JOY (Francois Demachy; 2018) was a curious launch…

The name was not new, it came from Patou’s famous Joy (DIOR’s owner, LVMH, bought Patou around the time of the launch), the juice felt like a reworking of Allure by CHANEL (who’d have expected a ’90s aquatic floral in 2018?!) and the bottle was a twist on the flacon used for SAUVAGE, which launched in 2015. So it’s no surprise that some, including myself, found it difficult to attribute JOY with a unique identity – it just didn’t seem to have one. JOY, the new Eau de Parfum Intense however, feels like a marked improvement on the confusion of the original. The surprise? This time, JOY riffs on the fruitchouli style of COCO Mademoiselle, pairing fruits, flowers and patchouli in a swirl of contrasts. Where this JOY succeeds is in its softness thanks to the creamy, plushness of vanilla which smooths all of the hard edges of the patchouli-effect, rounding JOY Intense to elegant effect. OK, so it’s nothing new or groundbreaking, but it is a intriguing twist on an incredibly familiar theme. Definitely worth a sniff.

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Availability

JOY Eau de Parfum Intense is available in 50ml (£74.70) & 90ml (£104.40) Eau de Parfum

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Disclaimer

Sample gifted by brand. Image is my own. I was not paid to produce this review.