Western Diamondback

[xXxPinkadoodlexXx]

Snake Oil with leather, tonka bean, red sandalwood, and sage.

Leather. Vanilla. Sandalwood. OMFG it's SEX in a bottle! God I need to find a man to wear this for me. This is one SEXY BPAL! Raawwwrrrr!

[mspixieears]

This is slightly smoky – I think it’s the leather. I do believe I detect the sage as a herby presence in this but the scent of Snake Oil is very faint. One for the retest pile I believe.

[beachbabealways]

I have a decant of this and just bought a bottle from a forum member. They are both different.

My decant is sweet and missing the leather note. My bottle is sweet with a leather kick. Very nice!

 

 

FYI: I'm the worst when it comes to reviews.

[willowtreeling]

well, snake oil wins. I can't smell anything else other than snake oil....but it is a bit softer, I guess. I love snake oil, but I am a bit disappointed that I can't smell anything but.

[Lethran]

In bottle: Exactly like the description. Lether, sage, and the snake oil tree oils are on top, but it is all there, rich and intense and very… well, American West. This is rather how one imagines Jesse James smelling, or Quincey Morris. (I know the Quincey Morris Bpal smells a little like this, but isn’t nearly as... cowboy outlaw). Wet: Smells a little like wet paint, but settles rapidly into a very cowboy butch version of snake oil. The vanilla and tonka compliment each other nicely and that wood/leather/resin complex is stunning. I think I’m in love. Dry: It gets a hint of that pear eau de vie scent that the Qm scent gets too. For me this is not a negative, and the blend evolves into something less aggressive, but with a dangerous edge to it. I’m really liking the way the Western stuff blends with the snake oil. Clearly this is going to be a long tern favorite.

[akiko]

I agree with Gwydion - this is very Wild West outlaw.

 

Imp: odd astringent quality over Snake Oil

 

Wet: Still some astringency, but the snake oil is coming out a bit.

 

Dry: I can get vanilla & tonka after a deep sniff, something astringent (sage?) after a brief sniff, and a decent blend of the two in a medium sniff.

 

Nice.

[zankoku_zen]

This does not work on my skin. Maybe its the combination of leather + Snake Oil + tonka + sage.

 

It's like a smokier version of Snake Oil. The tonka is very much present.

 

But like all things Snake Oil, it just doesn't work on me. There's something in the components of S.O. that me and my skin don't get along with.

[manusdei]

leather! and tonka. i love leather and tonka. huh, i don't smell the sage at first but it's there somewhere- it's not as strong as it usually is. wondering if something is up since everyone mentioned it a lot??

also this is really different from the other leathers i've tried - it's smoother, sweet and fresh smelling, like a leather jacket. it's dead-on to the real thing.

 

i feel like i should be wearing cowboy boots! nice.

 

i want to leave this little partial imp around for a few weeks~months and see what happens. especially since it'll be warmer weather. i like it a lot and i can definitely smell the snake oil in there, but i want it to be a little stronger.. so maybe in a few weeks it'll do "it's thing" and come out more. ooh. mmm.

[hkhm]

bottle: raw leather with herbs.

 

wet: very sagey and leathery. makes me want to visit the old west. there is a nice hint of snake oil in the background.

 

dry: ah, there's the snake oil. it's a bit light behind the leather but very nice.

[MaeKitty]

In the bottle: Leather, sage

On me: Such high hopes for this scent! It has some of my favourite notes! So, does it live up to its potential? Absolfreakinlutely. I need a 5ml of this. It's a beatiful warm leather (I think it's the Sandalwood and Snake Oil that warms it), with a bit of dust (the sage maybe?) I just love this. It feels warm and comforting. I see cowboy boots, a tiered skirt and long nights. Beautiful

[SarahScent44]

In the imp, this is sharp, leathery, with an almost medicinal overtone.

 

On my skin, this calms down - the leather is much softer; the sage is still a strong herbal note in the back.

 

When it's dry, the Snake Oil overwhelms everything - and Snake Oil does not love me. Too bad.

[scarletgenesis]

simplyfunjhose let me test out her bottle of this today at the MnS. I have a bottle on order because I just knew it would work for me.

 

And. It. Does. OMG does this work for me. I love leather and leather loves me back. I get lots of leather from this right off the bat, but it isn't as harsh as in some other blends. I think the snake oil sweetens the leather a bit. I get a lot of sage from this, and it combines with the sandalwood to form incensey, herby, vanilla leather sexy goodness.

 

I think this will become one of my favorite blends. Definitely for when I want to wear snake oil, but with more complexity.

[fiddlehead]

FINALLY! I do believe I've found a version of Snake Oil that I can wear. I was a bit worried that the leather would overwhelm the other notes like it did in Quincy Morris. I can definitely smell it and also some of the sage. But they float on the Snake Oil base and let it peek through just enough. And that means I don't smell like I doused myself in baby products. I may consider a second bottle of this before the Carnival departs.

 

Forgot to mention I can also catch a bit of the Tonka. Not sure about the Red Sandalwood.

Edited March 20, 2008 by fiddlehead

[arabella]

First Impression: Snake Oil and Vick's VapoRub.

 

Dries down to: Quickly settles into a subtle masculine scent.

 

Additional Comments: The leather in this is really nice - it's more like suede. Sandalwood usually amps up on me, but not here. The sage adds a note of interest. This one is much nicer than I expected it to be.

 

Lasted: 1-2 hours.

 

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

[CreamyJade]

In the bottle: Snake oil, leather.

Wet on skin: Leather still, but very sweet, and a bit herbal. It's cowgirlish!

Dry on skin: The sandalwood comes out more, I can also smell vanilla and tonka. Hawt!

