Banded Sea Snake (2006)

[Tramp]

Snake Oil with oakmoss, sea moss, and olive leaf.

This has been one of the more elusive scents of the pit. I'm having a hard time getting a handle on it. Wet I can pick out the oakmoss - slightly earthy but almost like a sanitized version. Not as "loamy" if that makes any sense. The drydown leaves a faint salty tang with just a whisper of sweet spices. Not as much throw as some of the others (anaconda I'm looking in your general direction) and for me it would benefit from liberal slathering.

[forspecial_plate]

Had a chance to spend some time with this today, so I'll go ahead and review it.

 

Banded Sea Snake works really well on me! At first, I'm getting something surprisingly minty that I wasn't expecting. Could that be the sea moss? I'm not sure but after a few minutes, the scent goes through some changes. It strikes me as a murky green scent. I think of being about 10 feet under water, looking up at bright shafts of light falling through the green water. And there's the snake, swimming with graceful curves above my head. I don't get a whole lot of oakmoss, at least not the way I think of that note. After a while the olive leaf comes out more strongly, and it's a note that's growing on me. I recognize it from Lycaon and....was it in Haloa? I think so. Anyway, through all this, I didn't get a whole lot of Snake Oil either. It might be there, but the scent was working really well on its own, so I sort of forgot about the Snake Oil aspect.

 

So basically.....this is a murky green aquatic scent with shafts of brightness, starts out minty, finishes with olive leaf. I wouldn't have thought that this would be a favorite. As it turns out, I really like it!

 

edit to add: I do also get that touch of saltiness that Tramp mentioned in her review.

Edited January 26, 2007 by Forspecial Plate

[nineveh]

This is kind of a strange one, and when I sniff it, sometimes I like it, and sometimes I don't.

 

This is a very green scent with a shadow of Snake Oil in the background. I get no mint, thankfully, but I do detect a rather astringent green (the sea moss?), the dark fuzzy green/brown of oakmoss, and the creamy green of olive leaf that I love in Haloa and Lycaon.

 

I can't do aquatics, and while this isn't a watery blend, there is something oceanic and salty here that I don't enjoy when it peeks out.

 

So, I guess the bottom line is that I like the oakmoss and olive leaf, but not so much the sea moss. It's similar enough to Haloa on me that if I kept it, I know I'd keep passing it over for that one.

 

I would recommend this to fans of salty sea blends like Jolly Roger and Port Royal, or maybe someone who liked the olive leaf of Haloa but thought it was too sweet a blend overall.

[The_Witching_Hour]

Nineveh was right on when she referred to this one in the same category as Port Royal. This is so reminiscent of PR when first applied that I would have a hard time telling the difference!

 

When Banded Sea Snake starts to dry, a touch of mint makes itself known making this blend much lighter in feel than Port Royal. This is really beautiful!

 

Overall, its not heavy but maintains its presence with the feeling of green marshes and somehow dries with a touch of a floral feel which I suspect is the olive leaf. Not floral per se but in this blend of marsh plants/notes it manages a balance.

 

OUTSTANDING!!!

Edited February 1, 2007 by The_Witching_Hour

[Ina Garten Davita]

Wow. Snake Oil only green. Banded Sea Snake has the same vibe as the Fantasy Bath scent "Into the Green." It's got the hypnotic earthiness of Snake Oil but blended with a deep, dark and herbal quality.

 

I didn't think I would like it as aquatics never work for me. But this, for me, is definitely not aquatic, but has a damp quality that is often associated with fresh moss. Really beautiful, soothing and even a bit somber.

[Gale]

I am really just loving the Snake Pit to death!

 

In the bottle and on wet: Banded Sea Snake smells to me quite a bit like how Sudha Segara smells to me. It's soft, soothing, and creamy. There's a floral note too, but not at all instrusive.

 

Dry: I still get the soft soothing note, but a crisp, watery element emerges. I can't really detect any Snake Oil components in this one.

 

It's gorgeous!!

[sookster]

straight sniff from imp is fantastic!!

olive leaf and snake oil!

 

this is soooooooooo good on!!

