King Cobra (2006)

[themerrybaker]

Snake Oil with orris, frankincense, and copal.

I've been going through decants of the Snake Pit trying to narrow it down to one favorite. It has been really hard to do so - because they have all been pretty good and vary on the same theme. As for the incense snakes - I think I prefer King Cobra to Temple Viper since it is more of a "clear hard-candy resin" instead of the "sweet aromatic resin". Not that it makes much sense.

Orris sometimes bothers me with a sad-sack smell, but it's doing fine job for the King.

[maribouquet]

Hmm, not my favorite. Regular Snake Oil tends to go funky on me, and King Cobra seems to follow that pattern although the long dry down is a soft, orris-vanilla. It's nice enough, just not a winner on me.

[indicolite]

My first splurge on anything Snake Oil related, and mmm, this is loverly and my hands are itching for more! It is quite similar to Mme Moriarty, who was my only previous experience in the renowned "Snake Oil - Smut" family, but has enough differences to create a very different mood - very self assured, as well as regal. Mme M has grown darker as she aged, promising hints of how King Cobra will turn out. I will definitely stockpile the King Cobra, and try to get my paws on many others of the Snake Pit.

[emzebel]

Snake Oil, but darker, more slithery, more resinous. Having discovered through my BPAL obsession that I adore sweet incense blends, and having always loved spices and vanilla, King Cobra and I are getting along just fine, ya hear?

[SultryWolf]

in the decant: Boy, this reminds me of something - why can I never think of what stuff reminds me of!? Is it spirit gum? (only much subdued, of course!) It is a pine-resiny-ness - though there's nothing like that listed in the notes - with the woodiness of frankincense faintly behind.

on: Sweetens up a bit, almost skin-musky; very faint throw and staying power.

[slave1]

KING COBRA

 

In Bottle: Dark Snake Oil

 

On Skin: This seems like a darker version of Snake Oil. Beautiful incense and resin. Some of the Snake Pits have amped the sweetness of Snake Oil, this one amps the incense feel. It’s a bit smoky and reminds me of some of Beth’s heavy incense blends. I like it, but it has a bit of a sharp tone that comes forward on me. It’s also a bit too incensy for my tastes. It is pretty and I’d wear it again for sure but not sure if I need a bottle. Light throw and short wearlength.

[lapetiteflower]

i sampled this one at a recent meet n sniff and had to rush home afterwards to order a bottle.

 

this is snake oil's darker sister. she wears tattered black cobweb lace and wraps herself in dusty threadbare purple velvet, studded with gilded spangles.

in the bottle i get something reminiscent of the cracked bell. as it dries on my skin it turns into snake oil, but a darker, mellower snake oil that lacks the bite that snake oil has, and it is overlaid with the sweet dryness of orris. after a hour or two the resins come out to play.....it smells like taking fresh frankincense and copal nuggets and rubbing them between your fingers warm it and bring out the scent~ and lurking underneath that is the shadow of the snake oil.

[lookingglass]

The copal here is a lot like the sweet note that I thought was the honeysuckle in Chimera. The resins are not sharp at all. This is sweeter than I expected. There is a likeness to sugared bubble gum.

[euterpe414]

I initially tested this one during my 'time o' the month', and something went horribly awry (akin to that lovely 'pickle' smell that some people get from frankincense mixed with the smell of something rotting), lol. So, I waited and tried again. I am quite glad that I did! King Cobra, when my skin is behaving correctly, is an amazing blend of wood, resin and vanilla. I agree with a previous reviewer in that the resins smell incredibly fresh- like rubbing fresh copal on my skin. I wore this all day yesterday and felt so calm, collected and happy. Something about this blend just does wonders for my spirits! It's too bad that I can't wear this one at certain times...

 

Verdict- this one is a keeper, with possibly a second bottle looming on the horizon.

[bombus]

I so wanted to love this one, it just didn’t happen. Something in it is turning all chemically on me, its not good at all. Oh well.

 

ADDED 6/7/08:

 

I can smell the frankincense, and maybe the copal and orris, but I don’t know what they smell like so it is hard for me to pick them out. It seems like the snake oil is farther in the background of this snake pit. It feels a bit heavy for me, maybe a night time only scent.

[yeahbutnobut]

King Cobra

 

In the imp: huh? This is odd as the strongest scent comes just after the initial sniff-a kind of after-smell if you like-and it’s of raisins and smouldering incense, or the wine-frankincense of Haloa.

