Coral Snake (2006)

[Tramp]

Snake Oil with blood orange, red apple, lemon peel, plumeria, and gardenia.

Am so in love with this right now.

Wet: Crisp red apples!

Drydown: As it dries the orange/citrus comes out with just a tiny hint of sweet flowers but the apple is still king.

30 minutes: Juicy tropical flowers, apple is still there but has mostly faded and there is a warm spicy note just starting to be hinted at.

This finally settles on a juicy, mango-esque floral, with would seems like a drop of bright cherry hiding in the background. The spices come through as an almost sweet cinnamon.

[clover]

Plumeria, what? Gardenia, really? Lemon peel and blood orange? Surely not.

 

To me, this is just a big, ripe, juicy apple. It's apple all of the way...until about half of an hour into the wearing, when I start to get those smooth Snake Oil vibes peeking out from underneath. Now, I *love* the scent of apples (one of the few fruit scents I can bear to wear), and I really do enjoy that stage of the process, but when the Snake Oil starts to peek out is when the magic happens. That's what I was hoping for from this scent.

 

Another big Snake Pit winner....and again, I just KNOW that by the time next fall rolls around, this is going to be heaven in a bottle.

[judica]

First ever review!

 

Coral Snake:

From the bottle: Fresh Apple Cider

Upon Application: The fresh apply-ness is so strong and refreshing here. My skin is not pulling any of the floral forward which is fine with me. I am really impressed at the freshness of this scent, it is the nicest apple scent that I have tried. Hear that Donna Karan?

Dry Down: A spicy note is rising now but it is not like red hots but almost a nutmeg type scent. Nothing tropical is coming out for me at all. This has dried down to mulled apple cider with a clove studded orange. It is really beautiful.

[The_Witching_Hour]

WOW! This is fresh right out of the bottle and in the first 30 minutes. Fresh cut apples, a feel of mulling spices and a sense of something blooming (but not really floral----almost as if the blend will burst into juicy, ripe goodness).

 

As it dries down, Coral Snake never shakes its sense of juiciness and continues to give you the mouth-puckering crispness that only a MacIntosh can! With the addition of subtle florals and a spiciness from blood orange and lemon peel this will be a beauty well into the Fall!

 

Extremely WELL DONE!!!!

[blueroses]

Coral Snake is so different from what I was expecting, but definitely a keeper.

 

I'd never be able to tell that this was a Snake Oil variant from sniffing the bottle. It smells like bright, fresh apples and cinnamon. On, Coral Snake retains the spicy apple smell, but the plumeria is the next-strongest note, and it sweetens and brightens the scent. Ordinarily, I'd consider a spicy apple scent to be more appropriate for fall or winter, but this can be worn year-round without feeling like the scent is odd for the season.

 

I get just a hint of gardenia, and I'd never be able to tell that there's citrus in this. Overall, a grown-up, tropical apple perfume.

[forspecial_plate]

Coral Snake is one of the 2 Snake Pits that I was thinking of swapping. So today, I tried it again. I'm really glad I did because it turns out that I like it enough to keep!

 

In the bottle it's mostly apple...and a realistic apple at that. Once it touches my skin it becomes fruit with spices, a real autumn scent to my nose. I don't know where the spices are coming from unless that's the Snake Oil peeking through the fruits. As it dries it becomes more of a spicy floral scent. It's really nice, and hard for me to describe without comparing it to other bpal scents. So, here goes. It's like the apple from Creepy meets the spices of Blood Moon, with the dark fruits of Xanthe the Weeping Clown (but without the candy/bubblegum feel that Xanthe starts out with). Not a lot of Snake Oil in here that I can smell. In fact this might be the Snake Pit with the least amount of Snake Oil (to me, that is!).

[Bagfish]

Oh wow, this is absolutely delightful.

 

On application I am hit with the green rose smell of Rose Red (I think this is the way my nose decodes crisp apple scents as some people say that RR smells like apples). This lasts for 15 minutes or so and then dries down into a really well grounded sweet, spicy floral.

 

The plumeria and gardenia are making their presence felt, and the apple smell lingers, but what pulls this all together and makes it totally wearable for me (normally someone who finds florals difficult) is the sweet, spicy grounding that Snake Oil gives this scent. It is SO marvellous - it doesn't smell at all like Snake Oil, but the influence is there.

 

Looking forward to this one aging too as I reckon the SO influence will strengthen and imrove the blend even more.

 

Wow

 

1st June 2008 Edited to add

Coral Snake is even better 18 months later. It has smoothed out delightfully and is apple-fruity and tart-sweet with a gorgeous underlying amber-ness about it. I'm wearing this a lot at the moment, it's a good early summer scent for when I need something that isn't my usual heavy resins and ambers. I will need another bottle before the Carnaval leaves in September as I think this is going to be a permanent favourite.

Edited June 1, 2008 by Bagfish

[Ina Garten Davita]

Coral Snake just screams bushel of apples! In the bottle, on the skin, on the long drydown it's all apples all the time. This scent is going to be cellared until September. I just know that 7 months of aging is going to turn this into the most amazing autumn blend ever.

