Joy Jean Patou (1935) Parfum

Bottle Design: Louis Süe, Lutz Herrmann

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7.7 / 10 190 Ratings

Joy (Parfum) is a popular perfume by Jean Patou for women and was released in 1935. The scent is floral-animal. The longevity is above-average. It was last marketed by Designer Parfums.

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Perfumer

Henri Alméras

Fragrance Notes

Top Notes	Aldehydes, Green notes, Peach, Rose, Tuberose, Ylang-ylang
Heart Notes	Orris root, Jasmine, Lily-of-the-valley, Orchid, Rose
Base Notes	Musk, Sandalwood, Civet

Ratings

Scent

7.7 (190 Ratings)

Longevity

8.6 (128 Ratings)

Sillage

7.8 (124 Ratings)

Bottle

8.4 (123 Ratings)

Submitted by DonVanVliet, last update on 01.01.2019

Interesting Facts

Created in 1930 by Henri Alméras, the Fragrance from 1931 was privately distributed to the Clientele. In 1935 official Launch.

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Reviews

10/16/2018

10.0/10

9.0/10

10.0/10

Alex1984

Le parfum roi

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!

07/01/2017

9.0/10

8.0/10

10.0/10

Afreimann

Helpful Review 3

Joy de Jean Patou: Class in a bottle.

Upon first smelling this fragrance, I knew immediately why Joy is the 2nd best selling parfum of all time (beaten out by one fragrance alone, Chanel No.5). Apparently, I'm not alone in my love of this opulent, blooming elixir.
I detect literally ZERO civet, nothing animalic or even close to it; Joy, at least the Eau de Parfum, is a vibrant, blooming, extremely-clean symphony of jasmine and roses, period.
Perhaps those for whom Joy smells of anything but the 10600 jasmine blooms + 28-dozens of roses have a biochemical issue with Joy; I have that issue myself with other perfumes and can sympathize. Due to it's price, I'd recommend buying a wee sample first if you don't know how your body responds.
For those of us who can wear it, though, Jean Patou's Joy is pure magic!

2 Replies

06/08/2016

8.0/10

6.0/10

7.0/10

Oriane

Helpful Review 3

Naturalistic Roses & Jasmine Coupled with Aldehydes

The website does not have either the EdP or the EdT listed, so I am posting my review here. This review refers to the EdT formulation.

Top Notes: Aldehydes, Peach, Green Leafs.

Heart Notes: Bulgarian Rose, Jasmine, May Rose, Ylang-Ylang, Tuberose.

Base Notes: Sandalwood, Musk, Civet.

I own both the EdP and the EdT. I owned the EdT first and liked it enough to purchase the EdP. This review is for the current formulation Joy EdT.

Joy is a very naturalistic floral with no added sweetness to it whatsoever. Upon first application, all I was able to detect was heavy aldehydes, a few dozen roses, and a lot of jasmine. Then, after the dry down, I could begin to vaguely detect other unnamed, lovely flowers with rose and jasmine still predominate. I am unable to specifically discern either ylang-ylang, which I love, peach, or sandalwood at any point during Joy's mild development. Unfortunately, my nose is not well tutored enough for me to identify all of the florals, but they do smell lovely. If this had been strictly roses only, I probably would not have added the EdP to my wardrobe.

Joy is a very feminine, floral fragrance. I personally do not detect a powdery note in it. I also do not detect anything even vaguely animalic in it either, although many wearers swear it has a strong civet note. This may be true of the vintage extrait, but I have never smelt the vintage, so I really cannot say. To my nose, Joy is just a feminine floral with very heavy doses of roses and jasmine that mostly overpower any other floral notes. In my mind's eye, I can imagine Katherine Hepburn's character wearing this in the Philadelphia story. It somehow fits both the actress and her character in that film.

Joy is reminiscent of that deep, intoxicatingly floral smell one would detect if one walked into a small florist's shop where all that is sold is flowers---the type of mum and pop florist shop of my childhood which I believe are now extinct. Those shops largely have given way to the big stores as have the small mum and pop grocery stores of yesteryear, but this fragrance is definitely reminiscent of those small florist shops of yesteryear, and because of this, I find Joy nostalgic.

I can detect the EdT on myself pretty well for about two to three hours. I do not know if anyone could smell it on me after that or not. Sillage and projection are moderate. Longevity is moderate.

Overall, Joy simply is a nice floral fragrance that reminds one of beautiful, wealthy, young ladies of another era. I say this because flowers used to be a lot more expensive than most are these days. "In the old days," it cost a pretty penny to send a dozen roses to one's sweetheart, and I am sure that in the midst of the depression, it must have cost much more, hence the description of Joy as the costliest parfum in the world at the time it was launched in the midst of the Great Depression.

