Splendid Bronze (Into The Gourmand)

Excuse me, what?? If this is what alien smells like, how on earth can anyone not absolutely LOVE IT!?!? What!?!? This is BEAUTIFUL! Omg! Some say this is a more “wearable version of alien” what does that mean? It’s “less offensive?” This is so gorgeous i think i might love alien! I tired a tiny tiny sample in one of those dabbler bottles and i really liked it but it was so light maybe bc it didn’t spray and it was a small amount it evaporated off my skin super fast! But this!!! This seems stronger and stays!!! I adore this!

I bought this yesterday. Wow! Zara have got a winner on their hands with this. Beautiful and long-lasting. I love Zara perfumes and this one will be a definite repurchase when I finish it.

An incredible Alien dupe 👽 I have both and they're very similar to me! Alien is a bit smoother than Splendid Bronze but overall they're extremely close!

As others have noted, this is soooooo not a gourmand. Not even some haute cuisine version of gourmand. This is a straight up HEADY white floral, and if you don't like brazen jungle jasmine and juicy orchid, orange blossom, and heliotrope accords, I don't know what to tell you aside from, "This juice is not for you." This is soapy enough to tone down the jasmine's natural indolic notes, but not so soapy that you're not thinking about them. It's not listed as a note, but I almost get a tuberose vibe from the orchid and/or heliotrope. Ostensibly there are some nice woody notes somewhere, but all I smell are the white florals and a touch of wet green leaf. There is strong vanilla throughout, but it reads as floral vanilla, not as cupcake vanilla--more like the fragrance of the beans as you scrape them than like a concentrated extract baking vanilla. It does settle down quite a bit, and it's not nearly as invasive or polarizing a fragrance as Alien, to which it is understandably compared. This does smell a bit like something Bianca Jagger might have worn to a club in the early 80s, but how could that possibly be a bad thing? It also reminds me a little bit of Beyond Paradise, a favorite EL EDP that I hoard in my refrigerator because it is inexplicably discontinued. It's not as complex as that scent, which doesn't knock you over the head with the jasmine/black vanilla/orchid/heliotrope juggernaut right off the bat, but it has a similar headiness. This also reminds me a bit of my beloved Gardenia by Elizabeth Taylor, the best bargain fragrance of all time. But where that is creamy and soapy, luxury-soap gardenia, this is wilder and screechier jasmine, which has more indoles and general insolence. This is not the dirtiest jasmine I have ever smelled by any means, but it's by no means demure. I might upgrade this to a love depending on how it dries down and endures. I don't really understand why it's called Splendid Bronze, which to me suggests coconut oil, but maybe they're thinking more about general island vibes that the person who is splendidly bronze might be gratefully inhaling, not so much the smell of Bain de Soleil, which is what the name Splendid Bronze evokes to me. But in what context could splendidly bronze possibly be gourmand? Were they imagining some sort of fancy cookwear--in which people would distill jasmine? The whole concept is wack, but the fragrance is quite beautiful. Another successful blind buy from Zara. That's two in a row--not bad at all!

Possible Alien family dupe (it has elements of the edt, Extraordinaire, and just a smidge of the powderiness of Absolue), but more light and with noticeable heliotrope. There is some strong cashmeran and jasmine, this smells like an Alien flanker actually, it has that dna but it is much more suave, light and even green. Not as syrupy, not as thick, not as sweet. More vanillic even and powdery. Yet it is different from Zara Royal Fressia (which too is very similar to Alien by Mugler and Marfa by Memo, like a light version of Alien but with a more dirty/stinky jasmine and without strong cashmeran). The jasmine in Splendid Bronze is less high-tech and more natural, less indolic and even less soapy then Alien, and more green. It has a quite rarefied texture, lasting power is extremely good. This fragrance has the added bonus of heliotrope which remains in the background with a sort of bitter almond quality, a little liquor like but very subtle, it is only a retro facet really. Vanilla is light in nature but strongly present. I don't smell orange blossom or orchid at all. Many reviewers on youtube are speculating this may be an inspiration of Alien Essence Absolue, personally I don't think so because the thick myrrh and strong incense which almost became a liquor in the Absolue is an element that it is totally missing in Splendid Bronze, I think the most close Alien iteration that we can compare to Splendid Bronze is the Alien Eau Extraordinaire, I remember it was more green and powdery just like Splendid Bronze. Lastly, this is absolutely not a gourmand, not even a floral gourmand (this one and Velevet Shadow are labeled as "In to the Gourmand", but only Velvet Shadow is truly gourmand).

