Snake Oil

First review in a year here people. Why now? Why THIS perfume, you ask? Because, quite frankly, I have been beguiled and charmed by this mystical snake oil. I've also been playing with it for a week (or should I say it's been playing with me) and each time I put it on, I fall deeper and deeper under its spell. This is niche territory people. I would put it right up there with the likes of my beloved babies L'ombre Fauve and Loree Rodkin Gothic l. In fact a reviewer mentioned the similarities between gothic and snake oil and that is exactly how I became I intrigued. Personally I think it leans more towards L'ombre, but that is neither here nor there, as both are mystical perfection in a nottle. So listen, the opening (wet) of snake is a no. It's a food grade syntheyic vanilla and it's just not magical. But don't let that fool you. That's just what she wants. This potion MUST be applied on the skin. That's when the dance or should I say, trance, begins. At first, it's snake medicine and vanilla. But then, ohohohohoh, please oh please, just give her 5 minutes to work her magic. All of a sudden, wafting about, enveloping and encasing you, is the most enchanting spicy, warm, vanilla, smoky, resinous, amber dusted skin you've ever smelt before. You're literally under your own spell. You can't believe you are so exotic and powerful, sexy and mysterious. You can't stand it, you don't know what to do with yourself, so you just keep smelling you're wrists in hope to satiate these feelings. But then, it gets wven worse, and you bury your face even deeper...and on and on this goes, til you finally give up, give in and pass out. Okay so maybe you don't pass out, instead, you allow the madness to over take you, which generally results in an over application of yet even more magical potion and watchthe whole process begin again. If this is all from my fresh and supposedly immature, unsettled bottle of snake oil, then I'm terrified for the frenzy this will cause me when she grows up and refines her magic with age. I'm ordering 5 more bottles of this and locking them away so I can find out.

I think, for some, Snake Oil isn't what they'd expect. I knew I thought it would be much more straight vanilla (which I adore) with some mild, sugared 'spices'. When I first cracked open that bottle and took a whiff, it was much more SHARP than I had anticipated, with a slight medicinal undercurrent (this fades with aging). This was my first forray into BPAL, so I guess I was used to more commercial scents... Easily S.O. has now become my 'ride or die', works every time scent. Despite our tumultuous start, it soon grew on me & I realized I was hording bottles of S.O., aging bottles, collecting other items in that scent: the Snake Oil soap, the hair gloss, the bath oil, etc... A bit of an obsession, really! PLUS: it is the ONE fragrance I've worn out and on SEVERAL occasions had complete strangers complement me on 'how good I smelled'. In essence: it is thick, resinous, exotic, mysterious, rich, sophisticated, and very, very sexy. Makes me feel confident, and just a little different than run of the mill... A Classic.

I've been wearing Snake Oil since 2005. The fresh oil is lighter, vanilla incense powder. But aged? Glorious! Dark, spicy resinous vanilla. There is nothing out there like it. It is a crowd pleaser, by far my most complimented fragrance of all time. I think this works best in cool or cold weather, and for evening/night. I actually don't wear it very often, even though it's near the top of my list of favorites. Maybe 8-10 times per year. I tend to wear it on especially fun and/or special occasions. Concerts, birthdays, big dates, holidays. Keeps it special! I've sampled many BPAL offerings through the years, but this is the only one I keep ordering. I'll continue replacing my little bottle of Snake Oil as long as it is offered for sale.

This is an absolutely superb oil! This is my first experience with any BPAL oils. Definitely a great first impression! I was lucky enough to snag an aged bottle from a fellow Fragrantican. I was so worried that this would turn baby powder on me like other reviewers have stated. Some scents really do turn into baby powder on me (a couple come to mind)... Not this though! Yay! So glad it works with my chemistry. This may be my HG scent and even my signature. I can smell the "cola" that others have described in the early stages of wear. It is vanilla, incensy, cola, spicy, and yes, powdery too (but not too much so). It also has great sillage and longevity! A little goes a long way. Absolutely love it. I need to buy myself a backup bottle!

This review is for a new (about 1 month old) bottle of SO. This smells verrrry different from aged SO to me. It smells... Woody, buttery, coconutty and vanilla in the early stages of wear. I will come back and update later about how it changes and the longevity. Update: 3 hours later and still going pretty strong but I don't think this is as strong when it is fresh. I keep getting little wafts of that old familiar Snake Oil smell I've become accustomed to with the aged stuff. Update 2: I could still smell this on me 8+ hours later, even though it was close to the skin. Very good longevity for being fresh. I love the aged oil the most but this is still a very good perfume!

