Welcome to the weekly Perfume Chat Room, perfumistas! I envision this chat room as a weekly drop-in spot online, where readers may ask questions, suggest fragrances, tell others their SOTD, comment on new releases or old favorites, and respond to each other. The perennial theme is fragrance, but we can interpret that broadly. This is meant to be a kind space, so please try not to give or take offense, and let’s all agree to disagree when opinions differ. In fragrance as in life, your mileage may vary! YMMV.
Today is Friday, October 11, and I’m still working my way through samples I got in London during our recent trip! Today I am enjoying Jo Loves‘ Golden Gardenia. It’s very intriguing, as it is a white floral, somewhat sweet and narcotic, but it has notes of suede, cardamom, incense, and elemi that spice it up in a nice balance with the white floral vibe. White florals aren’t usually a favorite category of mine, much as I love floral scents generally, as they often smell overpowering to me. And I think Golden Gardenia could smell overpowering if applied with a heavier hand than mine. That said, I’m really appreciating its lovely blend, especially as the gardenia opening doesn’t hang around too long. It doesn’t disappear completely, but it recedes as the spices and suede come forward. Very nice! I was also glad to find out that Jo Loves now has a US website and warehouse, so American customers can easily order from them.
Jo Loves’ Golden Gardenia
My return visit to the Jo Loves boutique on Elizabeth Street was a happy one, not least because I love Elizabeth Street. It is also home to legendary niche perfume boutique Les Senteurs, which any perfumista visiting London should not miss. Their staff are very nice and knowledgeable, and will happily help one try a number of the unusual fragrances they carry (for instance, Cloon Keen and Papillon creations, for which they are the only UK stockists). There is also an extremely pretty tea shop up the block, Peggy Porschen, where I fortified myself (again) during a day of perfume tourism.
Les Senteurs, Elizabeth Street
Peggy Porschen tea shop, Elizabeth Street
I can’t believe it has been a few weeks now since we returned from London, but those have been eventful weeks in the US, with Hurricanes Helene and Milton following each other in quick succession, wreaking havoc in the Southeast. We were lucky to have very little impact here from Milton’s visit a week ago, and Helene’s before that, but western North Carolina, western and central Florida, the northeast of Georgia, and parts of South Carolina were badly affected and declared to be disaster areas. It will take years for some areas to recover, which is heartbreaking.
My lovely hubby is away again for work, but we plan to take a short trip to the South Carolina coast next week, one of our favorite spots for over thirty years. Luckily, that particular area is unscathed; let’s hope it remains so!
Do you have any trips planned for this fall, big or small? Any new fragrances to report?
Welcome to the weekly Perfume Chat Room, perfumistas! I envision this chat room as a weekly drop-in spot online, where readers may ask questions, suggest fragrances, tell others their SOTD, comment on new releases or old favorites, and respond to each other. The perennial theme is fragrance, but we can interpret that broadly. This is meant to be a kind space, so please try not to give or take offense, and let’s all agree to disagree when opinions differ. In fragrance as in life, your mileage may vary! YMMV.
Today is Friday, September 27, and we have just had what was left of Hurricane Helene pass through our area. We were lucky: lots of rain, and flooding in lower areas especially near creeks and rivers, but our own street didn’t flood or lose power. Whew! We were ready, though. Fully stocked up with food, water, batteries, etc. Hybrid car fully charged. We’re still staying inside, though, as the power company crews are out and there are trees down across some roads.
I was sad to read earlier today that some protesters threw soup (again) on Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” paintings that I just saw at the National Gallery last week. The two who had done that in 2022 were sentenced earlier in the day to prison time. Thankfully, the paintings were protected then and now by glass.
Sunflowers, by Van Gogh, at The National Gallery
In honor of “Sunflowers” and to share some of my recent trip to London, let me tell you about one of my purchases at Bloom Perfumery. I love Bloom! The staff there are always very friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable, and the store carries many unique and interesting brands. One of those brands is Brocard, a revival of an old Russian fragrance house:
“As a brand, Brocard dates all the way back to 1864 when Henri Brocard opened up his first luxury soap shop in Moscow, the Russian Empire. In the years that followed his business flourished and blossomed and come the end of the 19th century Brocard had become the largest soap maker in Europe. It was nationalised in 1917 and became the legendary Soviet beauty giant Novaya Zarya. For a century Brocard’s name remained history untill a new company started in 1994 as the modern Brocard.”
