10/27/2013

Gold
470 Reviews

Gold
Helpful Review
5
Bold is old, nice is in
"Joy" was launched in 1931 and many women have succumbed to its charm since then. Patou created this perfume using such a high concentration of Grasse jasmine and rose de Bulgarie that even today "Joy" is considered one of the greatest florals ever. Does such spectacular stuff need an update? The new proprietors of Jean Patou, "SA Designer Parfums Ltd." thought it did and decided to launch "Joy Forever", a "voluptuous floral bouquet composed around the mythical accord of jasmine and rose blended with oris and orange flower" (text from the cardboard of my sample). What is it that sets "Joy Forever" apart from the classic "Joy"? First of all, the combination of jasmine and rose is not as sumptuous as in the original. I can't detect the marked individuality of the old scent. Instead I smell a very pleasant bouquet of flowers, polished and sparkling, elegant, too. "Joy Forever" is a modern floral with a whiff of iris (not included in the original), a quiet, slightly woodsy drydown and an overall clean impression. No indolic jasmine, no sonorous rose. While "Joy" was a love-or-hate-scent, "Joy Forever" is simply a pretty floral. It fits in with the general trend for office-compatible, nice fragrances. It's clean and cheerful, but contains no surprises, nothing as radical and bold as the old "Joy", the grand opulent floral perfume of the 1930's. This said, you should still give it a try if you're looking for a clear and versatile upmarket floral fragrance.
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