Joy

(Review of the extrait, bottle c. 1985) What is there to say about Joy that has not already been said? Very little. It has been talked about incessantly since its release in 1930 for very good reasons, and has been discussed more recently with depression and disappointment that LVMH/Dior purchased Jean Patou and eliminated this perfume from the world of fragrances forever; a crime and a sin that we will likely never be able to forgive. The punishment is ours to bear by way of never being able to enjoy this perfume with abandon the way it should be. It is the perfect expression of rose and jasmine. The hyper realistic florals are drenched in sunlight by big kisses of ylang-ylang, giving them a radiance and complexity that sets Joy apart from nearly every other rose or jasmine perfume ever created. It is, in a word, perfect. (Review of the 1984 EdT by Jean Kerleo, bottle c. 1995) What's the greatest perfume of all time? That's a bit like asking what is the greatest painting, book, movie, or piece of music of all time, etc. No one knows, no one will know, and no one should know. Yes, we can talk about Mitsouko or Shalimar, or Cuir de Russie or No. 5, and on and on and on - yes, all prime candidates, but for me I think it is Jean Patou's Joy. The extrait of Joy is a legend for a very good reason experts and other geeks have expounded upon for decades. So, what of this EdT? First off, it needs to be said for context to my thoughts on Joy EdT that in the prior century of modern perfumery different concentrations of a perfume were the same perfume that behaved a bit differently. In the 21st century, this part of it at least, differing concentrations of a perfume are often very different perfumes. You only have to look so far as Guerlain to see that, particularly with what they are (deplorably) doing to Habit Rouge. Let's not get started on the designer houses, save for Chanel which seems to make an earnest effort to keep perfumes intact across formats and reformulations (though struggling a bit). In the not-so-distant past, an EdT was going to be very much the same as the extrait, and so would the eau de parfum... just behaved a bit differently, and that's really all I need to say for my thoughts on Jean Patou's Joy EdT. It is very much the Joy I know and so deeply love: an endless silk shawl of jasmine, rose, ylang-ylang, and sandalwood. The first time I smelled a properly cared for Joy extrait (the bottle was from the 1970s) I nearly cried. That beautiful shawl of silken flowers seemed to stretch for an eternity, its finely woven, dense, and caressing fibers casting beautiful hues of light in every direction for hour upon hour upon hour. The EdT is that same shawl, just shorter. While the extrait would carry on for hours, the EdT is like a firework. Those beautiful hues of jasmine, rose, ylang-ylang, and sandalwood are still there, but it's over more quickly. So what's the point then? Again, 20th century intentions with varying concentrations were centered around the idea that the behavior of a perfume should change, not the perfume - the behavior most often suiting the wearer's needs for the time and space it was to be worn in. Since the EdT is shorter lived, more of a quick blast than a long operatic epic, it is perfect on this warm spring day. While the extrait is perfect no matter what, it is less perfect for when I want a quick hit of Joy on a warm day; the extrait would probably be too much right now. Pick whichever concentration suits your needs. It's still Joy. And it's still absolutely brilliant and gorgeous.

