“And yet a restless, always unsatisfied craving for the nudity of paganism,” she interrupted, “but that love, which is the highest joy, which is divine simplicity itself, is not for you moderns, you children of reflection. It works only evil in you. As soon as you wish to be natural, you become common. To you nature seems something hostile; you have made devils out of the smiling gods of Greece, and out of me a demon. You can only exorcise and curse me, or slay yourselves in bacchantic madness before my altar. And if ever one of you has had the courage to kiss my red mouth, he makes a barefoot pilgrimage to Rome in penitential robes and expects flowers to grow from his withered staff, while under my feet roses, violets, and myrtles spring up every hour, but their fragrance does not agree with you. Stay among your northern fogs and Christian incense; let us pagans remain under the debris, beneath the lava; do not disinter us. Pompeii was not built for you, nor our villas, our baths, our temples. You do not require gods. We are chilled in your world.”
Along with Loviatar, she has become something of a Patron Goddess of all Dominatrixes, Wanda is the breathtakingly beautiful sable-wrapped marble queen of Sacher-Masoch’s fantasies. Her scent is a deep red merlot with a faint hint of leather, sexual musk and body heat over crushed roses, violets and myrtle.
willowt –
At first the Snake Oil and tonka are most noticable, but after a few minutes the leather and sage become more appararent. Long-lasting and absolutely gorgeous! One of my favorite BPAL scents of all time!
Rebecca –
Wet on me, Western Diamondback is an even sweeter Snake Oil, which was not what I was expecting from dry components like sage, leather and sandalwood. So, tonka, leather and Snake Oil at first, and it’s gorgeous. If you like these ingredients, you can hardly go wrong here. The sandalwood and sage help keep the balance, but on my skin they stay well in the background. Gradually the leather and friends fade away and I’m left with Snake Oil. My favorite of the Snake Pit so far.
ltealco13 –
A quick little update… Western diamondback is still a delightful scent! But, it does dry you out. After a week of wearing it behind my ears and my wrists everyday, my skin was just devastated! Lots of peeling and dryness. It could just be *my* skin though… and I got around this by putting down vaseline before I added the scent–thankfully, this actually makes it last longer too! So, just be aware of this if you’re living in a dry climate or have very dry skin like I do. Still one if my favorite scents though! Even if it does have a bite. 😉
ltealco13 –
I’ve been wearing this scent for a little over a week so I could really try to put my finger on a good description. When wet on the skin, the first scent is a very, very strong leather base that sort of covers up everything but the tonka. Then, once it dries, the scent becomes more of a dusty (as in lots of dirt on a road dusty, not old house dusty) snake oil sweet. Also, the scent lingers for hours and hours! Very long lasting. A good, outdoorsy but still sweet and sensual smell. The only reason I’m giving it four stars instead of five is because I wish the sage and sandalwood were more recognizable.
Teamama67 –
So satisfying! Tonka & Snake Oil are an ideal pairing; serpentine sweetness coiled around a leather, sage & sandalwood base. Western Diamondback is a real pleasure.