I can do a 70 miler now sans cream. After that point I do start to want it simply due to the sweat.
I do believe in a break-in period but only on leather saddles, I don't believe in a 1000 mile break in period however. Saddle comfort for me comes from shaped and position, and it might take longer than a 1 hour ride to find the correct position.
You say your sit bones are bruising but then you also say you are getting burns from your pad. I will tell you that if you are having abrasion burns that's all it takes to point to a saddle and that could be wrong. How are your shorts fitting and how old are they? When the padding in my bibs starts to go (break down) they give me burns. Also to much cream tends to soften my skin so that I get burns/abrasions in my sit bone area, especially if I use it before the 60-70 mile mark, after that mark though it is heaven. Also worn loose or new tight bibs can cause the same problem for me. I am unfortunately in-between sizes right now, XXL is to big and XL is really snug.
I also had problems around the 85 mile mark with my saddles, that tends to be the defining mileage for comfort, but after spending 300 bucks in saddles I finally found one that I can live with and enjoy riding for longer periods and that was an uncut Selle An-Atomica saddle. After I had it for a while I did do a partial cutout on it and it is the most comfortable saddle I have ever had. I sold both of the Brooks I had and didn't look back. But I did have to experiment with tilt and tension to get it truly perfect.
What other saddles have you tried?
What shorts are you riding? Bibs?