Beautiful

(Original late 1980s EdP comparison to the Absolu EdP) Beautiful is indeed beautiful. Lauder’s history has many examples that the brand is perfectly capable of giving us beautiful perfumes, so why they struggle to maintain quality output now, and especially with the litany of brands they are buying-up, is a mystery. That’s an aside for a different conversation. I wore Absolu quite a while back and was very taken with it, telling myself, thankfully, that Estee Lauder stayed faithful to the original. But when I went to recall the original in my mind while wearing Absolu I drew a complete blank. It had been quite a long time since I wore the original. I couldn’t articulate how Absolu was the same or how it was different, save for that the original was more powdery aldehydic and musky (i.e. old school smelling). So, I told myself I’d have to wear it again, and play my favorite game, an arm-by-arm comparison with Absolu on one and the original EdP on the other. The orange floral opening is inspired. In Absolu it says it wants to nod to the past but also look to the future, presenting sparkling aldehydes and a more saturated/vivid 4K presentation of citrusy florals than the vintage EdP. The vintage EdP is a true fruity floral amalgam that very nearly feels like it has Roudnitska’s signature on it, but that is more Bernard Chant’s influence on the perfume than it is Grojsman’s. The vintage EdP is very yellow floral, powdery and musky; the citrus and florals are dry and wispy, they have shadows, a sultriness to them, and a very hazy texture, which make their lines and characteristics blurry and create a true floral amalgam more than Absolu does. And that says quite a lot because Absolu is definitely an amalgam as well. Absolu pushes tuberose forward, but overlayed with plenty of citrusy orange blossom and jasmine. The vintage EdP is also tuberose forward, but keeps the volumes of the orange blossom and jasmine a bit quieter than Absolu, which allows rose to shine more in the vintage. Before you begin thinking "oh, a 1980s American tuberose perfume? - I guess I better expect something like Amarige or Giorgio Beverly Hills, and Beautiful is going to announce itself for blocks away as soon as I spray it and dominate the conversation with anyone that comes within six feet of me." No, it won't. This is an unusually well-behaved tuberose for its day, and because red rose has more of a voice this gives the vintage a richer, elegant, and more serious feeling than the Absolu’s happy-go-lucky and vibrant citrus-led energy. Wearing the vintage EdP I’m reminded of the intense fog we get in the late winter months here in Northern California. The fog is cool, very close, cloudy and hazy. It has a silky yet misty texture that’s palpable to the skin and nose, and it’s this feeling of thick fog I get in the vintage EdP. Absolu has a lot more sunshine in it. Fortunately, the dry down of Absolu sticks to the original brief and doesn’t descend into a hateful and scratchy soap musk or fruit-chouli abomination. Green woods that have been sanded down to linen like textures thanks to a very precisely balanced composition of sandalwood, gently green vetiver, and touches of musks keep the intention alive and well: beauty that is not majestic, grandiose, loud or showy, but instead beauty that is calm, restrained, softly spoken, yet alive and confident. For a quiet, restrained, and beautiful tuberose perfume - and not the garish monsters of the 80s and early 90s - very little else is as good as the original Beautiful. It truly lives up to its name. However, it is inevitable and to be expected that the powdery and abstract presentation is likely going to feel too dated to modern noses. That is where Absolu comes in, and I am very grateful to Lauder for updating Beautiful for the 21st century while being very faithful to the original. Absolu is Beautiful, just with a new lick of paint and some youthful energy. The original Beautiful is one of the best perfumes the Lauder brand has created, but if you can’t get your hands on a vintage bottle or you’re not big on vintage perfumes, Absolu is a very worthy choice that is very worthy of the Beautiful name.

Ok so ive owned 3 bottles of this. 1 from 2015 the 2nd in 2018 and one currently . The first time i smelt this i distinctly remembered this smell being that of my childhood in the 90s with smelling this around at parties, christmas dinners, and at occasions where the atmosphere was happy decorative and bustling. Its a beautiful symphony of what feels like a 100o flowers and a clean soapiness with some fresh stems attached. Reminds me also of what the gardens during anne of green gables time in that story book smelt like maybe. Also perhaps how the beautiful actresses of the 50s would have smelt like i imagine. Mind you what people call a "Granny" smell today was worn by them in their youth when they were beautiful and sophisticated in their prime. Just because they continued to wear it as they aged does not make the smell "old". I agree there are a few dated smells like perhaps youth dew being beyond fantastic but having a clear smell of civet and that dank animalic smell thats a bit much for most today. We can call that dated . Any maybe the perfumes that lean toward the yardley powder smells have a dated nuance for sure. But Estee lauder Beautiful, Givenchy Amariage, Lancome Poeme, Estee Lauder Knowing and even Chanel no.5 are by no means old lady smelling. Infact its quite the opposite. It does take me back to a better time of people in the 80s in their youth smelling divine. For anyone who finds the reformulation an issue, i personally dont. Infact i like the correction of that waxy note present in the vintage formulation . That was the only thing i did not like and its not here anymore plus they have amplified the soapy note which i love as its clean yet not too musky or powdery. Its simply beautiful. Beautiful smells like a mixture of Givenchy Amariage and Lancome Poeme. Although poeme has a distinctive heaviness with the yellow flowers and a tart note but Amariage compensates with its very sweet note . So if someone misses the original formulation maybe spritz amariage and poeme together and hope for the best. I love all three. My personal favorite is Amariage with beautiful being a close second but a happy staple in my fragrance collection. I think its also aptly named beautiful as it is simply beautiful. There is no other way to describe it.

