Dia de los Muertos

[sookster]

... This is a Mexican paean to La Huesuda: dry, crackling leaves, the incense smoke of altars honoring Death and the Dead, funeral bouquets, the candies, chocolates, foods and tobacco of the ofrenda, amaranth, sweet cactus blossom and desert cereus.

i only tapped my hand with the very tip of this bottle cap as it smelled
so strong in the bottle ..... well, it went on that strong and stayed that
strong until hours later.....floral,floral, and more floral is all i seem to get
from this blend.....i so wanted to love this but my chemistry gets the
best of me sometimes.....

[SeaMonkey]

I finally got a chance to try the 2004 Dia de los Mueutos. I really really wanted to because I heard this version was mostly chocolate and tobacco.

 

In the vial, I can smell chocolate, smoke, and flowers. I have high hopes.

 

On my skin, the chocolate and smoke all go away and I'm left with florals. All florals. It starts to go generic perfume on me.

 

It is different from the 2005 version. The 2005 version was all cactus and tobacco on me, and I ordered a 5mL immediately after trying it.

 

The 2004 version did last a long time, but its a little too floral for my tastes.

 

Maybe my body chemistry was hungry and ate all the chocolate and tobacco

[ABrokenAngel]

n the Bottle: I have no clue what any of those things smell like aside from the amaranth and I only have a vague recollection of what it smells like. I guess my winamp can describe this scent better than I can since it aptly picked out a song for this scent. The 69 Eyes - Stolen Season. It seems PERFECT. In the bottle this scent smells exactly like the song sounds. Mourning, dark and yet not dark so much as twilit.

 

Wet: Oooooooooooooooooooooh......a heady perfume mixed perfectly. The fruit and florals mix divinely. I think unless this one goes sour this is a keeper for one of those "seduction" nights. Deffinately one of those perfumes that you use sparingly because it's so potent yet soooo delicious.

 

Drydown: Wow this tamed down REALLY nicely. It still has it's fruitiness and it's florals and yet they aren't evil or too powdery. Now to hunt for a 5ml!

[cuervosueno]

Hmmm.....I guess it is ok to add a new post about the 2005 version?

 

Anyway, I got it. And I'm so sad that it is not like 2004, which is my all time favorite BPAL blend. But I'm still glad I decided to get a bottle.

 

2004 has the floral and chocolate and smoke, but what I got mostly from the beloved blend was a strong brown sugar overtone that tamed the florals.

 

2005 is missing that. It is a very floral blend--surprising how floral--and while it is clearly the notes I get in 2004, these notes are much stronger, and I miss the way that is tamed by the other notes, esp. that lovely brown sugar note. Its nice, don't get me wrong, but I can't be obsessed by it the way I was by 2004.

 

That said, I made a discovery. If I layer it with sugar skull 2005, I can approximate the scent of 2004. Not entirely, because the florals in DDLM 05 are so strong they tend to overwhelm the Sugar Skull, but if I keep experimenting I may get the amounts right (and if I do, I just might make up a little bottle, because I only have about 1/4 of a bottle of 04 left!).

[slave1]

DIA DE LOS MUERTOS 05

 

In Bottle: Sweet Floral

 

On Skin: The florals are the most obvious notes. There is something that is a bit minty and medicinal. The leaves and smoke are gentle but add a dark backnote, very Fall-like. The chocolate is also soft, not foody at all. This scent reminds me of decaying nature, the middle of Autumn… the leaves are already on the ground, breaking down or being burnt. The BPAL description of the scent is perfect.

[PixieSkull]

In the imp: A sweet but smoky floral scent. It does seem to be less wet and more dry.

 

On me: Lovely dry floral, one that is very similar to lilac but less sweet and very enjoyable. I can smell something slightly smoky in the background and it is rather nice and not obnoxious. surprisingly sweet blend, very lovely.

 

Overall: I would definately wear this one again, it's very lovely and lightly feminine. I like the way the top floral note dominates in this and I've never smelled anything like it. I think my grandma would LOVE this blend as well.

 

Only downside is that I may be allergic to some component because the back of my hand burns a little where I applied. May just be dry skin irritation, but I will retry the perfume in a few days or so.