So many Joys, so little time and money. Some kind soul in my neck of the woods has been auctioning the maligned Procter & Gamble iteration of Joy EDP and EDT, for a few shekels. I bought one, with trepidation but little financial risk. I liked it! I have since bought 4 bottles, 2 of each. For a total cost less than one bottle of new Dior Joy 90ml. You know why I'm mentioning that perfume house killer. Ha! Even the so called degraded worst iteration of Patou Joy, one of the greatest perfumes in history, the "Scent of the Century", is still quite good. Most of my Patou are the "Designer Parfums" editions. This is because I buy what's easy and affordable on the market today, having little patience, time, or cash to track down old bottles from when the ingredients were "real". Nor do I enjoy the risk of rip-offs. There seems to be a decent stock of P&G Joy still around. At least it keeps crossing my path. Good luck getting an online seller to tell you who produced the bottle they are selling. By the way, my Sira des Indes (which I like) are all P&G. I have never run across a Designer Parfums bottle. The Designer Parfums Patou editions are seeing knocks in price across the line, EXCEPT for Joy itself, where I see only half price cuts to EDP, at best, and here and there, lower again for the EDT. Those online sellers are tracking me. And you? Three times I have identified truly discount priced Designer Parfum bottles of Joy EDP and left them in my basket, only to return and see the price doubled up. The second time I became aware. The third time, well. My note is just to tell you, as stocks of Patou dwindle in the coming years, don't boycott the P&G Prestige iterations. If you can have a sniff before you buy one, you might like it. And maybe you'll get bargains. Bad Joy is better than no Joy. I am going to get my hands on a sealed 70s or 80s Joy EDP one of these days, let me assure you. In my Joy EDP (the bad one, the one nobody except me wants) I like the aldehydes and the way the metallic adjacent not-rose flowers coat the rose and its vibrations. As with all Patou fragrances, the impact is circular, radiating in. Joy's abstraction is like iridescent crystal bubbles of fragrance. Big bubbles, river pebble size. I find it neither expansive, nor calming or comforting. Soapy yes. There is nothing Guerlain about this experience. It evokes a spent beauty, in the dry down on some days. It's not doing the Joy for you, even though it's "Joy", after all. That's because Joy is the rakish, punk Patou. It was an impudent FU gesture to the Depression. The Most Expensive Fragrance in the World. Today, Joy is one of those high French luxury products best pulled off ironically by les garces et les vilains. No rich lady under 60 has worn Joy or a fragrance like it for many decades. I suspect this fragrance was always a bit punk, even in the 30s. By the 50s, that inpudence was forgotten. But today it's degraded and reformulated lux meets perfect vintage dimestore. Wear this on the barricades. Dorothy Day would have known what to do with this. She famously gave a diamond rich to a homeless lady in her soup kitchen. Called to task, Day cooly reminded her rich friend "God didn't create diamonds only for the rich." Et voilà, that's my cruddy P&G edition of the punkish Jean Patou Joy. La parfumerie second degré.

Vintage 1973 Joy extrait, black snuff bottle (cute as hell btw) My jasmine benchmark! Elegance is simplicity. Joy is elegance in a bottle. For all complexity of the formula, which arrived sealed and perfectly preserved, this is a stunning jasmine simply warmed by the real civet and musks inside. It’s not dirty, it’s not extravagant in a more contemporary way (think 70’s/80’s stunners); it’s simply beautiful. Jasmine and I have a love/hate relationship. I adore the flower itself, the smell in the air, sucking the stem and savoring the nectar. I grew among jasmine trees and at night, especially summer, the scent was intoxicating. For me, not one perfume has captured that smell. Some have come close and some are real beauties. Joy here is a trip to my childhood and I finally smell the real thing. Jasmine flower bottled and preserved in a little bottle that serves as perfume history. Beauty from a time, not so long ago, when quality was the measure up and houses like Patou produced ART, even if the financial gains where next to nothing. Who would today, in their sanity, bottle a perfume so expensive to make, that there is zero profit from sales? Aside from this little story, what predominates on my skin other than the jasmine, is a shy rose. Shy because my skin doesn’t bring it forward. The star is jasmine, while all the other notes simply enhance it. It feels and smells rich, rounded, warm, well put together. Nothing screams, nothing smells out of place. The sandalwood is creamy, real sandalwood, the oakmoss albeit not strong, is wonderful. And the civet, my beloved civet, has manners, simply providing the necessary warmth that Joy needs to shine. And the musk, beautiful sexy musk! I didn’t think it’d be this good, and I’m happy to report it holds up to its status. Times like these I wish I could time travel and buy perfume from when everyone thought it would be this good forever. Trust me, if you come along bottles that have the baudruchage seal intact, invest. Perfumes so well made that stand the test of time decades later, willing to unfold under a perfume lovers nose! Obviously, the Joy made today it’s not the same. IFRA happened, laws about allergens came into play, many ingredients became banned or simply disappeared, naturals are very expensive, and tastes changed. But the edp I own from 2013, from Designer Parfums, is very near, very true to what Joy is all about, and given the circumstances exceedingly well made. Yes, it’s a bit more shrill, more commercially friendly, but it still smells like it, and I’m happy to see that, at least now, Patou is in good hands and that it’s perfumes haven’t followed the footsteps of other once glorious brands. My little snuff bottle will serve as my drug, when only the costliest perfume in the world will do!