Wet on skin: yup, it really is like Haloa, this one. Resins and buttercream and wine!

Dry: now I smell a little more of the copal, it smells drier and more ‘crumbly’, and also less sharp than frankincense, it reminds me of the resins in Tezcatlipoca or Xiuhtecuhtli. this is a gorgeous scent! It’s the same frankincense from Lycaon and Haloa, which has a wine-matured scent to it, smouldering with the drier, glittery gold scent of copal. I can’t make out the Snake Oil or orris yet but for now this is a gorgeous mix of golden, bright, regal resins gently burning. But I swear there’s some myrrh here. I smell myrrh resin here even though it’s not listed…and olive leaf as well.

After a while: eventually the incense becomes even drier and warmer. This scent is probably the scent that reminds me most of gold, not the colour or golden sunlight, but the metal itself, it even has a hint of something metallic about it, and it sparkles. It makes me think of gold nuggets mixed with dry golden resins, and brings to mind royal golden crowns and jewels. I can’t really make out the SO but I think the orris adds a dusty aspect to the smokiness that now wafts from this fragrance.

And then, something wonderful surfaces…the scent of blown out candles! Yes! I now smell a gorgeous scent of candle smoke wafting around the gold-nugget resins, and now the scent reminds me of Arcana’s Holy Terror, there’s even a scent at the base like polished wood. And then it becomes a delightful church incense scent-the copal seems to have faded leaving the lingering scent of frankincense smoke left behind in a shadowy church or temple, lit only by the glimmering light of candles. It’s amazing how this now really smells so much like a church, it reminds me of Carfax Abbey but without the dusty, herbal, old fashioned and airy feel of that scent, but there’s a feeling of space and emptiness, like it’s no longer resins smouldering, but a huge spacious hall where incense has burnt. It also reminds me of that beautiful smouldering candle smoke enhanced frankincense in Mara Fox’s Sugared Frankincense & Myrrh, which I adore.

Verdict: I think I need an entire Snake Pit. This is another truly spectacular serpentine scent, a scent that evokes pure glistening gold, and empty sacred halls of temples and churches where incense and candles once burnt. First it is very similar to Haloa, in that I can almost smell sweet wine in there, but then the resins do their thing, frankincense and copal mixing and smelling so wonderfully golden, dry and sparkling. Very regal indeed, fit for a king of snakes. But then, the scent suddenly transforms into the most amazing incense scent, the scent of burnt frankincense and candle smoke lingering in a spacious, dark, sacred building. The frankincense note in here is fantastic, I love the way it smells like it’s been smouldering gently (not charred though) and it smells smoky and mesmerising…and the candle smoke and a little hint of dusty orris make this even more atmospheric and mysterious. Despite the lack of a Snake Oil scent in here (on me), this is totally gorgeous from start to finish, this is another Snake I need to stockpile, and I can’t wait to see what age does to this beautiful fragrance.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? Oh yeah! I want lots of this!

If you like this, try: Haloa, Lycaon, Carfax Abbey, Resurrection of the Flesh, Tezcatlipoca, Xiuhtecuhtli, Greed, Penitence, Snake Oil

[GemmaCat]

In the vial this is very sharp. On my skin, however, it's something else entirely.

 

I'm awful at detecting individual resin notes but this smells like really beautiful, very high quality incense to my nose. Layered with this is a sweet floral note, and something a little creamy and smoky. It's rich and airy at the same time whilst being somehow sharp and soft.

 

Gender neutral, and with awesome throw and staying power, this settles into a resin-y creaminess that is very lovely.

[savage_rose]

On me, this isn't dark at all. It's sweet and seductive, and a little spicy. Just a hint of airy incense. I don't always smell "colors" with BPAL, but this one smells very hot pink-magenta to me. I like it a lot, but it is not what I was expecting.

[asciident]

Wet: Incense! Warm, rich incense.

 

First on: Hm. I'm not very knowledgeable about orris, but I think it's lending a sort of sweet, vaguely floral (yet earthy?) note. Otherwise this smells like spicy vanilla incense.

