Escada Born in Paradise (2014) {Perfume Short (Review)}

Born in Paradise, the latest perfume from Escada, starts on a heavy dose of lactonic, syrupy tropical fruits, as is expected...

What is less predictable is the finesse with which the fragrance develops a very unsophisticated motif a priori of diced neon fruits trapped in a commercial tin can forever echoing across the Escada collection of perfumes. Practice makes perfect. The brand have become the de facto specialists of the indulgent and all-too popular accord of colorful fruit salad enriched with cream.

By definition in art treatment is key and more important than the motif itself. In the movie American Beauty by Sam Mendes there is a long sequence filming a derelict plastic bag dancing in the air and it becomes a thing of beauty. Likewise, in this perfume a hedonistic Pina Colada cocktail and can of fruit salad serve as initial inspirations to open the way to subtler sensations.

Escada have attained a higher plane, that of the transfigurative fruit salad scent however artificial it may start off. 

What plays in favor of a renewed interest in the genre at hand is how the legendary and typical characteristic of amber, "finesse" is used to add a refined texture and sensation to the scent. French perfumers and connoisseurs alike talk and estimate degrees of fineness of amber: "ambre fin" and "finesse de l'ambre." The ingredient amber has this mysterious property of being able to be perceived as more or less refined by the nose, just like cashmere wool is to the touch.

Another reason why Born in Paradise takes flight over the can of fruits is the lovely and creamy Tahitian gardenia note which unfolds in the heart of the composition. It too adds seemingly spontaneous elegance to the perfume taking the desserty cream of the beginning into a more refined territory of sensual and creamy floralcy. 

The composition as it progresses lightens as an effect and not due to a lack of means as artful impressions are carefully controlled. The sensations created now invite you to feel that you are surrounded by a delicate tropical breeze brimming with delicious and exquisitely vague scents filling the atmosphere in abundance in the distance. Although their nature is to be heady, they are filtered by the wind, the greenery, and the perfect equilibrium which reigns in this universe. Not one scent or note is higher than another - they are tuned just so.

This is where your mind goes back to the word "paradise" contained in the title of the fragrance. Born in Paradise feels like a perfume approximating the suavity of the scent of a saint or of paradise. That abode exhale the olfactory intricacies of a lush gardenia beating like a heart in its middle while your surroundings wafts of an ideal tropical island rather than a temperate paradisiacal garden filled with roses and lilies. 

In the longer drydown, the fragrance however tends to revert back to a more monolithic take on the main motif. You also start detecting more of the much-copied Narciso Rodriguez musky accord. It's probably best not to overthink this escape to the islands and just enjoy whatever subtle scents may come your way, as they are worth a detour.  

Notes: green apple, watermelon, sweet, punchy guava, subtle coconut milk base, tasty pineapple, musk, sandalwood, and cedarwood.