El Dia de los Reyes

[copyshopclerk]

Hot cocoa with cinnamon, coffee, and brown sugar.

I am in love and I did not expect it with this one! No BPAL chocolate has worked properly on my skin, so I didn't think this one would either. I couldn't have been more wrong - this is phenomenal!

In the bottle: Rich, dark, hot cocoa

On: This is amazing. My mouth is watering - I am not kidding. It's a gorgeous rich hot chocolate - like really good hot chocolate in a nice coffeehouse, so the scent of coffee is there but not at the foreground. This gives me a visual of stepping in from a cold, snowy winter day into a warm, friendly little cafe, ordering hot chocolate with a dash of cinnamon for myself while my partner gets a coffee.

Dry: Not a morpher, which is fine by me because this is just so perfectly delicious. I'm going to need lots of this! I want to find some Marshmallow Poof to see how they wear together!

One thing to note which I find odd - I'd expect this to be dark, like Boomslang, but the oil is pale. I prefer that, because Boomslang left marks on my skin but this one doesn't stain at all.

(edited for description) Edited November 14, 2007 by copyshopclerk

[SurrealReality]

In the bottle/imp: hot cocoa, but with a funky sweet note that I don't care for

 

Wet on skin: mmm, hot cocoa (still with that funky sweet note), coffee, cinnamon, and something a bit nutty/buttery

 

Dry: Brown sugar and cinnamon, with a hint of hot cocoa and coffee. Later on into the drydown: hot cocoa (it's strong again, but without that funky sweet note from before), brown sugar, cinnamon (although not as much of it), the nutty/buttery note has come back, and the coffee has disappeared. At the very end of this scents life, it's pure brown sugar

 

It lasted maybe 4.5-5 hours and has good throw

 

My rating in the bottle/imp: 3.5 out of 5

My rating on my skin: 4 out of 5

 

When I read the description, I thought this would be a 5. While it's not quite as delicious as it could have been (I was hoping for much more coffee), I'll definitely be getting a bottle of this, and possibly a backup as well

Edited November 19, 2008 by SurrealReality

[ladybird]

OMG LOVE! LOVE!!!

 

ahem. Right. Using actual words now.

 

This is a gorgeous wonderful scent. It goes on as mocha, warm and chocolatey with just a hint of coffee. Then as it dries, the cinnamon starts to come forward - it really does smell like Mexican chocolate! It even has a tiny fruity note that really really good chocolate has.

 

And best of all - none of the horrible maple-syrup that creamy/foody notes tend to give me!

 

Oh my gosh, I am in love with this scent! Chocoholics, check it out! This will keep you warm and happy all winter

[smallvoice]

Let me start off by first giving much, much love to the person who free-canted me this. You know who you are!

 

I'm also going to say how much I love it, right off the bat. It really does smell exactly how I hoped and expected it would. The notes are balanced really well. I feel like it isn't as complex as some scents are; like this might be really good in a lotion, but I felt that way about Bliss. I think this one will deepen beautifully with age, however, and that will be breath-taking indeed. I am so glad I swapped for a bottle already!

 

This is coffee and chocolate and cinnamon. That's just what it is. If you don't like foody scents, this probably won't work out for you- then again, the cinnamon could totally ground it for you and make it gourmand, so don't take my word for it!

[savage_rose]

Oh WOW. My husband and I started a tradition where we get QuikTrip cappuccino and drive around and look at Christmas lights, and that is this scent! Amaretto and coffee, and a touch of nuttiness. Warm and cozy and utterly worshipable. I'm in love.

[naeelah]

In the bottle and wet, this smells like a rich chocolate bar. It smells a lot like the Candy Butcher. In the background there's a slight hint of cinnamon.

 

The cinnamon emerges almost immediately as it dries. I've always figured that cinnamon is just such a strong note that it kind of takes over any blend, but maybe I amp it a little. In the first 30 minutes or so of this scent, the cinnamon was very strong. I'd say it was in about equal balance with the cocoa. Not overwhelming, though (I dislike scents with predominant cinnamon). Very rich, very spicy.

 

I'd forgotten that it had coffee, until I looked at the notes again. The coffee is definitely there, if you know to look for it, but I had a hard time picking it out. It blends so well with the cocoa and cinnamon that you don't go, "ah, coffee!" It deepens the blend and provides balance to the sweetness of the chocolate.

 

Because chocolate notes burn off a little bit quickly, after about two hours, the coffee is much more dominant now. It smells like a cup of black coffee with a dash of cinnamon and cocoa on top. Delicious!

 

Throw is on the soft side of average. The life seems to be decent, definitely good compared to other chocolate scents. I haven't had it on a super long time, but right now I'd put its life at average, needing to reapply every 4-5 hours.

 

Definitely try this if you're a fan of chocolate scents, or if you want more scents with dark coffee. Don't be afraid if you're not a fan of cinnamon. I hate overwhelmingly cinnamon-y scents, but this doesn't offend me at all.

