naeelah

Wet, the pumpkin is very rich and buttery, but this phase seems to fade a little faster than it did when it was new. This is a good thing, because for all the pumpkins, the non-pumpkin notes have been swallowed in the pumpkin, and they've all smelled almost the same to me. Now that they're beginning to age, the pumpkin is finally playing a little more nicely.

 

Once dry, after about 10-15 minutes, the rich pumpkin has faded WAY to the background, and the predominant quality is now very grassy. I was just going to say, it smells just like the pieces of sweet grass that I used to get from the basket ladies in Charleston, when I was a kid. Then I looked at the notes again, and hey, what do you know? It contains sweet grass!

 

After about 30 minutes, the sage is a little more prominent. It's a dry, slightly spicy sage. I can't pick out the cactus flower, but that's because I don't know what to look for. My nose picks up the sage as the top note, the sweet grass as the middle, and a rich pumpkin providing the foundation. The grassy notes are definitely the dominant ones, but the pumpkin is not faint or hidden.

 

I think there's a good balance of dry and rich notes here. It's a grassy scent, but a succulent one. I was expecting it to be my least favorite of the pumpkins, and it is, but I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who's a fan of sweet grass.

 

The throw is on the light side of average, but the wear life is better than average. Up to 10 hours later, I could still smell it on my wrist without having to hunt for it.

Add my voice to the chorus of, "This is way different than the lab description makes it sound." I kind of expected it to be a little bit like Rose Moon, but instead, it's all sugary vanilla. I'm not sure how old my imp is, but I know it isn't brand new. I got it as a frimp from the lab a couple of months ago, I think.

 

In the imp, it's a complex blend prominently displaying vanilla and a light musk. On my skin, the musk is fainter. Wet, it's aaalll vanilla, and it's way sweet. It's very nice, a spun sugar sort of vanilla, and not a typical, artificial sort of vanilla.

 

Once dry, the vanilla is tempered by some gentle florals, a dry linen note, and the musk (I guess it's white musk), which is now a little bit stronger. The vanilla remains the dominant note through the entire life of the scent. The other notes provide balance and depth. It's quite nice, if you're looking for a vanilla fragrance, especially if you want one that isn't so gourmand. This has a more traditional perfume quality (and I don't mean that in a negative way).

 

Throw seems quite good, wear life is also good. Try this if you like: Zarita, Hope & Faith, Black Lace, Snake Oil, Dorian, White Rabbit, etc. Don't try this if you can't tolerate vanilla or sweet fragrances.

 

In so many ways, this is the good twin of Black Lace. They're the same, only opposites. Black Lace starts out very dry and turns sweeter. Antique Lace starts out very sweet and turns drier. Black Lace has a much richer, darker, smoky quality, while Antique Lace remains sweet and innocent.

This is very nice! It's chocolate, cherries, dragon's blood, and roses, with just a hint of greenery. (Who knows what's in this, but that's what I get.)

This one doesn't morph on me, except in the minor way that all scents do over the hours. The cocoa, cherries and dragon's blood are strongest at first, and it's a very succulent, gourmand effect. There's definitely a hint of greenery offsetting it, and it's a great combination. The cocoa scent evaporates first, but it lasts much longer here than it does in many other blends. After about 5 hours, I can smell a trace of it, but it no longer dominates the blend.

After it dries, after about 10 minutes, the chocolate is a little richer and the greenery is less apparent. Some of the sweetness calms down, so the florals come through a bit better. The rose blends surprisingly well with the other notes. It's the next thing to fade, so after 5 hours, I mostly smell dragon's blood, colored by cocoa and rose.

The throw is about average -- definitely noticeable, but not so strong -- and the wear life is very good. Dragon's Blood based scents always last a really long time on me.

This is a fantastic and unique blend, definitely worth trying if you're a chocolate fan, or if you want a different sort of rose. I think it smells sort of like the wet stage of Midnight Kiss, only without the red musk. So if you loved the sound of Midnight Kiss but can't wear red musk, give this a try. (You'd need to layer something with patchouli, though, to completely copy Midnight Kiss.)

