El Dia de los Reyes

[moonarcana]

Hot cocoa with cinnamon, coffee, and brown sugar.

I never did get any coffee note, but the sweet cocoa with a modest shake of freshly ground cinnamon is incredibly good! On me, El Dia de Reyes is not creamy, not deep and rich - it has a very airy, dry quality to it. It reminds me of a lighter, but more complex version of Bliss.

I really love it. A lot. The other night I had El Dia de Reyes on one arm and Eggnog on the other and I was in holiday beverage heaven! Santa Claus would leave LOTS of great presents for you if you left both of those scents, along with some Gingerbread Poppet on his treat plate on Christmas Eve. Edited November 21, 2007 by moonarcana

[Bagfish]

El dia de Reyes has the most amazing throw, far more than normal with BPAL. It is an incredibly strong chocolate-spice, it is totally edible, I really want to drink the smell, it's a thick spicy creamy hot chocolate with a tiny hint of coffee, absolutely beautiful.

 

But there is a problem. My husband is allergic to chocolate, and this oil is SO chocolate-like that he's asked me to wash it off because it is making him feel like he'll have a migraine So what do I do? (apart from divorce?!)

[luckybuzz]

This smells, to me, exactly like walking into a Dunkin Donuts on a snowy day--coffee, hot cocoa, and donuts. It's fabulous, and it makes me miss New England!

[euterpe414]

Mexican. Hot. Cocoa. yum.

 

I didn't think I was the most foody person, but lately all these amazing foody BPAL blends have been drawing me in...this is no exception. It is the perfect spicy hot chocolate scent- just a hint of coffee, cinnamon and sugar. I love it to pieces and need at least a few more bottles before it goes away. As others have said, it has amazing throw and great staying power. What more could you want, really?

[ariosa]

My Yule decants finally arrived in the mail today, and YAY! El Dia De Reyes was the first one I had to try, because I love -- LOVE -- Mexican hot chocolate. I was a little worried though, because BPAL chocolate scents smell like nuts on me, and BPAL's coffee is generally too overpowering and makes me feel queasy.

 

That being said, this blend is DIVINE. It's soothing, and comforting, and and just enough coffee and chocolate so as not to be sickeningly sweet and overpowering. I love it!

[couscous]

The first thing that hits you about EDdR is how strongly cocoa it is. I didn't get anything else from the first twenty minutes of wear except the chocolate note, and that chocolate has got some serious throw. I put on my normal amount and immediately felt horrible for my family, because you could smell nothing else but me from about 30 paces around!! Super strong, really long-lasting stuff. Luckily, I loved this cocoa stage, so I didn't mind at all.

 

Unfortunately, the coffee note came out after about two hours and took OVER- and the scent was still going strong! The coffee read as sickening sweetened hazelnut flavored creamer on my skin, and it became so heady that I actually felt ill. In the blink of an eye, I got TOO much of a good thing, and I couldn't escape. There was a cloud of El Dia De Reyes following me around all morning, without letting up for a split second! Not good for me at all, and this is why I can't really wear foody scents too often. They just get to be too much. Too sweet, too thick...just too much.

 

Still, don't be afraid of this one if you're on the fence about it. If you are interested in El Dia de Reyes, you probably already know that chocolate and coffee are going to work on you, so you shouldn't have any problems, right? Just use a muchlighter hand if you're a slatherer, and you should be good to go.

 

If you know by the notes listed that this will probably NOT be good on you, however, don't kid yourself and think that Beth added some magical mystery X factor that will suddenly make this one instance of (insert problem note here) work on you. This is a straightforward, true-to-life gourmand, and it delivers exactly what it promises. Chocolate, Cinnamon, Coffee, in that order. Prepare to get foodified!

Edited November 22, 2007 by couscous

[asciident]

Wet: Rich cocoa.

 

First on: Staying strong with cocoa, maybe a hint of sugar. It's a milky cocoa.

 

Dry: The coffee and cinnamon come out a little, but this is mostly a spicy, sugary holiday Bliss. I love it.

[azhriaz]

In the bottle, it smells like pure chocolate... Then I sniffed it again a few seconds later and it smells like pure coffee.

 

On my skin, it smells like the same coffee note from Miskatonic University, which doesn't greatly resemble coffee on me... It actually reminds me of waffle cones or something like that.

 

The throw is all chocolate, and it's probably my favourite BPAL chocolate yet.

 

At first I don't smell any cinnamon at all, which is a good thing as I have plenty of cinnamon scents already, and so far this hasn't made my skin red like most of those do.

 

The cinnamon peeks out a bit on the drydown, which is like a light dusting of cinnamon and sugar.

