Aegean Bronze

I wanted to try this but it was sold out and I was living in the US. I recently relocated back to Greece after 18 yrs stateside and finally bought it so that's my first summer back home after so long and I'm loving this scent. It's a Greek Mediterranean summer, not a tropical summer. Aegean is our largest sea and Aegeus was a Greek king, so no coconut here! We don't need it right now. I'm surprised they didn't add jasmine since the Greek roads in the summer smell of indolic jasmine and the intoxicating night white flower, but they just wanted to make this entirely beachy, sunny and sandy. Right off the bat I categorized this in the solar, tanning lotion-like league of Soleil Blanc/Wonderlust Sublime MK/ VS Very Sexy Oasis/ bbw Getaway Soiree/ bbw Gingham Glow/ Rio Radiance (which has the sand note too), however Aegean Bronze isn't tropical and it's not ambery balsamic as all the above. It has some balsamic effect from the burnt/spun sugar in a candied way and the aromatic frangipane but it's not ambery. Aegean Bronze's game isn't built on the indolic florals of that tropical tanning lotion league: tiare flower, tuberose, Ylang ylang. Instead of the solar salty orange flower/blossom of some of the other perfumes, it has sand and frangipane so a less heady sunny effect. It's more vanilla-sugar based yet with a subtle citrusy freshness that becomes more green by the bergamot. It has a strong green essence to my nose and it's yellow-sunny by the frangipane-sand accords like the burning hot Greek sun smiles at you as you lay on a sandy Aegean beach. The burnt sugar note reinforces that impression of bronze skin in the sun justifying the name of the perfume. The musk also pairs nicely with the sand for that animalic feeling like your skin is wet with some sand stuck on it. It has a strong vanilla - sugar base which sets it apart from the other ones and no benzoin here no amber yet it gives that sun soaked feeling. It has a warm vanilla-freesia scent at the opening, paired with the sweet freshness, partly reminiscent of Korres Vanilla Freesia in this aspect, also due to the balsamic burnt sugar, but it's summery and fresher, combined with the bergamot and frangipane. As it macerates the burnt sugar note develops more at the opening being very candied and delicious which stays at the drydown. This burnt sugar vanilla combo along with something in it smelling slightly green-yellow in my mind, which is the bergamot with the frangipane, reminded me of bbw Wild Madagascar Vanilla. Upon checking the notes of both, I see that indeed they share the notes of musk, vanilla and frangipane. I'm not a fan of frangipane in perfumes as it gives a 90s sickly sweet scent, but I love it here, it provides that sweet lotion scent applied on shimmering bronze skin. So this perfume is quite a hybrid and unique in this league. The bergamot, citruses and the sand, smell almost like unripe pear at first being a salty sour note, but I'm glad it ain't pear - the only element of Wild Madagascar Vanilla that I don't like much. Soleil Blanc is more tropical due to the coconut, tuberose, the solar ylang Ylang and the cardamom, with an added herbal spice effect from the cardamom, so it's quite different than Aegean Bronze even though they share that sweet beachy tanning lotion vein. They are both the most green out of that league due to their bergamot note. Beach Walk also has citruses, but again it's on the indolic ambery side of the spectrum. Longevity isn't the best but vanilla based lotions help. In Greece the 50ml edp costs 22.95euro approx 26usd. In the US it's like what 62 bux? Of course the Korres American site gives great discounts if you're a circle member. I had ambassador status so I was getting perfume and creams for 10 to 16 bux. Edit: another perfume in this league which combines the coconut Ylang Ylang with the frangipane, citruses - vanilla and it reminded me of Aegean Bronze Abit due to the frangipane-vanilla is the Qaed Al Fursan by Lattafa. Aegean Bronze and that one have become my go-to vanilla musky balsamic summer scents.

Want to have your lemon tiramisu and eat it too? Look no further. Aegean Bronze is an all-you-can-eat buffet of sweet summery treats, with a side serving of Baileys. It's probably the sweetest citrus scent I know but has a boozy edge that gives it personality and barely just keeps it from getting cloying. It opens with a beachy blend of notes that takes me to a sandy, sun-kissed seaport city - a whiff of liquor from an open-air bar, a blast of fresh flowers and lemons from the market, and the sugary odour of freshly baked waffle cones from an ice cream cart. On my skin, AB soon loses its initial fruity and floral accents and becomes a sophisticated mixture of tropical vanilla and sugar for the rest of its stay. As such, it almost flirts with winter, yet I can't imagine wearing it any other season than late spring, summer, or early fall. For a citrus scent it projects and lasts reasonably well. I have to reapply twice a day but I don't mind because the price doesn't break the bank. Some of my friends haven't liked AB when I've asked them to sample it. It's shamelessly non-mainstream and probably best not bought blind. For my nose though, this is a very nice fragrance.

Stumbled across Korres fragrances cheap in a Pharmacy in Kos. I spent all week sampling them to make my choices and walked away with this one and Avgustos for my husband. 2 years on and I still think these two are the star performers for this brand. Anyway onto this it smells.... Its definitely beachy and bronzy but not in a sunscreen way. Rather, it makes me think of warm clean skin that had been tanning all day and sand. It’s warm, creamy and sweet, reminding me of a warm geek breeze, it’s never too rich or cloying. I catch whiffs of this for several hours after spraying but I can’t smell it all the time. Ive only had compliments from friends when they hug me or spend the day with me. I haven’t had any compliments from strangers so I guess it sits pretty close to the skin. It reminds me of sol de Janeiro’s limited edition ‘Do not disturb’. It’s not the same scent but shares some DNA and both have a habit of wafting gently under my nose when I’m least expecting it....I detect both spun sugar and sand notes in both and absolutely love both.

This is a nice scent that combines sugary sweetness with a cool, fresh undertone, that makes it more unisex and better suited for high temperatures. However, it also feels like somewhat of a contradictory scent - I like it, and at the same time, something about it bothers me - it does not smell "right" for me in a way I cannot explain. I find that for the first 4-6 hours, I can smell it on myself; afterwards, it is only noticeable right on the skin. It even lingers after taking a shower, when I do not purposefully scrub my wrists with soap. Price point is very decent for a natural-leaning EDP, around 12 EUR for the travel size (a practical roll on) and 25-30 EUR for the spray bottle. While the ingredients are "only" about 80% natural, they claim to not use phtalates, which is a huge advantage! Since this claim extends to all Korres fragrances, I'm looking forward to exploring more of their scents.

I was looking for a fragrance that would really capture the smell of skin warmed by the sun during a beach vacation. And finally, I found exactly what I wanted. Other similar fragrances were either too “perfume-y,” too heavy, too musky, or too floral for me. But with this one, I love almost everything about it. What I especially enjoy is how it smells on the skin - there’s no bergamot, no floral notes, just the scent of warm skin, sand, a touch of salt, and sweet, luxurious sun cream. On clothes, I like it slightly less because it leans a bit more floral and perfumed, but it’s still pleasant and doesn’t give me nausea or headaches, which is rare for sweet fragrances. This is definitely a summer fragrance, perfect for sunny days, evoking beachy, slightly tropical vibes.