It also reminds me of Libra, only the other way around. Libra is roses with cherries, this is (chocolate) cherries with some roses.

I was a little surprised and sad to see this one in the list of to-be-discontinueds. I always looked forward to trying it. I checked out my spread sheet, and it turns out I already have an imp of it. Huzzah!

 

I hoped this would be like Rose Cross, but deeper and richer, from the musk. I didn't try them side by side, but this does strike me as being quite similar to Rose Cross, especially for the first hour or so.

 

Myrrh seems to be less assertive than Frankincense, giving a softer, smoother, slightly smoky resiny base. The musk is dark, and seems to be very similar to the musks in the most recent Hunter Moon and Brown Jenkins. It's smooth and warm, and it blends well with the myrrh. The rose is a rich red rose, and it balances well with the myrrh and musk. At first, I like this a lot.

 

After an hour or so, it begins to get on my nerves. I seem to be amping the musk, which is slightly sweet, and there's also a lighter, soapy quality that has crept in. I think it's the ylang ylang. I always have a hard time immediately identifying ylang ylang as ylang ylang -- I always think, "There's the bright, soapy floral." I guess it doesn't like me.

 

So before long, I've got musk and ylang ylang, with myrrh and rose in the background. I guess I return the ylang ylang's dislike, because I wanted to wash this off. I'm relieved that I don't need to stock up on a discontinued (at least, not until Rose Cross bites it). This has given me the idea of layering Hunter Moon with Rose Cross, and I think that will give me the kind of effect I wanted from this.

 

If you like Rose Cross, or if you like Rose with dark musk, I recommend giving it a try before it goes away. It's a good scent, if you like ylang ylang.

 

The throw is good. It's noticeable but not loud. The wear life is above average. After about 3 hours, the throw remained noticeable. It also survived washing up for bed (the scent was on the back of my hand), and even this morning, if I sniff my hand, I can still smells the trace of the myrrh.

so... i am in love with both Lurid Library and Black Lace. i'm almost positive that the musk of infernal servants in LL is the indian musk that's in BL, and my skin absolutely loves it. i could roll around in the stuff!

 

i used the search function on the Lab's page, but nothing came up. is there a GC scent that uses this same musk? i've heard some people comparing antique lace to black lace, but i've never smelled it. is it the musk that makes them similar or just the vanilla?

 

I don't think that the musks in Black Lace and Antique Lace are identical. They do bear some similarities as blends, and if you like one, you might like the other. But I wouldn't say one is a substitute for the other. For me, Black Lace was mostly dry and smoky, with a backdrop of vanilla musk, while Antique Lace was predominately sugary vanilla, with barely any musk. I've only worn Antique Lace a couple of times, but the musk didn't strike me as being the same.

 

Unfortunately, I can't think of anything else that would be similar to Black Lace, but I'll be sure to post here if I ever find anything.

This one is very straight-forward. I expected it to be pastry scent with apricot and clove. Instead, I literally just got apricot and clove. If there are additional to facets to this scent, they blend very well. I never feel like there are butter, crust, or sugar notes.

 

I am not a huge fan of peach and apricot notes, actually, because they are a little bit too sweet and juicy. The apricot here is quite sweet and syrupy, and smells impressively true to life. It definitely has a canned or cooked apricot quality, not freshly sliced fruit, which is certainly appropriate. It's very nice, but it is very sweet, so some may find it cloying. The clove is also on the sweet side. It adds a pleasant amount of spice without taking over.

 

This is a very simple blend, but it has plenty of body, and it is a lovely combination. It's worth trying if you like foody scents, and certainly worth trying if you like peach and apricot notes. The initial throw is pretty decent. Not huge, but definitely noticeable. It seems to evaporate quickly. After maybe 3-4 hours, as I recall, it was quite faint. It's now about 10 hours later, and it is completely gone. There's only the barest trace of sweetness on my wrists, and I wouldn't notice it if I didn't know to look for it.

