Snake Oil Help! Layering it, Snake Pit scents, blends with Snake Oil

[SeaMonkey]

strangemodegirl sent me a bottle of banded sea snake a few SW rounds ago. It is love. I'm wanting to try a few others. I liked boomslang

[NeuroticaGirl]

I absolutely love Habu! I really like Boomslang too but it burns my skin. It is the first BPAL scent that ever has.

[forspecial_plate]

My Coral Snake is nearly 2 years old, and I barely smell the Snake Oil part of it. On the other hand, I wore Habu yesterday (same vintage), and it's very very much like Snake Oil, with some juicy bamboo and woods/musk.

[Dark Alice]

Habu, Green Tree Viper, and Temple Viper-these work extremely well for me. Aged or new snake oil, does not.

[TPOD]

I will take back every unkind word I ever uttered about Boomslang - it's great (aged).

 

I also love Coral Snake and Green Tree Viper. They're very nice when fresh. I have bottles of Temple Viper and Saw-Scaled Viper, but they're aging because they seemed to have that new plastic smell that I get from fresh Snake Oil.

[femmefatale]

I also have to suggest King Cobra. It is beautiful, though not overly strong. Also, somehow it smells like a sweeter version of Hellhound on me.

[grashopper8]

My favorite is Green Tree Viper by far!

I also love Temple Viper and Death Adder, and I'm going to buy Habu and King Cobra before the CD skips town.

 

All the rest, I pretty much hated - although I am giving Boomslang one last try.....

[Apple]

WESTERN DIAMONDBACK!

 

I don't like Snake Oil, and after trying and disliking Green Tree Viper and Boomslang (both of which smelled strongly of Snake Oil on my skin), I more or less wrote off the rest of the Snake Pit.

 

But the exclamations of love for Western Diamondback in this thread piqued my curiosity, with all the talk of its leathery goodness and the occasional mention of an almondy note. I am so glad I got over my Snake Oil phobia and tried this one - it's perfect! Sexy, sweet, spicy, and leathery... I've been singing its praises all over the forum.

 

I don't get any almond out of it (which is a shame), and so now I'm curious about Asp Viper...

[ivyandpeony]

I wish Western Diamondback had worked on me! I love the name and the list of notes made it sound like it would be delicious. But for my skin, the leather was going to be the decider and it decided "no." People really do love it - Western Diamondback and Boomslang both made the top LE list that was just compiled in BPAL Chatter. I've mentioned this before so people who have read lots of my posts will find it repetitive, but my chemistry seems to lack anything that will amp sweetness, so if a blend doesn't have any sweet elements at all, it will often be really dry and unbalanced on me. Western Diamondback sadly turned dusty, pungent and leathery with nothing to offset or round it on my skin.

 

I have smelled it on others and it's fabulous! I know I have hundreds of other scents that work on me - literally - so it is silly to be disappointed when one doesn't, but I do wish that this one did.

 

Of all the Pit, I think Boomslang resembles Snake Oil the most - at least, comparing the final results of each of those on my skin. Some of them surprised me at how different they are from Snake Oil, like Banded Sea Snake and Cottonmouth, which seem like really distant cousins to me.

 

Temple Viper and King Cobra have both aged really nicely. I think my Snake Pit bottles are about 18 months old now. The big winners for me were Boomslang, Cottonmouth, Banded Sea Snake, Temple Viper, King Cobra and Saw Scaled Viper (although that one had to be diluted to go on my sizzling tender skin).

 

Those aren't necessarily the ones that I had predicted were going to be my true loves. So I think anyone who's waffling or wondering should get on the hunt for some decants and try these slithery delights so they can update their shopping lists. We've been lucky that the Carnival's stuck around so long but when we do get that final date when it's coming down, there will be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth!

[Apple]

I wish Western Diamondback had worked on me! I love the name and the list of notes made it sound like it would be delicious. But for my skin, the leather was going to be the decider and it decided "no." People really do love it - Western Diamondback and Boomslang both made the top LE list that was just compiled in BPAL Chatter.

I was one the people who voted for Western Diamondback; I love it so.

