Bronze Goddess Eau Fraîche Skinscent (2008)
by Estée Lauder

Very feminine with a bit of spice, smells great in summer but also love it in winter. Shame it seems to have been discontinued...

18th November, 2011.

Bought a decant of this because I heard it was not noticeably different from Azuree Soleil, which I loved and now have to pay much more to get. Well, this experiment served as a good demonstration for me of just how delicate an art perfumery is. Yes, BG is clearly the descendent of AS, and the difference between their notes is probably small, but they are NOT the same. The sparkle and scintillating quality (some of it is due to lemon) of AS is present only in the first 10 minutes with BG, and it seems to promise so much. Then there's some subtle white flowers for the following 20 minutes. Then for the next 90 minutes all I smell is melting vanilla ice cream (the cheap kind), and then it's just gone. Azuree Soleil captured not just the smell of a sandy beach, but the FEEL of one, too--exhiliration, expansiveness, the glittering sweep of the horizon. Why, oh why, did they go and mess with it?

22nd October, 2011.

Although it's not listed, l get a huge cedar note in the opening. ls the sandalwood in this Australian? lf so, that might explain it, or perhaps it's the vetiver. No matter, l'm loving the woodiness of this more & more each time l wear it, & l never used to be much into woody scents. lt seems as though the note pyramid in this fragrance is upside-down, as it begins with depth & warmth, & slowly gets brighter as it dries down.
The bergamot makes an appearance, but the citrus notes are not detectable on my skin. The coconut is not obvious, but there is just enough of it to suggest suntan-lotion, aided by a creamy tiare note. lt settles very close to the skin, & after around 20 minutes l'm definitely getting the hot skin & sandy beach vibe that others have mentioned, along with a wierdly good lavender note.
lt only lasts 2-3 hours on me, but l totally love this fragrance. Not because it's perfect for the beach, but because it's perfect for reminding me of the beach on a not-so-sunny day at home. l found it especially comforting recently after returning from a beach holiday to find grey skies & rain! l would say it's easily unisex, too.

7th June, 2011.

I tried this perfume a few times last year, and even though I would not purchase it for myself, its scent intrigued me.

This is one of those fragrances that remind you of coconutty suntan lotion. Not horrible, but not what you expect in a fragrance. Men seemed to really dislike this when I wore it, which figures because almost all men hate the smell of a fake tan.

I'd say it would fit in nicely as a summery beach fragrance, because it tends to remind me alot through scent-recognition of some the beaches up Sydney way.

26th April, 2011.

Very nice indeed. Smells like coconut biscuits, in a good way. Quite transparent. I could swear there's some heliotrope in there, too.
My only gripe: the hesperidic top notes are increasingly jarring with every wearing. They seem so incongruous with the rest of the scent, which is the exact opposite of sharp and refreshing. It ends up being a bit nose-wrinkling, those first few moments.
It's a scent of sweet nothings, but very enjoyable, all in all.

4th September, 2009.

Terrific in the dog days of summer. LIght but not insubstantial and, as noted, no 'pina colada' smell!

1st September, 2009.