Beyond Paradise for Men (2004)
by Estée Lauder

Fruity bug spray?
Who would've thought.
Avoid it like the plague. I actually had a few decent frags sprayed on my arms today & this rubbish took over.

A citrusy oakmoss that just doesn't cut it. Disappears after an hour on my skin with not even a trace of the scent. I had to re-smell the bottle just to make sure I wasn't losing my sense of smell of the stuff.

This was one of the few blind buys I've ever made. Most of the fragrances in my wardrobe I enjoy, or I wouldn't have bought them. The only reason I bought a mini of this was based on Luca Turin's review. I have tried and tried to like it. I thought it might grow on me, but every time I smell it I just think "Bleah." To me, Beyond Paradise for Men is a headache inducing melange of very synthetic smelling abstract notes that create an extremely unpleasant dissonance. I don't like how it smells on a blotter, I don't like it out of the bottle, and I don't like it on my skin. I find it thoroughly unpleasant. There are several fragrances that I don't enjoy yet I can still appreciate their composition; Yet I don't smell the artistry that others have described in this one at all. This is the worst fragrance I own.

Brilliant. That is all I can say, absolutely brilliant. After all the stages of pure bliss this fragrance goes through, it all comes down the fantastic ending. An ending that reminds me of a deserted beach I once found myself on just me some wildlife, sea breezes, sea life, and slight aroma of vegetation whisping in the air - the first fragrance I have ever have ever came across the has the scent of that beach - Glover's Atoll, Belize, I will never forget that scent - EVER - it sticks in my mind so clearly to this very day and, without a doubt, this fragrance is it. Fantastic.

Turin's rating prompted me to go testing this morning. The SA tried to steer me away to Pleasures implying that BP for Men was actually for the 20-something, sporty type. Anyway, I persisted and got three good shots on my arm. It's unique enough, with some vaguely tropical top notes, but then it settles into something quite sour and run-of-the-mill on my skin. It's only 16˚C outside, so perhaps I'll give it another go in summer when it's over 30˚. I like sweet, I don't object to fruity. But for me there's just too little of either in Beyond Paradise.

Here are the fragrance type and notes, per the Lauder website:

Fragrance Type: Prismatic Wood

Top Notes: Fresh and tangy, with Eden's Mist, Jabuticaba Fruit and Eden Buchu

Middle Notes: Cool, invigorating, energetic with Mediterranean Accord, a blend of Lavender Absolute, Provence Sage, Tarragon and Thyme

Base Notes: Unfolds a masculine sensuality with Golden Melaleuca Bark, Eden Vetiver, Beach Wood, Oak Moss and Patchouli

A few opening comments.

First, I wish fragrance manufacturers would NOT make up bogus fragrance types to sound unique and different. What is a prismatic wood? Is it because the bottle looks like a bit like a prism and scent has wood notes in the base? To me, it is a meaningless label. If I were to label it, I would call it "fruity-woody" or "tropical fruity-woody".

Second, the one thing that struck me on the sample packet I have is the number of synthetic ingredients. Now, I have no problem with the idea of synthetic aromachemicals. They serve a purpose. Typically, on a fragrance container I will see somewhere between 8 and 12 of them. This one had 21 (can't say they are all aromachemicals for sure, but 21 chemical ingredients after 'parfum').

Third, I see some interesting notes here. I try to be literate about fruits, but I had never heard of a fruit called Jabuticaba. I researched it and found out it is a grape like fruit from Brazil that has anti-inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic compounds. Neat. Sorry for the educational aside, but I can't tell you what one smells like, though.

As to the scent itself: two things strike me here: (1) tropical fruits and (2) woody notes. There is a watery undercurrent here. It is an okay fragrance in terms of smell, but it one I neither love nor hate. They could have done a few stupid things here like make it sweeter or drench it with coconut to make it more tropical. I am glad they did neither. I am surprised it is so polarizing here, with currently an equally large number of thumbs ups and thumbs down reviews (11 apiece). For me, it a scent I feel rather ambivalent about, hence a neutral rating.