Clinique Happy bottle, photo by Tony

During these sultry summer days, boxed in by the restrictions of COVID-19, I frequently find myself reaching for perfumes outside of my typical repertoire of “calm-inducing” fragrances;  lately,I’m not reaching for incense, lavender or soothing jasmine.

Clinique advertisement featuring Karen Elson 1997

I’m reaching for citrus  – juicy drippy citrus scents, tart citrus scents, any citrus scents that give me a happy feeling. Lately, I have been reaching for Clinique Happy.

Photo of Rodrigo Flores-Roux courtesy of the perfumer

“Clinique Happy embodies a universal feeling: bliss accompanied by nonchalance accompanied by friendship accompanied by love. It’s a fragrance that immediately brings a smile to your lips. It communicates that certitude that there will always be a better time, a time for peace, for health and for harmony. These sentiments are timeless and ingrained in the universal consciousness. The “hint of citrus, a wealth of flowers” and the slogan encompasses that. Come on, get happy!!”–Rodrigo Flores Roux, Vice President of Givaudan and co-creator in an email to Editor-in-Chief Michelyn Camen

Clinique Happy ad 1998 photographer Steven Meisel and model Kylie Bax

In 2020, it’s Clinique’s bestselling women’s fragrance (winning a Fifi award in 1998 award for Women’s Fragrance of the Year – Prestige. The timeless photography and memorable advertisements by the iconic photographer Steven Meisel (17 in all) further sealed Clinique Happy into our minds, but what touched our hearts is the uplifting fragrance created by perfumers Rodrigo Flores-Roux and Jean Claude Delville.

“I was 29 years old… Clinique Happy is a co creation with Jean Claude Delville, and one of the first overdoses of the CIS isomer of methyl dihydro jasmonate, bringing its new, opalescent, luminous transparency centerstage. The uncannily ripe citrus fruit topnote was deemed a bit extreme by some, but it was so calibrated and seamless, it was accepted wholeheartedly by the consumers”. -Rodrigo Flores Roux, Vice President of Givaudan in an email to Michelyn

Clinique Happy advertisement 2008 courtesy of Clinique

Sweet, tart notes of bergamot and grapefruit provide a fleeting introduction to Happy. As they waft past, you start to smell the light, slightly indolic blossoms of the West Indian Mandarin Tree accented with the sharp earthy notes of laurel. I perceive not only the blossoms of the mandarin, but the leaves and the rough bark. Here is that beautiful amber color in scent. As we move into the heart of the fragrance, the acidic yet sweet citrus fades, and the floralcy comes to the forefront.  On my skin, the mimosa plays prominently, a powdery floral which to me is golden in hue. The indoles of the Melati (another name for Sambac Jasmine) arrive to coat the golden goodness of Mimosa in a golden aura, tingling the nose and racing the heart. The light glowing florals of orchid, Crinum Lily and Hawaiian wedding flowers dance around the outskirts of the heart notes, adding a subtle, yet unmistakable depth. Finally, at the base arrives that stunning floral, lemon-tinged and lush, that floral known as magnolia.  Another golden scent to me, powerful, soft and beautiful.

Happiness, © Meenal Acharya

 Happy lives up to its name, twenty-three years after its creation. Citrus scents have been proven to be mood-lifters, and the ripe mandarin note at the top is pure sunshine in a bottle.  For me, Clinique Happy is the orange and amber of the clouds parting after a late-day summer storm, the embracing warmth of the summer season and the hope of a better day.

Clinique Happy Bottle photo by Tony

“Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others without getting some on yourself”.-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Clinique Happy was created in 1997 and the noses were Rodrigo Flores-Roux and Jean-Claude Delville

Top Notes: Bergamot, Grapefruit, Laurel, Mandarin Tree

Heart Notes: Boysenberry Blossom, Morning Dew Orchid, Melati Blossom

Base notes: Hawaiian Wedding Flower, White Crinum Lily, Chinese Golden Magnolia, Mimosa

Disclosure: The bottle, my nose, and my opinions are my own.

Tony Burgess, Guest Contributor

Editor’s Note: Thank You Rodrigo for a look behind the bottle of Clinique Happy!!!-M.C.

Are you familiar with Clinique Happy?

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