Our take
What does Beautiful smell like?
Launched in 1985, Beautiful embraces the maximalist floral style of the decade and ties it to the imagery of weddings. The opening gathers rose, lily and a juicy mandarin for sparkle. The heart is a white avalanche: jasmine, creamy tuberose and a spicy, almost peppery carnation that keeps the whole thing from turning saccharine. It carries the generosity of an era when perfume was worn like a stole. The base is calmer, built on smooth sandalwood, dry vetiver and a musk that holds the flowers on skin for hours. Bright, rounded and unapologetically feminine, it lasts remarkably well.
When to wear it
Made for ceremonies, spring celebrations or a roomy office if applied sparingly; it pleases anyone who loves an opulent bouquet.
The story of Beautiful
By 1985 Estée Lauder already had Youth Dew, White Linen and Private Collection. Beautiful launched the same year as Obsession and Poison, in a decade when fragrance was worn big and loud. While competitors went oriental, Lauder chose a pure floral and tied it to one image: the wedding. The ads showed brides, veils and bouquets. The positioning stuck, and nearly forty years on Beautiful is still associated with weddings. The house does not put a perfumer forward, so we will not name one. The line has since grown with lighter, fresher flankers such as Beautiful Magnolia. The original is still sold as an eau de parfum, the version this page covers. It is a feminine fragrance through and through, built for women who want their flowers in full bloom. Few men will borrow it, though nothing in the formula forbids it.
Our detailed review
The opening sets the tone: lots of flowers, right away. Rose and lily arrive together, with mandarin brightening the bouquet for only a few minutes. The heart is busier still. Tuberose brings a creamy, almost buttery texture and jasmine makes it headier. Carnation is the key. Its clove-like spice stops the whole thing from tipping into sugar. After three hours sandalwood and vetiver calm things down, and musk pins the flowers to the skin. Beautiful smells like a church full of cut flowers, with the carnation of buttonholes in the air. We admire its generosity and its build, typical of the great American florals of the period. The downside is obvious. It takes up all the room and it shows its age. In a modern office it will feel oversized. It suits women who love powerful white florals and the 1980s style. Anyone who prefers fresh scents or light musks will find it suffocating.
Beautiful vs its rivals
Giorgio, launched in Beverly Hills in 1981, was its great rival of the era. It shares tuberose, jasmine, rose and sandalwood. On top of that it adds peach, apricot and gardenia. Fruitier and sunnier, it is even louder. Released by Estée Lauder in 1995, Pleasures takes rose and lily in the opposite direction with violet leaf, peony and pink pepper over patchouli and musk. It smells of clean laundry and a garden after rain. Elizabeth Taylor's White Diamonds shares rose, tuberose and lily, with aldehydes on top and oakmoss below. It sparkles more and leans chypre. For a grand white floral for big occasions, Beautiful is the roundest of the three. Giorgio is for those nostalgic for maximum volume. Pleasures suits anyone who wants the same house in a lighter key.
Longevity, projection and use
Longevity is outstanding, as it often is with florals from this period. Expect ten hours or more on skin and much longer on fabric. Projection is wide for the first three hours. One spray covers a whole day, two for an outdoor ceremony. Apply it to skin rather than hair, where it quickly becomes overpowering. It suits spring and autumn in mild weather. Real heat makes it heavy. At the office, a single spray on the nape is already very present.
It belongs to the Floral family. Beautiful is one of 4 creations by Estée Lauder in our encyclopedia.