I bought two Brocard fragrances at Bloom on this trip: Color Feeling Yellow and Color Feeling Purple. Bloom has stopped carrying Brocard fragrances, but they had a few of these left in stock and took 50% off their already very low prices, so in perfume math, they were practically free! Launched in 2020, Color Feeling Yellow is meant to be a floral woody musk. It has notes of lemon, musk, narcissus, orange blossom, freesia, lily, jasmine, amber, vanilla, tonka, and cedar.
To my nose, it starts off with a strong lemon tempered by musk, from which white floral notes slowly emerge. Quite a few Fragrantica readers have said that it reminds them of Ex Nihilo’s Fleur Narcotique, a much more expensive fragrance. I don’t know Fleur Narcotique so can’t comment on that, but this is perfectly nice. When I first spritzed it, it reminded me a bit of the smell of dandelion flowers, yellow and polleny. The lemon opening is pretty dominant, so if you don’t like the smell of synthetic lemon, you probably won’t like Color Feeling Yellow. However, wait just a little while and the lemon steps back, though I smell it still humming in the background.
Of all the floral notes listed, the one that my nose most readily perceives is freesia, followed by orange blossom. Those both smell lemony to me in real life, so I’m not surprised. I also pick up a woody undertone, which I assume is meant to be cedar. I don’t smell any vanilla, tonka, or amber, although there is a pleasant, light warmth as the fragrance dries down. All in all, a very nice bargain beauty, especially for about 15 pounds!
Have you been contending with any challenging weather? Or have you found any new bargain beauties?
Welcome to the weekly Perfume Chat Room, perfumistas! I envision this chat room as a weekly drop-in spot online, where readers may ask questions, suggest fragrances, tell others their SOTD, comment on new releases or old favorites, and respond to each other. The perennial theme is fragrance, but we can interpret that broadly. This is meant to be a kind space, so please try not to give or take offense, and let’s all agree to disagree when opinions differ. In fragrance as in life, your mileage may vary! YMMV.
Today is Friday, August 23, and the weather is finally cooling off a bit. My poor roses, which have been gasping for breath and water for weeks now, seem to be sighing in relief and gearing up for a fall flush of blossoms. I planted several new-to-me varieties in large pots this spring, and it has been interesting to learn their growth habits and needs. The one characteristic all my roses have in common is that they must be fragrant. I just don’t see the point in growing roses that aren’t fragrant; I know many people do, because they are more focused on color and shape, but I’ve found I can have all three: lovely color, shape, AND fragrance.
I’m still wearing light, summery fragrances, as it still gets pretty hot during the day though we get some relief overnight. A recent favorite has been Patricia de Nicloai’s Rose Pivoine, which one of my lovely regular readers here sent me. You know who you are — thank you so much! I’ve been loving it! Top notes are ambrette, raspberry, red currant, and bergamot. The heart is rose oil and absolute, mixed with violet, iris, peony, and pepper; the base is sandalwood and musk. It is meant to evoke a bouquet of fresh roses and peonies, with green leaves as companions. It is lovely. I think I still prefer Nicolai’sRose Royale, but Rose Pivoine is excellent, especially in hot, humid weather.
Parfums de Nicolai is launching a new set of gourmand fragrances next month, “Les Gourmandises.” I don’t often gravitate to courmand fragrances, but these do sound intriguing. I’ll be in London after their launch date, so maybe I’ll see if I can sample them at one of my favorite London fragrance boutiques.
Welcome to the weekly Perfume Chat Room, perfumistas! I envision this chat room as a weekly drop-in spot online, where readers may ask questions, suggest fragrances, tell others their SOTD, comment on new releases or old favorites, and respond to each other. The perennial theme is fragrance, but we can interpret that broadly. This is meant to be a kind space, so please try not to give or take offense, and let’s all agree to disagree when opinions differ. In fragrance as in life, your mileage may vary! YMMV.
Today is Friday, June 7, and we’re back from our trip to France! It was an amazing trip through Normandy and Brittany, where we visited D-Day sites, prehistoric standing stones, landscapes of great natural beauty, and several museums along the way. We also enjoyed many outstanding meals, including our first ever dinner at a Michelin-starred restaurant. All in all, it was a wonderful, though delayed, celebration of major birthdays, wedding anniversary, and graduations; this was the trip we had planned for the summer of 2020, which of course we had to cancel. It is also likely to be our last big trip to Europe with the whole family, as our three young adult children now all have full-time jobs, significant others, and more scheduling challenges. So we pulled out all the stops!
