Happy (1997)
by Clinique

I like it a lot. I wore it on my wedding day, (it was brand new back then, so no one was sick of it yet). Happy is energetic, sparkling, fresh, and pleasant. Often I find myself complimenting others on their fragrance, which I find out is Happy. It smells quite different on others. My skin brings out the wood notes, but I smell the citrus notes on lots of other wearers. As long as it's not overapplied, Happy is perfect for any environment.

Wow! This is some strong stuff! It smells fun and sparkly in the bottle, hence the name Happy. I get it, until I put it on! Whew! It stinks of cheap and sharp chemicals! Too brash and way too strong! This isn't shy at all! In fact, it's loud and in your face. It screams, "Notice me!" And we all do, believe me, we do! It's also sour smelling at the end and so, I just was not happy at all. Not at all.

I loved this when it was first launched, but now can take it or leave it. Yes it is very frivolous and flirty, but seems slightly shallow to me. No depth whatsoever, maybe because there are sooo many notes piled into one bottle, I feel it somehow lost its way. I wear this only occasionally but do not really enjoy the experience. Will not repurchase.

So i won’t care that it’s for women, i won’t care about wether this is marketed for “young” people, if it makes me that happy as the name implies it just cannot be that bad. And thankfully, it’s not bad at all.
The thing that I like about happy is that despite the strange naming on the notes, you can get and smell all of them in a orderly fashion, the bergamot and other citrus-infused fresh top, the smoother, flowery midnotes, and the more interesting heavy flowers in the basenotes, wich seem to forget about the woods and musks, but were not maketed in here I guess not to scare off some women that might be afraid to get some dark, woody, masculine base. Of course, with happy that’s not the case, as the base is more about fruity-florals but the good kind, the kind that is more about pleasure and comfort than the kind that says: I’m tired of all the fruits and flowers , we’ve had enough, you and I need our separate ways, I need to wash up.
It has a perfectly neat sillage that’s femenine enough but so light sometimes that it seems that the winds will take it away soon if you don’t pay attention. In general, I don’t think it’s a very unusual fragrance, or that it will be forever revered in the “Fragrance Olympus” of classic scents, but it’s just very attractive.
The longevity here is the worst part of all. Thank to the Clinique powers-that-be, that issue was resolved (in what a way!) when Happy Holiday (wich is an intense verison of the regular Happy) was released. If you can’t manage to get the amazing, creamy-dreamy-sensual-but still fresh Happy Holiday, just keep spraying some more Happy. That way, you’re happy,I’m happy and we’re all happy.

Happy for women is a better structured fragrance than Happy for men. It opens with a burst of citrus notes - grapefruit is the most noticeable, and some bergamot can be detected too. The opening is bright, fresh, and quite enjoyable. The heart and basenotes are basically well blended flower notes. Theres no musk or sandalwood to be found here - this is an all out fruity-floral to put you in a good mood. Neither the fruits nor the flowers dominate the proceedings - the notes are well balanced.

Happy for women is a decent fruity floral which is quite appropriate for all seasons and occasions - its not terribly complex, and lacks the wow factor of something like Spring Flower, but it will put you in a good mood and perhaps even make you smile!

I avoided this fragrance at all costs when it was first introduced, only because everyone else was wearing it and I want to be unique. It wasn't until a few years later that I was at a co-workers house that I finally spritzed some on myself and fell in love...For a minute! Its very nice, but a little too fruity for me.