Santa Muerte

[Blood onmy hands]

Santa Muerte, Saint Death, is not a harbinger of doom and symbol of entropy. She is the Queen of Mercy, a source of motherly comfort, and a symbol to all sweethearts that love lasts even beyond death. She is a vision of beauty in her own right: glittering rings adorn every bony finger, she is draped in a cloak of the finest satin, and her grinning skull, beneath her cowl, is crowned by a bejeweled tiara. A deep, resonant scent, both comforting and soft: lovers’ roses, solemn chrysanthemum, dark vetiver and dazzling cactus flowers.

Wet this is a very interesting floral. One that I've never come across before (the cactus flowers?). It is a lovely sweet and green floral. As it dries, more of a soapy rose begins to come out.

A half hour later, this is faint and very sweet. An almost honeyed sweetness. I'm not getting any vetiver at all.

After an hour, this is actually getting stronger and becoming more of a biting floral. The rose is going bitter, I think.

Rose. Rose. And more rose. It stays just that for about 5 hours before fading away completely. I liked it much better when I first applied it.
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Trying this on again at a later date.

I still like the way that this one starts out on my skin. It's a light, sweet, yellowy floral. Then it goes straight into sharp rose, bitter and harsh. A weird 'dirty-feet' smell is also lingering behind the perfumey migraine inducing rose. Santa Muerte and I are not meant to be. I give up on this one now, lol. Edited December 15, 2005 by Blood onmy hands

[~AmusedMuse~]

My Impression:

I agree with instone's earlier review when stated "This is desert roses".

After drydown the vetiver almost overtakes this one and is making the scent turn almost soapy on me. My scale of 1-5 ....2

[Eros]

In the bottle/just applied~Slightly sweet, dry florals with a touch of rose. As it dries, the rose comes through a bit more and there's a hint of...cedar(?) in the background. Subtle throw.

After a few hours there's a bit of what smells like a very light vanilla that sneaks in here and there.

Lovely blend

[Northernminx]

Well hello there Ms. Chrysanthemum, Ms. Rose how are you? I"m doing fin-

 

Mr. Vetiver what are you doing?

 

No... put the axe down Mr. Vetiver...please?

 

AIEEE RUN! RUN! Nooo not the flowers! AGH! PUT THE AXE DOWN!

 

...

 

If Santa Muerte were a horror movie on my skin, it would read something like the above wherein the initial burst of lovely flowers is massacred in a horrible bloodbath by vetiver - which doesn't even have the decency to mellow any and let any of the other notes through as it usurped my chemistry.

 

Off to prison with this one. Next.

[misfitroxy]

Santa Muerte smells musky and almost rancid in the imp. I'm hoping it's just the oils mixing and mingling while wet and that it will morph pleasantly after hitting skin.

 

The first thing I notice after dabbing my wrist is that the blend has a decent amount of throw to it. That being said, it's much lighter than I'd expected. The florals are all potent in their own right but seem to calm down when placed together. I can smell the roses the strongest. They're joined by other blooms that do smell rather dusty and natural as though they belong by a desert roadside, perhaps as a part of a memorial bouquet.

 

Oddly, I'm really not picking up on the vetiver in this. While there's a darkness in the background, it's subtle and merely heightens the florals instead of overtaking them.

 

Santa Muerte is a lovely oil and absolutely captures its namesake in full. However, the flowers are too rich for my tastes and simply do not suit my own character. Someone who has a taste for florals and the deep, dry desert would appreciate this for certain.

[Rackham's Vanity]

Santa Muerte was an unexpected surprise.

 

I, like others, got dusty cocoa from the oil when it was wet! I can't explain it, but good lord, I'm not complaining!!! The sweetness of the florals in this blend leans towards foodie (again, no compaints from me!), and I keep getting whiffs of the wine note in Centzon Totochtin.

 

My one complaint is that it hasn't got much throw, and it disappears completely by the end of the day. Guess I better buy a bottle and slather it on!

 

Wow...yet another floral I love...go figure!

[dreadeddragon]

In the bottle: Cactus! I like cactus. And chrysanthemum, and a bit of vetiver.

 

After 30 minutes: Rose. With a hint of cactus. Poop. I wanted something more cactus-y.

 

After 60 minutes: It's a floral blend now, but the vetiver is gone, and I'm still sad my cactus is undistinguishable.

[AlaskaSnows]

In the Bottle: Rotting roses and tobacco. Not scared yet, it could turn out okay.

 

Dry: Okay the tobacco did go away, but while the rose died down there is one kind of rose used in the oils that doesn't agree, I smell it as totally pickle. I picture it as a big giant fat tightly petalled rose just this side of rot. And that's almost all I get from this, except a light sweet floral aside I imagine is the cactus flower. I don't know what to think.

[lohengrin]

In the imp: I could swear I smelled chocolate in here, at first sniff. Second sniff, and it was vetiver.

 

On, wet: Vetiver and roses. Overpowering. x.x

 

Later: It fades a little, but remains very much rose and vetiver. Pity, cactus flowers sounded kind of intriguing.

[urraca]

This started off as an attractive bitter cocoa and then quickly shifted to vetiver and nothing but. It reminded me of some of the voodoo oils.

[pickman's model]

Santa Muerte is definitely different from what I usually wear. I'm not a huge fan of florals, but I swapped for this because I'm drawn to Santa Muerte herself.

 

It works on me. The tartness of the cactus sits nicely with the earthy sweetness of the rest of it. The flowers aren't all huge and in-your-face. It's very autumnal. Not one I wear often, but once in a while.