 

I've mentioned this before so people who have read lots of my posts will find it repetitive, but my chemistry seems to lack anything that will amp sweetness, so if a blend doesn't have any sweet elements at all, it will often be really dry and unbalanced on me. Western Diamondback sadly turned dusty, pungent and leathery with nothing to offset or round it on my skin.

I have the opposite problem: if there's even a trace of sweetness in a blend, I'm going to amp it. And anything with tonka is guaranteed to verge on cloying. Western Diamondback is quite sweet on me, but it's balanced by the leather and the richness of the red sandalwood. It definitely smells like "sexy baked goods" on me. Usually I'm complaining about how sweet so many blends are; I guess this time it worked in my favor!

 

Temple Viper and King Cobra have both aged really nicely. I think my Snake Pit bottles are about 18 months old now. The big winners for me were Boomslang, Cottonmouth, Banded Sea Snake, Temple Viper, King Cobra and Saw Scaled Viper (although that one had to be diluted to go on my sizzling tender skin).

Oh, yes. Western Diamondback burns a little when I first put it on, but nothing like the inferno that is Saw-Scaled Viper! That one is too similar to Snake Oil for me (although I do like the initial spicy blast - it smells just like gingerbread at first), but I like to layer it with Anne Bonny and Brom Bones to create a scent similar to Western Diamondback (which I'm out of at the moment).

 

Out of curiosity, ivyandpeony, does red musk smell "sweet" on your skin? I find Snake Oil and any blends with red musk to be extremely sweet and heavy, to the point of being cloying.

Edited November 16, 2008 by Apple

[ivyandpeony]

....

Out of curiosity, ivyandpeony, does red musk smell "sweet" on your skin? I find Snake Oil and any blends with red musk to be extremely sweet and heavy, to the point of being cloying.

 

It does smell sweet on me. I even have an imp of the SN red musk and I think it has a sweet quality. So I can definitely see how anyone who really amps sweet might find it overwhelming.

 

Even though I don't amp sweet in general, I amp caramel so much that it will drown out every other note in the bottle and more often than not, I morph the caramel to an icky burnt sugar.

 

It's funny how we all have notes that we think we can't wear though - leather's one of mine, tonka sounds like one of yours - and every now and then a blend comes along that makes it work. (Spanked and Trick #1 are my leather blends Of course, mine just had to be super-rare and hard to find, but they WORK!) A lot of people who can't wear or just don't like Snake Oil have found something they love in the Snake Pit, which I think is really fun too.

[lainevierge]

A lot of people who can't wear or just don't like Snake Oil have found something they love in the Snake Pit, which I think is really fun too.

 

I'm not a fan of Snake Oil either, but I love Australian Copperhead. I tend to rotate my bottle usage with the seasons and it's pretty much the only scent I can pull off year round. I find Western Diamondback to be really wearable too, but it doesn't last very long on me.

 

I also love Death Adder, but it seems the closest to Snake Oil on me, so I like to layer it with something more coconutty.

[angelicruin]

I have 4 from the Snake Pit:

1. Coral Snake
   
2. Australian Copperhead
   
3. Asp Viper
   
4. Boomslang
   

Coral Snake is hands-down my favorite. But Australian Copperhead is a close second. Boomslang is like yummy chocolate-covered Snake Oil, but it really throws on me, sometimes too much even...and it stains my skin.

[theseagrows]

western diamondback is probably my favorite snakepit scent, HOWEVER, today i got some aged snake oil in a swap and it's very similar. i do not like fresh snake oil, but this aged stuff has got me smitten!

 

i liked most of the snakepit, at least to a degree, but my favorites, along with aforementioned WD, would be: green tree viper, death adder, cottonmouth, habu, and banded sea snake.

Edited January 6, 2009 by theseagrows

[naeelah]

If you want a Snake Oil-y scent that will just be bright and creamy, try Australian Copperhead.

 

Fresh, this was really green and flat on my skin, bordering on plasticky. It was blah vanilla and glossy berries. It had practically no noticeable Snake Oil component. I didn't like it. (A lot of people do love it fresh, but acai berry tends to be really meh with my skin.)

