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As others have mentioned, this is very very Midway-esque to me.. DP has a more buttery vanilla about it, and as ifinena said it seems "thicker", but really they are so much alike!

 

Putting aside the Midway doppelgänger phenomenon, this is an absolute must-have for any fans of soft creamy vanilla. When I first put it on, I thought I detected something brown in there, like crème brûlée (which I just saw Iceblink also mentioned) but the vanilla was definitely the predominant note. It goes a little plastic-ish around the edges at about the 10-minute mark, but thankfully that phase passed quickly. After 45 minutes on my skin, it's dried down to more of what I was expecting - melted vanilla icecream. This, to me, is just right - it's not too sweet, not too buttery, perfect-o.

 

There's nothing putrid about this at all, it's delicious!

 

ETA: when I was wearing this today, two people said they could smell popcorn

Lou, you're a mad tool

 

Awww.. you say the sweetest things

 

sqwook is very wise, those are some good suggestions. I would definitely second her on the Eden, it does have a similar "feel" to Bastet.

 

 

 

 

Do you know how old your Bastet is? I've found that the almond really mellows out with age - when I compare a fresh imp of Bastet with my old bottle of it, there really is a big difference.

 

I can loan you my super secret Almond Note Removing Machine™ but if you tell anyone how it works, I'll have to kill you.

 

*runs away before you can slap me*

 

 

Wowsers - this is a skin stainer! The oil in my decant (a surprise frimp from Stargirl - thank you!) is very dark brown, and it's actually left my skin a little sticky.

 

At first I get lovely warm spicey chocolate, like a rich liquer kinda smell. That initial warmth fades pretty quickly and it dries down to a powdery spicey chocolate. A very interesting blend indeed, very sumptuous and feastly (that is *so* a word!).

 

This was a surprise frimp from the very lovely BloodyDuchess - thank you! On my skin, this is a lovely bright and golden citrus with underlying tones of pine and herbs. It does have an invigorating quality about it. I shall enjoy wearing it, and hope that some of the qualities for which it was designed are enhanced in me

When this first hits my skin, it's pink bubblegum - just like everyone else here has said. But it's not *like* pink bubblegum, it's an absolute dead-on smells exactly like pink bubblegum. Remember when you were a kid and you'd put way too many pieces of gum in your mouth and end up with a huge big wad of sticky pink goo that made your jaw ache to chew but you did anyway because it was so yummy? That's the smell.

 

After a few minutes, it does this weird thing on my skin and develops a menthol note that's not quite unpleasant but not real nice either. But that only lasts for a few moments and then goes away - very weird. The bubblegum doesn't come back quite the same after that though - it's still there, but it's mellowed a lot now. Then I realise I can smell cinnamon - not strong, and not as spicey as cinnamon usually is - this is peppery, but quite smooth.

 

After about 15 minutes , it reminds me a bit of Midway.. but with bubblegum. And although the bubblegum was far stronger and "bubblegum-y" at the start, I like it now that it's smoothed out. It doesn't stay on my skin for very long though - within less than an hour it has faded to a point where I can barely tell where the oil was.

I love love love the 'weenie labels this year!

 

Ooh, me too! They look appropriately evil

 

Thanks you guys for sharing!!

 

 

 

This is gorgeous, yes - it is like baby powder, but I *like* the smell of baby powder! There's more to this than just baby powder though, I know there's something else going on but I can't really describe it.. it's just clean, and nice. I will definitely be getting a couple of bottles of this, it's strangely comforting and just very pleasant without having any particular "smell" about it.

This is a really nice musk - not as deep and mysterious as Creature Feature - on me, this one's quite a sweet/clean kind of musk. It's quite pretty - I would agree with a previous reviewer who said it's "ethereal" - I have to lean in quite close to really get a good feel for this, and there's definitely something lying underneath but I don't think it's anything scary

 

Well.. unfortunately this is a floral version of baby shampoo on my skin. It's quite warm and slightly waxy, but.. shampoo. I was not expecting this, I'm looking for the incense and oud and benzoin and "darkness".. nope, can't find 'em.

I won't be needing a bottle of this - it's nice, but not what I was hoping for.

 

At first this is kinda fizzy, and I thought it was strawberry. After it dries down a little, it's definitely not strawberry - it's citrus, but I can't say exactly what kind of citrus - just.. "citrus". I think it may be grapefruit, but there might also be a slight bit of lime in there. I wouldn't say it's sweet - more like tart, but not in a sour way.