I like Joy, and I think it would be appropriate for both daytime and evening wear, church wear, weddings, and any time one wants to affect a feminine, soft, rosy floral. I think Joy is definitely a year round fragrance, too, but I expect one might enjoy it most during Spring and Summer. Purchase the EdT if you want the lightest version. Purchase the EdP if you want a slightly deeper, richer floral.

Between my bottle of EdT and my bottle of EdP, I think I have enough Joy to last me for the rest of my life. If I ever were to run out, I might look for a vintage extrait, but I do not think I would repurchase either the EdT or the EdP again because overall florals are not my favourite parfum category, although there are many that I like. I lean more toward the various types of Orientals, i.e. Oriental floral, Oriental woody, Oriental spicy, and, Oriental vanilla. However, if you love rose and jasmine, you will likely be very pleased with Joy. It is a classic that everyone should at least try. If you want to keep one classic floral in your fragrance wardrobe, Joy would be a good choice.

The below ratings reflect the fact that florals are not my favourite fragrance category, but I do feel that Joy is a good quality fragrance. Also, the below ratings are for the first three hours. Thereafter, Joy pretty much turns into a skin scent on me at best. Neither the EdT nor the EdP is especially long lasting on my skin.

Fragrance: 6/10
Projection: 6/10
Sillage: 6/10
Longevity: 5/10

10/06/2014

10.0/10

8.0/10

Tessa

Helpful Review 5

Don't push me!

For the last few days I kept watching Joy. I saw the initial sparkling laugh, all stemming from the trumpets of gorgeous flowers and I felt pushed to smile because it was like asking me to share the Joy. My smile disappeared and so did the sparkling laugh. And there was another try, another laugh, less sparkling this time around and it pushed me again: C'mon girl, share my Joy! Don't you see the trembling little heads of the Lily-of -the -valley ,like delicate bells, calling for your smile?
No, I cannot smile because there is something bitter deep under your laugh. Do not try to entice me, for I can see, beyond your Joy, the tears of sadness.

08/27/2013

jtd

jtd

Very helpful Review 11

patou joy

I've written and mentioned this a few times recently, so I suppose I'm trying to prove a point to myself: I don’t view my life as a narrative. I suppose this is one reason that, although I'm very emotional about perfume, I'm not terribly romantic about it. To call memory a reflection of experience gives memory too much weight. The reflected image suggests a more clarity than memory can offer. Memory is more a filter than a reflection.

The perceived jump from experience to memory is quick, yet in that instant so much editing occurs that I can’t call memory anything other than fiction.

When I think of Jean Patou Joy, I think of my mother. When she was a very young woman, her brother brought her a bottle when he returned from from France and the 2nd World War. She kept it until I suppose we all lost track of it somewhere in the past dozen years. I remember that she wore it very occasionally and that otherwise it sat in a box in a drawer. I loved the scent of that Joy. I imagine I loved it more than my mother did, yet the perfume and the story were both hers.

I have my own bottle of Joy and despite the fictions of memory, reformulation of perfume, and all the years, I still think of my mother when I open the bottle. This sort of memory is more pensive than visceral yet it's very important to me. I suppose you never know where you'll to find the big Rosebud moments in your memory, and I never thought the bottle of Joy would sweep me up and carry me away. But I'll tell you where the moment found me.

My mother is living with very advanced dementia. She hasn't been able to speak to me in years. Early in her dementia I used to talk with her by phone as often as I could, though we lived on opposites coasts of the US. Most of these phone discussions were about nothing in particular but only as she grew unable to carry on these conversations did I realize how important those small ways of keeping in touch were.

Clearing out some papers last week I found a couple of folded sheets of paper that for God knows what reason I printed out years ago. The contents of these papers were a compilation of four or five emails back and forth between me and my mother where she was asking me about a recipe for tofu that my partner David had. I laughed until I cried and knew that Marguerite would have, too. What could be more ridiculous than a decade-old string of emails about tofu? But here she was. I heard her voice, her laugh. I remembered.

So my lesson about memory and how wonderfully little control I have over it is to wear the perfume and relish the emails.

from scent hurdle.com

1 Replies

03/18/2013

Kosmoskukka

Helpful Review 2

Finally

I got my Joy bottle. This one have been looong time longing. What a joyous scent, happy and everything there is said already. Coutureguru, I got my own bottle, so You don`t need to give up Yours *Smiles* Amazing scent. Tomorrow I will take this happy feeling bursting scent with me on work. Lets see what collegues says.
*Hugs*

1 Replies

06/22/2012

10.0/10

7.5/10

8.0/10

Coutureguru

Greatly helpful Review 10

Right now, right here!!

