Sugar Plum Snake Oil

[Seajewel]

• No additional description.

[HerbGirl]

Please understand, this is freshly delivered and I ripped open the box, sniffed and promptly applied. I couldn't help myself!

 

First, I will note that this bottle is not as full as normal (a bit under the bottom of the shoulder) but there's plenty to wear, lol so I'm not too sad.

 

In the bottle, yup, it smelled like Bordello. No joke. I'm pretty sure this is THAT plum. It is gorgeous. On, this seems to be a perfect blend of the new Snake Oil and that dark, sugared plum. Wowza is this beautiful. After about 15 minutes, the plum becomes a bit more prominent - juicy, dark, sweet and with a touch of the tart skin! - but the Snake Oil is still there. 

I have a feeling this will age well and am so glad I got a bottle. 

 

ETA: I forgot to remark how beautiful the label is!!! 

 

04 Jan '22 My review remains the same after a bit of settling - it is dark and gorgeous plum and the new snake oil. 💜

Edited January 4, 2022 by HerbGirl

[wolf_truffles]

Snake oil sugar plum fairy! Snake oil is leading but with lots of purple candy fluff. Plum is very sweet. A very feminine scent. It's fun! Nothing dark or sinister about this plum at all, and the snake oil is playing nice. I really like this one!

[Numanoid]

Yep... there is that wonderful Snake Oil we all love and a hint of fruit! Agreed, the plum is sweet and it mingles well with the S.O. After it dries a bit, I get mostly S.O. with a dash of the sugar plum. This, to me, is actually not very sweet on my skin. This is a lovely and fun scent!! Will be interesting to see how this one ages!

[starbrow]

Very fresh, this is 100% grapey candied plum to me. The Bordello comparison is spot-on, minus the mustiness that Bordello in all its advanced age had to me (which made it smell past its prime). Sugar Plum Snake Oil definitely doesn't have that problem, it is fresh and bright-eyed and sweet sweet sweet. The plum is not at all the 2021 plum, except for the Marshmallow and Black Plum duet which had the same sweet youthfulness as its Snake Oil cousin here; there is no sourness, no bitterness, no 2021 jadedness, it's all joy and childlike wonder and Nutcracker Sugar Plum Fairy.

 

Even on the drydown, I don't get much Snake Oil except for a bit of patchiness that helps the sweet sugar plum linger for hours. I am thinking it will take some time for those classic spices and vanillas to emerge past the candy-bright twinkles of the plum. However, layering this with a darker patch scent (Lajos), it turned out MAGNIFICENT. Sugar Plum Snake Oil would make a beautiful fruity-sweet counterpoint to a dark brooding snarly scent that needs a bit of joy in its life.

 

I am definitely keeping my bottle and OH SO HAPPY that this is a 2021 plum that I can love. I think anyone who goes into this knowing that there's going to be a lot of sweetness in the early stages of this bottle's life will be happy, and the aging process should be exquisite.

[kaileycatface]

this is VERY much Snake Oil on me, with some sweetish plum? added in - mostly just Snake Oil, though (which tends to not work on me very well unfortunately) i don’t think i’ll be keeping my bottle, as even rested / aged i don’t think i would enjoy the Snake Oil part. 😆 (my own fault on this one!) 

[GoddesShel]

Definitely a Bordello relative, I LOVE THIS!    On me, it is very much plum forward, which is a plus, with just a hint of a dusty note. 

 

 

[Area51Fugitive]

The legends speak true!  'Tis the fabled plum of Bordello in this oil!

 

Seriously, as soon as I opened the bottle, that beautiful, beautiful plum was the first thing I smelled, and it was wonderful.  I've been guarding my frimp of Bordello like a dragon, so having something even remotely similar was a good portion of the reason I got this.

 

Despite the obvious similarities, this is it's own scent, however, and it's a lovely one at that.  The sugar plum is the star of the show, with even more sugar and some spice added from the Snake Oil.  This is a snake that loves fairy princess ballet costumes and purple candies.  Definitely one that focuses more on the sweet side of Snake Oil, rather than the sexy.  After a few hours, it's become very soft on me, but sooo pretty.  I got a feeling that this will age like a fine wine, too.

[torischroeder9]

In the decant: Much candied plum with a little bit of patchouli underneath.

 

On my skin:

 

Wet, I get an ultra sweet bubble gum note. Not sure where that's coming from, but it's very distinct and very powerful. As it dries, the bubble gum goes away pretty quickly, and it's back to very sweet sugar plum with a hint of patchouli.

 

Aaaannnd... that's where it stays. Phenomenal cosmic sugar plum, itty bitty Snake Oil. As a Snake Oil lover, I am disappoint.

[space girl lost]

In the bottle, this is screaming sugar. It reminds me a lot of Candy Phoenix as the sugar is so prominent. Though Candy Phoenix reads hot playful pink, this is juicy plummy berry Bordello purple. On the skin, the sugar burns off just a bit to let the plummy berry quality leap forward. It's still sweet, mind you, not spicy or dark as one might imagine with the Snake Oil name. That takes a while to emerge but it's there juuuust lurking in the background of the sweet plum as though it is ready to pounce should it ever want to. I imagine that this layered with some darker musky scents will be magnificent until it ages.