Edited December 6, 2005 by PixieSkull

[Ajila]

In the bottle - Roses? Odd I know, but roses are all I get from this.

Wet on me - Still definitely floral, but nothing I can identify, I guess it's the 'funeral bouquets'.

Dry on me - It becomes a sweet incense blend, which I thought was very faint, but my colleague could smell half way across the shop floor!

[Phaedra]

This review is for the 2005 version. Wet this is simiar to Samhain- spicy fruits and flowers. When first on this is lightly sweet with maybe cactus pear or cactus blossom. After about ten minutes this develops into a lovely floral blend, warm and rich. I can't really pick out the chocolate or tobacco notes but I really love this! It dries down to a soft fruity blend. Wonderful!

[AngellicMystique]

This is in my top 5, if not my favorite.

 

The smells starts as tobacco and incense and morphs to chocolate, candies and dried flowers. The tobacco and cactus blossom remain constant throughout, but the other aromas shift and entwine to make this one of my favorite scents ever.

 

A friend of mine said this smells just like the Day of the Dead in Mexico.

[Neely]

2005

I am with Sookster on this one, floral floral FLORAL!

 

In the bottle: Florals, with a plastic tone???

 

Wet: FLORALS

 

Dry Down: Florals with a hard candy type sweetness. It has gotten really sweet and really really strong on my skin. Stoopid chemistry!!!! Husband (who hates perfume and thinks my BPAL obsession is silly) started to sniffle and sneeze and have watery eyes. It has a very strong throw.

 

30 minutes: hard candy sweetness is more prominant now. It reminds me of another scent...I know! It smells like my mom's White Shoulders with hard candy. Not a bad smell but not me. I got no smoke, no chocolate, no pastries, tobacco.

 

One hour: florals and candy, still going strong.

 

Conclusion: I don't agree that this one is like Samhain, at least not for me. I have Dia on one wrist and Sam on the other. They are worlds apart. From the reviews of '04 Dia, I think that version might have worked better on me. I not a floral person, my chemistry just amps them to the point I stink. Don't get me wrong, this is a beautiful blend, I just can't wear it. I don't think aging it would help either. This is my first BPAL disappointmet, ordered on the description. I should have ordered Devil's Night instead. So this one is a swap for me, hopefully for someone's DN?

 

Rating 1-5 on my skin, 2.

Edited January 11, 2006 by atropos

[Fefferbella]

'05 Version--

Fake floral notes and hard candy...

 

Not at all what I was expecting...

[BlackDahlia]

Mmmmmm...

 

Beth has bottled sexiness.

 

I really like this fragrance. I don't get any of the foody aromas that other BPAL'ers have described. In the bottle and on my skin I get a heavy, dusky floral scent that is absolutely GORGEOUS.

 

On the drydown ~ Floral (mostly roses and something else I can't quite put my finger on) and incense-y smoke... bright, alluring and slightly dark.

 

I adore this fragrance.

Must. Find. More.

Edited December 30, 2005 by BlackDahlia

[Blueelm]

Oh wow. This is the 2005 version and I am ever so pleased with it! This is the standout in the LE's I splurged on.

 

In the bottle: Candy sweet and chocolaty.

 

At first: Chocolate covered fruits, spice cakes, incense and tobacco. This is a sweet foody and decadent scent.

 

After a while: Cherry Pipe Tobacco, Floral Boquet, Dust, Chocolate, and Sweet Fruit/wine. Later this becomes deeper, the chocolate stays dark but soft florals come into the sweetness, and the tobacco becomes quite prominent. This fragrance has depth and heat. Creamy, complex, wow... I think I have a top 10 contender here.

 

Drydown: Soft creamy florals and a hint of smoke. This lasts well though.

 

It reminds me a little of Samhain and Athens, but with Chocolate and pipe smoke, and on a warm spring night.

[arabella]

2005 Version

 

First Impression: Flowers and wine.

 

Dries down to: The incense and smoke make their appearance.

 

Additional Comments: I never get the chocolate or tobacco notes, but there's an underlying richness that confirms that something else is definitely in there. This is not a fave but I'll certainly enjoy the bottle.

 

Lasted: A couple of hours.

 

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

[Hawke]

I'm late to try this one, though I've had it for a while.

