Joy was created for Parisian couturier Jean Patou by perfumer Henri Alméras. It is considered to be one of the greatest fragrances created and is a landmark example of the floral genre in perfumery. Joy features top notes of aldehydes, peach and leafy green notes; middle notes of rose, jasmine, ylang-ylang and tuberose; and base notes of sandalwood, musk and civet.
An excerpt from a review by Now Smell This
When I first smelled Joy, I thought, “What’s the big deal?” Here was an iconic fragrance, reputedly the most expensive perfume in the world (this was before Clive Christian hit the scene), and Jackie O’s favorite. To me, though, Joy smelled ho-hum. Sure, it wasn’t offensive, but it didn’t excite, either.
Well, I was crazy. Now I recognize Joy for what it is: a classic, womanly, gorgeously balanced scent. It is the olfactory equivalent of a 1950s Dior dinner suit — flattering, adaptable, and luxurious down to its hand-basted seams.
Henri Alméras created Joy in 1930, just after the stock market crash that launched the Great Depression. The story goes that in response to the dark mood that settled over the western world, especially the United States, Jean Patou directed Alméras to create an extravagant perfume. Alméras complied, and Joy’s hallmark is the 28 dozen roses and 10,600 jasmine flowers that go into every ounce of extrait.
In the Eau de Toilette version, the fragrance starts with a fizzy, stemmy neroli, then a few minutes later bursts into roses tangled with full-bodied but fresh jasmine. The Eau de Toilette stays close to the skin once it dries down and fades into dull roses and a vague warmth after a few hours. But overall, Joy Eau de Toilette feels bright and, well, joyous.
An excerpt from an article written by Luxury Activist
Among the icons of perfumery history there is Joy by Jean Patou. History says that after Henri Almeras had created the formula, Jean Patou himself asked to double the dosage. Joy was voted “Scent of the Century” by the public at the Fragrance Foundation FiFi Awards in 2000.