 

I tend to like scents that are on the sweet side, but this is a bit too syrupy for me to stand as perfume. However, this is the kind of thing I love in bath products, so I definitely plan to keep my imps. I think it might also make a nice room fragrance.

Aww, Hony Mone is so cute and charming! That is another of my new favorite labels. Now I kind of wish I'd ordered that one. Maybe I'll try to snag a partial bottle.

I pronounce Faiza so that the "fai" rhymes with "eye". I have no idea if that's correct.

 

For R'lyeh, I think most Cthulhu names have a little bit of leeway. I pronounce it like Rill-yeh (where the "e" is a schwa). I think "Rilly-uh" is also a good guess.

 

However, it looks both of those might be wrong, if my internet trawling has found something accurate. I found these recommended pronunciations: Roo-lee-ah or Rill-AYE-eh

I'm going to need a lot of extra bars of this!

It smells exactly like the fragrance oil. Very rich, creamy chocolate -- a lot like a plate of freshly baked brownies -- with a small pinch of cinnamon, and a splash of coffee. The coffee doesn't really stand out to me, it just kind of makes the scent deeper and richer. The aroma is nice and strong, and very fragrant in the bath. It leaves the faintest hint of chocolate on my skin after drying off.

The bar is a light, creamy brown with a white core. That reminds me of those trashy, cream-filled Hostess cupcakes, so combined with the chocolate aroma, it makes me pretty hungry. The bar is very soft, even a bit squishable, so it melts a bit faster than average in the shower. This has good lather, the thickest of any BPTP soap that I've used, so far.

Compared to other BPTP soaps, my skin actually seems a little dry, but perhaps that's only coincidence. The ingredients here are the same as other recent soaps, which I find very moisturific, but perhaps the actual balance of ingredients is slightly different (which could account for the different texture). I'll update after I've used this one longer.

I have the 2007 edition, and I've never tried any other vintages.

 

I ordered a bottle of this unsniffed, fully expecting it to be gingerbready sex in a bottle. I was right.

 

What can I say, except that this smells EXACTLY like freshly baked gingerbread? It is not artificial or plasticky in the slightest. I put this on one hand and held a fresh gingerbread cupcake in the other, and side by side, they smelled identical. Well done, Beth!

 

Wet, the cinnamon was very strong (mostly under nose - from a distance the effect was more even), but it blended in much better after about 10 minutes. It's very, very spicy in the initial stages, but I don't feel as if any one spice overwhelms the blend. There seems to be molasses anchoring the spice. There's a very warm, creamy sweet vanilla background note. I suppose that's the icing. This scent is certainly very sweet, but the spice provides some balance.

 

After about 20 minutes, it seems the spiciness is less assertive still. It's still plenty spicy, it's just not screaming I'M REALLY SPICY!! As of about 30 minutes, the whole thing is beginning to ease up -- instead of being amped up, it's more like a true piece of gingerbread. After 2 hours, it has become somewhat faint. Generally, it's completely gone by the 4 hour mark. At best, there's just a light trace.

 

The throw is excellent. I just put on a dab from the cap on one hand, and I am in a gingerbread cloud. Wear life for me isn't great, definitely below average. Definitely try this if you like foody scents or spicy scents. Should appeal to fans of Plunder, El Dia De Reyes, Gluttony, Monsterbaits, and so on. I'm sure this would also be wonderful as a holiday home fragrance. (I plan to tip some into my car's oil diffuser!) My dog has given it her seal of approval -- last night she licked every molecule of skin on the hand I'd tested the scent with.

I just uploaded Blood and Green Phoenix to the community gallery.

 

Please can it has be White and Mechanical Phoenix time nao?

 

The green phoenix label is one of my all time favorites, and I'm eager to see the other two!