I did not come home with any fragrances, but I was able to try some really nice ones in the duty-free area of Charles de Gaulle airport. The Guerlain extraits were so luxurious! I sampled Iris Pallida and Rose Centifolia. Just gorgeous! I also tried Chanel’s Comète and was unimpressed. Quite pretty, but it may have suffered by comparison with Guerlain’s Iris Pallida extrait, which was simply stunning. If I were longing for a powdery Chanel iris eau de parfum, I’d probably be satisfied with No. 19 Poudré, at a much lower price.
We also visited the garden at Christian Dior’s childhood home in Granville, which inspired many of his designs and fragrances. It was absolutely beautiful, and all the roses were in full bloom, including a lovely, fragrant one named “Jardin de Granville.” I wish it were available in the US, to add to my own garden!
Jardin de Granville rose
A big thank-you to rickyrebarco, whose package with Nicolai’s Une Fleur En Mai and another lovely goodie arrived while we were away! They’re both beautiful, and I love them. I’m wearing Une Fleur En Mai today!
We won’t be traveling overseas for the rest of the summer, though London is a possibility this fall, and we may go visit family in New Hampshire in July. Do you have any summer travel plans? Any planned acquisitions of new fragrances? Do tell!
Welcome to the weekly Perfume Chat Room, perfumistas! I envision this chat room as a weekly drop-in spot online, where readers may ask questions, suggest fragrances, tell others their SOTD, comment on new releases or old favorites, and respond to each other. The perennial theme is fragrance, but we can interpret that broadly. This is meant to be a kind space, so please try not to give or take offense, and let’s all agree to disagree when opinions differ. In fragrance as in life, your mileage may vary! YMMV.
Today is Saturday, May 18, and we’re in final preparations for our trip to Normandy and Brittany, the one we were planning to take in 2020. This will likely be our last big all-family trip abroad for the foreseeable future. Since our youngest was 5 years old and able to pull his own rollaboard bag, we’ve taken our kids to Europe or another international destination almost annually, riding the coattails of my dear husband’s travel for work. Usually he flies to Europe, works for a week or more, then we have joined him using some of his millions of frequent flyer miles. It costs less take to take our family of five to Europe for a week than it would to take them to Disneyworld! (I know that because one of my sisters used to take her three kids every year to Disneyworld).
1789 map of the provinces of Brittany, Normandy, and others; image by Ty’s Commons.
Now that the kids have all finished college and launched into jobs (the youngest will start his on July 1), it will be more challenging to coordinate schedules. And now that I’ve retired, and my husband will likely follow in a year or two, we need to spend a bit less on travel, lol. But for 17 years, minus pandemic time, we’ve been able to share some favorite countries and discover new ones with our three children, which has been a privilege and a blessing. I hope we’ve shown them enough that they continue to explore Europe and other continents on their own.
Green hot air balloon; image from vistivictoria.com
Thanks to rickyrebarco, I no longer have to try to figure out how to get my hands and nose on Patricia de Nicolai’s limited release muguet scent. Thank you so much! Since we are bypassing Paris, it would have been challenging to find it even in France and even if it hadn’t sold out so quickly. With that itch scratched, I don’t have any particular fragrance in mind to bring home as a perfume souvenir, which is good because I truly have so, so many. I. packed most of them away to make room for the stuff we had to move out of the basement so our oldest could move into that as an apartment, and I plan to sort, organize and catalogue them this summer after we get back. I think my upcoming olfactory adventures this month will focus mostly on food and drink, which are excellent in both regions we will visit!
Have you planned any upcoming olfactory adventures of any kind? Do tell!
Welcome to the weekly Perfume Chat Room, perfumistas! I envision this chat room as a weekly drop-in spot online, where readers may ask questions, suggest fragrances, tell others their SOTD, comment on new releases or old favorites, and respond to each other. The perennial theme is fragrance, but we can interpret that broadly. This is meant to be a kind space, so please try not to give or take offense, and let’s all agree to disagree when opinions differ. In fragrance as in life, your mileage may vary! YMMV.