Wow - it's hard to not like this scent. I was given a free sample with a recent order, so I only tried this a couple of times. Right off the bat I can see why this is their best seller. It's just such a harmonizing blend. It seems somehow natural - the notes are all very fitting for one another. They blend seamlessly. It's both simple, yet complex. I basically got a mix of oriental spices, some sweet notes in there mixed with a soft vanilla. It remained fairly linear on me until the spices died down some and the vanilla became more prominent, but overall it was a sweet/spicy vanilla, at times a powdery kind of scent.

I have the 2009 version of this perfume oil. After it has aged, it became more vanilla and less musky. You shouldn't judge this perfume from the bottle. It should be definitely worn on skin. On drydown it becomes a dark vanilla with a touch of Siberian musk, patchouli and spices. I don't know why but I feel confident whenever I wear. But this perfume should be applied in small amounts. Yesterday I had worn Shalimar and the powdery drydown of Shalimar kinda reminded of Snake oil.

My bottle has aged about 3 years now, and it is smooth spicy incense with dry beautiful vanilla at this point. Reminds me a bit of Shalimar. When I first got it I was underwhelmed, but it sure gets amazing with age! It lasts a long time and has great projection. Wear with care! It will attract men like crazy. I usually don't get followed around by persistent weirdos when I go to bars, but it sure happened while wearing this.

I was not expecting to like this at all (not a big fan of vanilla), but surprise, surprise, I did like it. In fact, I love it. I generally don't like the scent of vanilla but in Snake Oil it's warm and rich, not too sugary or plasticky, and tempered by a glorious mix of spices. This scent is warm, comforting, and sensual all at the same time, and it only gets better with age.

A new bottle does start out with a powdery vanilla scent, but as it ages, it becomes a beautiful spicy vanilla incense. It's been my "safe" go-to for awhile now, and always draws compliments from men as well women. A little goes a long ways, and is easily one of my longest lasting scents. Warm, sensual, and alluring. Simply gorgeous..

Hot damn I love this stuff! Got a sample, will order a full bottle. O too. I haven't hardly smelled my other imps after falling hard for these two. Just beautiful. Enticing, alluring, intoxicating. Everything I was hoping for, though not as spicy as I expected. Maybe I'll try it layered with red musk oil.

This is my all time favorite perfume. It is an incense type for sure. It is beautifully blended with sweet and spicy. I get tons of compliments on this. Is it my go to perfume and pretty much my signature perfume. Love it!!! Moderate lasting power and sillage.

I love it. The closest thing I can describe it as spicy, caramelised cyanide, not sure if it's what they are going for but it certainly works for my purpose. A favourite.

I really liked this fragrance. Sweet and warm, but not overwhelming. Lovely

This is definitely a trippy little sexy fragrance that has a lot going on and ends where you don't expect. Years ago back when I had a fragrance blog BPAL was sweet enough to send me some samples the thing was I did not know about the whole aging thing and I tried the samples and well I did not review because I felt bad that I did not like any of them. So I put them aside and forgot about them. Fast forward a few years later and I decided to randomly try them and lets just say I am thoroughly now aware of why these fragrances have a following. Snake Oil starts off as a classic head shop oil and I know classic head shop oils, but within a few moments it starts to morph, and it takes on the qualities that make it far better than a head shop oil. In fact it veers into really good. It gets a whole lot of spice at the beginning think clove, cinnamon, and cardamom they leave though but there is a trace that remains and then enters the stage of vanilla, the hot spicy vanilla that you smell in Tom Ford's Tobacco Vanille. Luckily it tones down though with the entrance of powder, think the cherry pipe tobacco honey powder note you smell in Must de Cartier, Fifi Chachnil, By Killian Back to Black, or Keiko Mecheri's Loukhoum, or Les Nereides Opponanax. This is probably my favorite stage, underneath all that powder is hints of animalic musk (I'm thinking Kiehl's) and hints of very dry patchouli. The powder dissipates a little bit allowing for the vanilla to come back with hints of spice and in the end it reminds me a bit of Guerlain' Cuir Beluga with its definite use of heliotrope at the bottom. This lasts a long time and I can still smell the remnants of it now. The thing is this baby has an effect. I randomly put it on last night not expecting much reaction, I don't get it very often, I was looking pretty mundane to be honest. I ended up meeting my boyfriend at a local pizzeria but I have to say men were reacting very flirtatiously with me and trust me I am not the flirting sort, the only thing I can attribute to this random attention was Snake Oil.

