Reviews of Snake Oil
by Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

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.

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.

Snake Oil is a perfume oil, so it doesn't absorb right away, which could cause problems with clothing. It reminds me a lot of an essential oil shop I used to frequent. Heavy with deep spicy stuff. I can easily imagine a lot of free-spirit types happily wearing this, and maybe even mixing it up themselves. There's amber in here, but maybe champa too. And maybe lemon oil. Maybe some myrrh. It's rather overwhelming at first, and I feel I should be wearing a tie-dye, ankle-length skirt with Birkenstocks and my peace beads while shopping in an import store. But, then about an hour later, the amber comes out more and makes it less 60's-love-child and more just plain oriental. I like the drydown much better than that first hour of free love. And I like the vanilla, plenty of vanilla in the drydown. Unlike Coyote (another BPAL I've tried), the sillage on this is pretty intense. It's also got some major longevity. It's over 12 hours later, and I'm still giving off amber waves of vanilla! I'm not sure I get the association with Snake Oil, but it is a lovely scent.

Snake Oil is love for me. It starts out almost medicinal, maybe even almondy, but quickly dries down to a deep, dark, spicy, musky vanilla. It has increadible sillage and staying power. I often get complements. Sometimes people think its Shalimar! It is a comfort scent but it also sophisticated enough to wear out to dinner. It is sweeter and more complex that Coty Wild Musk, but I think they are definately cousins. She is my "go to" scent. There is a reason it is the most popular BPAL!!!