De Los Santos

First, you get a strong uppercut of sage, which can be off-putting to some. But give it a chance to settle down and you're rewarded with a nice, creamy, smoky scent that lasts for hours on skin. It's resinous but not overly so. Projection stays solid for the first few hours, then eases into a soft, skin-close scent that lingers well past the 6-hour mark. Definitely not blind-buy worthy, try it on skin first, not just a test strip. This one is made for colder nights IMO, the smoke and resin feel right at home once the temperature drops. Overall: 7.5/10

I am shocked by people saying this is a weak scent. I find it still very noticable in the air around me at 14 hours. I wore a sample of it to work and got comments all day about how good I smelled. I've never once gotten a comment about my smell at work before. I applied 3 sprays and will do less next time.

Port in a bottle

I was looking for a perfume that smelled like palo santo and got a sample bottle of Byredo - De Los Santos. This is quite close! I loved the sage note as well. The smell didn't stay very long, but I would have considered getting it anyway if it wasn't for Byredo's lack of a cruelty-free status, something I wasn't aware of when I got the sample. This scent is formulated without animal-derived ingredients, but Byredo sells its products in regions where animal testing can be legally required. Please do better, Byredo!

Where do I start? De Los Santos is one of the most distinctive fragrances I’ve ever worn. It’s airy, radiant, and effortlessly elegant, with a scent profile that feels both modern and timeless. Rather than demanding attention, it creates a beautiful, lingering aura that people seem to notice naturally. It’s become my most complimented fragrance, and after unexpectedly recognizing it on someone in Amsterdam—where its scent trail seemed to fill the entire street—I understood why. It’s memorable without being loud, artistic without feeling inaccessible, and unique enough to become a true signature scent. For me, this is one of Byredo’s finest creations.

There is something very refreshing in the composition while at the same time a bit ceremonial. The dry down is fantastic and it is here that the scent becomes quite intimate and I feel wholly enamored by its transformation. Quite addictive but also something I tend to wear more conservatively; there are many more secrets and stories DLS reveals and whispers over time. Certainly polarizing, best guess is the issue some people will face is less of a batch/quality control issue and really boils down to the blend itself. Ambroxan usually does not play nice to my nose nor my skin and yet here I do not find it particularly heavy-handed nor unpleasant/overt. DLS instead really amplifies the transition from the aromatic dryness of desert sage at the height of midday heat; the sun dips over the horizon and a sweet but arid woodiness appears. Prefer to wear in the evenings although the heat of the day really amplifies some of its sweetness… truly beautiful, a personal favorite!

Mirabelle and musk, it is okay but nothing special, one of the weaker ones from byredo, but still fine.

Smells like a beautiful and enchanting ritual being conducted in a forest. *testing from a free sample I've had for a while & finally got around to trying Art I think would smell like De Los Santos: Young Women Resting in a Forest Clearing by Narcisse Virgile Diaz de la Peña

Earth, resinous, almost medicinal on my skin. A bit sharp after the top notes died down and reminded me of walking through a Traditional Chinese Medicine shop, like incense and white flower oil. The dry down is a very zen palo santo. Pleasant, but not for me on my skin.

De Los Santos is soooo slept on! It starts with an airy lemony herbal, then a smoky sage steps up, after that about 45 minutes, wait for it….an earthy fresh mint steps up front and center. It’s incredibly perfect for summer!!

if you're from metro atlanta... this smells like the herbs from women's locker room at jeju. UNREAL!!

