Fragrance Review: Dior – Joy Intense (and brief mention of Joy) – A Tea-Scented Library

Have you ever watched a movie, thought it was ok, then later watched the terrible sequel and found yourself retroactively disliking the original?

Dior’s latest pillar fragrance, Joy, was launched in Autumn 2018 under an avalanche of criticism; from the choice of name¹, to the marketing, to what matters most - the scent itself.

Like with Chanel’s Gabrielle, I could see where the criticism was coming from, but, to me, it felt disproportionate. Yes, Joy is the proof that something can, indeed, smell blurry, but behind all the gaussian blur there was still that oh-so-pretty Dior rose & jasmine². And, even if overpriced for it’s shampoo-ey vibe, I thought this was a pretty fragrance, which I would actually wear a lot if it fell on my lap.

Fast forward to now, and I went to test the new Joy intense. Maybe it would flesh out Joy’s character, like another Gabrielle Essence? Feeling optimistic, I gave it a spray.

And, oh, was I disappointed.

Review

Joy intense opened with a punch of bergamot, bitter but not fresh, and a sweet, thick cloud of musk. Then came the floral heart - the over-blended rose + jasmine combo from the original Joy, only heavier, and without any charm. The accord just sat there, robust but flat - in typical “intense” flanker fashion. The base, with vanilla, sandalwood and tonka, wrapped up the scent with the same issue, each note stripped of its nuances, then smashed together in a powdery, woody mess of blah.

What an uninspired scent! Joy Intense takes all of original Joy’s weak points and dials them up to eleven. It is blurry and opaque, has even less facets than the simple original (I actually miss the shampooey hint of peach!), and lacks any prettyness Joy at least had³.

While Joy smells like a more plasticky, simpler but airier Chanel Allure, Joy Intense is more like a lesser-quality retake on Dior Poison Girl (EdP), or a warmer, (even) muskier Lancôme Idôle. At the far drydown it gets a bit better, with the sandalwood and tonka finally showing a bit of their flair. At that point, it reminds me of Zadig & Voltaire Girls Can Say Anything - another powdery tonka scent that feels less unbalanced as the drydown mellows it down.

Fragrance Impressions

Conclusion

I wish I could close this review with some brighter points, as I don’t like to be negative. I also see a lot of people seem to prefer Joy Intense to the original, but… I really can’t say I do, or that I personally liked this fragrance at all.

As with other perfumes I’ve rated low, I don’t mean to upset anyone who likes it - if Joy Intense works for you, that’s great, really! I wish I could enjoy it too. But these reviews are meant to reflect my personal impressions, so I have to be honest.

Joy Intense hit me as a plain, undefined cloud of sweetish warm musk, with a chemical “laundry” feel and an outrageous price tag for its worth. It has even lessened my liking of the original Joy (which had all its problems highlighted, and now I can’t un-see them!).

In the end, my annoyance at Joy Intense comes from a sense of disappointment. Dior is an amazing perfume house, which created some of my dearest, most favourite fragrances. They can evoke blooming fresh roses, liquid gold jasmine, gorgeous vanillas, and design some of the most enchanting perfume bottles in… ever, really.

So why are we getting musky plastic flowers in a tweaked Sauvage bottle?

¹ The same from a classic 1929 fragrance from Jean Patou, originally marketed as “the most expensive perfume in the world”. This original Joy is still produced today, and much beloved by perfume fans - hence the outraged reactions.

² I’d probably say Dior has the most beautiful rose notes, to my nose. So natural-smelling, and plain gorgeous! And the jasmine in J’Adore… really beautiful.

³ Turns out that soft, fresh plastic seems to smell better than strong, warm plastic.