 

the snake oil prevails in this blend and the green olive leaf and mosses

are divine!! a really awesome blend that i will be wearing very often

[Blood onmy hands]

Banded Sea Snake is my most favorite aquatic ever (my only favorite aquatic?). When I sniffed it in the bottle, it instantly made me *so* happy. It's a bright, creamy, sweet aquatic. Actually, I'm not even sure if it's right to call this an aquatic scent. It has that bright, crystal clear, glass & sunlight sort of thing going on that Sea of Glass does.

 

The Snake Oil aspect comes out more in the drydown (and I find myself wishing there were no SO at all in this) and adds just a hint of something earthy. Even now, the 'earthy' isn't a soil note so much as a hint of soil smothered in dark green. A tiny hint of Snake Oil's vanilla is also coming out now and adding to the creamy sweetness. The Snake Oil isn't so bad as it is moreso adding oomph to the blend than taking it over.

 

It's like the bright crystal aquatic of Sea of Glass, only better... with some mossy greenery amped up by hints of Snake Oil vanilla and earthiness. It has a salty edge that I am loving, and it's so much creamier and smoother than you could ever expect without really trying it.

 

Good stuff.

Edited February 3, 2007 by Blood onmy hands

[ceej]

I like this, but I'm having a hard time articulating why. Green, it's definitely green. I recognize the olive leaf from Lycaon and other blends I've liked recently. I don't get aquatic from this, but I think I do sense that whiff of salt other reviewers have mentioned.

 

Green, mossy, and soft, with the snake oil sugared oils far below.

[edenssixthday]

Banded Sea Snake - This is stunning! Based on the description alone, I would have never expected I'd love this one. It's like all the parts I loved about Cthulhu -- and none of the parts I disliked -- were blended with Snake Oil to create a lovely, unique, and pretty scent that is really versatile. I could see being able to wear this in almost any context. Sadly, the wear length on this one was brief when it was on my skin. But some of it got on the collar of my coat, and three days later, I can still smell it when I put my coat on.

[allidavie]

Wow. I can't pick a single note of this out. It's so smooth and well-rounded, I've got no idea what the heck this smells like but I adore it! I have very few multiple bottles anymore (as in, there are only two scents I have multiple bottles of, and I've got a lot of bottles!) and I have to say.... I'm going to be buying a second bottle of this! It's gorgeous, light enough to wear everyday, just fabulous.

 

That was probably the least helpful review ever.

[twistygirl]

I get just a *hint* of Snake Oil in this one. Initially reading the description, I didn't think I'd be crazy about it, because green/aquatic scents are a bit too outdoorsy for me. But this is just lovely. It's a deep rich aquatic, no doubt due to the Snake Oil influence. Moderate throw, and it seems to last well. It's much sexier than I had imagined. It smells very dark green. Definitely a keeper.

[emzebel]

On me, Banded Sea Snake is almost like Snake Oil light - I get the vanilla and spices of original SO, but the mossyness anchors it and gives it an earthy feel that makes it less sensual OMG SMELL ME and more mmm, spicy. I was actually hoping for a little more of the aquatic/mossy vibe from this one, but I am really interested in seeing how it ages...

[LiberAmoris]

Now this is an aquatic I can really get into. Banded Sea Snake is like Snake Oil plus Lyonesse on me, and I could not be happier. The result is a dark aquatic with something lurking in it, like a brackish, moss-green pool teeming with naiads.

 

I can't stop sniffing my wrists. It's a little bit hypnotic.

[gingersnapp]

With the other two snakes that I've tried (Asp Viper and Australian Copperhead), this was the only one where the Snake Oil aspect never came out. For the most part, I'm going to attribute that to my skin chemistry always amping oakmoss to the nth degree. I do love oakmoss, though, and I think the sea moss and olive leaf made it wetter and greener than it usually is on me, so it wasn't a total disaster.

[themerrybaker]

Banded Sea Snake is really heavy-vanilla Snake-Oily for me. It also seems more chocolate than aquatic. It smells good, but was really a surprise because I was worried about an aquatic-gone-wrong. As for throw? BSS stays tightly coiled around my wrist.

[Emma2403]

In the bottle: it screams “I wanna be worn by a guy”. Oakmoss and something marine, that makes me think of Tempest.