I have no idea what Alien smells like, but if this is a dupe, then I think I will pass and not spend the big bucks on it. I love jasmine. Upon initial spray, I get very sharp jasmine. Then it quickly became quite green grassy and menthol in the background. There is this persistent grassiness/woodiness through to the dry down that, to my nose, is not the most pleasant thing in the world. It is definitely not bad, just not my preference. It is probably my chemistry. What a bummer because I love jasmine. At least I didn’t spend much since I got it on sale. And regular Zara prices are already affordable to begin with. Also, my partner loves this one. Apparently, he smells wonderful floral perfume, and he becomes amorous. 😘 My nose must be broken because I only get grassy note. But at least he loves it, so I will keep it. 🥰💐 Update 01/05/2024: From a distance, I no longer get grassiness. I get more flowers, and I now like it.

You might as well buy this instead of the current formulation of Alien; it's much less expensive, and its performance is probably equivalent to the current Loreal-ified Alien. Personally, I find the jasmine in Alien and in Spendid Bronze to be too abstracted and, well, alien. The cashmeran is a bit smoky, making both Alien and Splendid Bronze smell more like a strong incense jasmine to me than the more photorealistic jasmine or tea-like jasmine that you find in more demure fragrances.

This is not Alien edp dupe in my humble opinion. This is Alien essence absolue. The vanilla is more prominent, and its more deep and soft. Alien edp is sgarp and heavy on the jasmin. I LOVE essence and have been on the hunt for years. And I could smell it right away. Essence absolue. It doesn’t project really. Sprayed 6 times and went to see a friend. Askedhervif she could smell me, but noo, sadly. Only ehen she smelled my wrist. But lovely scent. Zara did a good job

I had heard great rave and went to try it but to me it smelled almost exactly like Alien. I did not purchase it as I already own Alien and don’t wear it too much as it is not an everyday fragrance. Good affordable alternative to Alien I guess.

I’ve never had Alien as I hate the bottle, but this bottle I can live with. Beautiful jasmine, vanilla and cashmere. Heavy on jasmine. Great longevity and strong silage

An adorable alien for non aliens Jasminy soft. Bearable for day use and close encounters. Worth a landing at Zara

No projection at all but a bit of longevity (could smell it if I sniffed my skin after 2 hours + walking and sweating). At this point, it smells clean - cashmere, quite warm. If it had better projection I would buy it without hesitation at this price point.

10 of out of 10 dupe of Alien.

I may be a bit biased here since floral perfume are not usually my go to, however I purchased this as the sample smelled really nice and fresh. After getting a bottle of it and spraying it at home I can tell this will be a fragrance that I will be giving to my friend. The flowers in this are so incredibly strong that the scent irritates my nostrils as well as throat. Not a bad scent overall but definitely not for me.

It's alright, there is a note in here that pulls a bit dirty, unsure how to explain but if it were not there, this perfume would be perfect.

Copies of Alien have been done to death! We really didn't need this one. At this point I feel like gagging every time I smell Alien out and about. Next!

This is beautiful but not sophisticated and reminds me of green tinted gardenia perfumes, with a snap to the indole, more than jasmin perfumes. It's only a little bit sweet. It's also a white floral that's a bit crude or forthright, in a delightful way. It reminds me a bit of Mugler's Aura Sensuelle and vaguely Adieu Sagesse by Patou, the latter being quite lively. The current Alien EDP in stores is sweet but calm, and of course still beautiful, too. Zara's Bronze is dynamic, a winner and good value. I would expect a run on this and sold out status. My only caveat is that it skews mature.

This smells so much like Alien it’s ridiculous! I was trying a bunch of different fragrances in Zara, picked this up and put the nozzle to my nose and immediately thought, “omg, I know this one! This smells exactly like something I already know but I can’t put my finger on it”. I knew it reminded me of a Mugler fragrance but couldn’t remember which one. I searched for it immediately and had my answer - Alien is the highest upvoted similar perfume and it absolutely smells exactly like it.

If you wear this people with undoubtedly think you’re wearing Alien. Of course, it’s not nearly as strong as Alien but it’s also not near as obnoxious. I actually like this more than Alien, but I don’t know if I like it more because it’s lighter or because it seems creamier. The cashmere and heliotrope add a softer, more smooth feeling to the amber and jasmine.

I had one of the OG editions of Alien as well as some of the more recent reformulations. Splendid Bronze is (to me) identical to the original formula! It doesn’t last a week as the OG Alien used to do but it does last the entire day (12+ hrs) with very strong production in the first 4-5 hours. On clothes it lasts for days!!