Today is Friday, March 15, and we’re back from Paris! What a wonderful trip we had. It was our first visit back to Paris since our honeymoon, decades ago. Although we’ve been lucky enough to visit other parts of France since then, we hadn’t yet been back to Paris. Early March isn’t the ideal time of year, just because the weather in Paris at that time can be cold and rainy, and we got a bit of both, but less than we had expected during the daytime. We revisited several of Paris’ “greatest hits”, like the Louvre and the Sainte Chapelle, but we also just walked around a lot — and yes, we visited some perfume stores! I had to adjust my list but was more than satisfied with the places we reached, some of which hadn’t been on my list!
View from a boat on the Seine
Some of you probably knew this, but I hadn’t realized that the Marais district now has so many perfumeries! Some are brand-specific, and one lovely stop was an independent perfumery called “Sens Unique”, which one of you had suggested. We stumbled across several that I hadn’t known would be in that area, and couldn’t possibly visit them all.
Sens Unique perfumery
We also visited the Palais Royal, home to both Serge Lutens and Parfums de Rosine. I got a warm welcome at both boutiques — in fact, contrary to Paris’ reputation (which I think is very outdated), we received a warm welcome everywhere we went.
Parfums de Rosine Boutique
As hoped, a few of the Palais Royal’s pink magnolias were starting to bloom, and we saw many daffodils in bloom all over Paris (and at Versailles, where we spent a happy, sunny day). Although we didn’t make it to the Fragonard perfume museum, I did buy a bottle of Fragonard’s Narcisse as a souvenir of our trip. I was very good, though — I bought one travel spray at Parfums de Rosine (Bulle de Rose) and a few discovery sets elsewhere. TBH, I probably would have bought more than one travel spray at Parfums de Rosine, but very few of their fragrances come in that size. I didn’t buy anything at Serge Lutens because 1) I was a bit overwhelmed by the range and variety; and 2) the one that most interested me, De Profundis, was being sold in the “gratte-ciel” bottle, which I don’t like, not in the famous bell jar. They might have been able to find one for me if I had asked, I suppose, but I was also deterred by the high price.
The Palais Royal
The Bon Marché department store currently has an installation throughout its Left Bank store called “Mise en Page”, with displays around the theme of books and reading. This included the ground floor fragrance area, and the display was very charming. I had hoped there might be a special fragrance for the event, but what was on offer were current fragrances from houses like Diptyque, Frederic Malle, and Byredo. Still fun, though!
Mise en Page at Bon Marche
Believe it or not, Paris is about to have its first ever “Paris Perfume Week“, organized by Nez, starting March 21! If this becomes an annual event, which I hope it will, I’ll have to time future visits to Paris accordingly. It is a combination trade show for the industry and showcase for the public, with various programs and lectures that non-professionals can attend. I love the whole idea!
Some of you asked me to comment on food, so here goes! Three of our favorite spots were: La Fontaine de Mars; Les Petits Pois; and Le Quartier Latin. La Fontaine de Mars is a classic French brasserie near the Eiffel Tower, with dishes like duck confit and cassoulet. A signature appetizer of theirs is eggs baked in red wine — OMG, so yummy! Now I want the recipe. Les Petits Pois is a tiny, French modern restaurant near the Jardin des Plantes. Very reasonably priced with very original, high quality food. The dessert I had was hands-down the best I’ve eaten in years: it was basically a stack of chocolate sable cookies, slathered with cream, meringue, and chocolate sauce. Absolutely divine! Le Quartier Latin is actually an Italian restaurant that was a short walk from our hotel on the Left Bank. We went twice, because the food was so good and the host so welcoming. We enjoyed both their pasta and their pizza. Reservations are recommended for all three, and are easier to get if you want to eat when they open at 7 pm. We also had the legendary hot chocolate and Mont Blanc pastry at a branch of Angelina, as a break during our LONG visit to the Louvre. The hot chocolate was truly amazing, and the perfect museum pick-me-up. The Mont Blanc pastry was delicious but oh so sweet and rich! I’m grateful to our server, who told us that we should share one instead of having one each, because of the hefty overload of sugar.
So there you have it — and now I’m back home, working hard in my garden to get everything organized for peak spring bloom time, which is upon us. What fragrant adventures have you enjoyed recently?