 

On my skin: it’s really too masculine for me. It’s very aquatic, a bit mossy too… it’s very nice, I just wish I had a guy to try it on. I can smell some similarities with Cthulhu as well.

 

After a couple of hours: it’s nearly all gone… the only thing left is some vanilla (coming from the original Snake Oil, I reckon).

 

Verdict: it would probably be wonderful on a man who likes aquatic blends. But not on me.

[euterpe414]

I never expected to like this one as much as I do! I am getting a lot of Snake Oil with olive leaf and bit of oakmoss (it's oddly lending a bit of a cologny feel to the blend, but not too much, thankfully!). This really isn't aquatic on me in the least. Instead, it is a sweet scent with hints of greenery. All in all very unique and lovely, yet still an all purpose can-be-worn-anywhere scent. I think I may need to hoard this one - aside from Boomslang this is definitely my favorite of the snakes!

[juniperus]

Bottle: snake oil with dark greenness behind. looove snake oil!

Wet: the same, deepening a smidge.

Dry: it's a deeper green, but the snake oil is still the grounding factor. I can pick the oakmoss out, but barely.

Later: gorgeous, very grounded and earthy snake oil. Oh, I need a big bottle of this one!

[ilona]

Dang, this might be my fave of the Snake Pit so far.

 

Creamy, green Snake Oil. This is just aquatic enough to smell clean, but not totally soapy. And then there is the vanilla. I never thought I'd like an aquatic vanilla, but there you go. I really can't pick out the other notes, but there is something slightly spicy, too. This is almost a skin scent. Not too masculine either. Definitely a winner!

[slave1]

BANDED SEA SNAKE

 

In Bottle: Bright snake oil

 

On Skin: Wow, what a contrast! This is such a brighter version of Snake Oil. The olive leaf really takes over and makes it so fresh and with a beautiful green tone. The oakmoss gives a gorgeous earthy feel and the sea moss has a superb ozoney note. This isn’t a strong scent at all, it’s quite faint but so pretty and clean. A very interesting cousin of Snake Oil and I love how it contrasts. If Snake Oil was too dark or resinous for you, try this one for sure. It has a very low throw and short wearlength… I do wish it lasted longer on me.

[copyshopclerk]

In the imp: Reminds me of Lyonesse and LUSH's Olive Branch, with a touch of Dorian (but then, something in Lyonesse reminds me of Dorian on its own)

 

Wet: Unusual for blends to do this, but it actually goes *less* sweet when it hits my skin. It has all the same qualities as I could detect in the bottle, but there's a hint of a darker bitterness underneath.

 

Dry: As I've noticed with the rest of the Snake Pit, the Snake Oil comes out more as it dries - the dark quality I noticed when wet turned out to be the incense from Snake Oil. It seems like if I layered Lyonesse and Snake Oil, I'd make a Banded Sea Snake, but I don't have an imp of Lyonesse anymore to test that Long lasting, very strong throw.

[maijasu]

I think slave1's description of this as "bright Snake Oil" is perfect. I can smell the SO in it, but there's a bright green note on top of it that changes the feel entirely. This would be great for warmer weather, when Snake Oil would be too heavy. It's a happy scent, as opposed the original, which I think of as dark and sexy. Another winner!

[em_h]

I completely did not expect this one to work on me. But it did!

 

Okay, the first thing it did was to vanish -- for about ten minutes after putting it on, I couldn't smell anything at all, not even a whisper of scent. But then I started getting this very nice, and quite hard to describe, warm waft of dry moss and olive oil, but sweet and a bit dark. That probably doesn't sound very good, but it is. Not a knock-you-down sexy scent, but a good, slightly earthy, slighty syrupy blend that's not quite like anything else.

 

I've been almost uniformly wrong about which Snake Pit scents would work and which wouldn't.

[melissadragon]

BANDED SEA SNAKE:

 

Imp: Soft green, mossy Snake oil - nummy! - applied to middle of right forearm

Wet: mm, mostly just snake oil but its a tempered snake oil, softer a bit and yes, greener.

Dry: Yes, a softer, greener Snake Oil.

1hr later: Mm, this is the Snake Oil to curl up and cuddle with. After brushing teeth as I'm getting a vague mint note in here.

Verdict: Keeper.