El Dia de los Reyes

[mawaridi]

Hot cocoa with cinnamon, coffee, and brown sugar.

This smells exactly like a box full of chocolate chip cookies. Delicious, but a bit overwhelming for everyday wear! Exactly the same both in the bottle and on my skin, maintains the same quality wet and dry. This is the most consistent BPAL blend I've ever tried

[filigree_shadow]

This scent is so wonderful. It smells like snuggling up with a delicious hot drink on a cold winter's day, with a few cookies sitting there next to the coffee mug. It's such a comfort scent.

 

I really love this, and it's the perfect winter scent for me. I'm going to have to make a special order before the Yule scents come down just to make sure I get a bottle of this. Maybe two.

[arabella]

First Impression: Mexican Hot Chocolate - definitely a drink for adults.

 

Dries down to: There's no discernible change.

 

Additional Comments: There's a chocolate shop in town that makes a killer Mexican Hot Chocolate and this smells exactly like it. This is going to be one of my all-time favourites. I can't see wearing it but as a room scent and a comfort scent, it can't be beat - especially, in winter. This smells exactly the way I had hoped it would.

 

Lasted: A long time - at least overnight.

 

Rating: 5 out of 5

[alianthe]

In the bottle: yummy mocha goodness! With cinnamon.

 

On me: Amazingly, this doesn't change much. Still yummilicious, and slightly sweeter. That may be the brown sugar, or it may be that I seem to sweeten every scent that hits me.

 

Medium throw (people around me could smell it a little bit, which is tough to arrange on my skin), lasted in its own right a few hours, and clung against my skin a bit longer.

 

Conclusions: okay, I'm not usually huge on wearing the foody scents and carrying them around with me, but this is the perfect locket scent for craving days. I just want to *bathe* in it, but I know I have too much BPAL soap right now, and I'm only using Egg Nog soap at the gym.

[LadyCrow]

Tezcatlipoca only dreams of being this rich.

 

It's funny, because I had just tested and meant to write up The Candy Butcher; the obvious differences are that that one deliberately aims at creaminess, and achieves it, while this is a dry, spicy scent that jumps out at you like the puff of powder from the cocoa tin. Like Candy Butcher, this one has a moderate-to-good throw and a good, long wearlength, with the coffee note really detectable on me only closest to my skin. Superb warm, cozy scent for winter.

[blueleopard87]

Bottle- coffee and hot cocoa and cinamon!

 

Wet- mocha and cinnamon, the brown sugar is there too.

 

Dry- This smells amazing!!! I smell like a super chocolatey mocha, and it's quite strong, too! This has lasted all day on me, and I smell so delicious! I'm so glad I have a bottle of this coming!

[Thursdae]

I love chocolate.

 

BPAL's chocolate scents haven't worked well on me. I enjoyed Velvet in the imp but not on my skin. I swapped away my 13. I gave up.

 

So I don't know what eddy in the divine river of life caused me to order an imp of El Dia de Reyes from my wonderful decant circle.

 

I smell like a rich, fudgy brownie with swirls of crispy cinnamon frosting, and a cappucino on the side.

 

This is a chocolate lover's dream. On me, the coffee note is low and deep, and the cinnamon is spicy and adds a warm glow. Cocoa is the heart.

 

Sweet and strong, El Dia de Reyes is a big winner for me. Bottle's on the way!

[steelgossamer]

Got this in a swap as a frimp and I LOVE it!

 

wet: smells like hot cocoa and cinnamon, yummy

drydown: still hot cocoa, but I can smell the coffee coming through now too. It's been about 5 hours and it's still going strong.

 

I'll be sad to see this run out, hopefully I can find a replacement from the GC!

 

EDITED TO ADD:

 

After much testing of chocolate scents, this is the only one that has ever worked for me. I ended up getting a couple of imps in a 5ml when it was rereleased in 2009. I love it to pieces and it lasts all day. OMNOMNOM.

Edited May 17, 2010 by steelgossamer

[angelicdemise]

Warm, sweet, and yummy. This is the first chocolate scent I've tried from the Lab and I loved it.

[arcadelane]

in the bottle: this smells exactly like warm mexican hot cocoa. realllllly nice. the cinnamon isn't too sharp which is perfect for this blend.. and i think i smell some of that brown sugar in there, but I get no coffee.

 

wet and dry down don't smell much different than in the bottle, sweet and creamy cocoa and soft cinnamon. It's quite strong, lasts very well and super cozy... my only complaint is that I never smell any coffee. I'm gonna try layering it with Miskatonic University and see what happens.

[donkehpoo]

Wet: Mmmm, this smells exactly like hot chocolate.

 

Dry: Hot chocolate with a touch of cinnamon. I can't smell any coffee in this, but I'm not a fan of coffee anyways... so I really don't have any complaints! This is the perfect hot chocolate blend. If you're a chocolate lover, you NEED this!

The throw is VERY good, and the scent lasts about 4 hours before I need to re-apply.

 

 

On a scale of 1-5, I'd give this a 4.