I bought a decant of this to give it a whirl, because I had NO idea what green musk or any of this would smell like. I hoped it might be a strangely sickly sweet and oily scent, but in a good way.

 

Wet, this is MUSK. Dry, this is MUSK. MUSK MUSK MUSK. I don't quite get green from it, but it is definitely a little different from the usual BPAL musks. Definitely a rich variety, not bright and crystalline.

 

It pretty much smells like a traditional men's cologne on me. Not light, clean, "just got out of the shower" cologne -- leisure suit and chest hair cologne. I don't get anything floral or candy-like. No real sweetness to speak of. I don't get "oozing" or "radioactive". Just, "How you doin'?"

 

After about 30 minutes or so, the musk does soften a bit. It is by far the most dominant note, but the amber tempers it a little and gives it a smoother, more powdery quality. There might even be a hint of davana. This is much nicer than the original stage, but still not for me.

 

I think even on the most amenable skin chemistry, this will undoubtedly be a masculine scent. If you like musky colognes, or want a more traditional cologne kind of scent, give it a try. If you don't, there's probably no point in trying.

Wet and in the bottle, Midnight Kiss is all syrupy cherries, dragon's blood, and cocoa. It kind of makes me a little hungry. But that's appropriate, isn't it? On the skin, the dragon's blood remains heavy as it dries, but the dry red musk comes out for balance. There is also a tart quality with the dryness, perhaps from the way the musk and resin are blending, perhaps from a separate cherry note. (This note reminds me of Bloody Mary.) The cocoa is there, but it doesn't dominate. The initial stage of this scent is definitely RED. It's sweet, but I think well-balanced. I can also pick out a whiff of the patchouli in the background. It behaves very well, providing depth but not taking over the blend. I'm unable to pick out the sandalwood or the amber, but I'm sure they're there.

 

Plain old sandalwood usually does badly on me -- it gets amped out of control, but sometimes different varieties do ok. Red sandalwood seems to be one that behaves itself a little better. Likewise, I'm usually very afraid of patchouli. I don't like it and I amp it horribly. Aged patchouli is supposed to be a lot smoother and nicer, so I took the chance.

 

For the most part, it pays off. The patchouli never goes crazy, and I don't mind it at all at a base note. The first few hours of the scent are really nice. But after a few hours, the cocoa is long gone, and some of the sweetness wears off. Dragon's Blood tends to last forever on my skin, but with so much else going on, it doesn't stay as dominant. The latter half of this scent's life is very dry, husky, and a little bit dirty. It reminds me of King Cobra, only without the snake oil. Unfortunately, I didn't like King Cobra and I'm not a huge fan of earthy scents. But it's ok, because a light reapplication to freshen up the scent does the trick.

 

Throw and wear life are both on the good side of average.

 

If you like scents like Tezcatlipoca, The Great Sword of War, or Smut with cherries, then you might like this. If you normally don't like sweet scents, give it a try anyway, because there's plenty of counterbalance, and it doesn't get too syrupy. The cocoa is noticeable but not nearly as strong as in, say, Vice, so don't get this expecting it to be "CHOCOLATE.. and some other stuff".

 

If you were hoping for something less dry or complex, or more chocolatey, give Love-Lies-Bleeding a try. It's all dragon's blood, cocoa, and rose

 

I can't help but find it amusing that a "while supplies last" scent is being given out as a freebie with every order. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate it, because I have managed to acquire an ENTIRE extra bottle's worth of Midnight Kiss in imps.

I've been waiting and waiting and waiting for my Yule decants, and I just happened to get a frimp of Chanukkiya in the mail today, with another swap!

 

Wet, I get a blast of something like burnt sugar. This note reminds me very strongly of the Crumpet Rebellion and Anaconda. So fans of those sugar notes, take note! (Chanukkiya doesn't smell exactly like either of those scents, I just think it has a note in common, and it should appeal to anyone who was a fan of either CR or Ana.) Looking up "sufganiyot" I find it's a donut, so that must be the source of the sugar note.

