El Dia de los Reyes

[requieminblack]

The Day of Kings, the Celebration of the Magi. In Mexico, on January 6th, children place their shoes by their windows. If they have been good during the previous year, the Wise Men tuck gifts into their shoes during the night.

Hot cocoa with cinnamon, coffee, and brown sugar.

 

Right out of the bottle this pretty much smells like hot cocoa to me. It's a milky chocolate. On my skin I can only detect a faint whiff of coffee. The cinnamon does not come out to play til it starts to fade out and it is very, very mellow. I hoped this would be more of a cinnamon coffee scent but on me it is more of a really chocolatey cafe mocha. Chocolate scent lovers will adore this.

[Elizabethm]

Loving the yule 2007 scents bigtime.

 

This smells exactly as described to me. This smells like real hot cocoa nothing artifical at all to my nose. I can smell the coffee and it's almost a perfect balance making a new smell.. like cocofee or something. Cinnamon and brown sugar I can smell in the background just a bit rounding out the scent like a garnish.

 

It's foody and normally I am not a foody fan. This is really lucious. The only drawback for me is it's not lasting as long as I like.. about an hour and it's so close to the skin that I need to refresh.

 

I think I'm going to order another bottle of this.

Edited November 1, 2007 by Elizabethm

[pugmom]

lovely.

 

Wet - hot chocolate with a little bit of cinnamon for kick.

drydown - cinnamon fades away very quickly on me, not too much of a coffee vibe unless I sniff very close to the skin. Appears to have good throw and doesn't morph much at all on me for the next couple of hours. It smells like I am sniffing the hot chocolate powder rather than the mixed drink especially more towards the end of drydown.

 

a keeper. I think this might be something that would be fun layered with a strong fruit.

[maribouquet]

Oh YUM, this is fantastic! BPAL chocolates don't usually work well on me, but this is just divine! The throw is great and tasty - hot cocoa, and I definitely smell the coffee while the sugar and cinnamon lurk quietly in the background, popping up occasionally, whiff to whiff. SO GOOD!

 

I'm so glad I ordered a bottle unsniffed. (Between this, Gingerbread Poppet, and last month's Swan Maiden, I'm on a roll!)

[valentina]

I have a recipe for a Mexican hot cocoa mix that I usually give to people for Christmas. It is not for sissies, and no one mistakes it for Swiss Miss when they drink it -- it has in it both cocoa and chopped up bits of Ibarra chocolate, a heavy dose of cinnamon, just a bit of espresso mix, and brown sugar. I sound like Martha Stewart, but this is going to come into play in my review! El Dia de Reyes obviously jumped out at me when I saw it in the 2007 Christmas LEs, and I was very anxious to try it.

 

In the bottle, it's rich, spicy, chocolate. When I put it on, I initially got a strong hit of cocoa, the same sort of cocoa that I smell in Boomslang. The cinnamon fires up on drydown, and the top notes of cocoa and cinnamon hold on thereafter, without a lot of morphing. I also get a bit coffee, because I'm reminded just a bit of the coffee fragrance in Misk U. The brown sugar isn't especially apparent to me, except perhaps as a means to keep the scent from becoming too dark or bitter.

 

I find El Dia de Reyes dark, rich and rather potent, and exactly like Mexican hot cocoa. The scent seems more gourmand than foody-sweet to my nose. On my skin it has great lasting power and while it could be worn alone to great effect, I also agree with the others who think it would layer beautifully with other scents.

[TheIceMaiden]

I've tried El Dia De Reyes twice today and it was a little different each time. Earlier this afternoon, fresh out of the Lab box, it was the scent of hot cocoa powder with a little cinnamon, but no coffee. Now, this evening after my bath, its coffee and cinnamon when wet and cinnamon and brown sugar when dry...no cocoa at all. And honestly, I'm not sure which version I prefer! I'll let it settle for a bit, as I usually do with Lab-fresh bottles, and see what happens in a few days.

 

This is a warm, cozy scent, perfect for the colder months ahead. I love it so far and I'm pleased to finally have a coffee scent that works on me. I have a feeling I'll be getting a backup bottle before the Yules retire.

[willowlux]

A simple yet scrumptious blend. I was able to pick up all the notes. Not at once but throughout the day each of the components made themselves known.The chocolate is a milky sweet chocolate, the cinnamon isn't too overbearing, the coffee and brown sugar blend well together to give it a coffee creme brulee scent.

I wore this one to bed last night and my husband was very happy with my selection. It has nice staying power as I awake and still smelled this on my wrists.

I welcome addition to my winter collection

[mamoyer]

Bottle: Smells like Tiramisu!!!! Seriously, yo. OR someone's breath after church when they've been drinking coffee and eating chocolate doughnuts.

 

On me: I want to eat my arm. This smells SO GOOD. It's not really an espresso coffee. It's coffee coffee served with a chocolate dessert. Can't really smell the cinnamon or brown sugar.

