Huesos De Santo

[Stephanie]

Orange-glazed cake, dotted with anise seed, and filled with custard, set beside a bouquet of celebratory funeral flowers.

Candied oranges with caramel. Maybe some spice..maybe some roses and chrysanthemums. Mostly sweet vanilla-y oranges. Slightly cake-y. Slight licorice. Not too sweet. Pretty. I'm enjoying wearing this--it's slather-worthy. And I love the name!

[oakmoss]

"Cake or death?" Alas, on me, this is perfume death. Pure butter -- I mean, Butter McButterson from Butterville. I bravely tried it on, even though from sniffing the bottle I knew it was probably way too foody for me, hoping that the orange and vanilla and anise would come to the fore. The butter did fade -- along with everything else. That was the good news for me with this blend -- it lasted about two minutes before vanishing. I envy those of you who can wear these baked-goods blends!

[ankhfangirl72]

In the bottle this smelled very buttery which scared me, I really don't want t o smell like butter. I still have nightmares about Jack, for this very reason.

However, the buttery smell disappears when on the skin and I get a lovely orange custardy scent for a few minutes. After that the anise comes out and the scent becomes a little bitter. The orange and anise lessens after a while and I can smell the flowers which turn slightly soapy on me. Eventually the flowers fade out to leave just the orangey anise goodness. I'm not a huge lover of foody scents but this will be great for when I decide I want to smell like a really lovely cake

[Argentwolf]

As many others have said: OMG YUMMY. Admittedly, it did take me a day or so to warm up to it, but once the full brunt of orange custardy cake goodness seeped into my system, I was hard-pressed not to just sit in a corner and lick myself for hours. I had been afraid of the floral notes, but I never really detected them at all. It just smells like moist, delicious, orange-glazed cake, and that is definitely good enough for me. Foodie fans must procure themselves a bottle of this.

[mooncityminx]

In the bottle: Buttery cake

 

Wet: Buttery creamy orange cake, this is so making me want to taste it. But I won't. Mmmmmmm!

 

Drydown: Unfortunately the cakey goodness disapears into a anise smell. The anise smell is nice, but not nearly as nice as the cake. I tried putting it on my sweater instead of my skin and it did seem to prolong the cake phase. But it still went anise within about twenty minutes.

 

I am debating a second bottle of this so that I can apply and re-apply all day long. This is going to be one of those blends that the foodies like me will forever covet.

[gnl]

In the bottle: HELLO ORANGE! Okay, after the initial POW! ORANGE! it's a nice yummy orange creamsicle.

 

Wet: On my skin, the orange smell warms to a custardy orange cake. WIth poppyseeds. Not the OMG CAKE smell of Eat Me, it's more subtle. I don't smell any flowers, which was the part I was afraid would ruin it.

 

Dry: There's a licorice smell that comes out as it dries, which I'm guessing is the anise? But not an icky licorice smell (I can't stand black licorice taste or smell, but this is nice.) The cake is still there, the orange smell seems to be gone, though. Still no flowers.

 

30 min later: The licorice has died done a little and the cake is stronger again. Much better! The orange is still gone though.

 

Verdict: Have a decant, not sure if I'm going to be getting a bottle. I love the orange cake smell when wet, but I'm not sure on the dry. It's a nice smell, but I'd rather it stay orange cake, personally. Definitely keeping what I have though.

 

4/5

[Mamacat]

I really want a bottle of this one!! It's all orange and cream cake with a vague undercurrent of mint (?). I think it's the anise making me think mint somehow. My husband said it smells like a party!! I love that!

 

I think this is the best cake scent since Beaver Moon 05 - my favorite foody scent.

[FandF]

Foody lovers dream and truly as it is described. Orange glazed cake? yep. It's very sweet and slightly cakey as it dries down. This one did not morph on me, nor did it last very long, which is my only complaint. A perfectly lovely scent if you want an orange, glazed cake.

[jizatt]

This smells exactly like the cake from Haloa, except with orange. I didn't smell the anise at all, and this was absolutely glorious =) I'm just trying to decide now, is that same (perfect) cake a necessary purchase, when I already have a bottle of Haloa. This doesn't have the other complications of the florals and whatnot, but still, its very similar to my nose.

