Joy (perfume)

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
Released	1929
Label	Patou
Website	patou.com/pages/faqs#the-patou-house

History

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

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

"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]