 

As it dries, the sugar settles down and the olive oil and beeswax really come to the fore. They're definitely the core notes of the scent, so the overall character of Chanukkiya is fairly light. It's definitely unique. The beeswax seems to bring a very slight smoky quality.

 

I haven't been able to pick out the pomegranate. The fig is also hard to single out, but it's definitely contributing to the sweetness. I get mostly beeswax, with a hint of brown sugar. It's quite nice. The initial stage is very light and waxy, but it's definitely gourmand. The richness of the sugar and fig seem to develop as the scent wears.

 

This would be a great choice for anyone who has found other brown sugar notes a bit too overwhelming (as I sometimes do - Anaconda was way too strong for me), or for anyone who wants to like foody scents but finds them a bit too much. It's a wonderful, lighter alternative. People who completely hate foody scents probably won't like this.

 

The throw is interesting, because the beeswax is pretty gentle on me, but this sugar note always has really good throw. The sugar is enough of a background note that, as a whole, this has somewhat light throw. However, because the sugar note seems to amp, little by little, the throw actually seems to increase as I wear it. Wear life is probably better than average.

Anyway, my sudden freakout has come about after reading this thread. In the details of the paypal transaction, my current address is clearly displayed to me. (Didn't write it in the comments section because I'm an idiot I figured it would show for the lab, too). BUT I've just now realised that my old, interstate address is shown as my 'home' address. Even though paypal is telling me that I attached my current address to this order, is there a chance that the lab has sent my order to the old address? Am I worrying about nothing? And (off topic, sorry) should I be worried about no CnS?

 

If you've looked at your paypal record and you see the correct address attached to your order, then I wouldn't worry. If you accidentally sent them two addresses and didn't note that one was new, I'm sure they would have or will contact you to clarify which they should use.

 

I think e-mailing them is the best thing to do (as you've already done). They're the only ones who can clear up if it has been sent and what address it was sent to. I would not necessarily worry about not getting a click-n-ship. Most orders from 11/6 have shipped by now, but it's always possible something was back ordered and it took them a week or two to restock.

I had very high hopes for this one, but feared it would be too masculine.

 

Wet, it's stunning. I really can't pick out individual notes. It's airy and clean but not, as another reviewer stated, "aggressively clean". It's fragrant and fresh. I primarily smell the black tea and white musk. The white musk isn't as strong and crystalline as it can be, especially combined with the tea. It's rich but light.

 

After about 15 minutes, on my skin, it morphs HUGELY. Once dry, it basically smells like a cigarette. I think this is the combination of the tobacco and lilac, perhaps with a touch of smokiness from the frankincense. There's a touch of white musk, but the black tea is gone. I love all of the notes in this, but combined, it seems they don't like me. I'll try it in a locket, because the wet scent is fantastic. (ETA: It works very well in a locket. I get the full effect of all the notes with none of the nasty ash tray after effect.)

 

But if it agrees with your skin chemistry, I definitely recommend checking this one out. It suits Famine so wel! It's very gender neutral. I don't like wearing very masculine scents (I have Pollution on the other arm, and it's driving me crazy), but I could definitely wear this. This will appeal to fans of tea notes. Try if if you want a light and clean version of Dorian (something without the cream and sugar).

Wow, my first first review post!

Snow White is the first of the Yule soaps that I've used. I've never actually smelled the fragrance, so I can't comment on how it compares.

The bar is milky white with a pale beige marbled swirl. The scent is very light, but not faint. It's about equal amounts of light, breathy flowers and frost. The frost has a cool quality that's hard to describe. It's not quite ozone, and it's definitely not mint. It's just... cold! There seems to be a very, very faint sweetness, like a light dusting of powdered sugar.

Light florals sometimes give me headaches, but this doesn't bother me at all.

