Clinique Monday: Happy anniversary, Happy!

Happy
Passing through a Dillard’s store the other day, I breezed by the Clinique counter. I normally don’t stop there, unless I want a spritz of Calyx. But this day, a bright, colorful display of fragrances caught my eye — not only the ubiquitous Happy orange and pink, but bottles of green and blue and yellow. It was a new batch of six scents, collectively called My Happy.

I was immediately drawn to the aqua blue bottle, called Blue Sky Neroli. You know I’m a sucker for pretty much anything neroli, orange blossom, etc. And this lovely little scent was a sweet treat on a hectic Friday afternoon. I really need to get my mitts on a sample to give it a more thorough test drive.

The other scents include: Peace & Jasmine, Lily of the Beach, Peony Picnic, Cocoa & Cashmere and Happy Splash. The Clinique Web site says they are paraben- and phthalate-free and are easy to layer. Plus, they’re fairly easy on the wallet at $22 each for a 0.5 ounce spray. (Can you say affordable gifts and stocking stuffers, come the holidays?)

Now I’ve always like the original just fine, but over the years, with all the Happy variations: In Love, Heart, Happy to Be, In Bloom, Happy Over the Moon 😉 etc., I’ve kind of gotten immune to the line. But there’s lots else to love at Clinique, between the aforementioned Calyx, the Aromatics line, and one of my all-time faves, Wrappings.

By the way, did you know the original Happy is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year? It was created by Jean-Claude Delville, who did Givenchy Indecence (yum!), several Carons, several Gres fragrances, five of the Odin scents and the original Vera Wang; and Rodrigo Flores Roux, he of the Arquiste line, several beloved Donna Karans and a few Tom Fords. Those are just a few of the highlights of these perfumers’ long histories. I enjoyed going back through their work and seeing all the cool scents they have been associated with throughout their careers.

Anyhoo, what about you? What’s your fave Clinique scent? Have any of you seen or tried these new babies? Or are you a fan of one of the older ones?

  • Brigitte says:

    I have worn and loved many Cliniques (does anyone remember Clinque’s Simply? it was supposed to smell like a new born baby and have a milky quality to it. I am looking forward to testing these new offerings and I love that they come in small bottles for a reasonable price (wish Jo Malone would follow suit with same size and same price!!!)

  • Eldarwen22 says:

    I wore Happy in high school as did many of my classmates. Then I owned a bottle of Happy Heart which turned quickly. I have a spray mini of Happy and I think I will break that out sometime soon.

  • Tatiana says:

    Love Aromatics Elixir. Just the original one. I blind bought a bottle of the Perfumer’s Reserve thinking I would love it just as much. Nope, still trying to find a place to sell that bottle. Don’t like the other AE flankers much either.
    Really love Calyx too.

  • Musette says:

    AE is migraine-inducing for me, alas (I call it Aromatic of Doom) but I love Happy! I always wanted to sneer at it because I thought it was mainstream and I thought mainstream was sneer-worthy and I was a fool! But it’s charming and delightful and I got over myself. Have not tested any of the flankers because I never got that far. And I don’t think I’ve ever smelled Wrappings! How weird is that?

    Clinique (as will most Lauder perfume offerings) has some lovely mainstream-ish stuff. Pretty groundbreaking, too! White Linen brought that notion to the forefront in a lovely way (though it, too, gives me a headache) and Private Collection is still, imo, one of the loveliest perfumes ever created!

    And you know Calyx is mah JAM! 😉

    xoxoxoA

  • MMKinPA says:

    I really need to sniff AE again – I remember my mom having a little gift with purchase bottle and thinking it was horrible (but I was a kid, what did I know of perfume??). I do have a set minis of Happy and some of the flankers somewhere that I got years ago, no idea if they still smell ok.

  • Neva says:

    Wrappings rules! It’s my favourite perfume of all times and kind of a signature scent ever since my college days. It lost a bit of its depth in the newer versions but it is still very special and recognizable.
    I went through a bottle of Happy a long time ago and it was really lovely but I’ve never tried the flankers.

  • Cyndi says:

    Have loved Aromatics Elixir since it first came out in the seventies. I currently have a bottle – love it especially in the fall and winter.

  • Jennifer S says:

    Getting on the AE bandwagon as well! Not familiar with the Happy line but need to try the Wrappings at some point.

  • Julie Kirgo says:

    Exactly!^^^ Aromatics Elixir is sensational!

  • rprichpot says:

    I love me some Aromatics Elixir!