 

I was expecting it to smell a bit like plastic, as foody BPAL often does on me. I think the coffee is trying to do that, but isn't quite succeeding. Yay!

 

Verdict: delicious!

Edited November 23, 2007 by Azhriaz

[laslibres]

Oh, man. I really don't know how Beth got this to smell specifically like hot _cocoa,_ not milk chocolate, not chocolate anything else, this smells like HOT COCOA, and I'm loving it. And a little bit of coffee, like Bliss and Misk U got together and had many adorable lovechildren. It's got a bit of a powdery, dry feel, but it's also got a _warm_ feel to it, if that makes any sense. A kick of cinnamon, too. Coffee, cinnamon, and chocolate are my favoritest things ever, so I love this.

 

Also, if any Arcana fans out there were sad that Caffeinated Death ran out so quickly, this is a pretty good substitute. Bit less sweet than Caffeinated Death, but damn close!

[shellyshells]

well it smells soooo beautiful in the vial!

 

but peanut butter on my skin.... so sad! i'll hang onto it to see if it gets better with age...

[Catmint]

IMP: hot cocoa

 

WET: burnt cocoa powder with a hint of cinnamon

 

DRY: This smells like one of those flavored coffees that come in a tin, Cafe Vienna or something. Instant coffee with a plasticky sweet smell.

 

AN HOUR LATER: coffee and tobacco.

 

TWO HOURS LATER: pure pipe tobacco! I thought I was going nuts, or I'd applied the wrong oil or something, until I read the reviews and saw that at least one other person got the same pipe tobacco note. Ick!

 

The first half hour or so was heavenly, but the instant coffee and pipe tobacco totally ruined it for me. I'll stick with Candy Butcher!

[hologhost]

I didn't get cocoa. In the bottle it was straight up spiced coffee - which I liked. But on me the coffee turned plastic and the cinnamon ran roughshod over everthing. I was very disappointed. I have as yet to find a coffee that works for me.

[theal8r]

This is by far the best chocolate scent I've tried yet. The throw was AMAZING without being overpowering and the spicy dot of cinnamon just makes it such an interesting blend (especially as compared to Bliss). It lasted nearly all day, too (NONE of my perfumes make it all the way through my day). The coffee seemed to deepen the chocolate somehow -- it wasn't a separate note on my, but added new dimensions to the chocolate.

 

So much love for this one.

[angharad]

I'm so very glad I got a decant of this instead of a bottle. It's basically a slightly sweetened coffee on me with just the barest hint of cinnamon when it dries. It's nice, but I was hoping for a bit more chocolate, bit less coffee, and a lot more cinnamon. The throw is strong at first but fades to average, and it lasted for several hours.

[Seelix]

I love coffee, but I like things to be a bit sweeter, so if I make my own coffee I like to make it really, really strong and then dump a scoop of hot chocolate into it, creating an almost sludge-like mixture. Lately I've been adding cinnamon in as well.

 

Somehow El dia smells exactly like my morning drink. On me, the coffee and cinnamon ring strong and true, and the chocolate adds a nice supporting note.

 

This might be a big help in keeping me awake to finish off NaNoWriMo for the four days! Love it! I'll be ordering a bottle of this with my next order and possibly asking for one for Christmas as well.

Edited November 26, 2007 by Luminara

[TrueStar]

Nothing but hot cocoa in the imp and wet on the skin. Delicious, but...the chocolate fades away into something that all chocolate scents so far have done to me. I don't like what it turns into...overly sweet. No cinnamon or coffee for me.

[Teggy]

This is almost pure hot cocoa on me. No cinnamon (fine by me!) and very very leeeeeeetle coffee (also fine with me). I've had it on about 9 hours and I can still get a faint scent from my wrists. It doesn't quite stay true on my skin, but the drydown isn't too off.

 

You know what just occurred to me? What would happen if I layered this with Spooky?

[Little Bird]

In the vial, this smells like loads of cinnamon sugar over something tasty. One sniff it's like really sweet coffee and the next it's hot chocolate.

 

On my skin...

 

I don't even like cinnamon under normal circumstances (it's sharp and gives me a headache) but the brown sugar seems to really mellow out and sweeten up the cinnamon. It's so good. I was a bit worried about the coffee note in this because my boy really hates the smell, but I can't pick out any coffee from this once it touches my skin.

 

El Dia de Reyes, on me, is hot chocolate completely smothered in buttery cinnamon sugar. And it's quite wonderful - a warm, cheery blend that I can actually see myself wearing this winter

Edited November 28, 2007 by Tania

[fireflower]

In the imp: I smell dark chocolate and cream! Like dark hot chocolate. Yuuum.

 

First Applied: Very deep. Dark, dark chocolate, with some cinnamon underneath. I'm craving sweets.