I'm glad I bought a bottle of this.

[oddly]

Oh my! This is some wonderful stuff! I loved the soft chocolatey warmth of Velvet and melty, nutty yummyness of Bliss, but this is some fanatastical stuff in a different way!

 

In the bottle: Smells like a mocha cappuccino that's gone cold. A bit strange, I was only slightly skeptical at first, as coffee scents tend to go a bit bitter on me, but I never turn down chocolate!

 

On skin: Its a bit smokey, like the smell of coffee beans, but just a few seconds in, instead of bitterness that I get from most coffee scents, hints of cinnamin and brown sugar start peeking through, and the smoky-ness blends into a deep chocolatey sweetness.

 

A few minutes later: Its still blending together very wonderfully! The scent gets more and more fragrant and rich, but not annoyingly intense as some other do. The way I can explain the growing intensity is that when this is first applied, the hot chocolate is still simmering in a covered pot, its light and fragrant in the background. At this point, it smells like I've been handed a mug of this delicious hot drink and its right in front of my nose.

 

This scent is dead on, this smells totally Mexican hot chocolate, like the stuff my aunt makes for el Dia de los Reyes *yesterday*, which I always love the smell of, but don't much like to drink too much as its really thick and starchy. This way I can have the warm-watering smell without the odd after taste of flour and cornstarch.

 

Lasting Power: I put a bit on midmorning at 10 a.m.-ish, and its past midnight now, and it was still quite noticeable before I slathered some more of it on for the review! I did notice that when I put it on for the review, it was much smokier than it has been before, and it is slightly different with each application, but still wonderful!

 

Its so lovely and cozy, especially as its been cold and rainy the last few days. Yum, cozyness. I'm tempted to layer one wrist with a drop of Sugar Cookie, so I can enjoy the yummy-ness of hot chocolate and cookies with out the calories.

 

I wish I'd bought at least another bottle of this, but I have been bad *my last BPAL order was quite pricey*, I'm supposed to be living on a budget, ha! I love this stuff!

[Shannihilation]

In the bottle this is all dark, rich, cocoa. Wet on my skin though the cinnamon immediately starts to come out. As it dries the coffee and the brown sugar start to come through. The cocoa falls back and evens out a little and the coffee and cinnamon start to take over. It's a really interesting blend and I'm enjoying it quite a bit, even if my husband isn't. *grins* To be honest his first response when he smelled it was "that smells like shit!" Apparently he's not much of a cocoa fan. My son kind of likes it though. He says it'd be perfect if it didn't have the coffee in it. I dunno, I think they're both kinda crazy. I really like it. It's such a warm scent.... Brings to mind sitting in front of a fire with a cup of hot cocoa that has a cinnamon stick swirling in it.

[Koumori]

I am not the world's biggest chocolate fan. Bliss et al. left me cold. But there is one thing I love, and that is Mexican hot chocolate, so when I saw this scent, I jumped at it. In the bottle, I was a little disappointed because all I smelled was chocolate, not the spices I associate with Mexican cocoa-- but that changes as soon as I put it on and all the teriffic cinnamon and sugar come out. I don't get the coffee and booze that others have described, just straight up chocolate/cinnamon/maybe a hint of almond. Misk U didn't work on me, and I really wanted it to, so I'm thrilled that this does.

[ChloeKEvil]

Three words: om nom nom.

 

I can has wrist nao? I smell delicious, like hot chocolate with a piece of cinnamon toast on the side.

 

I tested this the day I got it (I couldn't resist) and it was glorious. It smells very warm, even though I spent a lot of that day cold. It went through a stage of being chocolate, then switched to a very good mocha, then chocolate and cinnamon, and settled on chocolate and sticky, glorious brown sugar. And it lasted for ages upon ages.

 

I wish I had another bottle of this. I don't know how I am going to deal with just having one.

[Rovylern]

In the bottle: Chocolate, lots and lots of it.

 

Wet: This smells just like hot chocolate. Not the powder stuff that gets mixed with water, but the real stuff. YUM. It's incredibly rich, decadent, and lifelike.

 

Drydown: Now I'm getting hints of cinnamon teasing me through the chocolate. There is no coffee, just sweet, thick chocolate and swirls of cinnamon. I am enthralled by this perfume, it's absolutely gorgeous. It's definitely a winter scent, I can't even imagine wearing something this warm and thick during the summer months. Like Midway, this is best described as NOMNOMNOM. The absolute best, most true-to-life chocolate scent I've ever tried.

[scarletgenesis]

In the bottle, El Dia De Reyes is like strong coffee beans with some chocolate and a slightly nutty scent.

 

Wet/drydown - Cinnamon jumps out the instant this hit my skin (quite alot hit my skin, since a large arc of the oil jumped right out of the bottle onto my arm!). Smells like chocolate covered red hots melting in steaming coffee. This is completely decadent smelling. Who needs dessert when you smell like this?

 

I also have this in my scent locket, and the coffee is much stronger there, with other notes taking the background. My skin must really like cinnamon and chocolate, because there they are!