Oh my... this is eye-wateringly good! This perfume is incredibly well-blended and of incredibly high quality, to the point where I can imagine I am in the flower fields of Grasse itself. I can see why this was once upon a time the most expensive perfume in the whole wide world. Joy by Jean Patou is definitely one of the grande dame's of vintage perfumery and it really transports you back to the late 1920's and early 1930's and the rise of Hollywood. I can imagine either an icy blonde like Jean Harlow or Marlene Dietrich wearing this, reclining on their chaise lounges' while wearing fabulous pearly white Vionnet or Gres gowns. Joy has a vintage smell, but I don't find it difficult to wear and it is vintage smelling in the sense that it smells romantic and very grand. A super realistic rose (similar to that in Annick Goutal's Rose Absolue, the only other super realistic rose fragrance I can think of) is definitely the most prominent note straight from the bottle, followed by the unmistakeable jasmine and then the fairly subtle hint of tuberose. To me it is equally both white flowers and rose, with a beautifully powdery and musky base that makes me think of an old Hollywood powder room. The rose in this dominates first, but then the jasmine petals unfurl onto my skin and do their beautifully indolic, sweet and slightly skanky thing. I admit I don't personally smell any of the ylang ylang, though. Joy's sillage carried itself about 6 feet from my skin and I got a good 7 to 8 hours of wear time on myself. You have to spray or dab this perfume with a light hand, since it can get a bit much if you go overboard. I'd say it also suits the spring, fall and winter seasons, but during the summer it would also get too much. It's why I'd recommend Joy de Jean Patou more for a woman for during the evening as well. I personally don't think that it smells at all like Chanel N°5, since I can't smell any aldehydes in Joy and Joy is far more floral smelling than N°5. It has some of Chanel N°5's clean-smelling soapiness though and I can tell that it comes from an era very soon after N°5. (The 1920's and 1930's still have a lot in common stylistically speaking mostly.) I love the beautiful golden bottle with its lovely golden juice inside and the bottle feels heavy and of good heft and quality in my hands. The cap with its gold thread is super pretty too. I am overjoyed that I got this incredibly sophisticated beauty and I'd give this fragrance a 9/10 in total. It is so sad that LVMH discontinued this stunning gem and symbol of the old Haute Couture...

I had been habouring a 10 ml travel size of Joy EDP for a few years. I cannot recall how I got it. Several days ago, I sprayed it on to test it. Stand aside modern Chanel, and make way for Jean Patou. Joy stands up there alongside Chanel No.5. When I was child, I heard Joy's slogan, "The most expensive perfume in the world". I never dreamed that I would be able to experience it. In my mind, that was probably $100,000. As an adult, Joy was swept aside as a memory to make room for the Poisons and their many flankers that have been mass marketed. With Joy, I smell a powdery opening, then floral overload in the mid that opens up to the most delicious and real rose that I have ever smelt - I'm blown away. I'm particularly interested in perfumes that have a reverse pyramid, where the delicate notes are embedded as absoluts in the perfume and come towards the end. (Rather than the typical, soft notes in the opening, a layer of deeper notes in the mid, then woods, resins and amber at the base. Boring!) Joy EDP isn't wearable for me as a day fragrance. It really needs to decloak itself after about an hour. I went on to buy full-sized bottles of the EDP and EDT. The EDP, I will keep for later and the EDT, I plan to wear. Even as a reformulation, the 10ml travel size is excellent. It's sad that Jean Patou fragrances are no longer in production as per the FAQs on their website. LVMH bought the brand a long time ago and then, let the brand die. "Shame, shame, shame!" Look what happened to House Lannister? Then, Dior (owned by LVMH) co opted the name of 'Joy' for their version of Allure Sensualle. How creatively bankrupt. For powdery vintage fragrances, Chanel and Jean Patou are the brands to go for. This is coming from someone who owns 30 Guerlain fragrances. I have since stocked up on Joy, Joy Forever, 1000 and Sublime. I fear that I do not have time to test those fragrances and research other Jean Patou fragrances before they are gone. I hope that LVMH invests in and revitalises this brand? There are only so many syrupy sweet blackcurrant, berry, anise, lavender, fruitchoulis the market can tolerate. (Is this because real sugar, berries, pepper, coffee, anise, lavender, almond, coconut etc - basically, food have IFRA approval, so they keep appearing in perfumes? Is this trend to go on?) Old will become new again. If LVMH do keep Jean Patou fragrances in production, then please do justice to its heritage and use quality absoluts.