Smells like toothpaste

This is a very orris-forward scent. It's dusty and musky, in a clean way. The other notes are just bit players here, but they do contribute to the whole. There's a tang from the mirabelle, an herbal sharpness from the sage, and a resinous, ever so slightly smoky woody accord from the olibanum and cistus. The Byredo website lists palo santo, which is also obviously a major part of the profile of this fragrance. It's nice. I don't get any pickle-like, vinegary, or unpleasant notes, though I do agree it's a little sharp in the beginning. It evens out into a pretty good, dry, woody unlit palo santo-ish scent. It's zen, somewhat spa-like like others have said. You get a little twang of interest in your personal space every once in a while from the tangy fruit. That being said, it's nothing special. It's nice, I like it. I would not pay full or probably even half price for this. It's not novel and it's not remarkable. Not worth the Byredo price tag for a soft, short performance (though you could argue that nothing Byredo produces is worth the Byredo price tag). 7/10.

This opens with a lemony sage scent and dries down to an earthy mint scent and is wonderfully amazing with the exception that it’s just too light. I don’t get the fascination with skin scents. Technically, that’s a body mist. I want a fragrance to be seen and not heard. I’ll enjoy in the heat of summer but won’t buy again.

Clean smelling, has a lot of paolo santo and lasts long on my skin. But ultimately had to get rid of it. Really good for someone who appreciates that dna

@rujrrbdh "Why did I move to this place?" -Michael de Santa

This reminds me of when I was 4yo and was in the kitchen with my mom, she told me not to smell the pepper and I took it upon myself to stick my nose in it and get a big wiff, only to be hit with, yk, pepper. Very reminiscent of that experience.

Very clean, very dry, with zero sweetness, this is my most favourite Byredo. There is of course palo santo wood in the base, listed on the Byredo website. Right from the opening with mirabelle, to the mid with cistus & to the drydown with palo santo, this feels very natural, with a tad tiny ambroxan, not to intrude. The aura is serene & calming. Big love. IG : @scentclouds YouTube : @scentclouds

My signature daytime scent. Tried to switch to something else but I couldn't. This is my treasure, a scent I use at home just to appreciate all by myself. I think the DNA works with my skin very well, and settles into a lovely warm amber base as it fades. I have to say this base really makes it worth it as the layers wear off. The sillage is not big but it's long lasting on skin and on clothes. It's light but I get compliments when I hug or am in close proximity to others - perfect for me. As for the notes, they create juxtapositions that I find intriguing in a scent - that's probably why I never get bored. Dry yet juicy, powdery yet creamy, cool but warming. I love resinous fragrance, but this is so restrained and doesn't get sticky; it projects a cool incense breeze that lures you in. I disagree with any hint of toothpaste, its more high-end spa as a whole. I definitely feel the spiritual side of this fragrance, I use it as a little aura or spirit to uplift me. Hope it never changes.

There are fragrances that announce themselves. And then there are those that arrive like a memory you didn’t realize you missed. De Los Santos belongs to the latter. It opens with a quiet brightness sage, clean and herbaceous, as if crushed between warm fingers under an open sky. There’s something ceremonial in it. Not too sharp. Not green in the ordinary sense. It’s softened, almost spiritual, like smoke rising from something intentional. Then comes the plum. Not overly sweet, not indulgent. A restrained fruit note dark, velvety, and fleeting. It lingers just long enough to suggest warmth beneath the surface, a subtle contrast to the dryness of the opening. As it settles, the heart reveals itself in layers of orris and cistus. Powdered, but not cosmetic. Earthy, but not heavy. The orris gives it that cool, almost aloof elegance, while the cistus brings a resinous depth ambered, slightly leathery, like sun-warmed stone. And then, the base. Palo santo and musk. The palo santo doesn’t shout. It hums. Dry wood, faintly smoky, with a sacred stillness to it. Paired with musk, it becomes intimate close to the skin, almost indistinguishable from it. Not a trail, but a presence. You don’t wear this fragrance to be noticed. You wear it because it feels like something that has always belonged to you.

I see in the many comments here, there is a big issue with the batches from recent years. Couple months after opening the bottle, perfume starts to go really bad, really bitter. Which was not the case with the batches from couple years ago. Some people think the scent is spicy, but it's straight up expired perfume scent. I contacted the customer services from Byredo but apparently no one heard about the issue before, which is surprising considering all the comments here all around the world experiencing the same issue. All in all it's not worth to spend this much of money on a scent that will go bad after some months.