[aquazoo]

Rum Sugar Gloriousness! The other bits are coming up nice and subtle, like the anise.

[MeiLin]

In the imp: Initially custard and cake, then the anise, then the orange. If I could drink it, I would. (Don't drink yer BPALz! kthxbye!)

 

Wet: Orange Froot Loops! The florals are more present wet.

 

Dry: Sweet orange cake, with flowers in the background. The anise is very faint and mingles with the cake.

 

I'm not sure if I want a full bottle, but it's awfully nice and I'm glad I've ended up with a couple three imps!

[Elvena]

So I bought a bottle of this and now I am going to cry.

 

In the bottle: Rancid Custard

 

Wet: Rancid Custard and anise

 

Dry: Rancid Custard, anise, and dill pickles (which is how BPAL rose smells on me).

 

What am I going to do with this horrid bottle of horrid wretched nightmare?

[steffanina]

Huesos de Santo-

 

In Bottle: A very light kind of cake scent, like orange sponge cake. It reminds me of almond poppyseed cake with orange icing.

 

Wet: The orange is sharper, more floral. Still foody but not deeply rich yet.

 

Dry: Much less cake-y foodie as time goes on, more orange frosting and florals; it's really dead-on with the description. My favorite part of this is sniffing it in the bottle, as I love the foodie side of things.

 

Overall: A delicious sniffer; very pleasant to wear but not quite tops for me.

[Kimocean]

Oh my...I'm not a foody scent person. I hate the butter note of many of the foody blends but for some strange reason I impulse bought this at Will-call the other night, wore if for the first time yesterday, and I'm totally in love. I have always liked citrus scents and the orange in this is gorgeous. It's a sugared orange for certain--more like an orange glaze or an orange liqueur than the scent you get as you peel an orange and it is the orange that starts this scent off. A blast of that slightly boozey orange followed by creamy moist cake. At that point I waffle...is this too foody for me? I always think foody scents are too young. And really should the fat girl go around smelling like cake? I don't want people to think it's all I eat! But then soon after the anise comes out to play soothing all my worries away. A warm hint of spice that rounds the sweetness out and adds complexity that thrills my nose and wait, is that a hint of something floral? Maybe a little bit of rose? This is smelling more grown up, dare I even say a little bit elegant? It's citrusy, creamy, sweet, spicy and lightly floral all at once. At it's extreme dry-down 12 hours later, I still got a gorgeous creamy complex scent. It was fainter, but it was stil there and still really pleasing to my nose. The most amazing part? I put this scent on again today. I never wear the same perfume two days in a row so this must be really special. I woke up this morning and could still smell a hint of it on my wrist. I was planning on wearing L'inverno today but I just couldn't resist reaching back for Huesos de Santo. It's just too good.

[gwynhwyfar]

This sounded absolutely delicious and wonderful. It was one of the oils I was most looking forward to sniffing and testing.

 

It is very creamy and sweet -- sadly, it doesn't suit me at all because on me, that cream overpowers everything else in the blend. All the sweet orange, the interesting hint of flowers. Everything vanishes underneath cream.

 

If you like creamy scents, this is probably for you!

[carriesmom]

It smells warm. Like delicious cake filled with custard. So glad I got a bottle and I might need to get another one.

[marsmomma]

My first review! On me Huesos is yummy orange custard cake with a drop of anise. This is absolutely wonderful, everything is so well blended that all the notes are in perfect harmony. The anise is just there below the surface and the orange custard/cake is is not too sweet. I'm gonna need another bottle before this goes away!

Edited October 21, 2008 by marsmomma

[vegasblueblood]

Foodie heaven! In the bottle, this is all buttery frosted orange cake, super sweet, rich and very creamy. On the inital dry down, it reminds me a bit of last year's Pumpkin V, which is one of my favorite foodie BPALs. This becomes more citrusy after about 30 minutes and then some of the anise begins to emerge. After a few hours, it is very faint and I can detect the flowers. I really love this one. Yummy!