 

Drydown: Didn't really morph, stayed the same, much to my delight!

 

Verdict: Keeping my imp and burning this in my room when I want to feel relaxed and comforted. I wouldn't wear it on myself for fear of being asked if I just downed hot chocolate, but I definitely enjoy the smell. It didn't turn fake. Someone mentioned that their grandpa used to make hot chocolate with dark chocolate and cream.. and that's just what this smells like. But then you'd put a cinnamon stick in your mug.

[slave1]

EL DIA DE REYES

 

In Bottle: Chocolate and spice

 

On Skin: YUM! Oh my god! Usually I am not a huge fan of chocolate scents, just because they have a tendency to smell artificial. This is not the case here, this smell like a big chocolate mocha with foam and cinnamon on top! It is DELICIOUS! I want a bottle of this, a lotion of this, a soap of this and a tub of this to bathe in. Pure yum!! The chocolate is very sweet and very creamy, it smells more like milk chocolate than cocoa. Cocoa usually tends to be a little more bitter and powdery on me. As the scent sinks in, it does become a little powdery, but stays very sweet, probably due to the tasty brown sugar giving it an extra sugar rush. After about an hour of wear, the chocolate has drifted to the back and it smells more like coffee. Still quite tasty, but a little more bitter and faint. I still love it. It has a low to moderate throw and average wearlength.

[Hayet]

chocolate hates me.

cinnamon hates me and usually gives me a rash.

 

El Dia de Reyes...? Loves me. WTF? And it's all wonderful chocolately cinnamon mocha. I can't believe my wee nose. Good throw, divinely yummy foody scent, and now I'm craving chocolate cake batter. Not the cake itself, just the batter. *g*

[Akurarei]

El Dia de Reyes 2007

 

In the Bottle:

Hot chocolate with a splash of coffee anyone?

this smells fabulous!

 

On my Skin, Wet:

OMG a chocolate that works on me!!!

LOVE!

I can smell the coffee and the brown sugar too - lovely lovely lovely!!

 

On my Skin, Dry:

Still heavily chocolate, but it DEFINITELY smells like the Mexican hot chocolate my family makes on Christmas day!

::mmmmmm....nostalgia!!::

The one drawback for me is that I can't smell the cinnamon - but it's a very minor issue for me. The rest of the scent is just so awesome!

 

Verdict:

Another bottle please!!

This is the only chocolate scent that has really worked on me & the memories it evokes are astounding because of the accuracy of the hot chocolate!!

10 of 10 ranking!!

[Miss Lynx]

I'm not generally a fan of foody scents, but for some reasons I ordered decants of several of the foodier Yule scents this time around. I think it was the cocoa and cinnamon that tempted me with this one. And I can definitely smell both those notes, but it also has the evil coffee note from Miskatonic U that smells like nasty artificially-flavoured edible-oil-product to me.

 

But thankfully, as it settles in, that note fades a bit, leaving the cocoa and cinnamon more in the foreground, which is much nicer. There's still something a little "off" about it the way there is in most foody scents -- they generally smell very synthetic to me. But this one is at least less that way than many.

 

It lasts for a fairly long time, and all the way through its development it has that part-nice, part not-so-nice character. The nasty synthetic coffee scent never completely goes, though at times when the cocoa and cinnamon are dominant I almost want to love it. But I can't quite.

 

I guess I will have to continue to rely on Midnight Kiss and Boomslang for my cocoa fix.

 

Grade: B-

[zankoku_zen]

At the beginning, the brown sugar and cocoa were too sweet. This was an extremely foody scent.

 

After an hour, the coffee note is more predominant, and the coffee's bitterness balances out the sugar/cocoa sweetness so it makes a dynamic combination.

 

Very tasty.

 

This isn't a scent that I would wear very often, but I think I will keep the decant because it is SO yummy.

[Jenesis]

This is a very, very faint scent on me. I'm practically snorting my arm-hairs to smell it.

 

Sadly, this isn't like what I was expecting. All I get is coffee. Fake, plastic coffee, the kind they use to flavour cheap chocolate. I'm not getting any cinnamon or cocoa at all.

 

Later, the sugar starts to come out, turning the coffee into this weird creme-brulee smell.

 

I want to age this to see how it works out, but right now I'm not all that impressed.

 

EDIT: I'm glad I kept this instead of swapping it straight away. Now that it's a few weeks old, it's gone much more chocolatey, with the coffee in the background. This to me smells exactly like creamy hot cocoa with a bit of cinnamon ground on the top, with a few chocolate-covered coffee beans beside it. To quote a lolcat or three: Nom, nom, nom!

Edited December 29, 2007 by Shollin