forspecial_plate

Then I believe this is what you want. I've not ordered any yet, but having just read through the entire topic, I can warn you of this and also this. So it might be a good idea to look around for other sellers (try froogle for starters). Edit: Whoops, just realized the age of the post I was replying to... oh well, maybe this will be a convenient summary for some. lol....it's okay! I appreciate the link. What I've been doing is this: roll the bottle between my palms a couple times, then take off the cap and press it against my wrist. The little knob inside the cap puts just the right amount of oil on my skin in a little dot. Repeat in a couple different spots, schmear, and I'm all set. This actually works so well that I don't think I want wand caps any more. But thanks for posting that....I'm sure other people will want some.

I tried this and for the first half hour or so, I was so excited because I loved it so much! This scent is fiery and full of vitality, warm and spicey, a very orange-red scent. I smell the amber, moss, and spices...but really the notes blend to become something more than their sum. Something hot! After a few minutes there is a sweetness emerging which I think is the vanilla flower. All is well until about 30-45 minutes....then the scent goes a little flat on me. It doesn't turn bad, it just loses a lot of spice and heat, and what's left is the sweetness of the amber and vanilla blossom. Kind of disappointing but I'm not giving up on it...maybe it was just my skin on that particular day, or maybe it would work in a scent locket. Definitely worth playing around with to try to find a way to make it work.

I tried this and right away, knew that I could have skipped the decant and gone for a bottle of it. Really beautiful. Reminds me of expensive herbal liqueur in the vial, maybe Benedictine and Brandy or something like that (although I haven't tasted that in years). There is an astringent quality that reminds me of an alcoholic beverage, with a lot of complexity. On my skin, I can smell the moss and the leather, but no one note here is standing out with a lot of power. Just blended really smoothly, and the astringent quality fades as it warms up and becomes even more smooth. Can't say that I smell much currant, at least not the way I'm used to smelling it. This is very much my kind of scent and I need a larger amount! edit: I agree that it has a somewhat clean and soapy quality.

Sweet, spicy myrrh....simple, uncomplicated, beautiful. Thankfully the myrrh doesn't turn to powder. I can never tell if it will or not. The cinnamon is great, it weaves in and out of the three myrrhs (I'd love to smell them separately, one at a time!). Not quite blending in, the cinnamon seems to remain separate on my skin, which suits it well. Just a nice, simple scent to me, warm, sweet and spicy.

Cocoa Mad Hatter! Okay, it's more complex than that. But that was my first impression and it's persistent. Right out of the vial, the lavender is strong. As it warms up the cocoa comes out with emphasis. After a while, the vanilla really warms things up. Not getting much in the way of vetiver, bark, or the herbs. Musk? Yeah, it's there. Those other notes are providing the hint of complexity to the scent. Great stuff. Very unique and hard to categorize. I'll have fun with Wulric, for sure. Edit: over an hour later, the lavender has faded, and the scent has settled and become a darker animal. Now I can almost detect the vetiver, I think. Still loving it.

I know this isn't meant to be a fall scent, but that's what it brings to mind. This is what I wanted Samhain to smell like...although I love that scent for its own qualities, this is what I really expected it to smell like. I think I can smell all the notes listed, blended very smoothly. Up close the scent is faint, but it's the throw that I love here. Fir, herbs, incense...very mysterious. Just a little sweet. Did I mention I'm in love with this? : ) May have to find more.... Edit: I didn't wear this for a long time, and tried it again today. It's almost a totally different scent. Still reminds me of Samhain, but I also get....strong floral? Where did that come from? And the very sweet honey-ish note that reminds me of Samhain. Sticks around for hours, and tons of throw. Also, not much smoke when I wore it today, and very little in the way of woods. (edited 8/26/07)

