Snake Oil

[jonobie]

By far, our most popular scent! Magnetic, mysterious, and exceedingly sexual in nature. A blend of exotic Indonesian oils sugared with vanilla.

Appearently, I'm a freak.

For the first hour on, I smelled extremely boozy. My officemate even commented that I smelled like a cheap bar. Oddly, O did the exact same thing -- very, very, boozy smelling on me. I wonder if there's a common note that does that? Anyhow, I hadn't put much on, but it was overpowering.

Now, though, after a bit longer, it's mellowed down into a nice spicy scent with a sweet undertone. Smells a lot like Old Morocco (which I LOVE) with an extra kick. I like it a lot. I'm not sure if I'll buy a big bottle, though, until I try a few more times with the imp. I don't like that boozy smell all that much, and this seems like a scent that can be very variable.

Cheers,
Jonobie Edited September 29, 2005 by Shollin

[heartbeast]

Okay, I'm overdue for a bunch of reviews, but I'm posting this one first because it's just so...odd.

 

On me, Snake Oil is a fairly pedestrian vanilla scent with a mild spicy element. Nice, but nothing special. After a few hours, it settles into a scent that is sort of like pie dough in its comforting blandness, yet somehow not really foody. It's enough like Shalimar that I'd probably layer a spritz of that over it to wear it out, just so I felt like I wasn't going out in my sweatpants, metaphorically speaking. I'm sorry and I don't want to insult Beth's genius, I fully believe that this scent is enchanting and exotic on others, it's just not on me, not this first time anyway.

 

But. Then I took a nap while wearing it.

 

I consider myself a pretty sexual person; I've had some erotic dreams in my life. But, um. Nothing like this.

 

My sleep felt very deep, very heavy, and the dream was very vivid and very detailed. Did I mention that it was vivid? When I woke up, I was actually shocked to find that my arms were flung over my head, my hands lying innocently above my pillow.

 

When I went to bed that night, the scent was almost completely gone on me, but I had another dream...this one wasn't so sexual, but a very romantic, very detailed and plot-heavy science fiction love story. I don't want to go into huge detail because I'm verbose and my posts run long anyway, but I may have to write it out and try to publish it. I've heard about writers doing that, but although I have some very interesting dreams, I've never had anything remotely like this experience.

 

So, yeah. I'll be purchasing Snake Oil at some point soon.

[shadow]

This is definitely going on my bottle list. The first time I smelled it, I thought it was too sweet/vanilla-y and strong for me. Then I put it on before a romantic evening with my husband, and I was shocked. I was absolutely in love. With myself. Oh yeah, and him. But mostly me. I felt slinky and sexy and mysterious and... all those things that I would like to feel all the time but don't. I don't know what was up with the first time, it must have been some weird hormonal thing, because I've worn it three times since with the same result. The vanilla is there, but it's not cloyingly sweet. It just adds richness to the smokey spices.

[summer]

Wow, what more can be said about the widely-beloved Snake Oil?

 

I can really see why this one is so universally appealing. In the bottle, it's a tad overwhelming-- on a bad day, just sniffing it will give me a headache, just because it's such a heavy, heady scent.

 

However, this oil really comes into its own on BARE SKIN. I can only wear a teeny drop (because overdoing it with this one is NOT good) -- but fortunately, a drop is all I need. This oil melts right in and instantly becomes warm, sweet, exotic perfection. It's like a warm, thick syrup. Burnished sugar and spices.

 

It's like having a massage and then going out with the oils still glistening on your skin, making it plump and smooth and moist to the touch. It's like smoking flavored tobacco at a Turkish coffee house, wearing a loose, shoulder-bearing halter top and lots of gold bangles.

 

Oh, yes.

 

[fairywingmaker]

Verrrry Spicy on me. Can't smell the vanilla notes at all. But I will be ordering a bottle of this! I want to smell it on my husband too....