 

In the vial: Fruits and maybe some light spice. Mostly it smells like apple cider. Well. Exotic apple cider.

 

Wet: I was wrong Pear. I think there's prickly pear in this and while I don't exactly know what that smells like, it's rounder than apple. A softer fruit. It's a bright scent-"color" though.

 

Dry: Oh, now this, this is nice. It's become a hard spiced pear cider scent. I like it a lot, and can imaging this being a celebration drink, or scent. I never got chocolate or tobacco, though I can get a faint whiff of the idea of fall leaves.

 

Keeping my little imp.

[desu]

In the bottle: Chocolate incense.

 

On my skin: Disappears almost immediately. A faint spiciness left behind but not anything else. This is weird because cocoa usually does pretty well on me.

[LittleGreyKitten]

This scent fascinated me when I test drove it today. When I plastered my nose to my wrist, I got strong floral all the way- a beautiful blend which I really liked, but basically just a sweet flowery smell. However, from a distance the tobacco came out intensely. When I just caught a whiff as I moved around, it was the sweet, deep and dark scent of vanilla infused pipe tobacco. I actually love that smell, and I really enjoyed this. The boy wasn't as huge a fan, but who cares right? I'll wear it for sure. I did happen to have an asthma attack while this was still pretty strong, so I'm PRAYING it wasn't the perfume, since it's rare that I have one without some allergy-inducing thing around. We'll see, I'm sure. I'd give it a 4.5 out of 5, just because Devil's Night was even better when I tried it today too.

[GemmaCat]

I have a cold, so I'm probably not picking up all the complexities of scents today. That said. . .

 

In the bottle this is too strong for me. I can't even pick out individual notes because it's so overwhelming. But, like with all lab scents, one should try them fully. . .

 

On my skin it's still too strong, but the sweetness is starting to emerge above the other scents now. Then the florals come to the fore and it reminds me of grandmother perfume; not something I really want to smell like!

 

Given time, though, this settles into a complex floral-sweetness. I can just about pick up the chocolate scent, maybe a little caramel, and the florals are much more gentle though still a little sharp, so that it's like getting a waft of a freshly bloomed flowerbed.

 

Over all, this is a surprising scent. Complex, changing, sweet and dark. The drydown is much nicer than I expected, but it's still not *quite* working for me.

 

One for the swap pile.

[lady_pandora]

This starts out very sugary on me. I kept expecting to find actual granules of sugar dusted all over my wrists as I sniffed this. Underneath it is a faint boozy note, rum maybe.

 

After about an hour, the sugar and booze give way to a sort of "Grandma" scent. I'm guessing this is a rose/incense combo, which often strikes me as "Grandma-ish." My grandmother, who passed last summer, applied a rose/musk perfume by the gallon, and so rose/musk/incensey blends often remind me of her. I doubt this will be an everyday-wear scent because it seems a bit old-ladyish, but it will be a great one to wear on Samhain to remember her, since it's reminiscent of her but not as overpoweringly "old lady" as Psyche was on me.

 

ETA: This review pertains to Dia de los Muertos '04.

Edited April 4, 2006 by lady_pandora

[darkitysnark]

Dia de lost Muertos 2005

 

A swap from ketalady, who was kind enough to decant an imp even though this is one of her faves :bowdown:.

 

Short 'n' sweet:

 

Candied desert flowers.

 

To elaborate:

 

My first impression was very strong florals, which in my uneducated nose came across as JASMINE. My skin amps all kinds of florals, so I got this quasi-JASMINE for quite a while. But...

 

There was something undeniably edible about the blend. Those candied fruit slices (with peel included) come to mind very strongly. Candied, but also tart. And still this tough, succulent floral on top.

 

I believe the tobacco and incense are in there for me as well, providing a much-needed grounding for all this high, light, sweetness.

 

I will carefully use and love this imp until it is dry.

 

Medium throw, lovely waft... excellent staying power.

[jewelbug]

2005 version:

Bottle: Overwhelming florals. I'm worried about this….

Wet: Strong heady flowers, but they are dry and dusty, almost like dried flowers. This is all supported by an undercurrent of distant smoke.

