De Los Santos.

De Los Santos was introduced in 2022 as Byredo's meditation on remembrance: not grief as darkness, but memory as warmth, ritual, and continued presence. Ben Gorham framed it around Dia de los Muertos and All Saints' Day, two traditions that treat remembrance as communal, sensory, and alive. That idea matters because it explains why the fragrance does not chase literal incense smoke or church dramatics. It stays clear, airy, and open, as if the ritual is happening in daylight.

Working with Jerome Epinette, Byredo translated that brief into a structure that feels ceremonial without becoming costume. The sage and mirabelle opening gives the scent lift and breath. Orris and cistus pull it inward, then palo santo, musk, and ambroxan keep the base smooth and modern. You can feel the brand's usual minimalism here, but the emotion is fuller than usual. It is one of the house's most quietly affecting concepts.

The first impression is cool, green, and almost mineral, with clary sage doing most of the talking while mirabelle rounds the edges with soft yellow fruit. After that, the fragrance dries out beautifully. Orris adds a chalky, root-like calm while cistus brings resin without turning sticky. By the time it reaches the base, De Los Santos feels less like a note pyramid and more like a residue on skin: clean wood, faint incense memory, musky warmth, and a little silvered air. It never gets loud. It just gets closer, softer, and more convincing.

De Los Santos arrived as one of Byredo's clearest statements on ritual, remembrance, and spiritual atmosphere. It became a conversation piece because it took themes that could have turned smoky, gothic, or heavy and translated them into something lighter, cleaner, and more modern. Community comparisons often place it beside contemporary woody cult favorites rather than traditional incense perfumes.