[Jilara]

This is closer to what I had hoped Egg Nog would be like.

 

Wet, there is almost nothing there, just a whiff of something like orange flower water. However, as it dries, a strong egg custard/vanilla comes out.

 

Dry, I don't get any orange or anise at all. I get a floral note that reminds me of the floral note in Vice. The orange has morphed into orange flower water? But aside from that, it's all yummy egg custard, in a very strong and lasting form. This is just yummy!

[Alchemy21599]

In the vial: Hostess orange frosted cupcakes

 

Wet: Cointreau pound cake. Buttery cake soaked in orange liqueur.

 

Dry: This scent stayed true to the wet phase. It had very little throw after about twenty minutes. This scent is a must for those who love foody scents.

[Maidenhell]

In the bottle Huesos is an orangey liqueur. It smells absolutely delicious!

I apply to both wrists and enjoy the fantastic scents of moist orange liqueur soaked pound cake and spicy, creamy custard. I can see this delicious cake, I can imagine eating this cake and i ‘m thinking “I can’t wait until the Mr. smells this - he loves Eat Me”!

Then, the florals show up and "HI, guess who?" It’s Rose…. Rose is here and amps to stuffy, claustrophobic levels. Huesos starts to smell like an old lady’s Ponds cold cream and I have to go scrub it off. *sigh* Stupid skin chemistry!

[moon_lemming]

2008 version

In the vial, Huesos de Santo reminds me of those orange cream-filled Hostess cupcakes. You know, the ones that are vanilla but orange at the same time? Deelishus.

 

On me, at first the cake bit amps up, and the oil smells like (good!) buttery cake and a bit of orange. This is a plus -- usually the Lab's custard-dotted oils tend to go sour on me.

 

As it dries, the anise comes out, holy crap I love this! It is still cakey, but loaded with anise, which is one of my favorite scents. Thankfully the flowers are playing dead.

 

Oh good grief, it's even better dry. The anise mellows out and balances with the buttery cake and I NEED a bottle of this.

 

So rare for a Lab cake-y blend to work for me -- I'm sort of in shock!

 

2010 version

Same scent (to my nose) as 2008's Huesos de Santo, which I loved so much I have a bottle. I thought the 2010 version might be a little cakier but I'm pretty sure that's just because I haven't worn the 2008 version in a while and forgot how cakey it is at first.

Edited September 24, 2010 by karen

[tinyvulture]

a gorgeous foody scent! the buttery cake is comforting and rich, and the orange rind adds just the right amount of sparkle. i can see the orange hostess cupcake comparison that others have mentioned. there's also something that smells like spicy root beer, which must be the anise seed. i like this better than eat me or any other cake scent i can think of. it has a variety of notes which all come together to smell delicious, and it doesn't turn to plastic or play-doh as foody blends occasionally do on me. i had to try a decant because i thought, "do i really want to smell like a dessert?" the answer is yes!

Edited October 31, 2008 by tinyvulture

[birdiefu]

As a previous foody-avoider (some made me feel sick), who has started to enjoy mild foody scents more, this is an awesome hit! It is the yummiest BPAL I have run across yet and makes me want to eat myself.

 

On, it is creamy orange spice cake. The cake is fluffy and sweet, but not all that buttery. I don't get any liquor or flowers (rose amps horribly on me). This is an expensive white cake with a layer of orange spiced cream. With real orange (not artificial orange flavoring). I know I say orange a lot, but the scent isn't overpoweringly orange. Just enough that you can determine what flavor accompanies this delicious, sweet and lightly spicy cake. This is unlike most other foody BPALs that, to me, have a 'fake food' scent to them (still nice, but not like the real thing - this is like the real thing!).

 

Staying power and throw is medium-long, not overpowering. This stays pretty true without much morphing. I love it, one of the few foody scents that I do love (not just like).

Edited November 1, 2008 by birdiefu

[angelicruin]

I'm just now getting around to reviewing this...

 

In the bottle, it's mostly sugar and bit like vinegar when I sniff.

 

Upon application, it's the yummiest orange & spice cake ever.

 

Dries down to orange and sugar....this is a great scent to slather on one's self.