Beyond Paradise (2003)
by Estée Lauder

Had to try this after the tremendous write-up in The Guide, but unfortunately I don't agree with Turin. It's certainly a pleasant enough smell, but not outstanding. Air freshener, fabric softener - yes, as others have commented. Nice, but not how I want to smell, and I certainly don't want it around for hours on end. Made for the American market, I would think, as it smells clean and inoffensive, but I want more from my perfume than that. Actually, this seems to be the way all Lauder scents are going today, with reformulations making Beautiful and Pleasures markedly simpler and undemanding. Only Youth Dew remains anything like it was.
Beyond Paradise? Beyond redemption!

9th December, 2011.

This is probably one of the nicest smelling white floral perfumes I have ever tried, along with Curious by Britney Spears and Allure by Chanel which are also way up there. If you like jasmine scents and white floral perfumes in general you will probably be a big fan of this. I disagree with the people who are saying it smells "cheap" or like "air freshener" too.
I agree that it smells "fresh" but to me it's just a really nice and pleasant kind of "fresh" smell. I have honestly never smelled an air freshener that was nearly as nice as this perfume: it would really have to be some very special an expensive air freshener in my opinion. Also, I hate the smell of febreeze. I find it disgustingly strong and almost nauseating. On me, this fragrance is nowhere near as strong as the smell of Febreeze. It's actually quite subtle, and very nice, especially compared to some of the other floral perfumes I've been testing recently that didn't smell very great on me at all. This gets a big thumbs up from me, and I highly recommend it to everyone who is looking for a good white floral perfume.

15th October, 2011.

Disclaimer: This review is of an in-store tester.

Turin Loves this and he and I are typically on the same page, I am one of the few who agrees he's spot on with Tommy Girl and understands exactly what he means when he says Insolence "brilliant" in spite of my hating it. At the very least, his recommendations tend to have a certain je ne sais quoi to them worth shoving your face into.

I tested this fragrance in Ulta - a store which very intelligently displays it's fragrances before a massive set of west-facing windows. I expect the bottle was "off" I just don't know by how much. This Beyond Paradise smelled of aerosol room freshener and sinus headache. In two words, it was "boring" and "ow." I expected something more radiant - a kaleidoscopic Tom Ford Black Orchid, which smells strongly of tropical fruit to me. As it is, BP smells of Frangipani soap.

Great if you hate fragrance and Febreeze is you best friend.

30th August, 2011.

Oh gawd, I really flip flop with this one - my husband bought me my first bottle of this - he loves it on me but every time I wear it, I am left wanting more from a fragrance. This feels too one dimensional to me (could be my body chemistry) and I always feel it would work better on either a teenaged girl who loves pop idols, pink and cupcakes or an older woman who loves flower shows, fluffy small dogs (and cupcakes). I know that is a bit harsh but you get what I mean?

Either way, it is pretty and incredibly strong with soapy synthetic flowers saturated in a potent & heady jasmine syrup. Great if you are in love with knockout jasmine. For me, I can wear it once in a while, usually getting lots of compliments (and a headache at some stage). If I was into pure florals, this is one I'd probably wear more often but maybe that's the real issue here...

I love the bottle, which doesn't seem to be the common consensus here but I guess that's to personal taste! Argh, after writing this down I am still no closer to love or hate with this bottle, think I want to love it cos my dear hubby gave it to me - will keep trying!

10th August, 2011.

This is a good scent for me. Transparent, modern, fresh, clean, bright. Something i can wear that doesn't end up wearing me. In a way, it could be mistaken for a skin or hair product, and not a stand alone fragrance, but that, to me is a compliment. It has the charm of clean fresh summer afternoon. Really nice, and my husband likes it.

16th June, 2011.

I don't know what was going through my head when I decided that I actually liked this fragrance. Trying it on my wrist today made me change my mind completely.

Sickeningly sweet, synthetic and reminiscent of toilet spray was how I perceived Beyond Paradise. I just couldn't get this perfume off my wrist fast enough.

Definitely long-lasting, it took 3 different types of soaps to get this one off.

26th April, 2011.