 

This is a fantastic colder weather scent. Probably too heavy for summer, but will work wonderfully from October - March on me.

 

It's different than anything else I've smelled (by far the most food-y scent I've tried), and seems to be exactly what it aims to be.

 

 

edited to add: my husband told me the other night that he really disliked this for some reason. He likes the smell of chocolate and baked goods, but this was just too much for him. He doesn't usually have a reaction either way to scents, so for him to say he disliked it means he must hate it. Anyway, that just means I'll wear it when he's out of town!

Edited January 29, 2008 by scarletgenesis

[dirtytrip]

Eh, it's nice, but I wouldn't rhapsodize over it. It's mocha, rich and chocolaty while wet, and as it dries there's more emphasis on coffee over chocolate. Didn't last long on my skin. Would be a good room scent if you like that sort of thing.

[Katiedid717]

I absolutely LOVE this scent! In the bottle, it smelled very much like a melted cocolate bar to me...enough so that I almost didn't put it on. But now...well, my boyfriend is laughing at me because I keep sniffing myself and I told him I want to lick my arm.

 

This also makes me feel all warm and snuggly =)

[Avery]

I am not a big chocolate scent person, but Boomslang showed me that it can and does work sometimes, so I opted for a decant of this. mexican hot chocolate? Yum!

 

This is a true chocolate scent on my skin and lasts and lasts and lasts. I can see this being an amazing holiday room scent, and will wear it occasionally when in the mood to smell just like a spicy candy bar. The spices do lend some depth to this that Bliss just didn´t have for me. However, smelling like a chocolate bar really isn´t my thing, so I doubt I will ever need more than an imps worth. Boomslang remains my one true choco/cocoa fix.

 

ADDED July 4:

 

I just had to buy a bottle of this. My boyfriend huffs me like nobody´s business when I wear it (granted, he´s had some mean cravings for chocolate lately, but he NEVER huffs my perfume). It does in fact smell like spicy Mexican hot chocolate on application. Reallllly chocolate-y but never plastic-y on my skin, with traces of cinnamon and pepper.

 

On drydown, it smells like chocolate campfire incense. It is wonderful. I am trying to stop buying perfumes that I don´t LOVE and don´t wear all the time, and am thinking of culling my BPAL down to my precious favorite bottles, but this will merit a place among the "must have" bottle rankings. MMMMM...

[aestien]

Bottle: the best brownies ever

Wet: cocoa, coffee, cinnamon

Dry: dark creamy cocoa with a hint of coffee and cinnamon

 

Mmmmmmm. I love this blend. The BPAL cocoa and coffee notes are favorites of mine and they blend beautifully here, the cinnamon gives it a nice depth without overpowering. The only downfall is I will be craving brownies all day

[mystery213]

I am not a coffee fan. Never have been...

HOWEVER- Beth just keeps surprising me in this area. Pinched was a dream on me, and this one was almost as nice. This is a real, dark, decadent chocolate melted into a shot of rich organic espresso with a little bit of whipped foam, cinnamon and sugar on top (but just a little). I keep frimping this one out and using it to enable friends/family just because this seems like a hard blend to resist, especially for the coffee/chocolate fans! As rich as it is, there is no bitterness lingering here in any of the note- just pure smooth indulgence...

[Wildbriar]

I love chocolate and this is my favorite of the chocolate/cocoa blends I've tried so far. In the bottle the coffee note comes out strongly to my nose with a background of cocoa and spices, reminiscent of a Mexican Mocha. On my skin it warms up to the most decadent and rich dark chocolate brownie scent with espresso and cinnamon. This morphs very little on me and lasts forever, it is truly one of the longest lasting of the Lab's blends on my skin (which tends to swallow oils up in a matter of a couple of hours). I put this on one night before bed and it was still strong and true the next day.

 

To sum this one up in one word... Yum!

[River]

This is officially my favorite BPAL chocolate scent. Period.

 

It smells like hot chocolate with a dash of cinnamon, and it has pretty amazing throw! It's strong, but so sweet that it's in a good way. And it lasts. I have the Amazing Disappearing Scent Complex, but it's been about twelve hours since I last applied any of El Dia de Reyes, and I can still smell a dusty warm chocolate on the back of my hands where I applied it, like cocoa powder when you stir it up scooping some out for hot chocolate. That's exactly what it smells like, twelve hours later.

 

This stuff's amazing. I suddenly wish I'd bought more than one bottle!

[Wildchild453]

Bottle: The cinammon comes out alot with cocoa wafting in and out with a hint of bitter coffee

 

Wet: I think it just got shy on me..or my skin ate it. That's not nice at all

 

Dry: It came back out to play. My skin amps cinammon like, for a few minutes there it I smelled like a Big Red but its morphed into something creamier with the cocoa and coffee coming out to play

 

Overall: I think I can give this a solid 4/5. It blends nicely in its drydown into this wonderful blend of chocolate, coffee with a hint of cinammon. I think the sugar is what makes it warm as oppose to the hottness of the cinamon