Joy is a perfume created for Parisian couturier Jean Patou by perfumer Henri Alméras in 1929. It is considered to be one of the greatest fragrances created and is a landmark example of the floral genre in perfumery.[1] It is no longer produced.[2]

Joy by Jean Patou
Fragrance by Jean Patou
Released1929
LabelPatou
Websitepatou.com/pages/faqs#the-patou-house

History

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Joy was created as a reaction to the 1929 Wall Street crash, which had diminished the fortunes of Jean Patou's wealthy American clientele. Despite its elevated price and the depressed economic environment, Joy became a success and has remained Jean Patou's most famous fragrance. Patou was acquired by Procter & Gamble in 2001.[3] In 2002, Patou launched Enjoy, a contemporary take on Joy meant for younger women.

In 2011 Patou was bought by Designer Parfums Ltd, a UK-based firm. In August 2018, LVMH purchased Patou and Dior, an LVMH brand, acquired the rights to the name "Joy". In August 2018, Dior launched a perfume named Joy.[3]

Composition

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Joy is composed primarily of a combination of jasmine and rose; 10,000 jasmine flowers and 28 dozen roses are required to create 30ml of the parfum, contributing to its high retail price.[4] Joy also contains other flowers such as ylang ylang, champak, and tuberose. Given its many ingredients, Joy does not smell like a specific flower. According to Luca Turin, "the whole point of its formula was to achieve the platonic idea of a flower, not one particular earthly manifestation." [5] The original bottle, designed by French architect and artisan Louis Süe, was designed to have a simple, classical feel. [6]

Awards

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"Joy" was voted "Scent of the Century" by the public at the Fragrance Foundation FiFi Awards in 2000, beating its rival "Chanel No. 5".[7]

Joy is preserved in its original 1930 formulation in the archives of the Osmothèque, donated to the collection by Jean Kerléo, formerly head perfumer at Jean Patou.[8][9]

References

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  1. ^ "Joy Jean Patou Perfume". fragrantica.com. Retrieved 2008-05-07.
  2. ^ https://www.patou.com/en-us/pages/faqs"FAQs". Patou. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  3. ^ a b Amorim, Jose (21 August 2018). "CHRISTIAN DIOR LAUNCHES JOY BY DIOR. REWRITING PERFUMERY HISTORY IS NOT A GOOD THING". Luxury Activist. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  4. ^ "Creating Joy". Jean Patou. Retrieved 2009-09-28.
  5. ^ Turin, Luca; Sanchez, Tania (2010). Perfumes: The A-Z Guide. Profile Books. ISBN 9781847651525.
  6. ^ Groom, Nigel (1992). The Perfume Handbook. Chapman & Hall. ISBN 9780412463204.
  7. ^ "Great Joy for Patou— Joy, Scent of the Century". Soap Perfumery & Cosmetics. September 2000.
  8. ^ Osmothèque - Conservatoire international des parfums. Official website. Web.
  9. ^ Gozo Jeroboam