The Review: Estée Lauder Bronze Goddess

You would think that as a professional working in the beauty industry that I’d be immune to adverts. (It’s hardly the case, I am a proud contributor to American consumerism!) I’d like to think that it’s because I’m now hyper-aware that I have a soft spot for the products that excel in the packaging and overall branding department. I’ve developed an intense appreciation for the craft!

Pfft. You know, I can see you rolling your eyes from across the screen.

One of my latest adventures in consumption may or may not have involved a late-night, pre-holiday mini-spree. Mini, because it involved one thing and one thing only (eyes on the prize, here): Estee Lauder’s Bronze Goddess Eau Fraiche Skinscent 2014. Late-night, because why would I waste my day doing something as menial as, say, shopping? Insomnia isn’t practical otherwise…

… but I digress. For years I’ve been looking for the perfect summer scent, and for years I’ve been stumped by sniff after sniff of some saccharine imitation of “coconuts” and “sea” that came across more like a cheap Almond Joy mojito. I was perfectly content with my rotation of Tom Ford Black Orchid and L’Artisan Parfumeur Premier Figuier; those seemed to fit better with my monochrome wardrobe.

But what of summer, when sun calls for skin and white denim and color? Musk and amber may fare well in the colder months or for evening outs, but it becomes irrelevant—jarring, even—at the first given temperature rise. I don’t wear little white shorts in the dead of winter; I’d like to think similar rules of appropriateness apply to fragrance as well. Into my drawer my perfumes would go, and in their place would be the lingering scent of all the things I’d slather on that day: monoi oil, coconut oil, Hawaiian Tropic tanning oil, sunscreen (all of which happen to be a large chunk of my favorite things in life).

It seemed obvious then, to pick up a bottle of the limited edition Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Eau Fraiche Skinscent. A whole collection called Bronze Goddess seemed self-explanatory enough; plus, who am I to turn down claims of being:

“The fragrance that worships every inch of you. A sensuous, sun-drenched blend of Bergamot and Mandarin, cooled with Tahitian Gardenia Petals and Coconut, warmed with Amber, Sandalwood and Vetiver. All heat. All desire. All woman.”

…all bottled in a pretty, minimalist bronze glass?

It’s light, but not fleeting; Eau Fraiche Skinscent is certainly an appropriate and accurate name. It’s the ideal summer fragrance: I distinctly get a deeper version of Hawaain Tropic’s sunscreen and tanning oil—which I suppose in the perfume world translates to notes of coconut and tiare. There’s a hint of something citrusy that cuts the initial sweetness, but once settled into the skin, becomes this creamy, addictive scent. It smells like skin—a little musky after a day at the beach—mixed with all the best sun creams and oils and lotions. Nothing too refined (because what beach girl really is?), a little like the essence of the quintessential Victoria’s Secret Angel, and definitely tropical.

.   .   .

SHOP: Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess (new version)

xx