In the shower, the scent doesn't seem to get stronger (the steam tends to carry the scent). But I was congested while using it, so I probably couldn't smell it as clearly as people with non-evil sinuses will. It didn't leave any noticeable scent on my skin after drying off, but the bathroom did seem to have a light fragrance. This is a beautiful soap scent, because it's so light and clean.

As for the soap itself, it's the same as the other new formula soaps. The texture is comparatively hard, and the lather is a little thin. It lacks the creamy feeling that the clay containing soaps have. My skin was very happy and moist after showering, so as usual, kudos Macha!

In the bottle, this smells like grape soda. Actually, what it really smells like is this crappy blackberry red wine that my friends used to buy in college. It tasted and smelled like a grape or cherry soda, but with a winey undertone.

 

But fear not, because that quality dissolves as soon as it hits your skin. Immediately, a much drier red wine note begins to surface, balanced by a very rich plum. It smells like the same plum as Bordello. I've had some bad luck with wine notes in the past -- I think it was Madrid that smelled like mulled wine on me, only sickeningly so -- but this works well for me. Hunter Moon's wine note was very plummy and berry-ish. Here, it is distinctly dry. It isn't berry-like at all. With the wine for balance, the plum here isn't nearly as candy-like as it can be in Bordello.

 

In the background, I can just pick out the amber and champaca. The amber is lovely, glowing and soft. It's the perfect bridge between the dry wine and the juicy plum. The champaca seems to be adding a very light smokiness. It's the smokiness that stands out first. The actual perfume of the flower only lingers in my throat after a long inhale.

 

I'm not getting much musk. I wonder if my nose isn't blending it with the wine note, and that's what's making it seem so dry. However, compared to some other blends, I would say the musk isn't particularly strong here. It just hovers in the background, binding everything.

 

My nose seems to be slightly broken today, but it seems the throw on this is pretty good. I put on a light amount, and I can smell is wafting up at me from my wrists. Wear life is about average. This one doesn't morph hugely. The notes shift slightly in balance, of course, but there are no major changes.

 

This is great for plum and wine note lovers alike. Give it a try even if you haven't liked wine notes in the past, because I think you'll find it well-behaved. Champaca haters probably shouldn't be afraid. If you wanted to like Bordello, but it was too sweet for you, try Prospero! Bordello is one of my favorites that I wear most often, but sometimes I don't want such a sweet scent, so I look forward to having Prospero as a drier alternative. It's rich, equally dry and juicy. I think this is one that will age beautifully, and I hope that the amber and champaca become stronger with age. I'll report in in a few months!

[snip] Oops, I misremembered what was in Jack. Sometimes nutmeg or clove bother people, so perhaps one of those is the culprit. Otherwise, Jack and Vampire Tears don't visibly have anything in common, as you can see by the note descriptions. Vampire Tears does contain ginger, and ginger can cause sensitivities for some people. It also contains several florals, which are definite suspects.

 

To see if the others have anything in common, just search for the names in the catalog and compare the note descriptions. It's entirely possible you have multiple sensitivities.

 

As another option, it might be a good idea to e-mail the lab and ask them if there's anything in common. They know what really is in those blends, so they might be able to help you better.

Like all of the zodiac blends so far, this is a beautiful scent. I haven't tried every single one, but I kind of regret skipping over a few, because there hasn't been a zodiac blend yet that I didn't like.

 

I can't identify all of the individual components of this, but they all come out in turn, as it morphs. (And morph it does!)

 

Initially, this is a very light, clean herbal scent. I think it's almost all chamomile and dandelion that I'm smelling. The dandelion here is soft and lightly floral, like a freshly picked blossom. It's a little green, but not at all weedy or grassy. The more I sniff it, I can actually feel the soft, almost furry petals of a dandelion pressed against my nose (memories of playing outside as a kid). This first stage has great throw, but it's fragrant and light, like opening a bag of fresh herbs.