 

This is a very 'fresh' scent, not at all what I was expecting from spiced space fruits and tentacle goo.. I guess I thought it would be more dark and sinister but this is actually kinda pretty, in a weird alien fruity kinda way

MmmmMmmmMMmmm braaaaaaaaaaains!

 

Gooey squidgy raspberry jam! It goes on that way, and pretty much stays that way after going through a slight spicey phase for a minute. Yummy!! I just had a really big huff of it on my arm, and it made me sneeze, but in a good way

This is nasty. N.A.S.T.Y. I didn't sniff this from the imp, I just put a dab straight on my skin. Then I leaned in for a sniff. Then I nearly vomited. Seriously. Then I went and scrubbed it off. And scrubbed it again, until it was all gone. I know I should have waited to see how it dried down, but I just couldn't stomach it.

 

I've never really encountered a smell this bad, so I'm not sure how to describe it. And it only stayed on my skin for about 8 seconds. But the brief whiff I caught was something like what I imagine might be the result of blending raw meat with and motor oil then leaving it in the sun outside for six weeks.

 

I honestly NEVER want to smell this again. I will be keeping it to share with friends though, because of the childish enjoyment I'll get from seeing their faces when they smell it. In the same way that I enjoy spritzing that nasty old-style perm solution around the office and waiting for people to start saying "eewww what smells like rotten eggs", Gore Shock might just be my most heinous office prank ever

 

First up, the label is great! Naughty ol' Stinky dog

 

I really really love this one. It reminds me a bit of puppy-breath smell.. it's all gooey softness and sweet, warm clean air. Honey and baby powder, definitely - I'm not really familiar with "white honey" as opposed to regular honey.. to my nose this is more like a dark honey but it's not overpowering the other things in this blend. The milk note doesn't go sour on my skin at all, it's nice and creamy although every now and then I get whiffs of something like violet (which happens with other things like Dragon's Milk occasionally.. weirdo skin) but that just makes it interesting.

 

This stays on my skin for ages, and stays pretty true all the time - it never went powdery or soapy at all. I seem to have been really lucky here and found and excellent match for my skin chemistry.

 

I can see myself wearing Stinky a lot, it's perfect for those (frequent) times when I have trouble deciding on what BPAL to wear and just want to smell.. nice.

 

 

 

This is not quite like any other berry-based BPALs that I've tried, yet at the same time quite similar to other berry-based BPALs that I've tried. Like that makes any sense?!?

 

So it starts off very BRIGHT, almost tart, raspberries mostly. Then when it starts to dry down, the musk and fig comes out and blunts the sharp sweetness of the berries, adding a nice depth. After about a half-hour on my skin, I've got a nice musky and base with sweet berries on top. After a couple of hours, it hasn't really changed much.. the berries have gone softer but the musk/fig base is still nice and warm and I think the honey's there now (finally).

 

Berry Moon is very pretty, and definitely one for berry lovers.

 

 

 

The apple in this makes me picture a really old, gnarly and twisted apple tree that I just happened to find in a forest - the tree has huge ripe green apples and The Hesperides is what one of those apples would smell like. This, to me, is very much like Snow Glass Apples but with mist replacing the snow - where SGA has that cold edge, this has a wispy soft edge.

 

A must for apple lovers! So very pretty, fresh and lovely.

This is very clean - just on the verge of being cologne-ish. It is slightly spicey, but in a white spice/herbal way rather than a brown spice/hot way. I definitely get the giner, the mandarin doesn't ever really come out on my skin but the lime is *just* there. The vetiver, which is usually not my friend, is very calm and soft here.

 

This is quite an intriguing blend, but not as charming, so cocky, or twinklingly debonair as I was hoping for.

 

Hmm.. how very strange - this could almost be just straight-up amber on my skin - the patchouli is very very faint, and only comes out after about 20 minutes on my skin. Mr. Jacquel has that lovely glow of amber, but sadly not enough oomf or interest to keep my attention. I kinda expected him to have more of a bite than this.

 

 

Mmm.. very lovely, it's definitely spicey but cardamom is so much more warm and subtle than cinnamon for my skin - blended with the nutmeg here it's almost peppery but not quite - just right. Unfortunately once theoil dries down, the flowers come out and take the edge of the spices and flavours that Mama-Ji had when wet.. bummer. Eventually this ends up being a warm golden floral with just a teensy hint of spice.