[edenssixthday]

Coral Snake - This scent opens up with lots of apple. Apple, apple, apple. Interestingly, the apple doesn't turn rancid or sour on me as it will usually do. Upon drydown, I can smell the sweetness of the blood orange and the plumeria comes out also. I wish the plumeria was more evident, as it's one of the most beautiful floral scents in the world, and it's rarely used in BPAL blends. But I digress... There is a hint of spice in this blend -- a red-hot spice -- and I am really perplexed as to where it's coming from since none of the notes in the scent description are spicy. There must be a little somethin' somethin' in this blend that Beth didn't tell us about! The Snake Oil in this scent is faint and barely there. Overall, this is a skin scent as there's barely any throw and the wear length is about average.

[LiberAmoris]

Coral Snake is all about Beth's incredible apple note. I love that note, it's so crisp and warm and juicy and lovely. So Coral Snake is right up my alley. I have a hard time picking out the Snake Oil until this begins to dry down, and then about an hour into it, there it is, and the resulting mix of apple and orange and florals with Snake Oil is pretty great.

 

This will definitely be perfect in the autumn, it's like apple cider with spices.

[Blood onmy hands]

Coral Snake smells like a little bottle full of cider. Normally I have trouble wearing the lab's cider-esque blends because they're too sharp or something in them goes a little earthy and funky on my skin. This, however, is a perfect apple cider with sweet apples and warm, soft spices. It's smooth and sweet on my skin.

 

I was a bit afraid of the floral notes listed here, but I can't even pick them out exactly. If anything, the flowers just add the slightest touch of a creamy, breezy feel to the blend (and add a sort of complexity that keeps this from smelling too articifial and candle-like on me). It's the sweet apple and the hints of spice from the Snake Oil that dominate. My skin amps up the spice over the apples after a while and I like this a bit less, but it's still lovely.

 

I don't love this like I love Boomslang & Banded Sea Snake, but this will be a great once-in-a-while wear when I want a spiced apple.

Edited February 1, 2008 by Tania

[savage_rose]

I can't smell flowers at all in this...it smells like fall to me, with the apple and sharpness I'm thinking is the blood orange. A little like potpourri, but not in a bad way...like in a "fresh apple/citrus simmering in spices on the stove" way. And with the Snake Oil, it just smells so sweet and good...so very apple, but not very foody. God, I love Beth's apple blends!

[ceej]

This one is the first of the Snake Pit scents not to work on me. Or agree with my nose.

 

My reaction to the scent in the bottle was "cough syrup". As it dries, it eases down into more of a floral scent, but alas, one that makes me want to sneeze. I think that's the gardenia. And the apple is not blending well for me: it feels all unsettled and astringent.

 

I love apple scents enough to hang onto this a bit and try it again.

[dronzeka]

Okay, so this confirms that apples just do NOT work on me. In the imp, I smell apples, and they smell lovely - juicy, crisp, tart; I might as well have been holding an apple under my nose. On me, however, apples turn to a sharp fake-fruit smell, and sadly this is no exception. I don't initially get any Snake Oil in this, although I suppose there might be a little vanilla lurking round the edges. After the fake apples, I get a VERY strong floral (plumeria? well, that or gardenia! ) which seems somehow wrong with the very foody apple opening. After a little while of this, the floral suddenly backs off and everything blends together a little more smoothly - now I can smell the spiciness of the Snake Oil. This stage is nicer - in fact, it's growing on me - but it's not very distinctive.

 

It's perhaps a little unfair to review this since I know apples work so badly on me, but I find this an odd scent - to me, the flowers sit very uncomfortably next to the apples, and I never get any blood orange or lemon peel, which might blend them more happily. It does eventually come together, but I'm not sure I want to go through the rest of it to get here when I'm just as happy with plain old Snake Oil. If apples do work on you, however, you probably want to try this!

[grrrlennyl]

at first: lovely. bright apple, a bit of lemon, and soft florals.

on: there's a bit of blood orange now along with the apple, plus lovely, creamy flowers. lovely.

half an hour later: this is amazing! a creamy, floral, apply scent. wonderful.

1 hour later: creamy apples with a hint of citrus.

2 hours later: a dark floral with a bit of fruit.

4 hours later: just generally powdery.

overall: this is really pretty. i'm not sure i feel about it after it fades quite a bit, so i'm going to try it out again and see how it goes.

[gingersnapp]

It's spicy apples in the throw, but up close you can really pick out the orange and the zestiness of the lemon peel. I'm not getting much Snake Oil, other than the fact that the throw is spicy, but this is really nice!

[Brianne]

In the vial:

Juicy red apple!

 

On me:

Woah! That is fruity! Smells like apple juice Almost immediately there is a tart/bitter note there which may be the lemon peel or may just be the apple. I have had Beth's apple notes go bitter on me before plenty of times so it's not terribly surprising.

 

I get soft florals in the background, but mostly this is juicy, ripe fruits. It does seem like an Autumn blend to me (as it seems to many others) and I sort of think of picking apples on a Fall day when I smell this.