Anne Bonny is sharp woods with a little sweetness. I love the hint of warmth and resins behind the sharpness. This is very much like Aureus, but stronger. If Aureus is yellow light, Anne Bonny is deep red wood. I like this a lot. Can't pick out the patchouli very much, but that's okay. I think it adds depth and earthiness to the wood. Great scent that I'll enjoy wearing from time to time. I'd like to do a side by side comparison with Aureus just to see which I like better. Edit How funny! Today when I got home from work, I put Anne Bonny on one arm and Aureus on the other, totally forgetting that that's exactly what I wrote in this review. Anyway.... Anne Bonny has aged fabulously. In fact, it has barely changed from what I remember (I tested from the same imp). I'm almost positive this has a little red musk even though it's not listed in the notes. Compared to Aureus, it's stronger, more full-bodied, and...well, more red. Aureus is fainter, a little dusty in comparison, and much more dry. Why am I comparing them? Because I still think they're very close as far as how they behave on my skin. Aureus has much less throw, which can be a good thing every now and then, if I'm not in the mood for a strong scent. Anne Bonny has that big red 'kick', and I honestly won't wear it much, but I won't give up my imp.

Yep, that's patchouli and vetiver, all right. Smells just like those two essential oils. I happen to like both so it's okay. But honestly, I've come to expect more from a bpal blend. For example....Typhon has strong patchouli and vetiver, but the addition of musk and sandalwood make it something sweeter, more complex, more smokey, and very appealing. Perhaps I've been spoiled? I'm not even sure I want to keep this, because I've really stocked up on the dark, earthy, smokey blends, like Typhon, The Great He-Goat, Lycaon, Azathoth, and even Djinn in a way. I don't see myself reaching for this before Typhon or Lycaon very often. But for anyone curious about what patchouli and vetiver smell like, this is it. This is about as straightforward as those notes can get. There may be other notes here but I can't smell them.

When I wear this, I smell a sharp, sweet, slightly woody incense scent with a little bit of citrus in the beginning. The citrus fades and sometimes a powdery note comes out. It's not too powdery though, so far. I was very surprised when I read the notes. This isn't how I would expect it to smell, from the notes listed. It's good though. Amber is so weird...sometimes I can wear it, and sometimes I can't. It's doing well in this scent. I wouldn't have picked out rose in this blend at all. I think it's combining with the saffon and amber, contributing to the sharpness of the scent. Overall, it's good stuff. I'll keep it around for a while, see how it ages.

This is rich and regal...voluptuous. It makes me think of deep red velvet with ornate gold trim. It smells floral to me, but I was also expecting to see amber in the notes, or some resin....that's probably the opium; if so, it's the strongest note I think. Also I thought I smelled patchouli. This scent smells deep, dark and fruity, with a core of corruption. Something softly decaying hiding in the middle of the scent. I don't smell much rose. Blood Countess smells good to me, although I don't know if I would actually wear it on a regular basis.

High pitched, heady and sweet incense is what I smell. It smells good but I don't think I can wear it. Even as a room scent I think this would be too sweet for my taste. After a while it becomes cloying on my skin. However....I don't think it's the honey that's disagreeing with me, at least not by itself. I think it's the amber that's causing problems, maybe in combination with the honey.

Hmmm...this is a strange one...very herbal and grassy, but doesn't make me think 'Bitter!'. It's more of a cloying, sweet herbal scent to me. Perfumey is the word I kept thinking (lame). Up close the scent is too much. But I have to admit there is something about it, especially the throw, that compels me. On the down side, there is something about it that smells chemical to me and reminds me a bit of cheap hairspray. I think it's the hay that's doing that. It doesn't take over the scent completely, but it's an undeniable quality. Vipralabda does have a lot of strength and throw. After about an hour I tried rinsing it off just to tone it down a little. After that, I smelled the chamomile a lot more. It reminds me of davana blossom essential oil. But the hairspray is still there. I like Heavenlyrabbit's review, and that gave me a frame of reference for this scent. I agree that it would be good for a meditative walk in the woods. I don't know if I'm going to keep or swap it, but I am glad I tried it.