 

Dry: Very interesting! The best way I can describe this is that it's what I expected Snake Oil itself to be, or maybe like Snake Oil incense. Interestingly, it's not like its incense-brother Temple Viper. That was very much like sweet vanilla incense, and this is much more like Snake Oil incense. I wonder if this makes sense to anyone but me. At any rate, I like it very much!

[roesmoker]

I get all floral with this, it's very interesting - maybe I'm amping the orris? I don't get any incense or resins, more's the pity.

[Naamah_Darling]

This one smells pretty much like straight-up Snake Oil, but with the zesty incense of frankincense lingering in the middle ground. It's slightly less sweet and a little more refined.

 

I like this a little better than the original; the incense notes really come out on my skin, and they help tame some of the aggressive roundness. The throw is really nice, mellow spice and incense in a warm haze.

 

This dries very incensey, much more so than Snake Oil itself, which finishes off with spice. I like the dry phase of this really well, again, better than the original. But, then, I love incense blends.

[phedre]

In bottle: frankincense and copal.

 

Wet: this is very warm incense, with a bit of snake oil underneath.

 

Drydown: Frankincense is definitely coming out in force. Powdery and warm. Definitely a keeper!

[supremegoddessofall]

In bottle: Snake oil and frankincense.

 

On me: Very, very dry snake oil with some frankincense. Can't decide if I like it or not.

[steffanina]

King Cobra-

 

In Bottle: Resinous and spicy.

 

Wet: Wood and resin, the scent of Snake Oil is only hinted at beneath it. Sweetly resinous.

 

Dry: It's sweet and almost fruity, this spicy-resinous smell! Very nice and has a great dry-down. Not floral but sweet and fruity-foody.

 

Overall: I like!

[raspberryswirlgirl]

Since I'm a lover of Snake oil and incense, it's really a no brainer that I had to try this blend. Sometimes notes can be deceiving....however, in the case, they are everything that they appear to be....glorious!

 

King Cobra begins with a soft powder note / orris(not baby powder), just a slight snuggly smell that causes your nose to adher to your wrist. Incense and resin are prominent throughout it's lengthy stay (which is around 6 hours on me / and my skin usually drinks oils).

 

A meditative and aloft scent that is also quite snuggly...who could ask for more?

 

In short:

[vihanei]

Man, when I saw Snake Oil and copal, I nearly died of joy. Alas, it was a romance that was not to be.

 

This starts out all incensey and spicy and very slightly sweet and *perfect* - and then something happens, and it does the thing that Dragon's Blood does on me and goes *insanely sweet*. Aiyiyi, not so good.

 

I'll try it a couple more times, to see if it was some sort of wonky chemistry thing, but it may have to go to someone who will keep it as incense on their skin and not some kind of crazy *sugarsugarsugar* scent.

[akw]

In the bottle and while it was wet, I loved this. It was Snake Oil with exotica added to it -- probably the copal. If only it had stayed that way.

 

As it dried and as the day wore on, the Snake Oil pretty much faded and something else came to the surface that I'm still finding hard to describe. It was sort of sweet and sour at the same time, and it just didn't work on me. Whatever it was lasted a really long time.

 

I'm guessing the copal didn't work on my skin because it's the only ingredient in it that was unfamiliar to me (on my skin, I mean). It turned in a not nice way. If you like incensey, sweet resin and spice and Snake Oil, and your skin plays nice with copal, this could be really beautiful. I had such high hopes for it when it first went on.

[VenusFlyTrap]

I really love King Cobra!

 

It's a great combination of incenses, resins and sugar.

 

Delightful!

Edited May 25, 2007 by VenusFlyTrap

[Meg]

In the bottle: citrusy frankincense.

 

Wet: Frankincense, very strong

 

Drydown: Orris plus frankincense. Still, loads of frankincense. The Snake oil is perceptible beneath it, vaguely, and comes out in the throw.

 

Overall: This is surprisingly *not* Snake Oil, and very strong frankincense. Which is all very well, except that I've had some bad reactions to frankincense, so I won't be giving this another try.

[Ajila]

In the bottle – Nothing, literally zero. If I sniff really hard I get just a sniff of Snake Oil

 

Wet on me – Still surprisingly faint. With dirty smelling resins forming the main body and something softer and sweeter behind them

 

Dry on me – Soft, spicy Snake Oil with a slightly woody base

 

Overall – It was pleasant enough and even earned me an unsolicited compliment, but I can’t imagine wearing it when I could be wearing Snake Oil