What About Adam by Joop!, 1997

This is my first review and I wanted to start off writing about one of my all time favorite fragrances. Sadly this one has been discontinued for a long time now and is damn near impossible to find! Developed by french master perfumer Calice Becker and launched around 1997 back when she worked for a company called Quest International. The company soon was bought over by Givaudan who she now works for in New York. Since then she has went on to work with many big brand names such as Christian Dior and Estee Lauder. She has helped create and shape many unique fragrances and her skills and nose are much sought after by people in the perfume industry today. This was one of her first fragrances that she created and I love how she makes the comparison to her approach in perfume making as a bit like a cook in the kitchen creating recipes for loved ones. Personally I think "Joop: What about Adam" is a unique fresh and clean masculine fragrance that harmoniously balances fruity and floral tones. This starts off with a very citrus and sparkling mix of grapefruit that has undertones of rich earthy tomato leaves and refreshing minty notes that has a medium sillage on first impressions. Throughout the day this fragrance looses its zesty punch that it initially delivers and develops into a mixture of dry woody and green herbal middle notes that stay intimatley close to the skin. Towards the end of it's life this fragrance still has one more secret to reveal and that is in the form of an ancient old mix of vetiver and labdanum complimented by sweet smelling vanilla and sumptuous tree dwelling oakmoss. This scent is recommended for office wear perhaps because it's not heavy but instead has a light and airy quality about it, i find that it works just as well on a hot summers day even right through to a cool crisp winter evening. ( another fragrance i find that does this particularly well is "Happy for men" by Clinique with its crisp christmassy orange notes) For me this "memory fragrance" reminds me of meeting my first love (I was wearing this when we met) and spending the cool spring afternoons alone with her in a garden somewhere. Playful yet innocent and youthful on first encounters then devloping into something more deeper,thoughtful and enduring. It encapsulates the more masculine side of the Adam and Eve story and it can clearly be seen in the product name that it was Calice Beckers inspiration for creating this unique mix. Final thought about this fragrance is that it's unique but not as bold as others out there on the market today that SHOUT "Hey look at me" . This fragrance is more gentle and comforting and does not even come close to any of the Joop fragrances that came before or after it. This one is a bit like Joop's unloved child that was out shined and overpowered by others in their fragrance line and has since been disowned by the company. It's a shame this happens and since then I have been searching for that perfect green scent that reminds me of this but no one i know of has got the composition right yet. This fragrance is like a personality bottled up and I find that it suits me so well, when i wear it i get compliments from both men and women asking where i got it and what i have on. The rarity of this makes it even more unique and just knowing that no one I know has this makes it even more special for me. Lastly i wanted to add that this fragrance has such a strong personal meaning for me, so much so that i even attempted to recreate it using pure juice extracted from the raw materials listed and i even went out and collected my own oakmoss but to no avail as the mix and balance was all wrong. lol (amateur at best). Somewhere out there is a girl that adores the female counter part of this as much as i love this one..and if ever we met i would instantly know "All about Eve" Also i feel sympathy for the guy that wrote the negative review on here about him coming out the shower all crispy fresh after using the full product line only to find out that his wife can't stand it. Sorry to hear that lol ...but my girlfriend loved this on me and coincidentally her favorite perfume is J'adore by Christian Dior also created by Calice Becker! This woman is an olfactory genius and for this creation her inspiration was Adam and Eve, a timeless but universal story of when boy meets girl.

My "memory-perfume"...Wearing it,for me,is a very special feeling..Reminds me some good memories from the "old good times" when I was a child. Who grew up in small town or had own garden with tomato plants knows how I mean.When I was little kid my mother went to the garden and I follow her. Her fine sweet perfume (I don't remember what was that--perhaps Impulse Incognito :-)) mixed in my nose with that weird smell of tomato leaves..was so amazing.. Joop! Adam captured that feeling. Unfortunately this is a discontinued fragrance..But I love that smell in the top where smooth vanilla is mixed with tomato leaves and mint..Perfect. Fortunately I had luck to purchase on ebay 5 bottles in the last minute :) Now I have to use them,cause it's not good to store them too long. I tried any other tomato fragrances,but it was the best ( Puma Aqua too spicy,Halston Unbound is too light,but I love,Demeter Tomato is too earthy and heavy,Lacoste Essential sweeter than Adam was). If anybody has idea what perfume I should have to try which is similar to this one,notice me,please!! ..and I'm waiting for...perhaps there will be a perfume-creator who "catches" again the feeling for me...or Adam will be continued :)