Jean Patou, JOY, 120 ml. or 4 oz. Flacon, Eau de Toilette, Splash, 1929, 1980, Paris, France ..

When couturier Jean Patou arrived on the Paris scene, in the 1920s, the world was changing .. especially for women. No longer corseted, bound by convention or whalebone ‘stays’, there was a spirit of freedom in the air .. and Jean Patou captured it.

He was born in 1887, in Normandy, where Jean Patou‘s father was a renowned leather tanner, known for his bookbinding skills. And it was his father who taught Jean Patou all about color.

After going to work for an uncle in the fur trade, Jean Patou launched his own venture as a dressmaker and furrier, moving into tailoring. And in 1914, just before the war broke out, he established his own couture house. Sadly, his first collection had to be mothballed: Jean Patou left Paris to serve as a captain in the French Zouave regiment, fighting as far afield as Anatolia. But in 1919, Patou returned to Paris, and did indeed launch a collection, including long-waisted shepherdess dresses. He became famous for ‘sportif chic’ .. clothes designed to move, to flutter, to flirt gorgeously .. and to show off brazenly bare legs, in short hemlines.

In 1922 .. a slight career sidetrack, perhaps .. Jean Patou opened a nightclub, with fellow designer Edward Molyneux. It was named Le Jardin de Ma Soeur (My Sister's Garden). The highly social writer Anita Loos called it ‘the most elegant place in which to greet the Paris dawn'.

From 1925, Jean Patou was also creating the most desirable of perfumes. His debut perfumes were designed to complement women with a particular hair colour: Que Sais-Je? was for brunettes, Amour Amour was for blondes, and Adieu Sagesse was for redheads. In 1927, Jean Patou also delighted women with the introduction of Huile de Chaldée, the world’s first suntan oil.

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. JOY was created with a lot of care, just like the most expensive Haute-Cotture dress, and thus it was extraordinary and timeless. It was presented by Jean Patou as 'the world's most expensive perfume' right at the time of The Great Depression in 1929, when the market of luxury fashion crushed and Jean Patou's house could survive only through the perfumes.

JOY is created of rare flowers in unique concentration of 10600 flowers of jasmine and 28 dozens of roses which adorn the exceptional heart of this perfume. With the time JOY attains enormous success and became the second best selling perfume of all times (the first best-selling is the legendary Chanel N°5).

Intense and luscious with alluring floral composition, JOY was created by Henri Alméras, who made its top notes irresistibly delightful. The composition starts with fragrant jilt tuberose, luscious rose, ylang-ylang blossom, aldehydes, sweet and mouthwatering pear, and green notes. The heart beats passionately in pure and sweetly fresh jasmine notes, seductive and balmy spicy and darkened iris root. The base whiffs with sensual musk, warm and milky-powdery sandalwood, with mild musky civet tones.

The bottle, of simple and straight lines with a golden thread around its neck, was designed by the architect Louis Süe in 30ml, 50ml and 100ml sizes for Eau de Parfume and 30ml and 50ml sizes for Eau de Toilette. Regardelss of its simplicity, the bottle leaves an impression of luxury and hints that its content is one of the best perfumes of the world. In 1932 Jean Patou designed a small black and red bottle in which this perfume is also presented.

Top notes are Aldehydes, Tuberose, Ylang Ylang, Pear, Peach, and Green Notes
Heart notes are Jasmine, Bulgarian Rose, May Rose, and Iris
Base notes are Sandalwood, Ambergris, and Animalic notes

JOY is a simply joyous perfume! It stands out as one of the world's greatest perfumes ever!! It is still known as the costliest perfume in the world, but more so in numbers of rose petals and jasmine flowers! Renowned as "the costliest perfume in the world," one ounce of the lavish scent contains 10,600 jasmine flowers and 28 dozen May roses. The luxurious composition is coveted by women around the world.

Offered here is a lovely Eau de Toilette splash in the two oz. size. Absolutely pristine, and comes in its original presentation box. Utterly delicious ...