If I had to sum up its essence in one word it would be suave; in a happy, sunny, very exotic and romantic way. Fast forward to the end of college and I was eager to rekindle my love of this scent, and all perfume in general, but I found something about it had changed. All I get now is jasmine and tiare that dries down to a distinct smell of plastic. The lasting power and sillage also disappeared. Needless to say I was disappointed. The scent transports you to a perfect world of optimism and wonder. Unfolds on your skin with a fascinating blend of tropical wetness, zesty freshness and bursting floralcy\".

Beyond paradise' suits it's name...it is not an instantly recognisable 'tropical' scent, it's like a lingering memory of a holiday in Rarotonga, Fiji or Tahiti. I also saw the review for BP in TS and LT book, which is why I HAD to try the fragrance to see if it was deserving of such high praise... And I think it is :) 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. My comparison hasn't ended yet (into my 2nd hour) but so far I love them all and would rate them as

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This is a gorgeous fragrance on those it suits and who can fully appreciate its delicate, prismatic beauty. 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. The composition includes a lot of exotic flowers (this is so typical for Estee Lauder, who loved flowers), rare fruits and woods. EL discovered and used exotic flowers which were unknown to perfumery through a partnership with the Eden project, the largest botanical conservatory in Europe (Scotland). The juice in the rainbow Tester bottle is still in great shape, by the way, @Jbuchiere - hasn't turned at all. I detect the floating gardenia as well as sensual amber and hints of sparse ambrette. The other notes are present but elusive, melding effortlessly.

That is exactly what everyone that smelled it on me asked. It's a full blast of flowers; not at all unpleasant if you like them! And very unlike fresheners, although in these days room fragrances have evolved into masterpieces themselves.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. This has a very crisp smell when initially sprayed and is quite overpowering! I thought it was opening with my dreaded flower the Jasmine as it is pretty strong - but I was wrong and it is a mega blast of hyacinth and I am a great fan of this flower however, od'ing on it though can cause headaches! There is no discernible woody base, as such - but, there is a hint of what I would describe as "woody stems".

This perfume was originally sold in a distinctive rainbow bottle, which gave you an idea of what to expect from the fragrance. Beyond Paradise is so intensely tropical that the fragrance from the near colourless juice within the new simple, nondescript bottle is almost startling. Bought in Montecarlo the year it launched, during a lovely holiday taken to watch the Grand Prix. I went on using it for years afterward; the spell of the holiday kept lingering in the air, and I liked that a lot. I feel Beyond is a well conceived addition to the family of 'the transparents', EL perfumes that were created around the same time, Beautiful, Pleasures, White linen and Intuition. The 90's were a change in direction for perfume which was sorely needed, a new era, a fresh approach... I think of Beyond Paradise as the most recent truly great Estee Lauder perfume. Yes, Sensuous (2008) and Modern Muse (2013) have launched almost ten flankers between them, but to my mind none of them are particularly impressive. Estee Lauder has not recently given us anything nearly as good as the greats of the past, and the exceptions strengthen my argument. Pure White Linen (2006) is a flanker, a modern interpretation of the original White Linen (1978) and Bronze Goddess (2008) is really a Tom Ford fragrance (see previous post). Further evidence of Beyond Paradise's greatness: rather than being discontinued, it’s now sold alongside other classic Lauder fragrances.Would have been quite nice if they had, also, made a small, travel spray version (maybe 20ml?), in a sleeker shape, for practical reasons. As it develops, a berry-like tartness becomes apparent, and I get a hint of plum. A sweet, musky amber accord develops slowly, complementing the increasing powdery florals beautifully. It becomes increasingly woody and musky as it fades, with remnants of the powdery florals remaining until final fade. Sillage is strong and longevity is long-lasting. This was one of the first perfumes that I would steal from my older sister when I was very young. I was instantly attracted to the bottle itself and the actual sent is stunning. My go to is floral and this has all those wonderful aspects including a tropical vibe. I also remember loving Mambo and Liz Claiborne Bora Bora when I was that age. I was so excited when I got my hands on 2 vintage bottles of this. Unfortunately both of them have that rancid smell, but I can still smell what made me fall in love with this as a child. I am considering testing this at Macy’s to see how the new version smells. Unfortunately I never seem to see this on the counter. I am hesitant to blind but and add yet another perfume to my collection if it is not going to smell like I’m hoping. Exotic brightly coloured birds dance their displays in the rich green trees, amazingly beautiful orchids drip with with sparkling dew, a crystal clear, warm blue lagoon invites you for a swim, brightly coloured butterflies flit by in a sunny glade, exotic friuts hang from the trees tempting you to taste, anything you wish for can be there! Just thought I would see if anyone else was having the same issues with vintage Estee Lauder Perfumes going bad. It seems to be the floral perfumes as I have no issues with my vintage Youth Dew.

I groaned to myself as I know how long lasting EL fragrances are and knew that washing would not help at all. Much to my surprise, the alien disappeared abruptly about three hours after spraying. Not a trace of it's strange presence was left. The original rainbow bottle is definitely beautiful and unique. The new bottle is very boring with not a dash of color. I am pretty positive Estée Lauder switched a lot of their perfumes to this new boring design because the vintage ones seem to go bad. There’s something with the Estée Lauder line where I have noticed the vintage perfumes go bad and smell “off”. With them switching to newer style bottles I am able to tell the age of the perfume. Both of my Beyond Paradise, Intuition and Beautiful vintage perfumes all went bad. Estee Lauder must use the same ingredient in a lot of their perfumes, because when it goes rancid I can smell it in all 3. It’s really a shame because Beyond Paradise and Beautiful are amazing classic scents.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. There were other scents I couldn't place, which may have been the orris root (not yet sure what this smells like... is there an orris-root based perfume anyone can recommend?) This was the biggest disappointment that I have ever experienced with an EL fragrance. As an avid gardener, I am extremely familiar with hundreds of floral fragrances. I could not detect anything in this scent that has a botanical origin. This is one of the most synthetic plastic alien smells that I've ever encountered. Bizarre seems to be the best word to describe this fragrance. Citrus are not detectable, which is a plus: men stuff, in my humble opinion, the colognes full of them. There's an edge to it: fruit one can hardly identify, and yet perceive. It is a moreish, fresh and yet warm fragrance; an olfactory contradiction in fact.