Touche Finale Jovoy 2019

I misjudged this one. I blind-bought it and initially thought I'd use it exclusively for my store. The scent was thin: watery yellow florals and something like pencil shavings. Not exactly interesting.

However, seven months later, I've tried it again. The same composition reads much more beautifully to my nose now. It reminds me of late spring mimosa blooms wafting on the air. The breeze isn't too heavy with heat, but laden with botanical nuances.

While my decidedly "meh" reaction hasn't been upgraded to "love" yet, it has become a solid "like". I see its vision this time around and can imagine how pleasant the scent cloud would be to encounter in the wild. I've added it back to my (rather enormous) rotation.

It is a good example of why it can be helpful to revisit new fragrances a few months after first meeting them because impressions can change significantly!

Touche Finale is a powdery floral fragrance created by Vanina Muracciole for Jovoy. This perfume is the reincarnation of Jovoy’s Poudre, one of their original powdery scents. Though the final touch in the name refers to the final dusting of powder in the feminine rituals of makeup, I still perceive this fragrance as staunchly unisex. This review was initially written for a sample atomizer from Jovoy, but it has been updated after I bought a full bottle.

The perfumer lists mimosa, pink berries, rose, cedarwood, jasmine, violet leaf, heliotrope, musk and sandalwood as the key notes on Jovoy’s website. In perfumery, mimosa absolute is used both for its own powdery floral notes, and for enhancing the powdery attributes of iris and violet in combination. Apparently, the absolute smells different from the fresh blooms of the mimosa tree. Touche Finale opens with a bright floral note that is sweet and rosy with nuances of citrus and green notes. The rose note may arise from pink berries or from the rose in the heart note. I detect a slight whiff of fizzy champagne also, which could be a false association with the mimosa. The powdery character of Touche Finale is well-defined from the opening. The heart notes continue to be floral and powdery with rose and jasmine leading the way. I don’t get much of cedarwood or violet leaf among the middle notes. The base notes on my skin are musk and sandalwood with some minor floral nuances, though these are all very subdued. The overall personality of Touche Finale is powdery floral, with rose being the prominent floral note. It is a lovely perfume but not groundbreaking in any means.

I love performance of Touche Finale as it fits with what I expect from a powdery floral scent. It lasts on my skin for 6-8 hours. The sillage is good in the first few hours. It works fine as an office fragrance, if you don’t mind its floral powdery personality.

Touche Finale has my recommendation if you are looking for a lovely modern powdery floral perfume. Jovoy sells all its perfumes in 15 ml size, which might be good option for those who are unsure of its versatility. It is a high-quality perfume that is reasonably priced.

I have had the scent as a sample here for a while. I just sprayed it on again and immediately felt transported to spring. But then I somehow had the feeling that I had smelled it somewhere before and it reminded me of another fragrance. The "Flower" by Kenzo immediately came to mind, which accompanied me through my teenage years as a signature scent. A lovely memory, but still a bit disappointingly close.

I must mention upfront that this year I bought a sample set and also the Demi Rawling set from Jovoy, along with several decants. This fragrance was then included as a bonus. Unfortunately, I sprayed it directly on my skin. A mistake, because not all Jovoy fragrances are great; this one leans more towards the other direction. For me, it’s a headache-inducing scent that makes me feel slightly nauseous. It smells cheap, synthetic, and powdery sweet, metallic, and somehow it’s just nothing. Neither fish nor fowl, and quite intrusive as well. What a shame, because for me, it’s not a Touche, neither at the beginning nor in the finale. The dry-down is unfortunately also not harmonious; I just want it off my skin. Sorry, Jovoy, this one is unfortunately a miss!