Beyond Paradise

(Comparison of original releases of the EdT and the EdP) Can I get through this without mentioning You Know Who? Challenge easily accepted. Beyond Paradise is supposed to evoke the experience of walking through a tropical garden full of exotic flowers. It doesn’t. Not really. It is gorgeous, though. And it just goes to show that even in the 2000s Estée Lauder still knew how to make a beautiful and unique perfume. Whether or not they knew what to do with it after making it is a different question. And whether or not it is for a different brand that they own is a completely different story. Time-told answers since have yielded a poor batting average. Anyway, back to Beyond Paradise. And we’ll begin with the EdT since that is where I started with this comparison wearing. There is a hesperidic melange at the top, primarily of the zesty and oily variety, accented by pale green florals. Immediately you get an idea of Beyond Paradise’s mandate: abstraction. The EdP opens almost identically but all notes are far more saturated and vivid. The EdT’s abstract white floral heart is jasmine and honeysuckle forward for sure, and the jasmine in particular is superb. It smells exactly like what’s growing in my backyard. But the sweet slightly orangey honeysuckle really makes you second guess yourself for a second - “wait, is this really jasmine?” When this hits in the EdP, where these notes are more concentrated, the pyramid calls out cattleya orchid (actually laelia, which is very frequently hybridized with cattleya to where you rarely find one without some DNA of the other) and as an orchid grower very experienced with cattleyas, for the first and only time in my life a perfume that calls out orchid actually gets pretty darn close. Nice! The jasmine is noticeably more indolic in the EdP, which certainly helps with this. I never really pulled philodendron from the EdT, but its mild, bitter green, and earthy aroma was certainly noticeable in the EdP. What is supposed to evoke the humidity of the tropics earlier on in both concentrations is a sort of dewy and aquatic texture that doesn’t exactly come across as warm misty or wet air, but rather like you’re perceiving the flowers through a bit of wet cling film. I am speaking of a slight textural perception, this is not an aquatic perfume, make no misinterpretations. The dry downs are virtually the same with a quite unique green and bitter bright wood finish and a bit of floral musks. The general performance of both is shockingly similar despite the EdP’s higher concentration; longevity, projection, and sillage are virtually identical as far as I can tell. This is a great perfume, it truly is, but it is a bit of an oddball. I have yet to encounter an abstract floral quite like it. Perhaps that’s why Lauder discontinued it; it was just a bit too weird for the modern and younger noses, but that begs the question of shouldn’t a house try to offer something a bit odd like this every blue moon or so? Beyond Paradise was incredibly popular, even though by mainstream tastes it probably had no right to be, so why abandon something that sells well even if people don’t get it (particularly a growing market segment that doesn’t really buy what you sell regardless)? It’s a mystery that probably only has some semblance of an answer in an old presentation given in a Lauder board room. I find Beyond Paradise very addictive, and very fascinating - and it just smells great. In my opinion this is at the top of the list of Becker’s most creative compositions, and short of going overboard with more superlatives and laudings and a perfect five star review there’s not much else to say - oh wait.... Damn it.

I have a 100ml, unused, original rainbow bottle of this, still in its box, which I'm pretty sure I bought duty free in around 2003/2004. So, when this first came out, or very soon after Interestingly, it has no cellophane wrapper and can't ever have done, as the price sticker is attached directly to the back of the box. Then, I also have a 100ml (again, original rainbow!) nearly full Tester bottle, which I bought in about 2006, as a back-up. This is even though I hadn't opened the original bottle yet, lol. I tend to buy back-ups of things I really love the look of, just in case they get lost, or damaged. So, that shows you how much I liked this bottle. The juice in the rainbow Tester bottle is still in great shape, by the way, @Jbuchiere - hasn't turned at all. Hopefully, the same can be said for the unopened original bottle. So, I'm guessing they changed it for economic reasons and/or because Aerin prefers minimalism (or thinks we do); not because things go off sooner in pretty bottles. ...which I have never found they do. I think it was a big mistake for them to change the bottle. Would have been quite nice if they had, also, made a small, travel spray version (maybe 20ml?), in a sleeker shape, for practical reasons. A flatter teardrop-shape, would have been nice, for example. However, they should have retained the original rounded tear-drop shape for the larger sizes and the beautiful rainbow colours for all sizes. In terms of the fragrance itself, I think it must depend on the person wearing it. I don't get laundry detergent, or swimming pool, or smoke, or gasolene, at all. On my skin, it's mostly the same honeysuckle I used to smell, outside the backdoor of my mum's house, as a child. Then there is some hyacinth and a background of jasmine and gardenia. It goes slightly bubblegummy, on me, but in a pleasant and subtle way. It's not overly sweet, at all. The fruits are also there, if you look for them, but they are very much in the background and if you didn't look for them, you would probably just read them as slightly fruity facets of the flowers. It is, predominantly, a fresh, but reasonably sweet, floral. Not too sweet and not too sour. There is no discernible woody base, as such - but, there is a hint of what I would describe as "woody stems". Like the smell you get when you prune a bush; as opposed to a timber smell. There may be a hint of (undisclosed) vanilla; but, if so, it is extremely subtle. This is a gorgeous fragrance on those it suits and who can fully appreciate its delicate, prismatic beauty. I, previously, rated it as a Like, rather than a Love, as I tend to gravitate more towards creamier/buttery, vanilla-rich, all-white tuberose-based florals, with sweeter fruits than this, like peaches and apricots. However, after trying Beyond Paradise again today, I have upgraded it to a Love. Maybe it particularly suits this spring day? It's not what I would call a sexy fragrance and it never has been. It's more innocent and pure, if anything - but, it is truly beautiful nonetheless.