[ViolentKitten]

She smiles at you coquettishly…her long, dark eyelashes all aflutter. You're intrigued, drawn in by that sugary sweetness and something else you can't quite explain. You move in closer, and suddenly you're caught. Trapped within a deep thick sweetness tinged with mysterious spices and incense...

 

Snake Oil is really that kind of delight for me: from a distance it’s a soft spiced powdery sweetness, but up close it’s sultry, thick and intoxicating. It’s almost overwhelming, but not quite. My man loves it on me, and my sister too, who said that it’s very nag champa like, nice, but a bit too strong for her. But sitting at arms length from me she kept getting a whiff of something and said it smelt really lovely…it was me! It’s just so intriguing, I get that sweet spicy incense, but also I’m sometimes reminded of hot cinnamon toast with melty butter and a steaming cup of creamy Chai tea…but it’s not obviously foody. Finally, the dry-down is soft sugared spices and dry incense. It’s tantalisingly sexy and confident, yet deliciously comforting as well.

Edited July 13, 2004 by ViolentKitten

[Electra]

This blend is absolutely tragic on me. I wanted so badly to like it - the reviews are enchanting - but my chemistry hates this blend, apparently.

 

On my skin it smells of Indonesian spices and boiled potatoes, with an occasional whiff of dirty diaper . No vanilla at all. The tiniest whisper of vanilla does show up about three hours later, but overall it's awful .

 

Not for me. Phooey.

[tart]

Edited: Snake Oil kept calling me back again and again. I apologize if you read one of my reviews where I didn't seem to like it -- Snake Oil is now my favorite.

 

My first time trying it

I thought it was a mix between a strong incense and vanilla extract for cooking.

 

Trying it again, blended with lotion

Smelled smokier and spicier. Definitely sexy. Thought it dried to a smell reminiscent of Play-Doh. Boyfriend thought it smelled like an old person's perfume.

 

Here and now

Man, do I love this. It's a perfect, spiced vanilla. I need more.

 

Overall

If you don't like Snake Oil the first time, try it a few days later. Maybe apply it to a different part on your body, or if it's too strong, mix it with lotion. Don't give up! Snake Oil is sexy and mysterous, but may take a few tries to get used to its power.

Edited August 1, 2004 by tart

[Ctrlfreak]

I smell like a whore in a humidor.

 

A very expensive, exotic whore, who has been anointed with musks, myrhh, and eaten an indian sweetmeat whilst being massaged with coconut oil, but a whore nonetheless.

 

A very -satisfied- whore. This is definitely a post-coital request for a cigar being fulfilled.

[Donnababe]

First Sniff

 

Sweet custard. This is going to be interesting...

 

Drydown

 

Much to my relief the custard smell disappears after a minute or two on my skin. The vanilla is not cloying or sickly. The spices are there, faint and lovely.

 

After a While

 

This is a warm and very inviting smell. I'm reminded of pie crusts or danish pastries yet bizarrely I don't find this overly foody on me.

 

 

Final Verdict

 

This has crazy lasting power. I applied this mid afternoon and I could still smell it when I awoke the next day. By that stage hubby said it was a tad Play Doh-ie but luckily I didn't get that association.

 

I'm so surprised by this one, I really didn't think I would like it. Vanilla is normally far too sickly but I find this so warm and beautiful.

 

Thank you to Femke for the imp! I'm seriously considering a 5ml.

[Aurelius]

At first, this smelled like cotton candy and something almond-y on me. I wasn't sure if I liked it. I didn't dislike it, but I wasn't sure how much it appealed to me.

 

And then it dawned on me: I smelled like pipe smoke!

 

I LOVE the smell of pipe smoke. It's rich, dark and sugared. Mmmm...

 

Snake Oil reminds me of a perfume my Grandma used to wear. It's a bit disconcerting, but I'm trying to persuade myself that we both have great taste.

 

I can see why this is so popular. It's divine!