SEX ... sex for breakfast, sex for lunch and sex for tea!!! Joy is sex in a bottle!! Raunchy, forbidden sex in the alleyway of a nightclub with someone you just met and didn't bother to ask a name! The aldehydes and tuberose on top are a primal scream with the civet, adding a frisson of freshly worn jockstrap not far behind! Pearls and pumps my ass :o) ... Joy is hedonistic and wanton and so so NOW!!! It strays, like it's hard to come by sister 1000, into masculine floral territory ... I'd love to smell this on some big butch rugger bugger! Automatic panty drop. In fact ... point me in the direction of the nearest rugby team ...

9 Replies

02/12/2012

7.5/10

10.0/10

6.0/10

Sherapop

Helpful Review 4

Emperor Approved!

Unfortunately, Jean Patou's JOY edp does not fill me with joy. I want to love it, but from the very first moment I am accosted by the dark, heavy civet, which overtakes all of the florals and makes the composition very hard for me to appreciate.

I love the bottle; I love the story; I love the idea. But JOY is a real litmus test of sensitivity to civet, a consequence no doubt, at least in part, of the fact that few modern perfumes contain this note. Rather than framing the flowers, I find that the overwhelming civet causes them to wilt!

However, I have not given up yet. My beautiful 2.5oz edp waits patiently for me to take it up again. Who knows, perhaps it's all a question of application. Accustomed as we have become to evanescent, fly-by-night fragrances claiming to be perfumes, perhaps the key to JOY is to apply only the faintest dab, in the manner of a vrai parfum. A spray packs a wallop of civet and induces in me cravings for a hot bath!

(I should perhaps add here that my cat, Emperor Oliver, seems to like JOY a lot...)

02/06/2012

7.5/10

5.0/10

Missk

Very helpful Review 5

Royal roses that tend to be fussy in terms of skin chemistry

It was Joy by Jean Patou's allure and greatness that urged me to accept a very generous sample from a friend when it was so kindly offered to me. Being the scent of choice for almost 80 years to various celebrities and members of the royal family, Queen Elizabeth II herself, I was expecting to be blown away by this fragrance's luxuriousness.

The first time this fragrance touched my skin, let's just say it was a nightmare. Could I honestly smell a child's bedroom after they had wet the bed? I was absolutely horrified to say the least. After a few minutes, Joy dried down to something very metallic and harsh on my skin, like rusted metal or the scent of steel wool rusting ever so slowly on the side of the kitchen sink. It then rounded off into a hay stack type smell. Very country, but nothing like the described notes.

I was game enough to test again, however this time on a piece of card, rather than on my skin. I now understand why so many like this fragrance. Joy is rich and floral, (as you would expect from 10600 flowers and dozens of roses in the composition). I'll agree that the scent is mature, but certainly not old lady.

The opening is a strong dose of powdered roses. Very much like the classic English Rose scented talcum powder by Yardley. Tuberose and jasmine do feature quite a bit, however the rose and aldehydes like to dominate the composition.

Joy is very extravagant to my nose. I wouldn't feel comfortable wearing this unless I was surrounded by gold and red velvet fashioned chairs and wearing a heavily jewelled crown on my head. This is indeed a fragrance fit for a queen, but not really suited to a plain, old, Aussie girl like myself.

In terms of sillage, Joy is a big one. More than 3 sprays and I think everyone in a close vicinity would be gasping for air. Take that as a warning. Joy isn't a scent to mess with. This is a straight-up conservative floral with a touch of royalty.

02/02/2012

10.0/10

6.0/10

Lola82

Helpful Review 3

Swiming in a Pool full of Civet and Patchouli

at first spray you get a cloyish oily
texture of civet and synthtic rose' tuberose with it's distinctive scent almost equivalent
to gardenia or a muskier version of the
original rose makes it's presence
i'm not a fan of green notes and there's
a lot in here i do smell a bit of aldehydes but it's not prominate and it's diluted by the strong usuge of civet as the drydown begins there is an
distant but noticible note of peach
grounded ylang ylang hold it's own.

the end notes is a strong presence of orris root a mild blend of sandalwood
and musk.
before i'v tried this i allways Wanted this in my collection because it is so
acclaimed from all different perfumers
and even actress Vivien Leigh said it was her favorite perfume' but for me
this is'nt my favorite i don't hate it
but i don't love it and the reason for
that is they put too much civet in this
and made it too oily if they put less civet and put a little more aldehydes
and made it a bit dryer i whould love it.

But i love the color and shape of the bottle comparing to luxurious gold.