Snake Oil Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab 2004

I’ve been working on Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab in the research for a while now. You simply can’t avoid ‘Snake Oil’. It’s the signature fragrance of the brand’s founder, Elizabeth Moriarty Barrial, which she developed entirely for herself; it has become one of the brand’s best-seller and she keeps adapting it into new variations.

I was therefore very curious, even though the notes aren’t quite my cup of tea – but then again, I do usually like patchouli, so let’s give it a go.
As soon as you take a sniff of the sample, you notice the intense, sweet, vanilla-like scent. Once applied to the skin, the patchouli comes through more strongly, along with a spicy, smoky note – though rather than counteracting the sweet, vanilla-like base of the patchouli, it actually enhances it.

The snake isn’t evil, but actually quite nice. The fragrance reminds me of esoteric shops and Lush stores. It makes me think of the sort of people who wrap themselves head to toe in black lace, yet get all heart-eyed at the sight of every dog or cat. The sweet, warm-hearted goths from next door.

It’s not my kind of fragrance; I’m a self-confessed vanilla hater, with very few exceptions. And even though I wouldn’t wear this fragrance myself, I find it less overwhelming than I’d expected. The patchouli does balance out the vanilla a little, after all, and perhaps I simply have a soft spot for all the lace-wearers I imagine wearing this scent.

The vanilla/patchouli combo here is sweet and edible, like something you could find at a boutique coffee shop. My skin tends to give patchouli a minty edge which is lovely against the creamy warmth of the vanilla and spices but YMMV on that.

The incense is definitely there, but in an airy, subtle way. Reminds me of trips to Santa Cruz and Monterey where you'd spend half the day by the ocean and half the day exploring the little gift shops wedged between ice cream stores. Childhood nostalgia for the dying breaths of California counterculture.

Snake Oil is the best known of all the BPAL oils. Essentially a reworking of the Shalimar theme, it revolves around a spicy vanilla thickened with earthy patchouli, tonka bean, benzoin, dragon’s blood resin, and cinnamon. I would not call it ‘exceedingly sexual’ though: it is a thick, comfy vanilla-tonka affair built for comfort, not speed. But hey, perfume is fifty percent what you bring to the table, so if you are already hell bent on seduction, Snake Oil won’t put a halt in your gallop.

At first glance, it is purely vanilla and patchouli, a bodacious fudgsicle sprinkled with nutmeg or cinnamon. Further along down the path, it takes on a waxen or even doughy almond tonality, making me think of the creamy hay-like properties of tonka bean, or the fresher, floral girlishness of heliotrope.

With a blurred bouquet of musks and resins in the base, the vanilla takes a late turn towards golden powder. Powder trigger warning: if you do not like the oft-cited ‘baby powder’ aspect of Shalimar and Tabu, then the drydown of Snake Oil may cause some PTSD. On the flipside, if you love deep-bosomed, powdery orientals, then Snake Oil is a great way to get it in oil form. This ages well, so buy in a few bottles and let them sit for a year or two to get your return on investment.

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.