Joop! Le Bain

TONKA BOMB! This scent is really all about tonka, but here are the notes when sniffing up close: opens with a citrus-aromatic burst featuring aldehydes, that deepens into the jasmine-sandalwood heart with powdery, sweet, white-floral & faintly creamy facets, all resting on a tonka & amber-vanilla base. Tonka is the real star of the show here, and leans to the sweet-tobacco-almond variety with hints of almond-extract, near-dark-cherry, tobacco-blossom and raisin (although there is just a hint of the green-grassy facet in opening). The amber-vanilla in the base features a traditional amber which brings a balsam shampoo or Johnson & Johnson baby shampoo vibe (but not shampoo in general) which is perhaps the connection to "Le Bain" (The Bath). As the bottle ages, the almond/dark-cherry facets of tonka intensify and gain a hint of something near-leather, but maintain a veil of powderiness & a softly dark spiciness of something very near tobacco-blossom. Overall: This is a longtime classic tonka scent, and with good reason imho. Excellent performance and a unisex scent profile. You can't go wrong here. It's a love for me. Enjoy! Contrast to Pi Givenchy: These are different, but there are similarities with tonka & amber-vanilla. Pi has a more masculine leaning opening, and a less intense approach overall that doesn't go quite as deep with the almond/dark-cherry facets of tonka. Both have excellent performance but Joop! Le Bain has a more intense profile which gives an impression of better projection, although Pi has soft but present projection. Update 03/31/25: This has aged nicely, getting more vanillic and sweeter. I gave a bottle of this to one of my nieces, and noticed how gorgeous the trail was - even more tonka than I first realized (if that was possible). In the air it has a lot in common with many other tonka dominant scents. Love it still.

Le Bain was ahead of its time! I really think this could have been released yesterday and no one would have raised an eyebrow. It's not your typical 80s fragrance at all. It's intense like many of them are (though older versions must have surely been even stronger), but due to the heavy dose of tonka it fits right in with today's gourmands. It opens with a juicy and even a little boozy cherry almond scent. It's warm and balsamic at that, but the cleanliness of orange blossom and some light soapy aldehydes make it fit to its name. As it dries down the cherry vibe and soapiness vanish, at this point it's mainly vanilla, amber and heaps of almondy tonka. Contrary to some modern tonka fragrances this never goes into the more masculine spicy/aromatic direction and also doesn't have that strong synthetic creamy base found in many of them. It's more balsamic and ambery, but mostly very powdery. While Le Bain is definitely a sweet and warm scent, there are enough balancing notes to not let it turn cloying. It's a simple, but beautiful composition. Very cozy and sensual. And dirt cheap nowadays. The bottle might look dated and boring, but don't let that deter you. I would recommend this to anyone who likes tonka and cherry notes, the dichotomy of warm amber and clean orange blossom in Jean Paul Gaultier's Classique line or any perfume with the word 'Loukhoum' in its name. This oldie could be a great surprise for people who aren't hardcore vintage fans.

I first discovered this perfume when watching a YouTube review of amazing cheapies. When I jumped on to fragrantica to check out the notes and saw that it was a woody vanilla, it felt like fate because I had been obsessing over finding exactly that. I was so excited to try it when the bottle arrived and I was not disappointed. It’s a vanilla that isn’t heavy, cloying or too sweet. It’s airy without getting lost and soft but definitely not shy. It feels like an early summer day with the sun on my face. It doesn’t evolve too much on my skin, but I love that because I love what it smells like when I first put it on. I have never smelled anything like it (I’ve smelled lots of perfumes and have a knack for placing scents and notes) so I can’t compare it to anything, but would say I am no longer sad that I can’t get Atelier Vanille Insensee in Canada, so it has replaced that woody vanilla for me. This layers really well too - so far I have tried it with Absolute Bentley for men (my partners woody amber) and a sample of Schwarzlose Rausch and both have just added to the depth and longevity of this. I would not have said this is a sexy perfume when I first smelled it, as it has a clean (not soapy!) quality as is suggested by the name. But my partner finds this really sexy on me because it sits close to the skin and so now by association I feel sexy when I wear it.

I believe the upside-down structure of this fragrance is what's causing all the mixed reactions. Here is my personal breakdown as sprayed on skin (I'll get to paper strips at the end*): 1. On skin, Le Bain delivers the base notes right away. I mean immediately! Therefore, the first 5-10 minutes can be overwhelming. You get an initial dose of medicinal boozy Tonka/Vanilla syrupy-ness. It almost smells like synthetic honey for a minute. Pleasant, but very strong. 2. After the initial heady blast, a warm amber fuzzyness emerges, rounding out the sharp sweetness. Nice! 3. 20 minutes on the skin, you get the spa-like effect of the namesake. An aldehydic wax candle scent appears. Le Bain indeed... This is the core of the fragrance. But still, no florals at this point. 4. Finally, the dry down delivers the cedar/sandalwood and lastly the rose & jasmine peek through, making the whole thing smell clean, cozy and lush. Beautiful and worth the wait. So, when it comes to testing on paper strips, an entirely different thing happens, you get citrus-powder-florals instantly! How bizarre! It's as if the base notes only truly develop on skin. Le Bain is a lovely comfort scent and I am very fond of it - however I can see how it can be polarizing depending on where/how it is applied. Please give it a chance and allow it to go through its stages before judging :)

I was looking for a scent that could replace Gaultier 2. Gaultier 2 is almost extinct and the bottles that I have been finding are overpriced. I read that this is a quality replacement so I found a bottle and ordered it. Oh my gosh! I did not think that I would like it because of the price point. I thought it was going to smell cheap, but this is better than Gaultier 2 in my opinion. Gaultier 2 has a sweet amber, vanilla, smell that dries down to the scent of a plastic doll head or burning plastic when over-sprayed. If over-sprayed that note is disgusting and headache-inducing. However, Joop does not have that note. Instead, all I pick up from Joop is vanilla, amber, a white flower is attempting to peek through with a bit of citrus in the background. Joop! Le Bain is divine. I heard that Joop! will no longer be selling fragrances in North America so I will be stocking up on this. I am so happy that I went with Joop! instead of Gaultier 2. p.s. don't overspray too much, the sillage on this can be monstrous.