[Silverstrike]

Wet this was very much like Candy Butcher, which is great for me because I love the Candy Butcher. As it dries though, it gets quiet powdery, very much like sniffing cocoa powder in a cannister. It made me want to cough and sneeze. I like it, but not as much as I love the Candy Butcher. If you also love the Candy Butcher, this is probably worth checking out.

[Babylon]

Thank you, Honeygirl!

 

In the bottle: For god's sake, it's the most sinfully rich brownie ever. I know what it really is, perfume, yet a small tortured part of me aches to drink it. It's swoonworthy.

 

On skin: Oh! Time to wake up, it's Folgers in your cup. It smells slightly like Misk U, but no dusty tomes are to be found here. When I sniff my wrist, this is a fresh cup of hot, steamy coffee, with hot chocolate and a foamy top and all! This is *amazing*... BPAL cinnamon always, always amps and burns mah skins. BUT NOT HERE OMF. (Also, for the record, Candy Butcher did NOT work on me, it smelled like burning plastic. But this puppy is sublime.) Smelling the waft around me, it smells like decadent dark chocolate, melted and drizzling.

 

After ten minutes: The cinnamon comes out, and now it smells like a cuppa coffee with melted dark chocolate and melted Red Hots. GOD It's NOT amping though, wow!

 

An hour: Best hot chocolate ever. Must hoard this, it can singlehandedly get me through winter.

[SeaLady]

Yum, yum, yum.

 

In the imp, this is very serious mocha coffee. Seriously delicious.

 

On my skin it smoothes out and warms up, and is actually more delicious. The cinnamon doesn't burn like cinnamon usually does (o, the welts I get from my friend the Groundhog). I wasn't expecting to be able to smell the brown sugar so well, but it shows up nicely and makes it very sweet and nummy. If I could go out and get a cup of this, I absolutely would. Probably next time I'm home, I'll experiment and try to recreate it

So basically, I lurve this.

[bodegaselkie]

I had to order a bottle of El Dia de Reyes as soon as I saw the description.

 

In the bottle, it's a warm, chocolatey scent with something that smells just a *little* fake. But, when applied to the skin, the coffee/spice/brown sugar scents come in and make this a really delicious, well-balanced scent -- truly like Mexican hot cocoa. Even my boyfriend (who doesn't like perfume or foody scents) said "that's not bad," which is high praise! My only complaint is that it doesn't have a lot of throw -- it stays a reasonably long time but doesn't do much to remind me it's still there.

[lilirose]

Wow. Just....oh wow. This is definitely a top ten scent for me.

 

In the bottle: sweet coffee love. Coffee with lots of sugar, just the way I like it. It smells totally drinkable. (Not recommending that anyone drink it, of course.)

 

Wet on skin: Instantly hot chocolate! But not instant hot chocolate; rather, the good kind that has to be made slowly and carefully.

 

Drydown: whoa, it morphs back and forth between coffee and cocoa so fast it's making my head spin, but somehow never smells like both at the same time.

 

Dry: Mostly hot chocolate, with a coffee background. I'm not smelling the cinnamon but that's okay. I'm in love anyway.

 

Verdict: Why didn't I buy about five bottles of this? It's not like my kids really need Christmas presents, after all...

Edited November 18, 2007 by lilirose

[TheOneTheyCallLuna]

I smelled this in the imp and instantly squeed myself! Soooooo goooood! This is chocolate with depth. This is a very different scent from that of Bliss or Vice. This is...rich and creamy, thick cocoa.

 

The initial wet on skin phase is a tad troubling, but this awkward (like Miskatonic U's fugly cousin! ) stage passes within only a few seconds, thankfully. The scent that this develops into is purely orgasmic, I tell you. Rich cocoa, a slight whiff of coffee, and cinnamon. At first the cinnamon overpowers the coffee almost entirely, but after a few seconds more the blend settles into a lovely balance between all three notes. The cinnamon makes this blend a bit arid in the drydown, but overall this is a scrumptious warm winter treat! 4.5/5

[porcelina]

in the bottle this reminds me of sitting at the kitchen table on christmas eve nght with my mom and aunts, drinking coffee and eating delicious chocolate christmas cookies. unfortunately, it turns burnt and awful on my skin. bpal coffe tends to go really plasticky and fake on me, and el dia re reyes falls into that trap as well. alas.

[steffanina]

El Dia de Reyes-

 

In Bottle: What a beautiful creamy chocolate that is with a cinnamon hint!

 

Wet: Cinnamon and chocolate, WOW. I would love it if this didn't go musty on me. It's a wonderful chocolate scent.

 

Dry: Does this go musty? Only a teeny, teeny bit. And it almost seems like it's no more than the cinnamon. This is wonderful; such a delicious chocolate scent! One of my favorite chocolate scents, certainly. That cinnamon makes it amazing.

 

Overall: I love.

[strangemodegirl]

I am so glad I took the risk and ordered this one. It has three of my favorite things, coffee, cocoa and cinnamon, but I was worried because sweet, foodie type scents usually go horribly wrong on me.

