Oddly enough, Snake Oil was also the first Ear I tried from my order (in fact, it wasn't part of my order but one Elizabeth included). I was so excited because I'd heard so much about this one and was going to order an Ear next time around just to see what the fuss was about.
Well, I think the fuss is entirely warranted! In the vial, Snake Oil smells very spicy to me, but warm spices, not sharp or pungent. On my skin the vanilla almost literally explodes but it is such a beautiful, soft, sweet smell that I fell in love with it immediately. I had never been a fan of vanilla - I had always thought it to be far too sugary sweet, and thickly cloying - it made my teeth ache, to be honest, because it came across so sweet.
But clearly this is the difference between crappy, fake chemically manufactured vanilla and, you know, what it's *actually* supposed to smell like!
On the drydown the vanilla stays on top for quite awhile. Eventually the spices emerge and mix beautifully with the vanilla, giving it a lovely powdery smell.
Overall, this scent is very feminine, very pretty and very sexy. It's a wonderful warm scent, perfect for cool fall days and those long, gray, cold days of winter. I felt very cozy and content wearing this, like being wrapped up in a quilt in front of a fire. It's not a heavy scent but it's not something I would wear in the summer - vanilla is still a bit of a thicker scent than others so for summer I would rather wear something lighter and more airy. But Snake Oil is definitely a great daily wear scent.
I'd love to smell this on a guy - I think vanilla is a fabulous sensual scent and would be just amazing on men, particularly in this case where it is warmed by the spices.