 

As it dries, the other notes begin to emerge. I can definitely catch the sage, and after about 10 minutes, the clove comes into full bloom. The clove combines with the sage here to make a very smooth, fuzzy spice. It's not overpowering, sharp, or bitter. I can't really pick out the fig, but it adds a lightly fruity sweetness to the entire blend. All of the notes are in excellent balance.

 

At first, I thought maybe this is not quite in character for me. But once it morphs into what seems to be the final drydown, for my skin, this is wonderful. It's soft, sweet, fuzzy, and fragrant. Not spicy, nor herbal, nor floral. Just a lovely blend of the three qualities. As someone else mentioned, this would be a great blend for spring. I had my reservations at first, but I think this is a definite keeper. It's very comforting and uplifting.

 

Throw is still very nice. Wear life is on the short side of average.

I have a decant of the original run. By now, it's very smooth and well-blended. Black Pepper, vetiver, and dragon's blood are all things that can take over a blend, but here they work in wonderful harmony.

 

Initially, this is very sweet, with an earthy base. There's the cherry-like quality of the dragon's blood resin, and the cocoa is distinct.

 

Once dry, it's less sweet and much darker. The musk emerges, a little bit like red musk but very smooth. The cocoa isn't foody at all. The pepper and spices are soft, combining with the cocoa to provide a dark, earthy atmosphere. The vetiver is there in the background, giving sharpness.

 

I'm really impressed with how well it behaves in this blend. Normally I hate vetiver, and maybe it's just the age, but here it contributes beautifully to the overall blend. I think it's the vetiver, combined with the musk, that really stops this from being foody. It adds an air of menace, but without being shrill. As the scent wears, the vetiver becomes more prominent, but it never takes over.

 

In the end, no single note really stands out, and it really wonderfully realizes the idea. This is a dark, dusky scent with a sweet trickle of blood and an air of foreboding.

 

Throw and life seem to be average. After several hours, the throw is nonexistent. This is definitely a unisex blend, and the vetiver gives it a cologne-like quality (to my nose), especially in the later stages, that would make this an excellent blend on a guy.

 

If you're a fan of scents such as Blood or Midnight Kiss, give this a try.

In the bottle and wet, this smells like a rich chocolate bar. It smells a lot like the Candy Butcher. In the background there's a slight hint of cinnamon.

 

The cinnamon emerges almost immediately as it dries. I've always figured that cinnamon is just such a strong note that it kind of takes over any blend, but maybe I amp it a little. In the first 30 minutes or so of this scent, the cinnamon was very strong. I'd say it was in about equal balance with the cocoa. Not overwhelming, though (I dislike scents with predominant cinnamon). Very rich, very spicy.

 

I'd forgotten that it had coffee, until I looked at the notes again. The coffee is definitely there, if you know to look for it, but I had a hard time picking it out. It blends so well with the cocoa and cinnamon that you don't go, "ah, coffee!" It deepens the blend and provides balance to the sweetness of the chocolate.

 

Because chocolate notes burn off a little bit quickly, after about two hours, the coffee is much more dominant now. It smells like a cup of black coffee with a dash of cinnamon and cocoa on top. Delicious!

 

Throw is on the soft side of average. The life seems to be decent, definitely good compared to other chocolate scents. I haven't had it on a super long time, but right now I'd put its life at average, needing to reapply every 4-5 hours.

 

Definitely try this if you're a fan of chocolate scents, or if you want more scents with dark coffee. Don't be afraid if you're not a fan of cinnamon. I hate overwhelmingly cinnamon-y scents, but this doesn't offend me at all.

I have the 2007 version, and haven't tried any previous years for comparison.

 

I can definitely get a sense of the different sugars here. Overall, this has a pleasant crystalized sugar quality, as opposed to a syrupy, molasses-like quality. It smells like a nice blend of white and demerara sugars. The brown sugars are more predominant, but I wouldn't say there's anything like maple syrup here. (Reviews of previous years, saying that SS smelled like maple syrup, had me a little afraid. I was encouraged by will-call notes saying that this year's was more like white sugar.)

