Snake's Kiss

[suki]

And truly I was afraid, I was most afraid,
But even so, honoured still more
That he should seek my hospitality
From out the dark door of the secret earth.

 

Snake Oil with sugar, honeycomb, and thick vanilla cream.

This was the scent I was hands-down most excited about, so I have very high hopes indeed!

 

In The Bottle: I get the clean, crisp, almost-lemony scent of the Lab's sugar note right out of the gate. This is the same sugar that was in Sugar Moon from...2008, I think? It still stands out, because I like the almost-citrus aspect of the note, which is a delightful surprise. There's also a touch of the honeycomb bringing up the rear. Not a heavy honey like "O", this is lighter- certainly more "comb" than not.

 

Wet On Skin: THERE'S the vanilla cream! Hello there! The Snake Oil is emerging as well, making this scent a true delight.

Dry Down: I am *smitten*. I had frankly been hoping for something similar to my beloved Kwamie Cotton, and here it is! If you missed out on Kwamie or adore its sweet comfort, this is for you. An, knowing how well SO ages, I am certain this is going to go from "smitten" to "passionate love affair"- it's merely a matter of time.

 

Hoard-worthy!!!

[wendyb1063]

This was the Luper I was most excited about!

 

I thought, naively, that I knew what this was going to smell like. I slathered myself last week with 8-year-aged Snake Oil and O, and thought that Snake's Kiss would smell as magnificent as that combo did. I was even more excited when I read Violet Chaos's review and saw that the honey was not the heavy "O" honey, which can go a bit cat-pee on me.

 

Caveat: I did just get this bottle last night, so it needs to age. But Snake's Kiss smells nothing like my expectations. Oddly, I get something that smells like lavender, the lemon that VC noted, and almost a tea note... (you see where I'm going here, don't you?)

 

It smells to me like Dorian with a drop of Snake Oil added to it. It's really quite nice, but I need to re-evaluate again because my expectations were so solid but soooo far off on this one.

[mizliz2176]

If you're like me, and honey is awful on you, this is the version of "honey" for you! What I'm assuming is the honeycomb note is beautiful, buttery, non funky honey that has an almost floral quality to it, not sure how else to describe it. I really like this. Same kind of feel as snow white, zorya p and Dana oshee (not similar to any of those, just the same kind of "feeling" even though that makes no sense at all). This IS fresh out the mailbox, and a few more tests are required, but I think it'll end up being backup worthy.

[dementia_divine]

In the bottle: When this first arrived, it mostly smelled like fresh Snake Oil. After a few days of settling, I am getting a lemon-y sugar note from the bottle (perhaps the same one from Sweets to the Sweet) as well as some vanilla cream over the Snake Oil.

 

Wet: This smells like sugared, lemon-infused vanilla cream backed by the warmth of Snake Oil's spices. As the scent dries down, the lemon aspect calms down a bit, the honeycomb begins to emerge, and the sugarcane becomes warmer.

 

Dry: The vanilla cream is a lot stronger now, and so is the sugarcane. I'm now wondering if the lemon is an aspect of the sugar or the honeycomb, or if there's secretly a white tea note in this that's given me that impression. The lemon is not as prominent as it had been during the wet stage of the scent, but it's still present, especially in the crooks of my elbows. On my wrists, it's mostly vanilla cream and sugarcane with a soft Snake Oil base. In the crooks of my elbows, I get more of the honeycomb, sugarcane, and Snake Oil (with far less vanilla).

 

Verdict: I really wasn't expecting the lemon-y aspect of this scent, but I enjoy this (especially the sugared vanilla cream on my wrists during the dry stage)! I don't think I need to stock up on this one, but I am happy that I bought a bottle.

[Jenjin]

I adore Snake Oil, and variations of it, especially Womb Fury so I HAD to have this one. It reminds me of Silkybat with Snake Oil as a base instead of Patchouli, along with sugary vanilla cream. I'm getting yummy lemon sugar with my old love Snake in the background, all spicy and almost like a spun sugar. The lemon note stays pretty close to the skin, and fades back after drydown. The overall throw is almost a sweet grape wine note along with a wispy, cottony sugarfluff that is so warm, comforting and makes this unique. After wearing for 30 minutes, this is simply delish! It smells like straight up sugary frosting on me NOMNOM

Edited February 20, 2018 by Jenjin

[highgarden]

This was absolutely lovely. Wet, it was largely a citrus-y sugar with a bit of darkness from the Snake Oil. As it dried, the honeycomb came out, but it was much lighter than either honey or beeswax, and it lasted about 30 minutes on me. I usually amp honey/beeswax, so for those of you who are wary of those notes, don't be scared of this! After about an hour, it was back to being a sweet, sugar-y Snake Oil. The throw wasn't huge and it lasted about five hours on me before I had to stick my nose against my wrist to smell it.