Welcome to the weekly Perfume Chat Room, perfumistas! I envision this chat room as a weekly drop-in spot online, where readers may ask questions, suggest fragrances, tell others their SOTD, comment on new releases or old favorites, and respond to each other. The perennial theme is fragrance, but we can interpret that broadly. This is meant to be a kind space, so please try not to give or take offense, and let’s all agree to disagree when opinions differ. In fragrance as in life, your mileage may vary! YMMV.
Today is Friday, February 9, and Valentine’s Day is next week! Happy Valentine’s Day in advance! Do you have any fragrant gifts in mind, for yourself or anyone else? I am saving up all my fragrance wishes for an upcoming trip to Paris — all suggestions of perfume sites to visit are welcome, especially places that don’t have branches in the US. Palais Royal is on the list for sure, for Lutens and Rosine; probably also Jovoy Paris, since I’ve loved their store in London.
Most of my fragrance interest right now is in roses — real rose bushes, that is. I have some on order that should come in March; and I’ve bought some bare root roses of varieties that are highly fragrant and have the old-fashioned blooms I love, when I found them at a ridiculously low price at a big-box store. So those have kept me busy. My spring bulbs are starting to come up now, and most of those are very fragrant also — narcissus, hyacinths, starflowers. I’m delighted to see that my lavender plants seem to have survived the temperatures in the teens we had a few weeks ago.
Please share any fragrant plans you have for Valentine’s Day, and do suggest any favorite spots in Paris, perfume-related or otherwise! We’ll be there for a week, which offers plenty of time for tourism.
Welcome to the weekly Perfume Chat Room, perfumistas! I envision this chat room as a weekly drop-in spot online, where readers may ask questions, suggest fragrances, tell others their SOTD, comment on new releases or old favorites, and respond to each other. The perennial theme is fragrance, but we can interpret that broadly. This is meant to be a kind space, so please try not to give or take offense, and let’s all agree to disagree when opinions differ. In fragrance as in life, your mileage may vary! YMMV.
Today is Friday, December 15, and yes — I forgot to post last Friday. So sorry! Well, the refrigerator saga continues — the new one got delivered this morning, and it turns out it is 1/2 inch too wide for the space where the old one was, despite my multiple attempts at measuring. However, we think we can deal with it by hiring someone to adjust the kitchen counter on one side, so we’re keeping the new fridge. Right now, it’s sitting in the middle of our kitchen floor, plugged in and running, but empty until we can move it into place. Luckily, our plan was to keep the old one anyway and move it downstairs, so we still have a full-sized, functioning refrigerator. Never a dull moment around here!
We’re very happy that our son is home for his university holiday break, and he has a job lined up for post-graduation! We’re all happy to see the end of this difficult semester for him, and end on such a positive note. Christmas preparations are in full swing, and the tree is up and decorated. If you celebrate Christmas, how are your preparations going? If you celebrate Hanukkah, which ends tonight, I hope you had a blessed and peaceful holiday.
What smells do you most associate with the winter holidays? For me, it has to be the scent of evergreens. Pine, cedar, balsam — I love them all.
Metropolitan Museum of Art Christmas Tree and Creche
November’s “Counterpoint” fragrance is Estée Lauder’s Beyond Paradise, in its original bottle and formulation. In many ways, it is a unique fragrance: almost a hologram of an imaginary tropical flower.
Beyond Paradise by Estée Lauder; image by Portia Turbo.
1. How did you first encounter Estee Lauder Beyond Paradise, and what was your first impression?
Old Herbaceous: Like a few other scents I’ve described, I first encountered Beyond Paradise because Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez rated it with five stars in their book “Perfumes: The A-Z Guide.” That book was a big part of my going down the rabbit-hole with fragrance, and I sought out several of the five-star fragrances as part of educating myself and my sense of smell. Although Beyond Paradise is still available (though apparently discontinued now), what one usually finds is a reformulation dating from 2015, in a standardized rectangular clear glass bottle. The original, in the ovoid rainbow-tinted bottle, was launched in 2003, created by Calice Becker. That’s the one I sought, with eventual success.
My first impression was “Wow – white floral alert!”, though I wouldn’t describe it as the proverbial “Big White Floral” that strikes terror into so many perfumistas’ hearts (or noses). I have mixed feelings about white florals. I love many white floral notes and accords, like jasmine and gardenia, and their corresponding flowers in real life, especially outside. Many white flower fragrances smell more like hothouse plants, grown in humid greenhouses and conservatories, warm and somewhat stifling. I wonder if this is because many perfumers encounter the blooms of plants like jasmine and gardenia in those settings?