 

For comparison: While this has some similarity to Anaconda, I don't think the sugar quality is the same. I didn't care much for Anaconda, because it was very thick, rich, fresh from the cane brown sugar. Lots of molasses. It was a bit heavy for me. Sugar Skull is crisper and lighter.

 

The fruit note is a lot stronger than I expected. More than a light dusting, Sugar Skull has equal amounts sugar and thick, sweet purplish-red fruits. The fruit note doesn't strike me as anything in particular, so I'd say it's a nice blend. Not plum, not berries, just red and sweet. I think the fruit note fades as it wears, so after an hour or two, it recedes more into the background.

 

I am AMAZED by how long this lasts! I have to reapply almost every scent after 4-5 hours. I put this on just before leaving for work (about 8:20 am) and when I got home (around 6pm) it was only JUST getting faint. It lasted all damn day. The throw is nothing to sneeze at, either. Nice and noticeable, but not overwhelming.

 

If you're a fan of sweet scents, or the scent of rock or cane sugar, definitely pick this one up!

Thanks! I'm glad people find the list helpful!

 

As for my personal favorites, I like Snake Oil but I'm not a devotee. It's good, but it seems to be missing something. So, I looked to the Snake Pit hoping that one of them would be what I wanted Snake Oil to be.

 

Boomslang, for me, is the perfect Snake Oil. It's rich, dark cocoa starting out. The cocoa fades in an hour or so, so after that it's mostly plain Snake Oil, but it still has a darker, duskier quality. I will be hoarding Boomslang like I'm preparing for nuclear winter.

 

I love half of the snakes, really, because the Snake Oil acts as such a good balancing point for a lot of scents that I don't normally love. Drier notes that don't always win me over -- such as leather or mint -- harmonize well with the richer, sweet, sultry Snake Oil. I'll be getting whole bottles of Habu, Western Damondback, Coral Snake, Temple Viper, and Green Tree Viper.

 

Asp Viper is a very likely candidate for bottles, but I'm currently undecided on the almond. I'm also still deciding on Australian Copperhead. It's fabulous in theory, but on my skin, the Snake Oil component is so faint, and even the berry part is very light. So, at that rate, I'd do better to layer Baneberry and Snake Oil. (Mmm, I think I have a new lotion recipe!)

 

The three that I don't care for are Death Adder (I loved the coconut, but vetiver gives me a headache), Saw-Scaled Viper (I like ginger or spicy notes, but all three together was too much for me), and King Cobra (it was suffocatingly musty and earthy). I'm just indifferent towards Banded Sea Snake and Cottonmouth.

Like others have said, it just depends on what you like. If you like your snake oil pure, probably nothing will replace it. But you might find you like some of the snakes just as well. Just think about what other notes you like a lot, and pick the snake that has that note. If you love, say, mint, and you also love Snake Oil, then you'll probably love Green Tree Viper.

 

My decants of the snakes are beginning to turn with age (they're about 3 months old), so I've been testing them all again in the last week. So far, the fruity ones haven't shown as much development in age as the other ones. The others, though, are aging beautifully.

 

If you like black musk and/or woods, try Habu.

If you like leather (and want a cleaner, drier Snake Oil), try Western Diamondback.

If you like orange (or apple), try Coral Snake.

If you like mint, try Green Tree Viper.

If you like the scent of rock sugar, try Temple Viper.

If you like earthy scents or frankincense, try King Cobra.

If you like cinnamon (earthy and dry), try Saw-Scaled Viper.

If you like florals, try Cottonmouth.

If you like almond, try Asp Viper. (To me, this one is the most similar to regular Snake Oil. It's just a little bit richer.)

If you like dry, mossy scents, try Banded Sea Snake.

If you like fresh, green, berry scents, try Australian Copperhead. (The Snake Oil part here is very light.)

If you like coconut and/or vetiver, try Death Adder. (The vetiver here is strong, so avoid it if you hate vetiver.)

If you like cocoa, try Boomslang.