 

I kept my imp for a year, and after about 9 months, it turned into a fantastic sweet vanilla berry snake oil. I find it perky and summery, not dark or spicy.

 

So if you're lucky, it'll work for you fresh from the lab, and if you're unlucky, stick with it and you might like what it turns into.

 

Coral Snake was also very light, fresh, and juicy when fresh. Kind of a Snake Oil fruit salad. Over the year, it turned into apple cider, so for me, it became a bit spicy. If you like apples, you'll love it.

[lookingglass]

I love Snake Oil-its my go to scent-but I cannot get into the Snake Pit. I guess I'm just a purist!

[Jupita]

I've been tempted to order a bottle from the snake pit, but can probably afford only one...

The ones that tempt me are:

Australian Copperhead - for the acai berry, I like tart scents.

Boomslang - aside from the HP reference, I just like chocolaty scents, when they aren't sickly sweet.

Cottonmouth - it just sounds nice, I like florals and besides, cottonmouth are gorgeous snakes.

King Cobra - I like frankinsence, usually at least... besides, King Cobra is kind of the queen of snakes.

 

Boomslang and King Cobra seem to seduce me more than the rest, but still, I'm not sure...

I'm afraid of something cloying sweet or that will give me a headache...

 

Any recs?

[ShadowsDance]

I love Snake Oil-its my go to scent-but I cannot get into the Snake Pit. I guess I'm just a purist!

 

I'm the other way around, myself. Snake Oil is just kinda "meh" on my skin, but the snake pit is like heaven for me. I actually think Asp Viper could have become my number one I need 5000 bottles of this scent - if it weren't for the fact that my skin totally ate the scent in five minutes! (And, it just doesn't work for me in a locket..) As it is both Temple Viper and Boomslang very easily worked themselves into my top 13.

 

 

Boomslang - aside from the HP reference, I just like chocolaty scents, when they aren't sickly sweet.

King Cobra - I like frankinsence, usually at least... besides, King Cobra is kind of the queen of snakes.

Boomslang and King Cobra seem to seduce me more than the rest, but still, I'm not sure...

I'm afraid of something cloying sweet or that will give me a headache...

 

I can't comment on the others, but you don't have to worry about either of these being cloying (well, unless your skin does something odd to them, there's always that ). Boomslang is a nice cocoa, but it's not over-sweet, and not super foody. My only problem with it is that I have very light skin, and the oil is super thick and dark, and it stains my skin a bit. :/ It's still one of my all time favorites, however.

 

King Cobra is pretty awesome too, though. It's like.. an extra incensey snake oil. Uhh.. buffed up snake oil? It's a harder one to describe, heh.

 

[revinn]

Has anyone tried Hand of Glory and Western Diamondback? I love the dry, slightly sweet, smokiness of Hand of Glory, and Western Diamondback sounds similar in feel..they both share the leather note. If I love Hand of Glory, will I like Western D?

[Jupita]

Boomslang - aside from the HP reference, I just like chocolaty scents, when they aren't sickly sweet.

King Cobra - I like frankinsence, usually at least... besides, King Cobra is kind of the queen of snakes.

Boomslang and King Cobra seem to seduce me more than the rest, but still, I'm not sure...

I'm afraid of something cloying sweet or that will give me a headache...

 

I can't comment on the others, but you don't have to worry about either of these being cloying (well, unless your skin does something odd to them, there's always that ). Boomslang is a nice cocoa, but it's not over-sweet, and not super foody. My only problem with it is that I have very light skin, and the oil is super thick and dark, and it stains my skin a bit. :/ It's still one of my all time favorites, however.

 

King Cobra is pretty awesome too, though. It's like.. an extra incensey snake oil. Uhh.. buffed up snake oil? It's a harder one to describe, heh.

 

Well, this is really annoying...

Maybe I should hunt down some decants before ordering... cause now I want both, and it's hard to decide which is the worthiest... Even if I'm highly tempted by Boomslang, since I already have resiny pefumes, but none that smells like cocoa.