 

Drydown: O plastic! -wherefore dost thou bring ruin to EVERY foody scent on my skin? A minute later, I smell like a hot cocoa-scented scratch'n'sniff sticker, the kind I got around Christmastime on my worksheets in middle school. It's still good but...waahhh, that plastic smell haunts it. I'm hoping that it's a chemistry off-day and will try again later this week. If there's any change I'll update my review.

[Honeygirl]

Bottle: Coffee

 

Wet: Coffee and chocolate with some sweet and spiciness.

 

Drydown: This is the best coffee scent I've ever smelled. It's not overpowering at all and it's not bitter, which is how coffee usually smells and tastes to me.

3.5 outta 5

[sookster]

straight sniff from bottle is pure decadence....omG...

 

true, dark hot cocoa with cinnamon....

 

once applied the cinnamon amps up (a chemistry thang with me) but subsides quickly

and i am left with the most delicious cinnamon hot cocoa evah! a touch of brown sugar

later and i am left in awe...a multiple bottle purchase...i can only imagine this would

age like the dickens!!

 

 

bravo beth...absolutely gobble worthy!!

[aleciarivas]

Mexican Hot Chocolate, all the way, bay-bee!!! OMG- even in the bottle my mouth was watering!!!! This is heavenly goodness that completely satisfies my morning chocolate cravings!!! I seriously want to lick my wrists!!! When I opened the bottle and put it on the morning, all three of my daughters almost immediately crowded around me (they were in the other room when I opened the bottle) to smell me and beg for "potion" as they call it.... Needless to say as I drove them to school my vehicle smelled SOOOOO heavenly with all four of us well-slathered....

 

Yummy milky, cinnamony hot chocolate goodness.

[ladyjc]

In the bottle: Chocolate Cake Batter

 

On: Straight up chocolatey goodness! I'm not getting anything but CHOCOLATE! I'm really hoping that with a little aging I'll be able to pick out some of the other notes in this. As for right now, this has been pretty much just chocolate all day.

 

Another thing: this stuff LASTS! I put it on at 7am today and it's just now starting to fade at 5:30pm!

[alicia_stardust]

EL DIA DE REYES

 

WET: In the bottle this smells just like hot cocoa mix, the kind that leaves little bits of sugary undissolved cocoa around the inside of the cup. Aah, what memories!

 

DRY: On my skin this immediately moves from instant cocoa to a very fine, decadent, silky smooth Mexican hot cocoa. It is dead on! The cocoa sits the strongest but there is a very clear mix of coffee and cinnamon and sugar just under that cocoa surface. This smells so festive, rich, and chocolatey that I can almost taste it. It has a strong throw, long wear-length, and doesn't really morph once it dries on my skin.

 

Yummy! *lick*

[RaTheCat]

Wet: Cocoa, with a little cinnamon-flavored coffee thrown in.

 

Dry: Oddly, the cocoa and coffee switch places, with the coffee becoming the dominant note. Unfortunately, it isn’t lasting on me, but I love the scent so this will be one for the scent locket. So yummy!

[heartlilly]

This is so yummy I want to lick my wrist. It really smells delicious.

 

It starts off very sugary coffee with just a hint of cocoa and spice. As it dries it mellows to a slightly spicy sugar with a touch of coffee and cocoa. It does threaten to go a bit plastic-y, but thankfully never really does.

Overall, really nice.

[angelfish323]

This is delicious. It's reminding me of something that I can't quite put my finger on . . . but chewy chocolate cookie comes to mind. There's definitely coffee in there too, which I love. A hint of cinnamon.

 

Oh! I thought of it. One of my favorite Mexican restaurants back home brews their coffee with cinnamon in it. (Mix cinnamon and coffee grinds, then brew. Delicious.) This smells like that with a chocolate cookie on the side. Which is a very, very good association.

 

It warms up a bit over time, and then reminds me of thick and rich Mexican drinking chocolate, minus the chili powder. You know, that delicious stuff with seriously high viscosity you drink out of 1 oz cups because any more than that would be serious overkill? Yeah, that stuff.

 

Regardless of which yummy thing comes to mind when I sniff, it's all fabulous.

[maproot]

This is a very rich chocolate; almost too much (never thoghtI'd say that)but over time it does calm down abit.There is a hint of cinnamon, but overall I am enveloped in warm hot chocolate.I definitely enjoy this, and am glad I have a bottle for slathering-this probably will be a dab instead of a slather-its an almost mocha buttery chocolate but that's just IMHO! very enjoyable-stops licking wrist

 

ADDED Nov. 22:

 

I ditto previous comment-more chocy cocoa goodnessenveloping me in a warm chocolate blanket and a mug o'cocoa(as if that makes sense)!!!It is a new favo0rite for sure!!!!!!!woot-staying power is good-but I keepgetting hungry and smelling wrist

[Cheri]

Oh wow. This is so good. It smells good enough to drink, but wearing it is almost as yummy. It's warm and chocolately with a little bit of coffee and spice. It's sweet, like fresh baked chocolate cake, the kind you make with coffee so it stays moist. I bet this is going to get even better with age. One bottle just won't be enough.

