Estee Lauder fragrances are recommended to me time and time again. So far I haven't been able to find one that I get on with. Most recently I tried Sensuous. But it's a bit on the sweet side for me.
OsMoz lists the notes as ghost lily, magnolia, jasmine, ylang ylang, sandalwood, pepper, mandarin pulp, honey, molten woods and amber. Perhaps it's the amber base, perhaps it's the sweetness of the honey. It comes highly recommended and the review over at Now Smell This is excellent.
Azuree is an Estee Lauder perfume that I'm keen to try. It's included in Luca Turin's select list of 'five star' fragrances, which already sets it apart from the crowd. Apparently Selfridges and Harrods are the exclusive stockists in London, so I will make a special journey to try it. Its reputation is as a 'sunshine' fragrance. Any perfume that brings the summer to you has to be a good thing. The note include orange blossom, Tahitian flower, gardenia, coconut, vetiver, myrrh and sandalwood. Sounds delightful.
Bronze Goddess has had a lot of coverage lately and for a summer fragrance it's certainly charming. But it's a real beach scent and not something I could envisage wearing the whole year round.
Jasmine White Moss is a recent 80s revival for Estee Lauder in the Private Collection. The name of the fragrance sounds like it's going to be light and transparent. But Jasmine White Moss is, typically for Estee Lauder, a big fragrance. I tried it recently and I didn't love it.
Four other Estee Lauder fragrances that make it onto Luca Turin's 'five star' list. Pleasures, White Linen, Beyond Paradise and Knowing.
Pleasures was released in 1995, and is the fore-runner to current popular scents like Marc Jacobs Daisy. It's all about smelling clean.
Knowing is a rose chypre, released in 1988. By all accounts it's 'big' perfume. The reviews at Basenotes are almost universally positive.
White Linen, a floral fragrance, released in 1978, was created by none other than the empress of perfume, Sophia Grojsman.
Grojsman is the creator of perfume successes incuding YSL Paris, Lancome Tresor, Elizabeth Taylor White Diamonds and Calvin Klein Eternity, to name a few.
Finally, Beyond Paradise is a floral fragrance that Luca Turin can't say enough good things about. It's impossible to find a quote that fully sums up his enthusiasm.
So, back to the Estee Lauder counter I go. One of these has got to smell good on me...
9 Lovely comments:
I actually really love Sensuous. I haven't tried Azuree yet, but will....
Beyond Paradise is fine, but IDK if Turin is justified in the extent of is praise.
I actually rather like Bronze Goddess as well, but, as you say, it's not really appropriate for many situations.
Great post, as usual. Love the survey!
I adore Sensous but I find it a little heavy for summer. I wore it when I was on holiday in Australia and I noticed that it made me feel a little ill when it was very hot. Bronze Goddess is great - my boyfriend loves it - but not appropriate for every occasion. To my mind it's a perfume for an afternoon in the park or sightseeing in a hot, Mediterranean city.
I was pleasantly surprised by Beyond Paradise!
I'm not overly fond of EL fragrances when taken as a whole (and I certainly don't think much of their masculines), but Youth Dew (which you haven't mentioned) is just magic as far as I'm concerned. One of the most sumptuous orientals ever.
I think Beyond Paradise is beyond magical and I've also got considerable admiration for Cinnabar. In fact, I have a sneaky suspicion we may get to see more of it when word gets around that YSL's Opium has been seriously tampered with.
A word of warning about Azuree. By all means try it, but don't buy it blind. I've yet to find an accurate prose description of it. In my opinion, Turin overemphasises the fragrance's citrus side and doesn't really convey enough about what he himself calls its "grimy" heart. It's certainly very unusual, potent stuff (which is probably why it gets 5 stars) but it's not a clean, ray of sunshine by any means.
Hi LBV - It's funny that Luca Turin is such a massive fan of so many EL fragrances. But for several his praise is more about their place in the progression of perfumery. To have so many in his five star list is surprising.
Hi BT - Sensuous was sweet sweet sweet on my skin - sure it's not meant to be like that.
Hi BF - I've got high hopes for Beyond Paradise now.
Hi Persolaise - thanks for the warning about Azuree. I will also give Youth Dew a sniff!
I have also struggled with Estee fragrances over the years - for my mind they tend to do annoying florals and 'old lady' fragrances, with nothing much modern inbetween.
However I adore Sensuous, it's right up my alley and very much one out of the Estee box. I agree it is a winter fragrance too. In some ways it faintly reminds me of the limited Youth Dew Amber Nude that was out a few years ago and is much missed. the same powdery, ambery feel.
I don't own it but I think Beyond Paradise is a gorgeous floral and good as a purchase for someone where you're not exactly sure what sort of perfume they wear. I'd say it's pretty much impossible to dislike.
Bronze Goddess and its forerunner, Azuree Soleil eau Fraiche (another Tom Ford limited edition) are fantastic grown up summer scents, all juicy coconutty goodness.
Pleasures would have to be one of my least liked scents of all time. It's an overpowering floral headache in a bottle.
Super-Duper site! I am loving it!! Will come back again – taking you feeds also, Thanks.
I love Sensuous. At the moment, he is the only one on my WANT list :) I fall in love with it before I even tried it :)
Hi Natalie - thanks for stopping by. Your comments echo a lot of my sentiments about EL too.
Hi Bellatrix - another Sensuous lover - it's obviously a really popular fragrance.
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