I already said it in my review, but... Chintamani-Dhupa smells like a spicier, exotic version of Carceri D'Invenzione, IMO. I love them both!! edited for spelling : )

Oh, I just love this! It's a soft scent with sweet woods and resins, and some spiciness. Something smells like frankincense. I think I understand what people mean now when they get a pickle smell from frankincense. This scent almost does that but not quite. It smells spicy and exotic. It's a medium strength scent, not a whole lot of 'throw', and after a while it just stays close to my skin. I really like it, the honey doesn't smell cloying or too-sweet like I thought it might. Honestly, I was wondering if it would be too girly for me, and it's not at all. And nothing is turning into powder, which is always awesome! It kept reminding me of some other scent, and I finally decided it was like a spicy exotic cousin of Carceri D'Invenzione.

I was going to suggest Western Diamondback, too, if you like thick vanilla....I think it's the tonka that gives me a warm vanilla feeling in this scent, but not totally sweet. Might be worth trying a decant if ya can find one!

My last Snake Pit review, I think... Saw Scaled Viper....how to describe. Up close, I smell the cassia foremost. In the throw, the ginger comes out more powerfully. But honestly...I think that Shub is a stronger ginger scent, at least on my skin. Shub is 'louder', more emphatic somehow. Saw Scaled Viper is....softer, maybe more slithery! But it's dry like a desert, almost dusty to my nose. In the first hour or so, I could smell the Snake Oil components if I sniffed up close, but eventually they faded altogether. I'm not liking this as much as I wanted to. Like most of the other Snake Pit scents, I want to see (smell) how it ages. I think it has potential for times that I want to smell gingery but Shub is too powerful for me. And to me, this isn't a crazy strong cinnamon/cassia scent. I guess I'm not sensitive to those notes because I'm not getting the big OMG reaction, smell-wise, that others got from this scent. Edit to add: A couple months later, I wore this again, and a little aging has helped. It's all about the throw in this one. Up close it's not doing much for me, but it does put me in a spicy cloud of gingery, Snake-Oily warmth that I like. And I think as it ages it will just get better and maybe sweeter. I'll hold onto it for a few more months before I make any final decisions.

Very strong and heady floral scent...I did not recognize the opium and didn't smell *any* vetiver. When I tried it, I didn't read the notes that are listed. It just smelled like a strong, sweet floral scent, so sweet it was almost like a dessert. Smells pretty but not something I would wear. Edit, just because Anathema is really nicer than I make it sound here. Very clean and sweet, non-powdery floral scent (I say non-powdery because I think that opium/poppy sometimes smells powdery on me). I would like to compare this to straight honeysuckle because then I could smell what the other notes are up to here. Edit again, and I'll try to make this the last one! In fact, I could just as well completely revise this review, but I won't.....I will say however that I tried this again and it left a completely different impression on me this time. Reminds me a lot of Chrysanthemum Moon, with some bits taken away, so I guess it's the opium, but it made me think of chrysanthemum too. But this scent is more pared down, and there's almost a metallic quality. Maybe that's coming from the vetiver, because I can't detect it otherwise. Long story short......I like this enough to keep an imp handy. : )

Rakshasa is a nice rose scent that plays nice with my skin for the most part. The throw is really pretty, rose with something tart...just the combination of notes I guess. Up close it's much more woody, but I can't smell the patchouli. It's exotic. I think I'm more partial to Thanatos for rose scents.

Mmm...I love the lemon balm. However...the scent is doing something a little bit powdery in the throw. It smells really great up close with that citrus tang. Lots of herbs in there too...I wonder what's going powdery? Either myrrh or possibly orris? For me wearing myrrh can be like flipping a coin...I've got a 50/50 chance of it working on my skin. Not sure about Polyhymnia, I may end up keeping it for a while. But with so many other scents competing for my attention this one might not get a lot of wear.

Arachne is a chilly floral scent with lots of herbs. At first I thought there was some citrus...maybe a touch of verbena? I can smell the woods too. Pretty scent but not something I would wear. I don't know what florals are in it but they're not any of the ones I like.