 

Definitely jumping to the top-tier favorites on my list. Instant love.

[dancingchair]

Plummy, but definitely sugar plum. It's so very sweet! I mostly get the achingly sweet sugar plum note. Underneath that, I smell Snake Oil. The vanilla from Snake Oil fluffs out the sugar plum note, moving it away from being pure candy. All of the musks and incense that come from Snake Oil are also there, adding intrigue and complexity. I like this and I'm interested to see how it ages!

[Casablanca]

Despite the sweet candy and grape qualities of the plum, there's a depth to this that I love --- a sensation that the plum sinks down and down into the dark vanilla woods and spice of Snake Oil. The blend has a longer life on my skin than most, and only seems to deepen as it wears.

 

I tend to think I don't need more SO variants, having so many --- but I'll need more of this one.

[maleficentsea]

This is lovely! I have never smelled Snake Oil, but I adore what's in this blend. It is sweet and sugary, but not cloyingly so, and there's a hint of deepness to it. I think it's going to age beautifully!

[Poenari]

I'm a huge Snake Oil fan and nothing will top the original. I have enjoyed many of the variants, but only a couple have been backup bottle-worthy. This is definitely backup bottle-worthy!

 

Upon first sniff and application, the scent is.... PERFECT! Snake Oil and Sugar Plum! Exactly as stated. It couldn't be more balanced between them on my skin! And it is super long lasting. The drydown remains balanced, with Snake Oil finally taking over as the plum fades, after about 2 hours. This plum note is sugary sweet, rich, and deeply juicy. The Snake Oil is more true to the original than the other recent variants. 

 

I read elsewhere that Beth doesn't actually use Snake Oil in the variants, which is why she can create them while the actual Snake Oil shortage remains. That she comes up with something that is so recognizable to blend with the other notes is amazing. 

 

Edited February 18, 2022 by Poenari
Grammar

[BoneBone24]

Wet: Plummy and soft. There's an earthiness balancing out the fruitiness.

 

Drydown: Sweet spices, creamy musk, a hint of resins, and a fleshy drop of plum. The notes kind of tumble around each other as it dries. Sometimes the plum sings, other times dark musk has a moment, and sometimes sugared earth takes the stage. They all play very well with each other. Candied, yet soft and musky. Dark, yet happy.

 

Dry: Something skews...off once dry. Like a mustiness sort of. After that, the blend flattens out, leaving a plummy, spicy, dusty musk that reads like a shadow of its former self.

 

 

7 out of 10 bones

[patina]

Snake oil's spice and depth is present, but the Bordello-ish plum is strong here. The plum has a bit of a waxy note, like lip gloss but it's powerful and pretty juicy too. Right now I'm wishing I had a Sugar Plum Goblin sample to compare, and to see whether the patchouli there blends better with the plum than these spices do. Don't get me wrong, it's good and I'm sure it'll be amazing after some aging.

[zankoku_zen]

Super sugary Snake Oil. Snake Oil basically went and threw itself into a sugar bowl and you're just slathered in this Snake Oil scented sugar body polish. If that is your dream, look no further. Medium throw and wear length.

[boomtownrat]

Snake Oil and Bordello were two of the first BPALs I ever owned, and I used to layer them on occasion. Sugar Plum Snake Oil smells almost the same as I remember that combination, which is great because now I might not need to hoard my precious 10-year-old Bordello bottle quite as extremely as I've been doing.  Sweet BPALs don't always work out with my skin chemistry, and sometimes they're just too cloying, but so far that hasn't been an issue with this one. It's bold, but not overpowering.

 

SPSO lasts all day, eventually fading into something similar to a mellower sister of Urd. When it gets onto my clothes, the Urd-like scent stays behind and it's just delicious.

[Little Bird]

This reminds me of Midwinter's Eve (cheerful, syrupy sugar plum that's bright yet thickly sweet) plus patchouli.  It's funny that Snake Oil on its own isn't patchouli-ish on my skin, but I smell this and immediately go, "Yes. Snake Oil's patchouli."  It's distinctly Snake Oily and I love the sugar plum with this earthiness and a bit of the sensual slinkiness from Snake Oil's vanilla and musk.  This is definitely one of the Yules that I'm considering hoarding multiple bottles of. 

[Jenjin]

Pink pretty Snake Oil all dressed up in heels and frills.
She's got a busy night stripping off veils for dollar bills. 
With a purse full of sugar
She shakes her tail with a fervor 

Making everyone swoon in the plum musk thrills.

Bordello and Snake Oil had a fairy baby

[Tamarinda]

In the Bottle: Purple candy?

 

Wet: Sweet purpleyness and other unidentifiable things that are nonetheless pleasant.

 

Dry: It's more candied plums than purple candy. There's also the miasma of something resinous, but it's not quite identifiable as a Snake Oil variant on my skin. I'm happy to have blind bottled this because whatever it is I'm smelling, I love it very much.

[LavenderCoffee]

I finally started appreciating snake oil this year, and I was fortunate to receive a sample of bordello, so I snagged this bottle just before the sugar plum alchemy lab closed up shop for the season.

 

It's a dark yummy plummy snek. Sugared, but less sweet than I had anticipated, and stays close. I get pleasant wafts of plum swirling and snaking around my personal space.