I was given a miniature of this one by a wonderful and kind fragrantican (thank you so much). I had a huge curiosity regarding this one, since I've heard great and terrible things about it. I tend to enjoy polarizing perfumes, must admit. Oh, and the gorgeous bottle and suggestive name were to die for. So today I gave it a wear. It was a weird not-really-sunny day, some clouds, a cold wind, not too hot. Although it's late May, it seems like early Autumn. I thought how wonderful a floral perfume could be today, and that's why I decided to wear it. I had already looked at the notes and I was intrigued by them, as I usually love jasmine and hyacinth. At first, it's all about undefined flowers and some light temporary citrics. The feeling I get is the same as when I enter a florist. The most similar perfume to that full, lush undefined smell that I've tried. As long as it dries down, it gets warmer, and it's always very exotic. It's a really contradictory perfume, as it's warm and fresh at the same time, dewy, wet and creamy. Extremely tropical, like nothing I've smelled before. It's undescribable. Very difficult to point notes, because they don't work separately but more like an all-together work. I say the one that actually stands out a bit is creamy jasmine. I can also smell a dewy greeness which may come from the hyacint. I can't really say much more, except that this is a really complex fragrance, but overall so pleasing and relaxed... I truly don't understand why some many despise it. I guess its due to the floral notes, which may be too much for some, like a floral overdose. Anyways, I find it extremely beautiful and shiny, complex and abstract, but relaxed and casual. It's for sure one of the best florals I've tried regarding non-soliflores. I actually don't find it to be a summer fragrance as it's suggested by the graphic: it would be, perhaps, too heavy for that. More like a mid-late spring, early autumn perfume. Almost forgot to mention the great lasting power and great sillage of this one, so great perfomance overall. Not too strong, but always present for many hours, which is great if you value it. Highly recommended. Thank you once again po :)

First impression of this scent is always ozonic-metallic. Then Lily of the Valley, which is well done. Hyacinth - ok, not bad. Honeysuckle? No, not really. Most of this scent is about flowers rather than from flowers. It’s an idea, a conception, of flowers, but personally I’d prefer the real ones, without the ozonic saltiness. What I like about floral scents is the creaminess, the waxy smell of petals, which is part of the extracted oils and absolutes. When the creamy and waxy elements are absent because the florals are constructed, you get Matisse rather than Maxfield Parrish. So this is a Matisse, or perhaps a Gauguin, of a scent. I enjoy real flowers and I like smelling of them (sorry Luca Turin) but still, Beyond Paradise is very good. It lasts well, it was utterly unique when it came out, and if it has suffered, it’s because everyone imitated it. I can’t smell it “fresh” because it spawned many similar scents. And, in the 10+ years since its release, I've smelled it everywhere - it is really popular. I’m pleased to have bought two little bottles so I’m having a chance to wear and experience it properly. It has the signature Estee Lauder musky aldehydes and longevity, and it is quite a tropical floral mix, so perhaps more appropriate in summer; one can imagine the beach, the sarong and the flower behind the ear. Despite personally preferring different scents, I can see this is very accomplished, so 9/10 for artistry.

Rather than look for my old review and update it, I'm just going to re-review this one, perhaps in the hope that I can somehow jack up the rating, because I think this deserves at least a solid four. But I'm also wearing/smelling the original formulation of this perfume, which I have stored in my refrigerator in its original (ridiculous but adorable) bottle for the past 20 years. It was a gift from my late FIL, and I seldom wore it, so the bottle is nearly full. I appreciate perfume more now than I used to, and I am very glad to have this, even though I don't wear it very often. That "wet garden" accord, the so-called "Eden" aromachemical, is something else--it really does remind me of going into a rainforest, filled with luscious white florals. I keep picking up an almost buttery, tuberose-like note, but I think it's the ambrette combined with the jasmine. It's almost unctuous with that creamy amber in the base. I like this immensely, but I have not smelled the current formulation, and I suspect that it comes up short. Most of the EL reformulations seem to be in a sorry state right now, which makes me very glad that I have a sizeable stockpile of the vintage bottles and that I somehow persuaded my husband to let them live in our refrigerator. Updated the longevity from long-lasting to eternal--I could smell it 24 hours later, and after washing it off. Good thing I love it!