Drying: This is an impressively dry and dusty (I'm thinking now that's the leaves) floral. No tobacco or candy yet, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

In about 10 minutes, it becomes apparent: "oooh, there IS chocolate in this." It’s a dusty far-away chocolate, giving a hint of scruymmy food to the dry smoky floral/leaves combo. Its insanely complex.

 

Overall: When this went on as a strong floral, I was really dubious of the outcome. But this settled into a smoky/dusty/dry/chocolatey amazingly complex blend. Its sweet and dusky and I can't stop sniffing it. This reminds me of a less smoky, more feminine Devil's Night (I love devil's night, but this is the more swooshy girly dress version of the powerful dark DN). Great throw and it lasts about 12 hours. Mmmmmm…..

 

Editied to add: I let this age for ~5 months and tried again. It was the same as before, but richer the whole way, and the chocolately candy shows up a little earlier. I also think the "dusty" from before has developed into a more earthy soil note. I wore this at night and the next morning i can still smell it lingering, at which time it is a light chocolate, no more florals. Such a pretty blend, but its something I've decided to part with. may it enjoy its next home....

Edited July 13, 2006 by jewelbug

[tartsquid]

In the bottle: All my nose can pick out is a very strong floral that seems to be jasmine or maybe even lily (I have an imp of Cobra Lily and these smell similar in the bottle to me, but I am very new to all of thise ) and nothing else.

 

Wet: JASMINE. Wow, it kind of reeks of a very strong floral note even though I only put a drop on my skin.

 

Dry down: The florals are still very strong but a slightly spicey, fruity scent creeps in.

 

After a while the strong floral fades (yay!) and I get the candy smell that has been mentioned. It smells a bit like Sour Patch Kids to me but I like that. The floral smells softer and a little wet so I'm thinking that it's cactus flower. My nose isn't too good at picking up exact notes. After almost an hour of having it on, the chocolate and tobacco never really came out. I'm starting to think that my skin amps florals and rejects tobacco because I didn't get much tobacco with my Red Lantern either.

 

Overall I think this is a very pretty scent, though nothing like what I was expecting, which was something foody with incense and slight dry florals. I'll be hanging on to my 5ml bottle but maybe decanting some out because I'm not sure how often I'll wear this. After that initial overpowering floral dies down it's a very nice scent.

[themerrybaker]

Initially, Dia reminded me of Samhain. They both reminded me a bit of Ricola or other herbal lozenge. Hence the wristly sniff-off.

 

 

 

On the left, it's Samhain: Cinnamon, oak, conifer.

 

And in the right corner it's Dia de los Muertes: Dusty, aromatic, cocoa and floral. Never would have said "floral" before the comparison w/ Samhain and this is not the overall impression for me.

 

 

 

And the winner is???? Kind of a tie.

 

 

 

I got this one to wear on Dia, since I make a little altar for someone. This will be one more happy experience to go with the marigolds, candles, and other good things.

[eviltemptressdq]

ok, i tested the 2004 version of this...

 

the first time i tried a bit, it was a very sweet light floral! I loved it!!

 

This 2nd time, the tobacco is standing out very strong... almost peppery? I still like it, though, but I want that floral smell back! I have to try this a third time soon!!

[ereuyi]

I just got myself a bottle of the '05 version, and wow!

 

At first, I thought this would be a not-so good wow, since I could smell my bottle even before I finished getting it out of its nice bubble wrap home. There and in the bottle it was super floral, though very dry and a little smoky. It's not any floral I recognize, I don't think. Despite the fact that I'm very much not a floral girl, there's something hiding under the floral that I can't place that leads me to try it on right away so I can see if it'll come out and show itself.

 

On wet, it was still floral and smoky, but there's something there that made me seriously want a snack. I was really confused for a while--I don't eat flowers, darnit! But I decided to stop sniffing and go get that snack, because tummy grumblings aren't condusive to good reviews.

 

Once I'd gotten my snack and given Dia De Los Muertos a chance to dry down, I could smell the sweet stuff in it! It wasn't really a sweet I recognized, unless it's maybe caramel. The smokiness was more in the background and something--I'm not sure wether it's wetter or juicier, it blended so well with the sweetness--makes things overall less dry.

 

A lot more interesting than I expected, and it looks like a very wearable floral-ish blend for me!