[asa805]

This is just absoultely the most lovely, sexy, let-me-jump-on-your-lap-and-lick-you scent! Im completely anamored! I am also surprised i didnt review this yet. Strange. I swore i did. Anyway i feel very gorgeous and confident in this. I was about to jump a complete stranger on the bus just cause i was getting so worked up with teh scent wafting up my nose

 

So i already ordered a big bottle and am soooo delighted i came across this site to discover such wonderful smells that evoke such amazing feelings.

[ylangylang]

this scent is so beautiful it makes me want to cry. its the equivalent of a hit of heroin or a ride on the back of a flying griffin. out of this world. so rich and sensual, warm vanilla, heady liquer and tobacco, cascades of delicate flowers.... why is it called snake oil? should be called "scent of god"

[bigeyedgirl]

Oh it's beautiful. It's like a hot summer night, sex in public kind of smell. Completely and utterly sexual. It went on wet very sweet and sugary but dried down to a lovely decadent myrrh smell..oh I cannot wait to get this big bottle of this!

[pekeana]

So, I've worn this to bed two nights in a row, and I still can't decide if I love it or hate it. *shrugs*

 

In the bottle: Snake Oil screams at me to notice it. I get lemon, anise, kind of a murky musk, and waaaaaaay back in the back, the tiniest hint of a sweet that might be vanilla, but it's way too faint for me to tell.

 

On me:

 

Hour one is horrifically intense. There is no sweet -- no vanilla. It's just spicy, musky, and lemony. It's so strong that it hurts way up in the top of my head.

 

Hour two is still strong, but it's slowly mellowing and the anise and vanilla come out to play a bit.

 

By hour nine or ten, it's mellowed down to a thick amber, vanilla, and anise scent on me. My youngest brother loves it, my mother can't stand it, and I'm left waffling between the two.

 

One minute I adore it, and the next, I can barely stand it. I'm glad I got a 5ml of it, because I can just keep testing it till I figure out if I like it or loathe it.

[Nepthys]

I was smitten with this from the first whiff - it was heady and rich and intoxicating, like a drug for my nose. Then I wore it so much I got sick of it. This was my first big BPAL bottle and I have since discovered similar scents that I prefer (like O, Golden Priapus and Old Morocco) that don't overwhelm me as much with the vanilla-richness. But I still like Snake Oil, I just temper my use of it. If I wear it too often, the spiciness becomes invisible to me and all I can smell is the sugariness.

[lixolux]

very deliciously vanilla-ey and spic-ey and deep - i love it on, and it feels like a big soft lovely sexy aura. BUT- as soon as my boyfriend smelled it he freaked out and it smells to him exactly like his 11th grade girlfriend who would wear heavy vanilla perfume and smoke cloves and they would sneak to goth clubs in seattle and its the combo of all of that and leather and the wet and the pink club fake fog smoke that he smells in Snake Oil! Which i smell all of in Snake Oil too, except that its going to have to be a me-on-my-own-sexy-errands day sort of a scent, it freaks him out too much!

[eclecticaurora]

I think I may have reviewed this before and said that it gave me a play-doh scent, but I tried it again...and again...and again... Finally I figured out that since these oils are so efficient I should only use a tiny drop. This tiny drop made Snake Oil what it should be! Sexy, sweet, bold, demure...I LOVE IT NOW! When I first put it on the vanilla shows up in the forefront and the spices in the background. Once it dries it turns into an equal mix to me. Spicy and vanilla-y at the same time. Due to my first impression and the first impressions of others maybe this an oil that your body needs to get used to - maybe a tolerance of sorts that will let you finally wear this scent with pleasure? Or maybe it's just a scent that you need to find your perfect dosage of? Gorgeous scent Beth! Thanks so much!