[mmcfa2]

Amazing from first sniff to finish. If snake oil has to age before you wear it, try this instead. The spices are less present and the playdough smell of new snake oil is completely absent. The trade off is a shorter wear time, about 6 -8 hours in warm weather, and a lower throw, which can be a good thing. Grabbing a second bottle, and maybe a 3rd before May!

[Casablanca]

Sugared lemon-vanilla cream, swirled with a little waxy honey, atop a barely detectable Snake Oil base that will perhaps come out more with age.

 

I worried about the mentions of lemon, but it's soft and plays nicely.

 

Lovely.

[Lady_Fire]

When freshly applied, I could really smell the Snake Oil base of this. But there was also a sweetness to the blend that isn't in the original. I usually amp honey and in this, it's very soft and well blended. It's not the honey from O or Womb Fury at all (both of which I can't wear). This perfume, instead of the dark sexiness of Snake Oil, smells more girlie to me. Something you'd wear when you want to feel pretty. As it dries, the Snake Oil takes a back seat and I get mostly vanilla cream, a hint of honey and just a bit of the spices from Snake Oil. It's very soft and wears close to the body at dry down. It's a lovely scent and if you love Snake Oil I think it's a good one to add to your collection.

[tarotgirl99]

I did not get any lemon!

When I first put this on, I got huge clouds of creamy honey/honeycomb wafting from my wrist. The Snake Oil puffs itself up slowly, but soon swallows the majority of the heavenly honey. I get tiny gasps of it but am reminded that I am not a Snake Oil girl as a rule.

It has strong sillage and I can still smell it faintly 12 hours or so later.

In this batch of Lupers, I find I am falling in love at the beginning of some scents only to fall out of love a too-quick hour or so later. How apropos.

[djnevermore]

This is one of only two Snake Oil-based scents I can wear (and love!). It reminds of Cotton or Paper Phoenix in its gentle, sweet softness. I see what a previous reviewer means by it being reminiscent of Snow White, but doesn't have that almond-y playdough note, just the general feeling of SW. So fear not, SW not-a-fans!

I swear there's something greenish in here, but I see there are no green notes in the description. Whatever it is keeps the Snake Oil, which is usually fake and cloying on me, from going into that territory at all. Really, this is gorgeous, and I'm very happy I gave it a chance!

[galahad]

In the Bottle:

That was unexpected. Smells a little different than I thought it would but it is gorgeous in the bottle

On the Skin:

As mentioned by others, a greeness when freshly applied. Very thick cream and sweet honeycomb really morph the base Sanke Oil into something very different.

On the Drydown:

Almost an almond/Snow White vibe to this. The snake oil asserts a little more dominance as it dries down but the scent development is largely linear. Tends to go a little "sweaty" on extreme drydown so more of a winter scent for me. Really pretty awesome all up

[miss_rynn]

I found this really odd. The lemony note actually comes across to me as acai - it's like Australian Copperhead (I think), except with less snake oil. I'm going to let it settle and try again later.

[Smaragdina]

Caveat: I'm one of those rare souls who's never liked Snake Oil because it does that weird plastic thing on my skin.

 

This starts out promising - I can't even pick out Snake Oil under the thick wafts of creamy, poofy vanilla. If I hadn't just found the god of creamy, poofy vanilla in Cotton Phoenix, I'd be super excited. (To compare, Cotton Phoenix is a lot sweeter and floofier on me in its wet stage. There's some wax and maybe lemon here that reins it in)

 

A half an hour later - boom. Plastic.

 

Oh well.

Edited March 10, 2018 by Smaragdina

[fenharel]

sooooooooo much citrus for me. the first time i tried it i thought it smelled like mashed potatoes. the cream note did something weird and savory. now it's sweet sugared citrus, mostly. if i shove my nose right in my wrist i can get the honey and Snake Oil. i've been wearing it in the evenings mostly because i'm not entirely sure if i love it or not, and yet i'm not willing to put it up for sale or swap quite yet. it burns my skin quite a bit, just like Snake Oil and any other SO-based scent do.

[RedPersimmon]

Snake Oil usually goes overly sugared rubber on me, so let's see how Snake's Kiss fares...

 

Wet: Milky honeyed floral.

 

Dry: The cream tempers the sweetness and I'm liking it better than Snake Oil because of that. Getting a sweet marshmallow orchid now.

