Wednesday, February 22, 2006

REVIEW: Joop! Le Bain

Notes: Chinese Lychee, Plum, Bergamot, Orange Blossom, Lily of the Valley, Rose, Jasmine, Musk, Amber, Vanilla, Sandalwood, Heliotrope. (courtesy of ImaginationPerfumery.com, but may not be totally accurate)

Pros: Unusual oriental, and although the name and notes might suggest fresh and watery, this is nothing of the sort...On my skin, I get notes of almond, chocolate, cognac and tobacco...

Cons: It's becoming hard-to-find, I wish it would be re-launched...

Development: Though it begins with a darker gourmand note (think chocolate) the fragrance meanders towards toasted almonds and sandalwood. I know there are fruit and floral notes in this one, but like Roma they merely accentuate those basenotes...

Longevity: Lasts a good 6 hrs on my skin.

Sillage: Can you smell me? You can? Ok, then I guess the sillage is pretty good!

Reminds me of: Villoresi Tobacco room spray, Boss #6, MOR Nougat, Art of Shaving Sandalwood

Bottleworthy? Hell, yeah! Get it now before it totally disappears!

Where can I buy it? $39.90 for a 2.5 oz edp spray tester at Perfumebay.com

The Bottom Line: Rarely do I come across fragrances that so suit me that I feel as if I simply can't live without them. Joop! Le Bain is one of those scents, a fragrance whose image and name couldn't be more dissimilar from the actual composition and effect this fragrance has on the wearer. With lower notes that suggest pipe tobacco, a glass of cognac, toasted almond cookies and sandalwood incense, Joop! Le Bain is nearly gourmand in my humble opinion. The fruit and floral notes (jasmine, neroli, plum) merely accentuate the darker notes and by no means play any major role in the body of this composition. Hands down the best scent to be released from Joop, this is a little-known masterpeice that would equally suit a man or woman.

Rating (out of 10): 10

What other scents' images and bottles just don't match the actual juice, in your opinion?

11 comments:

Marina said...

Oh wow, I had no idea! The name has been putting me off all these years.

Caitlin Shortell said...

Yum. Marlen, I have noticed that your descriptions accentuate how it is worn on your skin in an effective way. Part of the intrigue is getting a man's opinion, but it's also just your thang. It works, babe. Never change.

marlen said...

Colombina - I know...I dismissed this one for years until a friend sprayed it in a perfume factory outlet shop. It wa slove at first sniff and became a major lemming for years until I decided to break down and buy it, and boy am I glad I did!

marlen said...

Cait - thanks - it's hard to be objective about a scent, with all impressions tainted by the wearer's experience, imho...Best I can do is give some info and let ya know how it works (or doesn't) for me...

Anonymous said...

Speaking of Joop!, is Rococo for women any good? What's it like?

Trina said...

You had me at "hell yeah"! Marching myself (and my cc) over to perfumebay pronto! This sounds like one I might regret NOT buying, which is the only incentive I need. Thanks for the kickass (and compelling!) review!

marlen said...

Rue - I've never smelled Rococo but have been lemming it for a while! I've heard great things about it being a rich oriental, although I felt that Rococo for men was a poor imitation of Cacharel Nemo.

Anonymous said...

I may be swapping for one, so I'll slip a decant in your package....

Blast! That Ho Hang ad has me brain all weirded.

marlen said...

Thanks Rue!

Anonymous said...

I decided to re-test this after I read your review, Marlen. Very nice indeed, and I find the name quite apt: the scent makes me feel as if I'd just had a super-luxurious bath (you know: rose petals in the water, thousands of candles, luxurious oils, marble and gold bathtub) and were relaxing in a big, fluffy, soft, frightfully deluxe bathrobe, with a cashmere throw covering my feet, attendants hovering at the edge of my field of vision, ready to bring champagne, a masseur, costly lotions...... and then the fragrance changes into Cacharel's Gloria (another soft comfort scented cashmere shawl). Great! Two perfumes for the price of one. Lasts for ages, too.....

marlen said...

dinazad - glad you're enjoying this one! I find it very relaxing, yet in a sumptuous way, as you described! To me this is not necessarily a bath, in the clean sense, but every bit as you envisioned it!