Beautiful and calming. I get fresh sage, icy green tea , and a light smokiness in the background on a base of light woods. So lovely and calming , unisex . Projection is ok but longevity is meh, maybe 4 hrs

A pleasant herbal freshener… but to spray it on myself as a perfume? Absolutely not. When I was a child, I often went to herbal shops, and they had this kind of scent there. But at least it’s not a generic, mass-produced fragrance.

Opens savory green for about 15 minutes. Develops into semi-sweet, semi-green, soft floral/woodsy fragrance with a bit of muskiness. Nothing bold or daring. I layered this one with Prada Lhomme the og (silver). 1 spray Prada and after 5 minutes 2 sprays of de los santos. Prada Lhomme made the powdery notes to pop more and rounded the smell.

The opening is fresh, lightly floral, and slightly citrusy. A little spiky as well, reminiscent of tart violets that sometimes may go dill pickle but did not here and were gone quickly. Maintains a fresh aromatic scent in a linear way for the duration of wear, the hint of citrus wears off. Overall pleasant, projects well. A light airy scent, easy to wear, inoffensive. Wish it lasted longer weak skin scent in about 3 hrs.

I really hate the bitter medicinal opening to this. The sage is sharp and offensive. Then the mirabelle and florals step in and it softens into something meditative and calming. Very nice. Not quite for me

if dry herbal tea had a baby with makeup powder, this is what it would smell like.

This immediately reminded me Carner Barcelona’s El Born, super dense and a LOT of honey. Absolutely not for me. If you enjoy that thick syrupy amber and spice profile, you’ll likely love this.

Category: Aromatic, herbaceous, woody Notes: Sprays on very alcoholic and aromatic with a slightly mentholated sage at the forefront and some balsamic olibanum floating in the background. There's a bit of orris root in there as well, which at first leans rather musty and earthy, but becomes a little softer and a bit powdery with time. The overall scent impression is that of opening a menthol-flavored pack of snus. With time, the mustier aspects do quiet down, and it becomes a little softer and a little sweeter while retaining that mentholated, aromatic feel. Vibe: Herb garden. Gravel. Sweet licorice. Creole. Flat cap. Negroni. Smudge-stick. Clay pigeon shooting. Savory. Skinny tie. Fundraiser. Sillage: 5/10. Honestly, a pretty decent sillage for a Byredo fragrance. This sits somewhere between lightly intimate and medium projection. Longevity: 7/10. Really good longevity for Byredo, this lasted me about 7-ish hours before I couldn't detect it anymore. For anyone unfamiliar, Byredo fragrances normally last about 3 hours. That being said, it was practically a skin scent beyond hour 5. Wear: Day or night. I'd say this probably works best in early spring or late fall, as the mustier aspects of this could become a bit off-putting in the heat. Muted and mostly inoffensive, and therefore office wear approved. To me, this leans masculine, but not to the point where I think you should be deterred from sampling if you're a woman who tends to enjoy more aromatic, unisex to masculine leaning fragrances. Ideal age range for this one is anywhere between 25 and 45. Overall rating: 3/10. This is well and truly just not my cup of tea. Reminds me of some terrible teenage make-outs and the rather unpleasant wake-up call of suddenly getting a taste of some trashy dude's disgusting snus habit. The olibanum and sage together create this weird, sweet, aromatic, and balsamic combination that feels inherently masculine to me. The mentholated vibes of the sage (I assume) also remind me of something like VapoRub or tigerbalm; just something medicinal. As a fragrance, the combination makes the overall impression feel quite avant-garde and artistic. I only see a very select handful of people being able to properly pull this off. I can't say I hate it, but I don't think there's a world where I'd actively enjoy this either, on me, or anyone else, for that matter. Who would wear it?: Adrien Brody.

This is how an expensive yoga studio smells.