 

After this is on a while I *do* smell a little orange, but I still mostly smell apple.

 

Final note:

I like how fruity and juicy this is, and that it makes me think of Fall. I don't think this is something I'd reach for a lot (I like fruity scents, but don't wear them often) but it is really nice!

[Emma2403]

In the bottle: orange and apple. Terribly fruity… I even get some banana!

 

On my skin: even more fruity. Very ripe and juicy… it’s not totally dissimilar from Shango, if you ask me. Bright yellow, summer scent.

 

After a couple of hours: it gets spicier (hello Snake Oil!) and a little more floral… still very tropical.

 

Verdict: very well done.

[euterpe414]

This is a lot more "tropical" smelling than I thought it would be. All of the added notes blend together quite nicely to create a light, sweet tropical fruity floral that wafts on top of the Snake Oil spiciness. Although in the bottle it smells "cider-y" it is not really that way on my skin at all. The Snake Oil aspect of this scent gets stronger as time passes, although it never quite takes over the blend. Coral Snake also has quite a bit of throw at first, but it diminshes considerably over time (either that or my nose has become desensitized!)

 

This is a perfect summer scent for me, very refreshing!

[Katinka]

Nummy nummy nummy...

 

This is much like what Les Bijoux was like for me, before the rose in that blend raised her fearsome head. It's also similar to my favorite Verdandi, but with a slightly earthier edge. A lovely, sweet, appley blend.

[copyshopclerk]

In the imp: Fruit salad! Specifically, when you make a fruit salad with apples in it, and then the apples at the bottom soak up all the juices from the other fruits - that's exactly how this smells.

 

Wet: Apple, predominantly, but within a few minutes the floral from plumeria & gardenia becomes apparent. So far, no citrus from lemon peel or orange coming through, or for that matter, the Snake Oil.

 

Dry: As it dries, it becomes more of a summery type of fruity-floral. Over time, the fruity aspect fades, and it comes across as a tropical floral. The Snake Oil is pretty much invisible here, but I think it's adding enough of an edge to the flowers, because I like this and I'm usually not a floral girl!

[em_h]

This is another one that I liked more than I anticipated, since I'm not normally a fruit person. It does start off with a very strong blast of apple, but (as with Australian Copperhead) the fruitiness dies down quickly. It ends up as a warm spicy floral with a hint of apple beneath it, and a tiny bit of a resiny feel that must be the Snake Oil.

 

Unfortunately, it is a fast fade; but pretty and comfortable while it lasts.

[Browneyes]

Was looking forward to trying my first apple blend, and the apple in Coral Snake is indeed lovely

 

Imp: Predominantly apple, but with something headier, thicker lurking in the background

Wet: Oooh granny smith apple, right in front of me! Amazing!

Dry: The slightly spicy sweet SO base emerges, along with heady florals. The florals are not "tropical" and not sharp on me, which is a plus It all combines together very nicely, although I get no citrus fruit whatsoever. I can see this aging quite nicely.

BUT: First the apple and then the whole scent seemed to vanish extremely quickly. Granted I was also trying other Snakes at the same time, but I could still smell the others, but not so much this one. So I will have to test if I can get more lasting power out of it, or else wear it in my scent locket.

 

Maybe a bottle.

[melissadragon]

CORAL SNAKE:

 

Imp: All I'm getting is the plumeria and apples. - applied to back of left hand

Wet: Okay, I'm getting some snake oil below those two notes, which is an interesting mix!

Dry: Weird, I'm not getting lemon at all and normally I amp that. Still, mostly apple and plumeria (thank you, Bath & Bodyworks for enabling me to distinguish those notes! ).

1hr later: Apple is gone, now plumeria and gardenia are battling it out.

Verdict: Not a keeper. This smells like something I would have picked up at B&BW, sniffed and put down. It's nice but not me.

[jasmine]

I’ve tried a couple of the Snakes without reviewing them yet (Australian Copperhead, Temple Viper), and I’ve discovered that they have the same amazing, non-metamorphic endurance that makes Snake Oil so remarkable. I’m hoping the same holds true for Coral Snake, because that first blast of fruit is a delight. It isn’t quite as fresh as a true fruit salad -- a bit more calculated, with the hint of spice waiting to bloom -- but the apple and orange together are just gorgeous. (If it hasn’t become obvious, I really like the BPAL apple.)

 

Sniffing my elbow, I would swear I have banana in here, too. I’m sure that I don’t, since it doesn’t appear on the ingredients list, so it must be a skin chemistry thing. I’m not complaining, though it’s a bit bizarre.

 

Over the course of a few hours, Coral Snake has settled into a slightly-fruity, slightly-sweet rendition of Snake Oil. The result is pleasant, but nothing worth raving about, particularly as it faded down to a low, subtle level once the first fruit blast wore off.

 

Here’s the odd thing about Coral Snake: unlike many of the BPAL scents, it doesn’t have an evocative emotional core for me. I like Coral Snake very much, but it’s all aesthetic -- there’s nothing running under the surface. Strange.

 

Still, fun fruit salad, yay. It gets points for that.