There are more notes in Snake Oil than pictured. I'd add incense, tobacco, and whatever sweet, powdery flower note that pops out at the very end. Snake Oil is smokey, sweet, vanilla, and warm woods and spice. If you've ever smelled the fragrance of Beauty Protector hair products, it's very similar, but Snake Oil has more vanilla and less tobacco. I like vanilla incense as incense, and I love vanilla and "oriental spice" fragrances, but on me Snake Oil is too sharply smokey. On me, it smells like I escaped a forest fire after putting on vanilla perfume...or like I spent too much time sitting near a campfire toasting marshmallows. Snake Oil does round off a bit on drydown. On me, the sharpness of the smoke gets softer, and a sweet powdery floral-like note pops out at the end. I can't identify the flower, because the smoke wraps around it, but it's sweet, like yellow daffodils. This note is what saves it for me. Snake Oil isn't awful on me; it's just not "me". I even occasionally reach for it when I want something different in the autumn. I'd just rather smell it on a guy. It would also be a good home fragrance in the autumn or winter. ETA: Extremely long lasting. I could still smell it on my wrists the next morning.

Review of sample that's been setting in a cool dark place for 8 years. Directly from the dabber: Idk the notes, I'm just going to tell you what it smells like to me. Woody Sandalwood, sweet vanilla and tonka, something nutty, maybe almond, something powdery/dusty... maybe orris, balsalm resins The over all vibe is earthy and sweet. Not gourmande, rather resinous with some complementary notes that blend seamlessly. It's very good, and smells niche.

This is a review of what it smells like fresh, since mine isn't aged. Wet it smells like straight up Emeraude by Coty. I was shocked buy how similar they smelled. The longer it sits on the skin, the more those powdery notes fade, and notes of what I detect as dragon's blood, nag champa, vanilla, and sandalwood, come out more and more. It's quite nice. It feels comforting, soft, and feminine, not that a man couldn't pull it off.

When I first smelled Snake Oil it kind of reminded me of Hot Topic (at least how it smelled in the 90s). Which isn't bad, but I wasn't sure if it was for me. After wearing it all day on a warm day however, I can say I understand why it's so popular. I smell awesome! This is definitely one I will consider full sizing. Wonderful company, pro choice and align with my core values of equality.

everyone loves snake oil. i wish it worked so well on me, but it turns very baby powdery on me. i do not mind powdery either, but this one is just a bit over the top. maybe it's the combo of notes. snake oil certainly isn't *horrible* on me, but it isn't very remarkable either.

Mine is about 4 years old and I still don't like it. I didn't like it when I got it and I don't like it now. It smells just like hypnotic poison but smoother, and I hate hypnotic poison! If you like hypnotic poison, you'll love this stuff and, at A LOT better price.

No matter how many times I keep trying my imp, all I get is sweaty, sugary feet.... But that won’t stop me from hanging onto it and continuing to test it though (I’ve had this sample for 5+ years and while it does get a deeper sweetness as it ages, the sweaty feet aspect also gets stronger)

I got an Imp (sample) for myself on a blind buy. I no longer have it, but from what I remember, it smelled sweet and pleasant enough, if somewhat generic, in the bottle -- and almost instantly turned to powder on me.

Probably meant to be a dupe of Luctor et Emergo by PoTL, but with a very sharp cigarette edge.

I'm sorry but this just smells like plastic and cheap incense on me. So disappointing.

Warm spicy vanillic bugspray! :-(

I expected a lot because this perfume oil has a cult following. To me, it smelt incensey, Sweet like vanilla with maybe some honey. When I wore it, it was nothing real special. It is similar to the perfume by Al rehab named Cobra. Cobra was everything I hoped snake oil to be plus a beautiful tuberose. Cobra also reminds me of the very original formulation of poison, that my grandmother loved so much but somehow it doesn't smell dated to me I really don't have the patience to let something sit for months to years in order for it to smell amazing. As far as this perfume oil goes, I feel as though it's some sort of take on a Middle Eastern scent. I much rather go straight to the source and I now buy Arabian perfumes. There are so many amazing scent profiles that I wasn't even aware of living in the United States. If someone likes snake oil or if it's disappointing, I recommend you hop right on over to the Arabian perfumes and take a look around. I've not gone back yet to Western perfumes.

The famous Snake Oil to me, is gorgeous. Yes...ANOTHER Snake Oil lover here. It's a most addictive smell. Vanilla with a massive twist. A twist of spice and mystery. it gets alot of attention because of the amount of throw it has, and people always ask what it is...or comment! It lives up to it's legendary status in my opinion. It's like a smoky, balmy...spicy vanilla..that feels exotic and unusual. Some people seem to have a bit of bad luck with this turning to total baby powder on them, it's not like that for every skin type. It does drydown slightly powdery on me which is a bit annoying but only when it's very dry.. I have yet to experience the "aged" Snake Oil thing. But..I have a bottle that's nearly a year and a half old and haven't used one drop so..I will surely get to try soon! It's a luscious thick oil.. and it's very sexy spicy and sweet! This stuff is so strong it's almost gloopy. I don't really know what else to say...it needs to be tried to understand the awesomeness.