 

I liked it best before the floral fair commenced

 

Hmm.. from previous reviews, it seems this one is a morpher! So here's my impressions..

 

In the bottle - spicy, chocolate-y and slightly fruity like fermenting dark berries

Wet on skin - spicy, smoky, dark incense and resins, very slight dark fruit

Dry on skin - smoky, waxy (not quite coconut), spicy, musky

 

Unfortunately this doesn't stick around very long on my skin - it vanishes very quickly and leaves very faint musky incense remnants where it was. I wish I knew the actual notes in this - I think there must be some black amber, frankincense or maybe tonka in there, but really I'm just guessing. It really is lovely - the 'smoky' thing is not actually 'smoke' as such, I'm using that term more to describe the darkness of this blend. It's beautifully mysterious and intoxicating!

 

When this first goes on, it was quite a strong orange - definitely not lemon for me. But there's something else going on, almost like a honey sweetness with a slight creaminess (almost waxiness) that's making the orange feel all warm and velvety rather than sharp and citrus.

 

After about 20 minutes, it's gone more musky and the orange is more subdued but still very creamy. I'm wondering whether this is orange blossom rather than 'plain' orange - that would explain the creamy wax thing.

 

One hour later - faint remnants of the orange, which has kept the creamy sweetness all the way to this point. Something almost coconut-y is peeking through but it's very subtle. Two hours later and it's all but gone from my skin, but I did only have a little dab so next time I'll try a good swipe of oil and see how it goes.

 

I usually can't deal with gardenia or white florals at all, but I don't pick up anything like that here. Just the creamiest, muskiest orange I've ever encountered - this is an absolute keeper for me!

I was very lucky to find this little beauty right here on the forum, courtesy of samarablackcat's sales post. I never got to try it back in the day, so I was ridiculously excited about getting this!!

I had the soap for 2 weeks before opening it, the packaging is so pretty that I kinda didn't want to spoil it. I kept huffing it, there was just the teensiest tease of fragrance coming through the paper it was wrapped in but very very faint. So finally today I opened it up, being very careful not to tear the paper because as others have mentioned - it's lovely, and the writing on the inside is very cool. The soap itself is a dark treacle colour - it looks rustic and hand-made, like something you'd find back in the 1820s sitting atop a big old clawfoot bathtub.

I'm wondering if the soap ages in the same way the Snake Oil itself does? I dunno, but this soap is about a year old now and the SO smell is rich, deep and smoky. As everyone else has said - it lathers beautifully, and it's very smooth and silky. It smelled so good that I washed my hair with it. Uh huh.

I did find it a little drying on my skin, but not any moreso than other soaps usually are for me. But the smell!! It's lovely - much different to when I slather the Snake Oil on - with the soap it's softer and less direct - like it's in the air rather than *on* me. And my hair? Soft and silky - NOT dry at all, and ohhhhhh it smells fantastic.

Wowsers, long review. Can you tell I'm a bit excited? I really hope this becomes available again - it's an absolute must have for any Snake Oil lovers, but because the soap gives a more subtle fragrance I would also recommend it for people who have trouble with how rich and heady SO can be.

*sniffs hair again* ahhh...

That's perfect

 

Best. Label. Story. Ever.

 

 

 

Yummy orange with a very slight vanilla-amber sort of vibe behind it.

 

Juicy and bright, sweet but not sharp, rich but not 'fake' smelling. Thank you to downloadstone for swapping with me so that I get to try this, it's lovely!

 

This is the Bat I was least interested in, because lavender is not my friend and verbena can be too OW MY NOSE for me. My bottle found me via swaps.. I was pretty sure that I wasn't going to like it but ohhhhh boy I was wrong.

 

Leaning in to the bottle for a big sniff was interesting - very sharp lavender but with a sweet edge. Initially on my skin it's strong lavender, herbal and pine - I don't like this bit very much.. it's waaaaay too pungent. Kinda like a lavender Vicks VapoRub smell. This passes after about 10 minutes and now it's a very bright lemon - for about another 10 minutes. But then the peach and amber come in, and it starts to sweeten up with a beautiful musky background. This is the bit that I love - it's warm and velvety but bright and shiny at the same time. The herbal tone does stay all the way through, but it mellows out and balances the sweetness nicely.

 

but looking at the notes..

what does 'life everlasting' smell like?