Joop! Homme Ice Joop! 2020

As a child of the 80s and 90s, I have known the Joop brand for a long time. My parents wore the pink original in the early 90s and were huge fans of this strong fragrance at the time. I still remember that before my parents went out, they would always spray themselves and left behind a pink cloud of scent after leaving the apartment. This lingered for ages, and as a child, I was already very taken with this fragrance and would always sniff after it. Many years later, when I was old enough and had the corresponding pocket money, there was always a Joop fragrance in the house alongside Dior's Fahrenheit. My first Joop was the green GO! I celebrated it back then. With its wonderful rhubarb note, it was a rather unique scent at the time, with moderate longevity and sillage. I also once had Joop Wild in the form of a sample, but I didn't buy it (I can't remember why). Since then, a lot of time has passed, and I had been less impressed with Joop fragrances as I focused more on other brands. Recently, I was browsing Fragrantica again and discovered the blue brother of the original. Joop Ice in beautiful blue and then also with plum?! It was immediately clear that I had to test it. My expectations were rather restrained, along the lines of, well... it will probably be a typical blue shower gel scent with Joop DNA. So, I took the opportunity when I found it during my last shopping trip in a perfume store and gave it a chance. That was a good decision because Joop is really not bad, and I ended up buying it right away. The opening is characterized by a fruity, slightly sour, and subtly cool accord, which in no way has anything to do with Ice. How Joop came up with the name is a mystery to me. The name Ice would fit the bottle better than the content. Nevertheless, it starts off with a nice fresh kick in the first few minutes. Once the citrus fruits have faded a bit, it becomes slightly sweet in the top note, which personally reminds me immediately of chewing gum. After about an hour, we reach the heart, and the fragrance transitions into a subtle sweetness, still accompanied by a bit of freshness. I don't perceive the stated tobacco here, but I do pick up a bit of cardamom. The base gradually settles in, and sandalwood and cardamom come together. Here, I find that one can definitely draw slight parallels to the original. The longevity for me is 10h+ with 4 sprays, depending on the weather. The sillage is very good, and I received compliments even after 2-3 hours and with 4 sprays on my neck. Speaking of likability, the fragrance itself has been very well received so far. Compliments are definitely in the cards with this Joop. In summary, it can be said that Joop has not reinvented the wheel here but has released a very nice and rounded everyday freshie. I think it will be a good alternative for office and leisure. Definitely give it a try; maybe it will appeal to some just as much as it does to me.