresh Snake Oil. I am still thinking this hasn't been long enough, but I am dying to try it! Hoping it doesn't just smell like medicinal and dirty patchouli to me (aka fresh Snake Oil on me).

 

Wet: Yep, still a bit too fresh, but not so much so that I can't see how glorious it's going to be this time next year. The vanilla cream soda note is KILLER and I want Beth to accidentally dump it in like, everything. I get hints of spiciness that remind me more of a root beer or sarsaparilla than cream soda, but I do get a cream soda note too. I haven't had a cream soda in like, 10 years, so maybe I have also just forgotten exactly what it smells like. Either way, love this!

 

Dry: Once dried I this almost doesn't need any more aging to be glorious! It's not as strong on me as straight up SO is. The spicy vanilla dry down is fantastic. I love it. Can't wait to see what it smells like in 5 years time!

[milo]

Hmm, this smells like fresh Snake Oil, rather than something that's been in the trunk for years.  I'm not complaining, though, this is 'The Awesome'.  I'm getting the (fresh) Snake Oil, amped up with a lovely vanilla reminiscent of cream soda, but without the cherry, but I don't really get the cherry flavour in the pop either, so go figure.  I love this, very true to the description, and so glad I took a chance on this one.  It has jumped right up to my top five for sure.❤️

[AirimirOfGondor]

I just recently discovered my love for Snake Oil variants (I actually have not tried regular SO yet 😱). I love the Frostbitten and Pomegranite variants, and Snake Skin.

 

That being said, I unfortunately don't think this one's for me.  It's nice enough in the bottle, though it is a little too sweet for me. On my skin, I expected it to mellow out a little, and it did a smidge, but then I noticed the cinnamon coming out to play. And so did my skin. 😢 I got those itchy red patches and had to wash it off immediately.

I would go for a scent locket, but I wasn't too keen on how it smelled where my shirt touched it either - it's mainly lightly sweet cinnamon, and a little powdery, but actual SO notes aren't sweet enough for me. So for me, it loses a big something when not on skin, and since I can't wear it, that makes me sad. 😔

[Just Kitten]

I just got a bottle of this in a swap hoping for a more vanillaii Snake Oil. I put it on one wrist side by side with 2016 SO on the other wrist. They were indistinguishable to my nose the whole time they lasted. I like Snake Oil so obviously I like it but just as another bottle of SO. 

[quetzal]

I was really excited to get this as I love Snake Oil, cream soda and vanilla scents.  Sadly all I get is strong cinnamon, and after an hour I can barely smell it.  I'm going to try it on different days as my skin chemistry changes through the month..and try aging it.  I really want to love it but cinnamon overpowering everything just makes it boring to me..and unfortunately I amp cinnamon with many scents.