Asp Viper starts out strongly almond scented. The almond fades after a little while, and then it's an uncomplicated myrrh scent with just a touch of Snake Oil and a little dusty almond still there. I didn't smell mandarin at all the two times I wore it. This doesn't smell bad at all, but for some reason I just don't feel very excited about it. Out of the whole Snake Pit, this was one that I thought I would like a lot and ended up not liking as much. Edit: Whoa, I was on the verge of swapping this, and decided to try it again today. It is 10x better today for some reason. The almond is staying around longer, the Snake Oil is adding warmth and spice, it's not turning dusty....sweet smokey almonds, this is good.....lol.....maybe I should try Cottonmouth again, too, since I thought I didn't like that one either....

I really enjoyed Western Diamondback when I stopped trying to analyze it and just wore it. It's all about the throw for me, and that's a sweet, warm Snake Oil with a little dry herbs. There is very little leather that I can smell. Up close the sage is stronger, and the sandalwood is there, too. I forget which Snake Pit scent has smoked vanilla...but when I wore this I kept thinking it had smoked vanilla, so I guess that's the tonka bean, and it's the strongest note in the blend for me. I would venture to say that if you like the vanilla part of Snake Oil, or just the sweetness of it and not the spices or patchouli, then this might work well for you. It's another winner for me.

Coral Snake is one of the 2 Snake Pits that I was thinking of swapping. So today, I tried it again. I'm really glad I did because it turns out that I like it enough to keep! In the bottle it's mostly apple...and a realistic apple at that. Once it touches my skin it becomes fruit with spices, a real autumn scent to my nose. I don't know where the spices are coming from unless that's the Snake Oil peeking through the fruits. As it dries it becomes more of a spicy floral scent. It's really nice, and hard for me to describe without comparing it to other bpal scents. So, here goes. It's like the apple from Creepy meets the spices of Blood Moon, with the dark fruits of Xanthe the Weeping Clown (but without the candy/bubblegum feel that Xanthe starts out with). Not a lot of Snake Oil in here that I can smell. In fact this might be the Snake Pit with the least amount of Snake Oil (to me, that is!).

I'm glad I waited a few days before reviewing Death Adder. At first, I was just smelling a lot of vetiver. Now, it seems that more of the other notes come out when I wear it....and it's really good! It is still a strong vetiver scent, but there's also the coconut and vanilla that gives it a good dose of Snake Oil. I think opoponax is sweet myrrh, and that gives it a little touch of resins...not as much as Snake Charmer, but I think this is similar to that scent. But with the strong vetiver note this becomes its own scent, definitely. And I think that this will smell even better 6 months from now. It's one of my favorites out of the Snake Pit. Edit to add: A couple months later, I have to say that I really have to be in the mood for vetiver to wear this. The vetiver is very strong and lasts for hours on my skin. That one note out-lasts all the others by a long shot. I do still like it, but I haven't worn it a whole lot.

*sigh* Reading all of the other reviews of Temple Viper makes me sad. I wish I was getting all of the delicious sounding notes out of this that everyone else does! I already knew that champaca flower takes over most scents on my skin, and this is no different. On my skin Dr. John Seward, Two Monsters, and now Temple Viper all smell nearly the same. The champaca note is a sweet, fruity, clean smelling floral that reminds me slightly of bananas. In this scent, I can smell the frankincense and/or resins also, as a background note. After a while, I think some more of the notes are almost coming out, but it's hard to tell. I might be smelling the sugar cane slightly. I will let it age and try again, but really, if this is what it smells like, I don't need a bottle of this and Dr. John Seward. They smell so much alike I would only really need one or the other. edit: You know, after just a few days, the scent has settled down a little, and I really can smell the other notes! I'm getting more Snake Oil and resins this time. Will definitely let it do some aging and this might work after all. Actually I thought I was putting on King Cobra and I grabbed this instead. You'd think I would realize my mistake right away but it took me a few minutes to realize what I had done. So there are definitely more resins coming out in this scent now. And it smells wonderful! Edit: After about a year, this is way different. Now the frankincense is the star of the show, with a big shot of Snake Oil backing it up. The champaca and sugar cane are just supporting now. Which is just how I wanted it.