[n3m3sis42]

In the bottle:

Strong, yummy coffee with cream and sugar, and maybe a hint of chocolate.

 

Wet:

Strong, yummy coffee! I really love this.

 

Dry:

It really does smell like delicious hot cocoa mixed with coffee and cream, sugar, and cinnamon. I love it!

 

Kudos to Beth! I ordered a TON of the Yulies, and so far I have tried three... and totally love them all!

[jolarocknrolla]

starts out smelling like coffee and cinnamon rolls ... but with my body chemistry it winds up smelling like pipe tobacco. one for the locket for sure.

[zenvodunista]

I've been agitating for the scent, so it will surprise no one that I had high hopes for it.

 

In the bottle this smells a lot like Bliss. Hmmm.

 

I put some on and it is... Chocolate cake. Warm, fresh from the oven, chocolate cake. Devil's Food Cake, even. THe throw? Chocolate cake. My Mom's chocolate cake, the one she doesn't even put icing on - just a little powdered sugar? It's moist, and decadent, and delicous.

 

But it's not Mexican Hot Chocolate. Am I an awful person to be sad about that, while simultaneously thinking this is a great scent?

 

I won't lie - I'm hoping with a bit of aging the chocolate dies back a bit and I get some other notes out of this, I'd love the coffee to come forward! And others!

 

But for now, this will go with my Beaver Moon. Something to wear as a serious indulgence. I think it will be great for parties.

 

Oh, and it's got SERIOUS throw! I put a dab on from the "nipple" of the cap, and I can smell my hand when it's fully extended from me! Holy moly!

 

N.

[Megara]

This is very cocoa and cinnamon on me. It really does smell like a spiced hot cocoa- Chocolatey, creamy and warm. The cinnamon isn't the typical stinging-get it off-burning like other cinnamon notes tend to be on me either, which is awesome.

It has really nice throw, even if I don't slather.

Multiple bottles, for sure!

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

in reading the description now, i honestly have no idea why i bought this.

 

that being said, i've tried this a few times over the last couple of days, trying to form an opinion and i still haven't.

so on with the review!

sniffed from the bottle: coffee grounds. or, specifically, the scrub i make using used coffee grounds, olive oil, sugar (raw, brown, regular white, doesn't matter) and a tiny drizzle of a fragrance oil called either "chocolate delight" or "swiss miss" depending on which company i bought it from during any given month.

on skin: most of the chocolate and sugar have gone away and now this smells like i've stuck my nose into a tin of fresh ground coffeebeans.

i'm not registering any cinnamon, but it might be there just slightly grounding the coffee. i'm also not getting any cocoa - hot or otherwise - or brown sugar.

 

after about an hour this turns into the bitter coffee, toffee-ish scent that Misk U is on me for the first few seconds, with the faintest waft of pecan spinwheels.

overall okay, but not for me.

 

edited to add: this sucker has some staying power! and not only that but it has some impressive throw! when i wrote out my review in my notepad the other night, i had slathered pretty well, to get a good judge of what was going on. but tonight i put on just a teensy drop - to make sure it was still what i remembered, and that the review was still accurate from my experience. with my hands on my keyboard and nowhere near my face, i still keep smelling this. it isn't changing anymore, still a bookish coffee-toffee-pecan sort of smell.

Misk-U lovers should really enjoy this.

 

editing yet again to add...

i tried a droplet of it again the other day and i kept smelling something really familiar but couldn't place it. just figured it out - it reminds me of the smell of Ojon hair products.

Edited December 5, 2007 by TrailerTrashPrincess

[Nepthys]

This smells exactly like the description - for once, I can perceive every component listed. And it's delicious. Love at first sniff. Unfortunately this has amazing throw and endurance and after a few hours, I get sick of it. I actually showered it off before bed because it had become cloying. Why can't Eggnog have that kind of staying power?

[tartchef]

TrailerTrashPrincess & I must have had the same psychic blip... WTH was I thinking ordering this? MiskU was an utter trainwreck on my skin, and after 15+ years in the food industry, I really hate smelling like foodyfood. I put this on this morning with babywipes & witchhazel at the ready...

 

Huh. Go figure. This is actually pretty yummy on me. Trust Beth to prove me wrong!

 

Straight out of the bottle, El Dia de Reyes is boooooozey - healthy slugs of chocolate liquor & cinnamon schnapps in a very small cup of coffee. There's a moment when the chocolate threatens to go "chocolate flavored coating" & plasticky... It's akin to brownie batter out of a box... but then the cinnamon steps up & beats everything back into shape. It's a very dynamic cinnamon, shifting from super dry bark to pungent cassia to Red Hots & back again, all with the barest hint of dark roast coffee lurking underneath. At this point, the chocolate has all but vanished, leaving just a hint of creamy sweeetness. There is an element of "Hot Fudge Delite", but I get that scented candle vibe from a lot of scents that combine cinnamon with food or florals.

 

I certainly don't need the whole bottle, but will keep an imp on hand for holiday socializing - I can see this being a potentially good enabling scent, particularly for two of my pre-teen nieces...