Interestingly, Beyond Paradise is supposed to have been inspired by the largest conservatory in Europe and the UK, possibly in the world: the Eden Project in Cornwall, which I’ve actually visited with my family some years ago.
The Eden Project, Cornwall
This origin is reflected in the 2003 list of its notes:
Top Notes: Eden’s Mist, Blue Hyacinth, Orange Flower Templar, Jabuticaba Fruit Middle Notes: Laelia Orchid, Crepe Jasmin, Mahonia Japonica, Pink Honeysuckle Base Notes: Natal Plum Blossoms, Ambrette Seed, Zebrano Wood, Golden Melaleuca Bark
The accord “Eden’s Mist” is supposed to be based on the scent of the air inside one of the Eden Project’s domes. More prosaically, Fragrantica gives the following notes list: Top notes: Hyacinth, Orange Blossom, Grapefruit, Bergamot and Lemon; middle notes are Jasmine, Gardenia, Honeysuckle and Orchid; base notes are Hibiscus, Plum Wood, Ambrette (Musk Mallow) and Amber.
Portia: Many years ago on my first visit to India after Varun had moved back to help run the families’ hotels, I was shopping in the Sydney Airport Duty Free for gifts to give him and the family. Because I’d spent some serious money the SA was unbelievably generous with the samples. One of those was a spray mini of Beyond Paradise. When I first sprayed it on me I couldn’t believe anything could smell so good and fell madly in love on the spot. Nothing in my history of loving perfumes prepared me for what Beyond Paradise is.
Funnily, when I arrived in India Varun loathed it. He couldn’t understand why I would want to smell exactly like the jasmine, tuberose and marigold that Indian women wore woven into their hair and that Indians gave to their deities’ statues.
Obviously I ignored him and wore the whole mini over the next two weeks. I think I bought my first bottle on the way home.
2. How would you describe the development of Estee Lauder Beyond Paradise?
Portia: JASMINE! with some other florals and a citrus burst running underneath. It’s so over the top I can’t help but laugh and then once that dies down I continue to huff my wrist and smile the smile of a happy perfumista. There is even a squeal-y urinous hit from the grapefruit and a breathy poopiness. To me this is the most French of the Lauder summer oeuvre. Definitely not the super clean of many American perfumes. There is the dewy cool fresh water aspect though, like the cold rivulets on a bottle of white wine.
How are marigolds not a note, I can smell their sharp funkiness clear as day.
While Beyond Paradise does have a trajectory it’s not a large one and the noted amber in the base seems to pass me by completely. There are some green broken branches or twigs, white flowers and shitloads of vegetal musks with still pretty hints of pithy citrus right to the end.
Old Herbaceous: Given that my first impression is of exotic flowers growing in a conservatory, I think my nose is actually picking up on “Eden’s Mist”. I don’t smell any hyacinth, and I couldn’t tell you what jaboticaba fruit smells like. The closest I can describe to what I smell at first is a combination of jasmine and tropical orchids. Although Mahonia japonica is listed as a middle note, I don’t smell that. I grow mahonias in my garden, and to me they smell most like lily of the valley. That’s not what I smell in Beyond Paradise. In fact, the whole development of Beyond Paradise most resembles its origin story: a walk through a fantasy conservatory with abstract, imaginary flowers. I agree with Portia, though, that of all the floral components, the strongest is a jasmine accord.
Lauder initially described the fragrance and its flankers as “prismatic florals”. The word “prismatic” usually refers to the image created when a prism refracts a beam of light, separating into its color constituents. I experience Beyond Paradise as a sort of prism in reverse, with its many notes coalescing into a smoothly abstract whole. The image that comes to my mind is the modern sculpture “Cloud Gate”, by Anish Kapoor, in Chicago’s Millennium Park. It is made up of almost two hundred stainless steel plates, welded together so seamlessly that it appears as an unbroken polished surface (shaped like a giant bean, which is its nickname). To my nose, Beyond Paradise is almost linear, though it warms slightly after about an hour or two. That’s also when I smell some underlying fruitiness and green, and a bit of the funk that Portia describes.
