There are purchases that are made with specific expectations. Sundance Sunshine Eau de Parfum by dm was one of those: sunny packaging, evocative name, limited edition, and all the hallmarks of that sunscreen scent you search for every summer but rarely find at a truly affordable price. The orange and gold packaging with flowers, the round, transparent bottle, the word "sunshine" written in soft font. Everything promised something bright and warm.
Then I sprayed it on my skin, and things got more complicated.
The brand: who is Sundance?
Sundance is the beauty brand dedicated to solar products di dm, the German drugstore chain present in Germany, Austria and now also in many European countries. It is not a niche brand nor a brand with perfumery ambitions: it is the drugstore's accessible perfumery line, designed for those who want summer products at affordable prices. Let's say it's the "sunny" little brother of baleaThe prices are consistent, the bottles are carefully crafted for the category, and seasonal limited editions are periodically released that play on simple and visually recognizable concepts. Sundance Sunshine falls into this category: a limited-edition 30 ml Eau de Parfum, designed for summer, sold for less than 10 euros (€5,99 in Italy, €7,99 in Germany).
The packaging: sunny and well made for the price
The round, clear glass bottle features an orange cap that evokes the sun and matches the box's graphic design. The label on the glass bottle features orange floral motifs embellished with gold foil. The box is made of FSC-certified, recyclable cardboard, with clean graphics that blend orange, gold, and white, very consistent with the summery concept. For a perfume at this price point, the packaging is genuinely well-executed and photographs beautifully, which partly explains the success of this type of product on social media.
The 30 ml size is convenient for those who want to carry it in their bag or suitcase without giving up a real bottle. It's not miniature, but it doesn't weigh as much as a 50 ml size either.
The olfactory pyramid of DM's Sundance Sunshine perfume
The perfume is identified with three families of notes, without the specific names of the individual ingredients:
| Top notes | Floral, fresh-fruity |
| Heart notes | Creamy, spicy |
| Base notes | Soft, powdery |
The promise, interpreted this way, is a fruity floral opening that softens into a creamy-spicy note and closes on a soft powdery base. It's a classic olfactory profile for summer sunscreens, widely used in mass-produced perfumery to evoke a sunscreen effect without directly using heavy balsemic notes.
INCI: what's inside
The ingredients list is intentionally short, a sign of a simple formula:
Ingredients – Inci: Alcohol, Aqua, Parfum, Tetramethyl Acetyloctahydronaphthalenes, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Benzyl Benzoate, Benzyl Salicylate, Citrus Aurantium Peel Oil, Limonene, Pinene, Citral.
Il Tetramethyl Acetyloctahydronaphthalenes It's the quintessential sun musk, the synthetic molecule responsible for that warm, ambery note reminiscent of suntan lotion in summer perfumes. It's present in almost all mid- and low-end sunscreen perfumes, and it's responsible for the most successful opening of this Sunshine.
The Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone it is a synthetic iron with a violet and slightly powdery floral character: it is the molecule that in the evolution phase tends to take over and take the perfume towards that powdery direction that not everyone likes.
Il Benzyl Salicylate It is a fixative with balsamic and slightly solar notes, very common in summer perfumes. Benzyl benzoate It is another fixative with a sweet and balsamic character. Both are declared by European regulatory requirement as potential allergens in susceptible individuals.
The bitter orange peel oil (Citrus Aurantium Peel Oil), the Limonene, Pinene and Citral It is the citrus and fresh notes that open the fragrance in the very first seconds, but being very volatile they evaporate quickly leaving room for the heavier notes of the base.
How it feels on the skin: my experience
The first spray is pretty much what I expected. There's that sunny, warm note that actually evokes something summery, almost tanning, with a fresh citrus touch that doesn't last long, though. It's the Acetylcedrene that does its job in the very first moments, and it does it well.
The problem comes soon after, when the fragrance begins to evolve. powdery and dusty direction It gradually takes over, and the result on my skin isn't the soft and silky feel that certain powdery foundations can provide. At a certain point, an unexpected and hard-to-ignore association entered my head: bedbug. That green, pungent note, a little woody and a little herbaceous, that certain synthetic musks and ionones unpredictably bring out on some skin types. Once my brain has made that association, there's no going back.
This idea combined with that powdery and chypre scent that makes the very “closed” perfume to my nose, when in reality I expect it to be fresher, sweeter, airier and sunnier… it doesn't make me particularly appreciate it.
It is worth pointing this out, because it is important: the chypre perfumes with Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone They behave very differently from skin to skin. On some people, they remain soft and almost floral, while on others, they become more intense and unpleasant. My experience may not necessarily match yours. Online some people compare it to Nivea Sun, a combination that many scented sunscreen lovers consider a huge compliment. That connection hasn't been established on my skin, but that doesn't mean it doesn't work completely differently on yours. If your skin chemistry tends to soften powdery and musky notes, this scent might give you much more pleasant results than mine.
The projection is almost non-existentIt's noticeable only when you put your nose close to your skin, with no trail in the air. For an Eau de Parfum, even for less than 10 euros, this is a noticeable flaw. Its longevity is moderate to low, lasting a few hours at most before it fades completely.
Who might like it and who might not
I advise for those who love powdery, vintage-style powders, for those whose skin chemistry softens these types of notes rather than amplifying them, and for those who want to spend little on a summer handbag perfume without high expectations. At less than 10 euros, the risk is limited.
I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who was specifically looking for the scent of modern sunscreen, that buttery, warm fragrance reminiscent of Ambre Solaire or certain sunny 1990s scents. That note is present in the opening, but it doesn't hold up. I don't recommend it even for those whose skin tends to amplify powdery notes, because the evolution can make it difficult to wear.
In numbers
| Vote | Note | |
|---|---|---|
| Packaging | 8/10 | Nice round bottle, consistent, bright graphics, FSC-certified cardboard. Well made for the price. |
| Opening | 6/10 | The first spray works, the solar note is there, but it doesn't last long |
| Evolution | 3/10 | The powdery base takes over in an inelegant way, with that pungent green note |
| Projection | 3/10 | Almost nothing, you can only feel it by bringing your nose close to the skin |
| Ensuring Leak-proof | 4/10 | A few hours, below average for even a cheap EDP |
| Value for money | 5/10 | The price is right, but the experience doesn't meet the expectations created by the packaging |
Where it is
Sundance Sunshine Eau de Parfum is available at dm stores. Since it's a limited edition, availability isn't guaranteed for long: if you're curious, it's worth seeking out before it disappears from shelves.
- Format 30 ml
- Price 5,99 €
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Oh no, what a disappointment!!! I saw it last time, but since there wasn't a tester, I held back, but it really inspired me...
Hi, thanks for your comment! But keep in mind that every nose is different, and maybe you might like it! On German DM, for example, it has a lot of positive reviews, so I'd still think about it, especially if you can smell it. Maybe pass it on to someone else who wants it and take a sniff in the meantime, hahaha. I'll give it away anyway because I really don't like it, which is a shame because if I were nearby, I could give it to you!