 

This is just absolutely gorgeous! At first I swear I can smell hazelnut, but it mellows out to the most delicious, rich chocolate on me. And it is lasting! I put it on about 4 hours ago and it's still strong.

 

I am so buying a second bottle!

[ffiferoo]

In the imp: warm brownie

 

On the skin: more hot cocoa-ish, just a hint of cinnamon

 

Dry: the cinnamon is out more, though I don't smell the coffee at all.

 

I'm a little disappointed that I don't get any of the coffee note, but this reminds me of Häagen-Dazs Mayan chocolate ice cream, only warm. I really like it, even though I'm not normally into foody scents.

[northatlantic]

In the bottle, wet, and drydown: Smells exactly like my grandma's chocolate frosting. No coffee, no cinnamon, just sugar and chocolate. Which, while a pleasant scent memory, not something I want to smell like. Tremendous, I would actually have to say AGGRESSIVE throw. sigh. Glad it's sampled from a friend's bottle and not a purchase of my own.

[Lit Chick]

This was a risk. All of the chocolate scents I've tried thus far have gone sickly-sweet and nasty. Coffee turns musty, and cinnamon tends to amp into Big Red. I have no idea why I ordered this.

 

It's brownie batter. Pure, dark, rich batter. As it dries a bit, it loses the gooey-ness and turns into just a night straight chocolate smell. Yummy!

 

Throw is crazy, and this stuff lasts all day and into the night. One little dab and it was all I could smell. It ate Eggnog for breakfast and Gingerbread Poppet for lunch.

 

I'm not often in the foodie mood, but I'm glad to have found a choco scent that works. This might layer really well with some other things. I'm contemplating Mad Sweeney (works with Eat Me - maybe it will like brownie as much as cookie? And spiked hot cocoa is always good....).

[bifemmefatale]

Best chocolate blend EVER. Creamy milk chocolate with a hint of cinnamon and the slight molasses tint of the brown sugar. Rich, tons of throw, lasts and lasts. Not bitter like Candy Butcher or dry powdered cocoa like Underbed. LOVE.

[jade_starlight]

This is absolutely heavenly. It's warm milk chocolate mixed with just enough delicious coffee to be noticeable without being overpowering. And the hint of cinnamon just peeking out as it dries makes it a perfect blend.

[HappyLoveJoy]

I first smell rich, fudgy brownie batter and then something that smells like Mounds coconut candy bars mixed in. (huh?) The cinnamon is very faint and not like red hots but more like a sprinkling of the powdered spice. The coffee smells sort of stinkbug-y until it's been on for a little while and then it reminds me of that sweet gooey ring of coffee with cream and sugar that dries in the bottom of the cup.

[DenMother]

Excuse me but I just wet my panties.

 

This is more than any bottle of 13 has ever been.

 

It is pure indulgence, sexy, dark, rich and I want to bath in it. If you like chocolate get this and get it now.

 

That is all

 

[forspecial_plate]

Excuse me but I just wet my panties.

 

Well now, how can I follow that?? Pressure.....

 

I did not wet my panties however I do like this scent a lot! To me the notes don't seem to blend together. Instead they sort of swirl around me seperately. For a while the cocoa dominates, then later the coffee comes out stronger. The coffee here reminds me of Pinched W/Four Aces (I never did try Misk U). And the chocolate/cocoa works out better for me than some other cocoa scents I've tried. It's not a favorite note for me, but in this case it's actually working out nicely.

 

Basically......it is what it is. If it sounds like something you'll like, you probably will! And if you think you'll love it, don't hold back.

[tinyvulture]

an instant favorite! i’m so glad i ordered a bottle of this, unsniffed. it’s a beautiful, rich combination of hot cocoa and coffee, with just a touch of powdery cinnamon. no plastic – hooray! and it’s strong and long-lasting. i don’t even like coffee, and yet i’m absolutely in love with this scent!

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Chocolate frosting with a hint of coffee.

 

Immediately on skin: This is rich, sweet, hot chocolate. It’s a thick and fluffy chocolate scent, not bitter cocoa, but what you’d expect a cup of hot chocolate to smell like. There’s a hint of the coffee and cinnamon. It’s almost powdery, like if you took a packet of hot chocolate and added a smidge of cinnamon and a pinch of coffee grounds.

 

After a few minutes: The brown sugar and coffee have come out a bit more in the blend, melding nicely with the chocolate. It’s more smooth than powdery now, and the cinnamon is very light. It’s still very sweet and absolutely delicious though.

 

Overall Impressions: After a couple of bad blends and perfumes, I thought my skin hated chocolate. El Dia de Reyes showed me I only need to be afraid of bitter cocoa notes, not chocolate like in this blend. On me, this is a rich, fluffy coffee drink whipped up with a hint of coffee and cinnamon. A spoonful of brown sugar is stirred in and adds a dark, sweet note. It’s absolutely delicious smelling and very playful!