Sensuous Nude - Estee Lauder

About a year ago, I was in search for a new summer fragrance. Let me stress, that by the term ˝summer fragrance˝ I for sure don't mean super fresh, green, aquatic, citrusy or flowery types of perfumes. I’m generally a fan of oriental and gourmand smells with some exceptions and that kind of perfume is a bit hard to find for warmer days. They smell the best in fall and winter time, but get too heavy and can cause headaches, when the days get warmer. I searched for suggestions on the web (my favorite web page about fragrances is Fragrantica.com, on which I daily spend too much time) and the most frequent mentioned were: Dune (Dior), Eau des Marveilles (Hermes), Shalimar parfum Initial L’Eau (Guerlain), Opium Vapeurs de Parfum (YSL) and very famous Bronze Goddess (Estee Lauder). I was not very happy with these recommendations. Some of them I like, but can be too expensive for me, or unavailable  from other reasons. Not all web sites ship to this part of Europe, or costs are just crazy. I would like to try Bronze Goddess one day, but if I’m not wrong, it’s sold only in 100ml bottle, what is a lot. I prefer to buy perfumes in small bottles, because I get bored by them quickly. One day I was reading topic about fragrances that smell like suntan lotions – again on Fragrantica. There it was – Estee Lauder’s Sensuous Nude. 

I never heard for it before, but descriptions and reviews were just perfect and I had to try it as soon as possible (I think you’re familiar with this kind of feeling). And yes, it was for me! Sensuous Nude is oriental floral. At start I can smell something similar to spicy mandarins, but then it turns to sweet mixture of musk, vanilla and honey. It’s a skin scent and very office friendly. I wore it also during winter and it’s also very pleasant, jut less sweet and a bit more spicy. The only thing I miss is a coconut note. It’s listed between heart notes, but I can’t smell it, a lot of people can. Anyway that changes, if I spray it on clothes, not on skin. So for me it’s not typical smell of a suntan lotion, but I get some cozy summer vibe from it. It’s never overwhelming, staying power is very good. By the time it gets sweeter, but never too sweet. Notes listed on official website:

Modern Notes:
Sicilian Bergamot , Baie Rose, Mandarin , Black Pepper

Feminine Notes:
Jasmine Petals, Muguet, Coconut Water, Honey, Musk

Intimate Notes:
Melted Woods NaturePrint®, Sandalwood, Amber, Musk, Heliotrope, Vanilla

Packaging is very elegant in beautiful, rose gold color. Unfortunately my cap broke very quickly. It was very hard to pull it off to open the bottle, so over time it broke. The back side of the bottle reminds me of sand dunes on the beach.

Sensuous Nude is part of Sensuous line, which contains three fragrances:

Sensuous (2008), Sensuous Noir - in a gorgeous purple bottle (2010) and Sensuous Nude (2011).  

I got mine at Salma.