Beautiful is the predictable sister who got married at 21 and gets the gift set every Christmas and Mother’s Day from her husband and kids. She is the woman who married her 10th grade homecoming dance date, who will live in her starter home until the mortgage is paid off. She’s the lady who is sometimes gifted a Beautiful flanker, and immediately returns it for store credit, because she lives by the motto of “if it ain't broke...” She is the person who vacations in the same Florida timeshare every year, who has never left the country, but will travel the world in her 70’s on a cruise with her husband of 50 years, collecting souvenirs for her 14 grandchildren. (The rebellious sister of Beautiful wears Lipstick Rose by Frédéric Malle. Unlike her sister, Lipstick Rose has had two starter marriages, has been to 20 countries, and is still searching for her signature scent with her third husband’s money.) Beautiful plays it safe. I understand her, even though she does not understand me back. I wear her when I am in the mood for something normal, because that is what she is. Not boring or lame - just predictable, safe, comforting. Her cornucopia of indecipherable flowers coated in delicate powder is as straightforward as the women who swear by her. As for me, I spray her in the air and walk through her mist, because she is not one to be sprayed directly onto the skin. As they say, even the sun burns when you get too much. Beautiful will likely never be discontinued, because her wearers are sternly-worded letter writers and Facebook boycott organizers. They would never stand for it. She is a timeless floral perfume that I will always have tucked away in my vanity, to indulge in an occasional dose of nostalgia for a time I never knew. Beautiful by Estée Lauder - she’s no magnum opus, but she’s a classic nonetheless.

Many years ago in the early 90's, my baby sister went to France on a school trip. When she returned she gifted me a little metal bottle of Beautiful from a factory tour in Grasse. I was thrilled with it, more so because she had been so kind and thoughtful to spend some of her pocket money on me (she had been saving for a whole year). Consequently, Beautiful has always had a special place in my heart and I always wear it when I meet up with my sister for coffee and a chat. It never fails to make us smile. The reformulation doesn't quite hit the same, particularly in the opening minutes, but like most great perfumes, the beauty is in the mid-base notes. Once it dries down, it works its magic and I find myself hard-pressed to tell the difference with the original formulation. In fact, the last time I wore it, my 16-year-old daughter stopped in her tracks, asked what was the gorgeous smell and promptly sprayed her wrists with it. She has been wearing it ever since. The kindness my sister displayed all those years ago in gifting this wonderful floral perfume has now brought her niece happiness too and I love that. The performance of the modern reformulation is great in my opinion which is somewhat unusual for Estee Lauder. Longevity is very long lasting and silage is moderate to strong. Suitable for all seasons and occasions. Very feminine, but any man who enjoys wearing Chanel no 5, no. 19 or other classic ladies' fragrances would love this too. It is very uplifting and a joy to wear.

Bizarre that recently I find myself reaching for Beautiful so often. In doing so I became hyper focused on learning as much as possible about it. Who other to turn to then fragrance historian, taxonomist, and author of Perfume Legends, Michael Edwards. Reading his work I learned that Beautiful took four years and five perfumers to make, the formula is 6 pages long, and this was the last perfume Estee Lauder herself worked on. One of the five perfumers of Beautiful is Bernard Chant. Chant explained Bulgarian rose as the anchor floral accord that highlights the black current and tuberose. Black current was also found to be an excellent projector for the citrus and green accents according to perfumer Nick Calderone. Calderone’s part in creating Beautiful was imperative in that he combined two bases that were created by perfumers Max Gavarry, and Sophia Grojsman. The first base is a powdery rose orris and the second an orange flower. When smelling Beautiful there is a soft musk peeking through the base, middle, and top notes, somewhat fruity floral and somewhat smoky in a good way. Reading on I learned that soft musk is what gives Beautiful it’s velvety depth and richness. Ambrettolide is a vegan musk compound derived from the Hibiscus abelmoschus plant, and Beautiful is brimming with trace amounts of this from base to top. No wonder this perfume is still considered a best-seller, the masterminds behind it are nothing short of prodigies in the world of perfume royalty.