 

Dry-down: Becomes more sheer and the notes meld together, becoming a sugared orchid-vanilla musk. Quite lovely!

[lady_pandora]

I also get a little lemon in the early going, and then it settles down to be a slightly sweeter Snake Oil, not very different on me from regular Snake Oil. Unfortunately, Snake Oil has never quite been my thing, so it's not quite a fit.

[zankoku_zen]

Creamy beeswaxy vanilla and spice... and OMG ARE YOU A SNAKE OIL BLEND I CAN WEAR? So far, I am 15 minutes in and by this point, SO has turned to a flaming plastic funk of death on me. I was expecting this to be worse even because BPAL's cream note also ends up being some sort of horrible flaming episode of plastic funk on me.

 

....

 

Jesus, is this what Snake Oil is supposed to smell like? Or a reasonable facsimile of it? Because I didn't get it before.

 

....

 

I get it now. HOLY SHIT.

[Lucchesa]

Snake's Kiss is good but not orgasmic on me. At first it was all vanilla cream, and that really dairy cream note that threatens to curdle right on my skin. Then the honey kind of pulled it back from the edge, but I still wasn't getting a much Snake Oil (no lemon, either). I know SO is famous for needing some time to age, so maybe it will emerge much more strongly in a few months. It also didn't last nearly as long on me as plain SO. So, on me, from a decant that had a couple of days to settle, it's a very nice honeyed vanilla cream with just a little Snake Oil. I'll test it again in a month to decide if I need a bottle.

[donkehpoo]

Wet: Much lighter than I anticipated! I can't actually smell Snake Oil at all. This is mostly honeycomb and vanilla.

 

Dry: The Snake Oil has come out, but not as strong as sniffing just straight Snake Oil; it's more a background note than front and center. Honeycomb is the most prominent note on my skin.

I like it, and will continue to wear it, but it's not one of my favorite Snake Oil blends.

Edited June 16, 2018 by donkehpoo

[Dharklady]

Huh.

 

Yesterday when I tried this it was all thick patch/SO and very little sugar honeycomb. Today I'm getting all creamy sugar and honey and the patch in the SO is firmly in the background as a supporting player. I know I made sure to turn the decant a few times both times I tested it. I'm really hoping it plays consistently to the later and that the former was a fluke because wow, this is truly lovely blend when it behaves.

[tinyvulture]

Here we have Snake Oil's spicy, incense-y vanilla, with loads of extra sugar and vanilla added. Not getting much of a honey note -- just overall sweetness. I love its girly,playful sexiness and musky warmth. So glad to have a bottle!

[theseagrows]

ah yes i smell snake oil and sugar at first, with the honey peeking out seconds later. after a couple minutes it seems to bloom, but i am unsure what note i'm getting now-something kind of earthy, almost leathery. after about 15-20 minutes i get the vanilla cream, which really thickens the scent. i really like this! out of all the snake oil "flankers" that i've tried, this one smells the closest to the original to me. personally, i prefer them, as snake oil doesn't really work on me. i think perhaps this may be the closest thing to snake oil i can wear though, yay!

[LizziesLuck]

I've been dying to try this!! But Snake Oil always needs aging for me to truly love it, so I held off as long as I possibly could before the temptation became to great.

 

Wet: OMG, this is the shit. I adore honey. I adore vanilla cream. I adore sugar. And I love Snake Oil all the things. It's like this was made for me. I can smell that it still needs to age to be magic. The Snake Oil is kind of fresh and sharp under all that sexy honeycomb and vanilla cream. But this is EVERYTHING. I need a backup. Maybe more. There are few bottles I have 3 of - this may need to be one of them. I know it's not even dry yet, but just trust me and go get some. WAIT! No. It's turning awful. Like hideous. Don't buy any. Here, just give me yours, you'll hate it....(is lying)

 

Dry: This is everything. Honeycomb forward (a sexy, sticky, lush honey note) with vanilla cream right behind, and just a touch of Snake Oil once dried (though I bet it gets stronger with age). This is amazing, and every time I catch a whiff from my arm I am happy. Hoard worthy! get some before it's gone or be sorry - I predict this one will be hard to come by later.

[ramblingrambler]

Snake’s Kiss is the love-child of Womb Furie and Snake Oil on me. I get a LOT of honey from this blend, and the sharp, high notes from a fresh bottle of Snake Oil. That said, I love both of these blends, especially once I’ve let them age for a few months (to a few years for the glory that is a well-aged bottle).

 

I feel like maybe there’s an addition of Honey Myrtle here. My boyfriend asked if I had just done a honey myrtle hair treatment when I was wearing this, so perhaps that’s the warmth that’s peeking out.