Snake Oil
by Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Sillage is good and the scent lasted around twelve hours.
On me it starts out with lots of campfire smoke, a little dirt, and a baby powder undertone. After about an hour the smoke/earth gives way to more baby powder and a cloyingly sweet vanilla which remains static. In the background there is spicy incense smoke and musk but they fade rather quickly.
I was expecting Snake Oil to be smooth, polished, maybe sensual... but instead it makes me feel like a dirty child gorging on marshmallows in front of a campfire. It is much too strong, much too sweet, and I'm glad I have no plans to leave the house today.
However, I've passed around my sample to general acclaim. The verdict? Everyone but me loves this. Give it a shot...

22nd December, 2011.

This perfume is okay but when I wear it people ask if I have baby powder on. I prefer perfumes that actually smell like perfume. However, I can still see some similarities with Shalimar, and I can understand why it might be mistaken for that fragrance. Personally, I like Shalimar more though.

15th November, 2011.

Snake Oil is a beatifully rich, sweet and musky blend that gets better and better as it ages. It's an addictive scent that has me huffing at my wrists whenever I wear it. It's seductive and commanding - a real 'notice me!' scent. Beautiful.

10th July, 2011.

Snake Oil is a full vanilla scent that almost comes across as baby powder but without the powderiness. I like it. Excellent longevity and sillage.

23rd April, 2010.

I crave this. This is a wierd vanilla scent. bpal states this is their most popular scent. I can see why. Read lookingglass' review, she describes it beautifully.

1st August, 2009.

Snake Oil, which BPAL states is their best selling fragrance, is a very interesting scent. It opens with a dramatic spicy / resinous / smoky accord that I find enjoyable in its exotic uniqueness. I can clearly identify cloves and myrrh but there are many other notes in the mix and the whole accord is underlined by a darker, almost woody, but rather sweet vanilla. It doesn’t seem to last as long as it should before the notes begin to change places: The spices and myrrh grow weaker while the vanilla comes on more strongly. All this morphing within the accords makes for an interesting wear. The drydown is almost pure sweet-but-not-too-sweet vanilla with only a touch of rather medicinal spices in the background. Spicy resinous scents are my thing so I enjoy the opening, and I am a bit surprised at my acceptance of the loss of the spice resins and the growing dominance of the vanilla. My tolerance might be explained by the type of vanilla that is presented: I find it somewhat woody and its sweetness is a thicker, more burnt or caramel sweetness than in most fragrance vanillas, and it is nicely augmented by amber. Snake Oil has abundant sillage and decent longevity. I think it is a genuine unisex scent and it’s the third BPAL fragrance I’ve tried that I’m actually thinking of purchasing.

16th December, 2008. (Last Edited: 19th June, 2009.)