Joop! Homme
Joop! (1989)

I was sure I had fond memories of Joop! from my college days. I had a roommate that loved it and it really did smell good on him. So when I saw it on sale over the holidays, I grabbed it. I eagerly rushed home to try it out and am now questioning the integrity of my own memory. It comes across as heavily synthetic to me and way too sweet (again, in a kind of "synthetically sweet" way). It was also very overpowering on both initial spray and for quite some time after. I could not even seem to wash it all off. Hours later, after a a quick scrub, I could still smell it.

Joop, or "oop" as I like to call it was bought for a very minuscule amount...and it was still too high a price to pay. I thought it smelled just awful. Couldn't scrub it off fast enough. Thumbs down for me.

Joop! Was NOT a coming-of-age fragrance for me, I was born in 89. But I remember it.

Whenever I smell this, I'm reminded...of, well...grown men (or at least grown enough for me, teens would've seemed like adults when I was a toddler). Not intimidating men, but welcoming, protective, safe men. It scratches some sort of latent and subconscious feeling. I don't find it *attractive* (not that it's unattractive, but my imprinting of this occured before I was into guys in *that* way), but I do find it extremely fun, oddly masculine (for the notes, on paper this seems like it would be femme), nostalgic and comforting. I think my uncle might've worn this. Each time I smell it, I think of him...hanging out in his garage with my plastic dinosaurs while he fixed his dirt bike. Maybe it's because this has a slight plasticky (in a good way) undertone?

It's not something I even care to do a note breakdown on; it's a wall of powdery, youthful, electric sweetness. So, so feel-good...verging on euphoric.

My favorite fragrance is Angel, but JOOP! is almost a male counterpart. Not in scent at all, but in philosophy. In vibe. In spirit. It hits me in the soul.

Please respect this, it's lighthearted in personality, but heavy in presence. It's a true love for me, always will be.

the modern is fine the vintage is nuclear. both smell great to me but i am a sucker for anything that smells even slightly outdated

So based on what most people say, i expected to not like this at all. I just wanted a vintage bottle for reference and found a small 1oz early 90s bottle very cheap. I have literally never smelled this in my life prior to today. Well suprisingly i actually DO like this, and i think maybe its been slightly misrepresented.

Its sweet. And no doubt, in 1989 this must have been VERY sweet. But its not the same disgusting cheap sweetness alot of mens fragrances have now, theres alot more going on. The indolic aspect of the jasmine comes through noticeably, and the cinnamon changes from an almost toasty cinnamon to a more candied type as time goes on. The vanilla works really well with the jasmine, as does the patchouli (all together). I think the thick base of this fragrance goes a long way to make this smell more substantial and frankly upmarket than its common reputation claims. People say its bubble gum, i get a closer sense of marzipan or something like that in the drydown, although the florals in here keep it from being a gourmand. It also reminds me of the clove rock candy my irish grandmother would bring back to the states for us as a kid in the opening.

Possible hot take: i think jpg le male was kindaaaa a ripoff of this. Especially in the opening, le male and joop both have this lotion facet that reminds you of suntan lotion or something like that. That said, although this is sweeter than le male, and i typically dont like sweet fragrances....i prefer this to le male vintage or otherwise. That jasmine in the joop really hooks me as i love jasmine.

All in all, i think at least in the vintage version this is objectively a well constructed and interesting fragrance that really took heavy risks by releasing this when they did. Between the historical, functional, and compositional aspects, i really appreciate joop homme and im glad i have an old bottle. I will definetely wear this.

I can wear this only when one spray is instantly layered with an equal application of Grey Flannel, which beats Joop into something resembling submission. It actually works well. But as Sean Connery said in The Hunt For Red October:

"One. Spray. Only."