Cloud Gate, by Anish Kapoor
3. Do you or will you wear Estee Lauder Beyond Paradise regularly? For what occasions or seasons?
Old Herbaceous: I don’t wear it often, but it’s a lovely fragrance for warm weather or a beach vacation. It also works well in an office, since it doesn’t shout BWF. I think it would be great for a romantic dinner outside on a terrace on a warm summer evening. It is quite elegant, in its streamlined abstraction.
Portia: The last couple of summer seasons Beyond Paradise did not come out of the Lauder box even once. I always think of Lauder as winter perfumes like Youth Dew, Azuree, and Cinnabar and forget this, Modern Muse and Beyond Paradise in the warmer months. This year as the weather heats up I’m leaving it in the grab tray so it does get a bunch of wears. It’s way too gorgeous and holds too many happy memories to leave it languishing, all forlorn in the cupboard.
Spring and summer seem like the perfect and obvious seasons to wear Beyond Paradise but I think it might be nice on any sunshiny day. It could also be a breath of nature and cool water in an office environment. So bright and refreshing without feeling like a regular freshie.
4. Who should/could wear Estee Lauder Beyond Paradise?
Portia: This is perhaps one of the girliest non-confectionary perfumes that’s available. I will say though that when I wear it the incongruity of a dude walking around smelling like this works in my favour. It’s one of the perfumes that people ask about. Mainly because it jumps out as not something you often smell on gents.
The change of bottle from gorgeous to boring AF will also mean that men will probably have less trouble having it on their dresser or in the collection.
Old Herbaceous: The opening of Beyond Paradise puts it squarely in the “feminine floral” camp, but as it dries down, it becomes more unisex to my nose and reminds me of some classic aquatic fragrances. I think it would especially suit anyone on a warm summer evening, when its fantasy florals would blend with the night air, especially in a humid climate. If you come across it at a reasonable price, sometimes still found online, it’s a nice addition to a fragrance collection unless you just loathe florals.
How do you respond to white florals, big or otherwise? Any favorites? Have you tried Beyond Paradise?
Rabbit rabbit! Welcome to the weekly Perfume Chat Room, perfumistas! I envision this chat room as a weekly drop-in spot online, where readers may ask questions, suggest fragrances, tell others their SOTD, comment on new releases or old favorites, and respond to each other. The perennial theme is fragrance, but we can interpret that broadly. This is meant to be a kind space, so please try not to give or take offense, and let’s all agree to disagree when opinions differ. In fragrance as in life, your mileage may vary! YMMV.
Today is Friday, September 1, and some people like to say “rabbit, rabbit” as their first utterance on the first day of the month, for good luck. Why not? Today is also the start of the Labor Day weekend, here in the US, and the official start day of my retirement. The party my kids planned for the occasion took place last Saturday, and it was so much fun! Many old friends came, including the only two people I knew in this whole state when we moved here from the Northeast, other than my husband, and two dear friends who flew in for the occasion. My lovely husband gave me a book about jewelry by Geoffrey Munn, one of our favorite experts on the UK “Antiques Road Show”, called “The Triumph of Love.” I’m truly blessed!
The Triumph of Love; Jewelry 1530-1930; by Geoffrey Munn.
The fragrance I chose to wear was new to my collection, which felt right for starting a new phase of life. It is Widian’s Rose Arabia Lily, launched in 2019. I got it this past February in Barcelona, on my visit to The Perfumery (a must if you are looking for niche fragrances in Barcelona, but you have to make an appointment). Notes listed by the brand are: Mandarin orange, bergamot, lemon, pink pepper; lily of the valley, ylang-ylang, carnation, tiare; ambergris, musk, vanilla, patchouli. It is beautiful and long-lasting.
The weather has improved here, after the super blue moon, but it’s still quite warm. The breeze helps, and it is much better than the temps of 98 degrees with 50+ percent humidity we had earlier in August. I think I’ll still be wearing my refreshing Hermès Jardin fragrances for a while. We don’t have any plans for Labor Day other than to relax, and maybe see the “Barbie” movie. Now I’m making a list of all the places I want to visit in London on our upcoming trip! I’m aiming for a mix of old favorites I haven’t seen in a while, and new experiences. All suggestions are welcome!
Please remember to come back on Monday, when Portia Turbo and I will be posting our “Notes on Notes” for the first Monday of the month. Have a great weekend!
Serenity Now Scents and Sensibilities 
