A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE: Jovoy Paris

The year is 1923, the Années folles are in full swing as Europe endeavours to shake off the memory of the First World War with spectacle and excess. Gabrielle Chanel has turned women’s fashion on its head; the windows of Boucheron are glittering with exotic gemstones from all corners of the globe; Josephine Baker is shimming across the stages of Montmartre’s jazz halls; and the Moulin Rouge’s famous windmill is nearing completion. Also born this year is Jovoy Paris, a fragrance house founded by female perfumer Blanche Arvoy.

Selling perfumes in finger-on-the-pulse kitsch animal shaped bottles – Allez hop! with its Dalmatians, Gardez-moi’s cat, Severem and its rider astride a camel, and Hallo Coco!’s caged parrot – Jovoy flourished, adored by Parisian society, its customers a ‘Who’s Who?’ of Paris. That was until the onset of the ‘30s and the economic downturn that followed, when like the roaring ‘20s, Jovoy too became all but a memory, a mere footnote in fragrance history.

Then, in 2006 entrepreneur Francois Hénin resurrected Jovoy with the debut of a new range of Eau de Parfums and the largest independent niche parfumerie in Paris, and now London. Taking the decision not to rework Arvoy’s original perfumes in their exact form but instead create new perfumes for a contemporary market, Hénin continues to work with master perfumes to craft modern perfumes under the Jovoy Paris name.

From their new Exclusive Discovery Kit, I recently spent two weeks wearing little else but the Jovoy Paris collection. Now, here are my thoughts on each of the fragrances:

Ambre Premier (2011) – Vanilla sugar, candied orange peel and rich, sticky amber that could border “too sweet” territory if not for the deft use of rose and patchouli to provide the composition some depth. Ambre Premier is a candied amber oriental that is fun and approachable, but also sophisticated and sensual in a manner that feels very broad in its appeal. 

L’Arbre de la Connaissance (2011) – Take a fruiting fig tree and put it through a mulcher – fruit, leaves, sap, trunk and all – and you’d get something that smells like L’Arbre de la Connaissance. Beautifully verdant fig leaf and vegetal mustiness countered by sweet, milky fig fruit, this is a must-try for fig fanatics. Fico di Amalfi and Philosykos are but a shadow in comparison.

La Liturgie des Heures (2011) – Sacramental frankincense and meditative myrrh enveloped by the freshness of cypress and funk of musk, La Liturgie des Heures bridges the heavenly and earthly realms of perfumery to much better result than most other incense fragrances. Divine, in inspiration and execution.

Private Label (2011) – A brooding leather dosed with bone dry vetiver, humid patchouli, and bitter green papyrus atop a rich sandalwood base. For me, Private Label wears the most masculine of the collection with its rich, spicy, almost medicinal woodsy character and tarred leather potency. Macho.

Pyschédélique (2011) – Trippy patchouli at its hippiest, dankest, sweet-smoky-spicy best. A Campari-esque opening of bitter citrus cedes to a patchouli heart which flutters between camphor and cocoa dustiness, settling finally on a base of smouldering labdanum. Heady as they come, it is no wonder this garners the praise it does.

Les Jeux sont Faits (2012) – Described to me once simply as a “boozy amber”, Les Jeux sont Faits is so much more than that! Rum-soaked fruit and angelica open the composition bitter and boozy while leather, tobacco and fleshy cumin give edge to the underlying vanillic labdanum accord which sits firmly on the cola end of the amber spectrum. Complexity and fun in spades here.

Rouge Assassin (2012) – Named as it is, I expected the scent of a crimson-lipped, Berreta concealing femme fatale, a sort of Nikita character, but she’s nowhere to found here. Rather, we’ve found the perfume of a Paris Opera Ballet prima ballerina. A pas de deux of rice-powder-dusted iris and ambrette against a set of pink roses, resins and light-as-air musk, Rouge Assassin is all grace and refinement. Stunning.

Gardez-Moi (2013) – A big, buxom floral arrangement of gardenia, lilies, jasmine, mimosa and ylang-ylang with aldehydes, coriander and pepper for definition. Not all that original, nor youthful, but masterfully executed.

L’Art de la Guerre (2014) – Avant-garde Fougère. Rhubarb, violet leaf and lavender over a leather-forward heart of immortelle, patchouli, sandalwood and oakmoss. The rhubarb is plain weird, but it works in the grand scheme of L’Art de la Guerre. An interesting composition, even if I don’t know anybody who would wear it.

Incident Diplomatique (2017) – Smoky, green vetiver atop a chocolatey patchouli base all dusted in the piquant freshness of nutmeg. Much less austere than some examples, this is a great entry level vetiver fragrance.

Pavillon Rouge (2018) – Opening boozy with rum and whisky, amplified by an equally burly spice blend with sesame and cinnamon at its heart, Pavillon Rouge matures into a richly embellished tobacco-leather scent with coffee and benzoin nuances, all set against the dark backdrop of ebony wood. Like the dimly lit, timber panelled drawing rooms of the private members’ clubs Pavillon Rouge conjures in my mind, this is sophisticated and sombre.

Remember Me (2018) – Serge Lutens likes his afternoon tea in the English style à la Five O’Clock au Gingembre, Jovoy’s owner, Francois Hénin, prefers his a little more exotic with silky, sweetened frothed milk, oolong tea, cardamom and ginger. Remember Me sits firmly in the gourmand realm, but like the Lutens, also fits the bill for a comfort scent.

Touche Finale (2019) – Nose tickling mimosa and pink pepper set atop the cold metallic tinge of violet leaf, softened and rounded out by the creaminess of heliotrope, Touche Finale feels like Gardez-Moi’s much, much younger – infantile – sister. Touche Finale smells of the most fabulously expensive talcum powder, of which I am sure there are buyers, just not myself.

21 Conduit St (2020) – Lavender is to English perfumery as neroli is to the Italian style, and jasmine the French. Named for the address of Jovoy’s London boutique, 21 Conduit St is an ode to this most quintessentially English note. Coumarin loaded lavender sandwiched between an explosively tart rhubarb opening and radiant amaretto-cedar-ambroxan base. Tangy and fruity, but also morishly biscuity at times, this is a lavender unlike any other. 

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The Jovoy Paris collection is available at Jovoy boutiques and www.jovoyparis.com, for €130, 100ml.