I do get the vanilla, but it's more of a burnt vanilla than straight up sweet or smooth. There's something almost caramel/almond-like about it for me--and that's what's making it seem sweeter than I think the notes suggest. The spicy aspect is somewhat buried but strikes me as something between wood shavings and a medicinal scent. All in all, it's cozy without being cloyingly sweet, and it does stand out from the rest of the line. I personally don't get the "head shop" vibe with this one like I do with many of their other fragrances. Then again, it's hardly department store material either. Some say it smells like Shalimar -- which I could see -- but I'd say it has allegiances with Hypnotic Poison as well (although I actually see HP as higher quality, but less complex). A solid, warm, and quite wearable scent for a very reasonable price.

The hype made me do it. Thought this frag would be amazing-- mystifying! But, meh from me and double-meh from husband. It's nice, but that's about it. To me, it's a distant cousin of many Arabian perfume oils, and in particular reminds me of Al Rehab's Susan. Susan is a "westernized" blend. And Susan is typical of other Al Rehabs or Al Haramains that are blended to be more feminine/sweet rather than the traditional unisex frags. Snake Oil is more or less the same very tame genre. Except Snake Oil doesn't project nearly as well (hardly on me), or last even 10% as long. BUT! As a second thought, if you layer Snake Oil with Queen by Queen Latifah, it seems to bring out the best in both fragrances. They reinforce each other.

Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab’s Snake Oil is a luxuriant molasses-y, musky deeply sugared vanilla incense, blended with dark spices more sacred than culinary. This is a scent that lends to a sense of danger and power, and not for the faint of heart–but rather for a heart-pricked thrice under a full moon right before you take a big dripping bite of it to seal the spell in flesh and blood and death. You’re the dangerous, powerful creature in this scenario and you gotta commit if you’re going to wear this gorgeously potent thing.

I got ahold of a 4-year-aged bottle of this and I've been wanting to try it for ages, because the spice notes sound right up my alley... but NOOOOOPE, I'm one of the lucky people this goes super, super powdery on. If your skin pushes powdery beware of this one -- the spices won't win. It's a sillage monster, too, so everyone in a 5' radius will know that you smell like weird powdery years-old stale spices! I felt like a slutty grandma. I bet this is gorgeous on the right skin chemistry, though.

I have been a fan of Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab's perfume oils since 2004. Snake Oil is by far their most popular scent, and is an incense-y oriental with vanilla. It is quite unique, and from the reviews on their fan forum, it's one of those scents that smells different on everyone. On me, Snake Oil reminds me a bit of Calvin Klein's Obsession (but with the addition of vanilla.) It is a very slinky, sexy scent. I think it would be too much for daytime--I usually only wear it at night.

All I will say is this. Bought after reading reviews etc. said why not. Ordered a bottle have worn it one time and love it. Compliments, Compliments, Compliments all day at work from the time I arrived until I left. It has earned a spot on my shelf as long as they do not jack with the formula. Really nice, great longevity, sillage and decent projection and my skin drinks colognes and oils these days. Will buy again.

ohhh i love this scent!!! Since it comes as an oil, I like to get unscented moisturizer and add some of the BPAL scent oil to it and make my own "snake oil" scented lotion, it's so nice even as a perfume base so you can layer it with other perfumes. For when you love your perfume but just want a bit more "incense" or "spice" to it, this is perfect!! Also, the vanilla is so nice and subtle in this!

This scent was amazing! I will definitely be on the look out for more once my sample finishes. This is cinnamon sweet, with dark sugar and vanillin added in to make it smell like a dessert. But it's not 100% gourmand. There is a very dark element to this, as others have mentioned. I really like this one and once the sample finishes I'll be looking to get some more. I am very happy with this one.

Went onto my skin as a nice headshop type oil, very vanilla hippy, but when it dried down, I got a menthalated medicated powder scent that was horrid. Had to scrub this off so I wouldn't smell like medicated foot powder. Disappointing after all the wonderful reviews. Try this one before committing.

To me this smells like a headshop version of Hypnotic Poison - fluffy almond vanilla and an incense feeling sandalwood. It's fun, but it's not really my style. It does feel like walking into any store that sells incense sticks and hippe-esque goodies so you have to be into that.

Just received mine and all I am getting is a very strong baby powder note. I am not getting the vanilla or spices. I am sure if I let it age, it will develop more in time. Otherwise, still a lovely scent and happy with it.

I got absolutely no vanilla from this oil, even when aged (as BPAL fans will recommend you do to increase sweetness) for a couple of years. All it smelled of was dark, smokey incense. The inside of a head shop. Yuck!

This smells more like Emeraude than Shalimar to me. It's soapier than Shalimar and less smoky. This is very strong so use a light hand.