Final thoughts: Wow! Improved snake oil, with a hot cowboy twist. My favorite BPAL scent so far, so I'll definately order more bottles of this delicious snake before the Carnival goes away! <3

Edited April 8, 2008 by CreamyJade

[TulaMontage]

Bottle: Sweet and sensual creamy vanilla and leather.

 

Wet: Delicious leather. I am simply sinking into this warm and comfy scent. This stays wet for a long time on me.

 

Dry: Lingering warm and worn leather with a slight hint of spicey sage. It's warming and alluring, almost lulling you into a false sense of security as the sage snaps you out of the haze and reminds you of that bite underneath.

 

I adore this scent. It's not as aggressive as I thought it was going to be. Being an avid reptile keeper and hobbyist this scent embodies how I feel about snakes as the beautiful and misunderstood creatures they are. The lingering leather is fabulous, it's a scent I fall asleep to at night. I am soooo glad I ordered a 5ml of this straight away, and I was even frimped 3 of the other snakes.

Edited April 13, 2008 by Shollin
Removed Lab description --Shollin

[valkyrie]

Western Diamondback reminds me of Quincey Morris, that must be because of the leather/vanilla combination. As others have said, it's the scent of a rugged man, but it's not so masculine a woman can't wear it. I don't get any Snake Oil.

 

Absolutely love this and may order another bottle before it's gone.

[alsatia]

Expectations: Probably a bit too masculine for my tastes. I think I like leather, but in blends it doesn't work that well on me. And I hate sage.

 

In vial: Really nice leather drizzled with spices.

 

On skin, wet: Wow, the leather in this is amazing. I'm not sure how I feel about the spices though. There's an oddly floral scent to it.

 

On skin, dry: The leather's a bit less sharp, and the spices have gone dusty. I'm not detecting the Snake Oil base yet. The leather reminds me of a memory, but I don't know what it is exactly, just that it makes me smile. The scent is a bit more masculine than what I'd normally choose to wear, but not too much so.

 

After time: After 30 minutes, the leather has softened quite a bit. The spices are better with a casual sniff, but if I make an effort to smell my wrist there's a cool tingling in the back of my throat. Not a fan of that.

 

Conclusion: I could probably wear this, but I think I'd like a purer leather scent more.

[Pika]

At first, this is all leather. Just straight leather, maybe with a hint of sandalwood. Still wet but drying, it actually goes a little sour, and makes me quite nervous.

 

The drydown is really lovely, however. I finally get a sense of the Snake Oil, mixed with the leather and other smoky notes. This is the snake pit blend most unlike Snake Oil I've tried so far, and really nice. I don't know if I need a bottle of this, but I'm considering it, just because it's so evocative and empowering to smell sexy and leather-y at the same time.

[naeelah]

I could have sworn I reviewed this already, but I guess not!

 

When this was fresh, it was very much snake oil with leather. Pretty straight-forward. That is to say, it has a LOT of leather, but as it dries, it mingles better with the Snake Oil. The sage and sandalwood together provided slight dryness and grassiness. They balanced very well with the snake oil. I don't have the best luck with red sandalwood (it amps way out of control), but here, it didn't go weird at all.

 

After about 9 months, though, this scent is even more freaking amazing. Leather and Snake Oil are still the most predominant notes (and it's very strong), but now the tonka has really come into bloom. It has an amazing, organic sweetness. It's like vanilla, but without the plastic or foody quality that vanilla can have. I really don't smell the sage very much any more (the dry, grassy quality is sorta gone), but the red sandalwood has aged nicely. It's a faint prickle playing behind the smoothness of the leather and Snake Oil.

 

Fresh or aged, this is still one of my favorite leather blends. I will be hoarding this one.

Edited May 22, 2008 by naeelah

[moderngypsy]

I knew, going in, that most of the snakes need to age. So when it arrived today, I thought I'd have a little sniff and put it away until it smells like the decant in a few months.

 

Hooboy.

 

Not only does it smell JUST like the imp ALREADY, but it might actually smell a little *better*. A little more leathery and old-western-dusty.

 

I can wait to see how it ages...

[Indigo78]

My first Bpal was Snake Oil, & I was a little put off by the sharpness of the spice notes. A month later, I'm still aging the bottle & hoping for the best.

 

In the meantime, along slinks an aged bottle of Western Diamondback~

 

The imp smells like a masterfully prepared caramelesque... something. The grasses linger in the background, but lend not hint as to what's coming.

 

Wet on my skin this is deceivingly faint at first. After five minutes a hint of SO's spiciness appears, but never in the blatantly unfurled way I experienced with SO.

 

Like other reviewers, the Skin note didn't jump out right away - but for me, that morph is the sexiest aspect of this blend.

 

A keeper. Completely.

 

ETA: Wore this to bed. When I woke up (six hours or so later) the Leather note had become subdued and almost ... dusty? Strange morph, and characteristically true to the description.

Edited June 2, 2008 by Indig0

[strangemodegirl]

Another sad one for me. It seems that all but 2 of the snake pit scents end up smelling like straight Snake Oil on me, and this is no exception. I do get a hint of leather in the beginning, but after about 10 minutes, pure SO.

*sigh*

[milo]

I like this. It reminds me of the hot, deserty summers that I grew up in. In the bottle it is snake oil and leather. Once on, I can get a touch of sage, and it really is quite sweet. I can see this working really well on a guy. Another snake win!

[mybrainhurts]

First sniff: Wow, I can really smell the sage. It's an incredibly green and herbal smell. It was too strong for me at first but soon mellowed out. Then I could smell the tonka, sandalwood, and the leather.

 

I wish that it hadn't smelled quite so masculine once it mellowed out because I do like it, I just won't wear it. I'm not going to have my husband try this one out because there are other masculine scents that I liked just as much that -aren't- limited editions.