[frozensapphyre]

I'm a huge fan of Boomslang...it has just the right bit of warmth and richness, imo.

[devilot]

Has anyone tried Hand of Glory and Western Diamondback? I love the dry, slightly sweet, smokiness of Hand of Glory, and Western Diamondback sounds similar in feel..they both share the leather note. If I love Hand of Glory, will I like Western D?

Just for you, I pulled my partial bottle of Western Diamondback out to skin test for the v first time.

 

On my skin, it's a bit dusty with the leather note being noticeable but w/out the sharpness I've smelled in other leather-containing blends. I just skin-tested Hand of Glory for the 2nd or 3rd time last night, and to my nose, they're not really similar. Keep in mind, HoG might do something different on my skin vs how it is on your skin. But for me, HoG is mainly about the beeswax-- that's the strongest note on my skin, so it winds up being v warm and sweet on me (a lot like Hanerot Halalu actually). Hmm, West. Diamondback is staying really dusty on me-- I think it's a combination of the leather, red sandalwood, and sage. So yeah, that's my verdict-- I don't think the two are similar, but I think if you don't mind leather being more noticeable, you might like W.D. especially if you don't mind "dustier" blends.

[revinn]

Ok, thanks so much! People are this forum are so helpful, it's amazing. It's really a big difference from a lot of the other Internet forums I've been on.

[naeelah]

Has anyone tried Hand of Glory and Western Diamondback? I love the dry, slightly sweet, smokiness of Hand of Glory, and Western Diamondback sounds similar in feel..they both share the leather note. If I love Hand of Glory, will I like Western D?

 

It's hard to say. I love both of them but they're not incredibly alike. Not incredibly dissimilar either, but they're not close relatives. For me, Hand of Glory is dark, gritty, smoky, leathery wax. The leather note itself doesn't dominate the blend.

 

Western Diamondback is a little bit more like Velvet Bandito or Tombstone or something, but with Snake Oil. It isn't so dark and gritty. In HoG I get mostly wax and spice, and in WD I get mostly leather and Snake Oil. It's a cooler kind of leather. It's fabulous though, so if you want a rich leather blend, try it.

[samarablackcat]

I've been tempted to order a bottle from the snake pit, but can probably afford only one...

The ones that tempt me are:

Australian Copperhead - for the acai berry, I like tart scents.

Boomslang - aside from the HP reference, I just like chocolaty scents, when they aren't sickly sweet.

Cottonmouth - it just sounds nice, I like florals and besides, cottonmouth are gorgeous snakes.

King Cobra - I like frankinsence, usually at least... besides, King Cobra is kind of the queen of snakes.

 

Boomslang and King Cobra seem to seduce me more than the rest, but still, I'm not sure...

I'm afraid of something cloying sweet or that will give me a headache...

 

Any recs?

 

 

I don't like chocolate scents at all; Boomslang is wonderful. It's a very rounded scent, IMO. Not too sweet nor chocolate, not too much like Snake Oil.

 

The linden flower in Cottonmouth is sweet, but not cloying (to me); dry, it mellows into a nice incensey floral. Again, the Snake Oil tempers it so it's not in your face.

 

King Cobra and Temple Viper were my first loves from the Snake Pit. I still love them both in all their incensey goodness. But what surprised me the most was

 

Habu. Cannot have too many bottles of this. Scent locket, skin, slathered on pillow, makes no difference. I'm not sure if it's the teak that draws me close, but this is the underrated star of the Pit. Just beautiful.

 

Western Diamondback for me did not amp leather; it dried nicely, but not whoa! I gotta have more for me.

 

Coral Snake has been flirting with me lately...I have grown fond of apple. Maybe a decant before I make the final decision for bottles.

 

I think if these had been the first of bpal's scents I tried, I never would have left the Snake Pit.

 

Green Tree Viper is interesting...the mint isn't too prominent and it smells nothing like what I thought. I have a decant that I'll sniff periodically and it is always refreshing...good for summer when it's hot and sticky.

 

One more Temple Viper and King Cobra, and maybe the Coral Snake, and I think I will be set!