[ChupaChup]

Santa Muerte was a lovely gift from the lab in a recent order. I love it. I really don't recognize any of the notes, not even the rose, this is so different smelling. I think that tart fruity note must be the cactus but it's not an over-the-top fruitiness which would ruin this for me. It's almost like the touch of pear in Endymion. And where is the dreaded vetiver? Nowhere to be found, thank goodness. I would love to get a big bottle of this but I'm afraid, especially since it contains vetiver. that a big bottle wouldn't be as good as the imp. Somehow that ingredient always seems stronger when I get a big bottle.

[Ajila]

In the bottle - Lemon and spices

Wet on me - the lemon has become more pronounced, but sweeter - very foody in feel as well as smell

Dry on me - it fades very quickly, but there are occassional gusts of floral.

[Loligo]

Mosquito repellant. I'm serious. This is exactly the piney-sweetish-herby smell I remember from whichever brand my mom bought most often -- maybe Cutter, or Deep-Woods OFF. It's gotten a bit more floral as it's aged over the past hour, but still... bug spray. Nostalgic, but not what I'm looking for!

[aidenraine]

Wet: Hmmmm I smell tortilla chips and margaritas. Sweet corn. This smells just like tortilla chips and lime, really. The lime is really present, but so is the salt-sweet chip scent. It smells like violets.

 

 

Is that the chrysanthemum I smell now?

 

 

This has changed into a really strong floral... hmmm floral with lime. Not entirely appealing

[BlueStar]

This smells really damned good. Another "gimp" from the lab that will likely drive me into more spending.

 

In The Bottle: I can't pick out any one note it smells like roseanthemum and vetiflowers.

 

Wet on my Skin: Whoa baby is that resony. I love reson scents. Two of my most fav's are resons. This should be good. Mmmm Cactusy. Having lived in Mexico near the desert I actually know what cactus flowers smell like and that note is DEAD on yummy. Brings back great memories.

 

Drydown: This is an arousing and titilating blend. I imagine a very sexy latin woman with a voluptuous figure emerging from the desert on a painted horse. This image is strong and I am not sure if it is a memory from a former life or what but wow that was cool.

 

Verdict: Feminine but not overtly so. I would wear this in the house, I would wear it with a mouse... I like Santa Muerte, I like it Sam I am.

Edited October 14, 2005 by BlueStar

[quimerula]

It starts as a nice floral perfume, but as time goes by it turns more sweet in a eatable way.

I think it shares notes with Día de los Muertos and 13, but it's more floral and less sweet.

Very nice indeed.

[judas_kiss]

This is a lovely floral. It's sweet and soft, not at all crisp or heavy. It has a very comforting feel, it reminds me of how my mother would smell upon returning from work when I was a child and thought her the most beautiful woman in the world. Lightly perfumed, yet comforting in a sweet way.

 

Unfortunately, florals are *usually* just not me, and this is no exception. Swapped you away, my sweet. Perhaps another time we'll meet again and I will feel differently.

Edited October 18, 2005 by judas_kiss

[Fishwomon]

I don't get cocoa, or dust, or even vetiver. I get big, dark, aggressive flowers. There is no subtlety in this scent on me. It's like a dark red rose genie escaped from the imp, wafted up my nose, and is now strangling my brain.

 

I have a notation on my bpal spreadsheet: "No - too perfumey." I just get overwhelmed with dark florals and nothing else emerges. Alas, that's where Santa Muerte falls.

[leapylees]

I have no idea what cactus flowers smell like (probably because I'm from the north of Scotland), so bearing that in mind:

 

Santa Muerte, to me, smells slightly bitter and kind of like like black tea with a hint of something citrussy - orange or orange blossom possibly. I get the slight tobacco note that someone else mentioned,but no roses at all. This scent doesn't morph much on me except that five hours after application it's faded to the generic powdery smell that I get with a lot of BPAL scents. All in all, I like it a lot.

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: Sharp vetiver, almost peppery, surrounded by roses and other florals. Surrounded, but certainly not tempered in any way.

On me: Thank goodness my skin ate the vetiver! (Although that is odd...usually it amplifies it, not reduce it's power.) The cactus flower is such a pretty, light note, and the heavier traditional rose makes this a powdery, soft scent. The vetiver's influence keeps this dark, but there is something merciful and kind to it. This is not at all like some of the other visions of Death Beth's blends have unveiled.

[cupide430]

Sharp bitter floral. I think this mostly chrysanthemum with a hint of rose. The rose that doesn't quite work on me. There's something lovely hiding under the bitter notes, I wish that the gentle floral bit came out more strongly.

[Phaedra]

Wet this is floral and herbal. When first on this is lemony roses, wet and full. This becomes like a dusty potpourri. This is very faint and starts fading after a couple of hours. Reminds me of Lucy’s Kiss a little. This is nice but don’t need to keep it.

[13bodies]

I love Santa Muerte. Every time I wear it, I like it more.

 

It starts out as a sweet floral--I want to say juicy, but there's nothing fruity about it. It's like freshly cut flowers, their petals still perfect and lush. On the drydown the sweetness fades and a dark almost bitter scent comes out which is a nice counterpoint to the flowers. I like the way it morphs over the day. It keeps me entertained.

 

Top ten scent for me.

[slave1]

In Bottle: Super sweet floral

 

On Skin: I get a sweet citrus note right away… I think it’s the cactus flower. A lot of people have mentioned chocolate which I don’t smell in the slightest. It’s very pretty but I’m not digging how floral it is… I like it but I think I’ll let it go to someone who appreciates florals more than me.