 

~eclecticaura~

 

ETA: Also I wore this scent to bed last night and awoke refreshed and relaxed...something that I haven't felt in the past 6 years! I've been stressed and my fibromyalgia has been acting up and so it's been hard to sleep and relax and feel refreshed. But this morning I felt all these things! Not sure if it is the oil, but I'm going to keep trying it to see if it helps. I'm definitely going to be buying a bigger bottle of this one!

 

PLUS: when I put it on with Jojoba oil it really rounds it out on my skin...I LOVE THIS and have just bought a 5mL and am awaiting it!

Edited January 10, 2006 by eclecticaura

[Hikaru]

Very nice and unique. It actually reminded me of High John the Conqueror, powerful and positive with that hint of spicy sweetness. I'd almost put it in the

Voodoo Blends rather than Love Potions. It definitely feels magical.

[BubbleDragon]

I. Love. This. Scent.

 

The first time I put it on, I just got a wafting baby-powder scent (which was just fine by me, I actually liked it.) I wore it a few more times, and the vanilla slowly oozed out, but with a background of those lovely spices everyone talks about, though still a bit powdery. This isn't a sexy scent to me - it's actually very calming, and makes me want to curl up in a blanket beside a fire.

 

I had it on my wrists and while using my laptop, it must have rubbed into the wrist-rest... so now when I open up the laptop, all the nummy smells come out. I'm very glad my lovely swapper gave me a bonus imp of this, even though I have one placed in my first order, as I expect to be using this one a lot.

 

This may very well be my first 5 ml of a non LE scent.

 

~bubbles

[Lorencita]

I really love this scent as all others do! It is warm, inviting & it lasts FOREVER!!! I putit on last night only on my wrists... it is now 3:30 pm almost & I can still smell it! AMAZING! I love it & I'm so happy I got a 10ml... this will be on heavy rotation, especially in the cooler months to come. Vanilla & incense, Im in love.

[sarahj]

Snake Oil

 

In vial: why do I smell lemons? Lemons and vanilla. A very nice combination.

 

Wet: I, too, have stains on my skin. I still smell lemons and vanilla.

 

Dry: The lemon scent disappears and I smell smoky, spicy vanilla. Different than any other vanilla scent I have tried, more sophisticated.

 

This is one long lasting oil. I could still smell it 24 hours later after I had taken a bath, put on scented lotion, and tried another BPAL oil. That other oil quickly disappeared and the Snake Oil reappeared. While I do like this scent, its a little too strong for me. I think I'll use up my imp, but probably will not buy a big bottle of this.

[Miggins]

Oh, Snake Oil, how I would love thee, if I could only have the chance. The first time I tried Snake Oil, I fell in love. Perfect, rounded vanilla but with an added spiciness. So comforting, so warm and such a marked effect on Jedley (heheheh….). Alas, the next day - eh. I got such a strong hit of myrrh (or possibly black patchouli), I had to check I’d put Snake Oil on. The next day, I tried again and got through the myrrh/patchouli moment, with the reward of something wonderful - possibly amber, but I got the mental image of a polished piece of amber stone. I tried again, and it was just very bleh - each part of my body took warped into a new more hideous smell. I smelt aquatic notes in the crook of my elbow! I refuse to swap Snake Oil; I shall just keep persevering until it loves me as much as I love it.

[Longstofly]

Mmm, warm, sweet, and sexy all at once! I love snake oil!

[serafina pekkala]

This is incredibly sweet in the imp. A lot of these scents remind me of candy from my childhood, but I can't always remember which one, as in this case.

 

On first apply it's nice, a not too striking vanilla that stays well. After a day of wearing the faded scent was reawakened by my pilates exercise and became strong once more.

I can smell other notes in this. Although they've been blended together seamlessly, I get the ocassional whiff of smoky incense. The vanilla in Snake oil is indeed not foody as in pods or essence, but more bourbon-like.

 

I really like it, although it's not my favourite. My friend wanted a bottle as soon as she smelled it! It stays strong, even when I go out in a smoky atmosphere. Also, everybody else seems to love it , and it is superb as a room scent.