Patou

Joy EdT by Jean Patou
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Joy EdT by Jean Patou

Hey Hey Looking Glassers, Today I went to the cupboard and grabbed an old Joy EdT by Jean Patou. Now that LVMH has put the kibosh on all Patou fragrances, my stash of the good stuff is becoming even more special. There seems to be some remaining modern bottles on the discounters, FragranceNet (not affiliated) still has some EdT and EdP for very reasonable prices. There’s something so lavish about wearing a fragrance that was once known as the most expensive perfume on earth! Imagine, created by Henri Alméras in 1929 and launched in 1930 in the early years of the Great Depression. Obviously it was only a depression for the unwealthy. There was still a class of people that could and would wear the most expensive perfume on earth… and wear it they did.

Joy EdT by Jean Patou

Joy EdT by Jean Patou

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Rose, Green notes, Tuberose, Ylang-ylang, Aldehydes, Peach
Heart: Jasmine, Rose, Lily of the valley, Orris root, Orchid
Base: Civet, Musk, Sandalwood

I’m working on the theory today that you all have smelled Joy at some point. It’s not for everyone. For many newly minted perfumistas it will smell dated and old fashioned, it is. Here’s the thing though, when you stop smelling with expectations and start really being in the moment you’ll be able to enjoy the unfurling of true classic perfumery. A masterpiece.

Sweetly fruity, fatty bouquet of white and tropical flowers undercut by some greenery and bubble gum that turns burnished and warm through its life. Ending on a vanilla rich sandalwood base with a friendly, sexy animal growl.

Joy EdT by Jean Patou

Joy smells like its name. It’s one of my favourite spritzes lately when I feel the downward spiral of depression trying to take hold. As the questions and darkness descend a big shot of Joy on the back of my wrist will derail the depths and give me much more interesting and beautiful pathways to follow. An excellent way to send me off for a refreshing sleep/nap from which I can awake revitalized and in a much more positive frame of mind.

Are you a Joy wearer? Do you ever use perfume to help with other parts of your life?
Portia xx

 

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Review by Christine W: Several Patous, Old(ish) and New

Dear friends and readers, let me introduce to you the latest addition to the ULG contributors: Christine W, a guest writer from Melbourne, Australia. Having collected vintage perfume for over a decade, Christine finally took the plunge and came out with her first-ever blog post. I hope we won’t scare her away, and she’ll fill the gap of vintage perfumes coverage on this blog. Undina

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Seven years ago, Maison Jean Patou released Collection Héritage; reworkings of nine of the house’s much older fragrances. While stocks last, they can be found online for a fraction of the original price. In 2019, when LVMH bought Jean Patou, the new owners discontinued production of Patou fragrances. Since then, fragrance fans have been snapping up the remaining stock of classics such as Joy, Sublime and 1000. But are the more obscure Collection Héritage scents also worth buying? Are they anything like the earlier fragrances upon which they were based? I will attempt to answer these questions by comparing seven of the Collection Héritage scents with their corresponding, older Ma Collection versions. The prices I mention are based on my location in Australia. If you are in another country you might pay more, or less, than I did.

Before my reviews, I need to outline what I will be comparing.

The Collection Héritage (CH) series consists of nine 100ml EDPs released in 2013 and 2014. Patou’s last in-house perfumer, Thomas Fontaine, composed each of them as re-imaginings of older “archived” Patou scents of the same name. The series (in random order) comprises: Adieu Sagesse, Colony, L’Heure Attendue, Chaldée, Que Sais-Je?, Vacances, Deux Amours, Eau de Patou and Patou Pour Homme. I am not reviewing the last two because I didn’t buy them.

The Ma Collection (MC) series was released in 1984. Consisting of 12 fragrances (which I own as a boxed set of minis, pictured below with its accompanying book), these were themselves re-workings of selected early Patou scents created between 1925 and 1964, mostly by in-house perfumer, Henri Alméras (1892-1965). The MC recreations were composed by Jean Kerléo, who had taken over from Alméras in 1967. The MC scents that I will examine for comparison have the same names as the first six listed above, plus Amour Amour (the original name for Deux Amours). In case you were wondering, these MC titles didn’t make the cut for CH: Moment Supréme, Cocktail, Divine Folie, Normandie and Caline.

Patou Ma Collection boxed set

To supplement (and guide) my impression of each CH scent and its corresponding MC version, I will include notes lists from Fragrantica (unless otherwise noted) and information supplied with packaging.

So, let’s dive in!

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