Coty Jovan Musk for Women

In its current iteration, Jovan Musk is a bland, dilute, soapy musk that brings to mind hairspray or baby shampoo. It's squeaky-clean and not the least bit animalic. Pleasant and inoffensive, timeless but really nothing to celebrate. Good luck even smelling it on yourself an hour later.

The Jovan Musk of the '70s and '80s had a lot more going for it: those soapy aldehydes gave way to an woodsy, earthy warmth, exactly like the scent of warm skin in gently rumpled bedsheets. I would swear there's a touch of patchouli in the drydown. It's glorious, and a much darker color than the current juice. You can still find cheap vintage Jovan Musk on eBay [be sure the product isn't manufactured by Coty, but directly by Jovan of Chicago, IL).

But, if you're enough of a musk lover to track down vintage Jovan, you may as well get Jovan Musk Evening Edition, the best version of all IMO. eBay usually has several full bottles of this, and while it's not cheap, it's so worth it. Evening Edition was put out in the mid-to-late '80s, and while its foundation is recognizably Jovan Musk, it got what was apparently the standard '80s treatment: for fragrances: an added glug of of high-quality ylang-ylang and sandalwood, grounding the scent with a lasting woodsy base and bringing the feel from soapy-clean to sultry. It's not dirty in any way, but it's marvelous stuff: classy and elegant, yet melds with skin. People will think those warm rounded spices just come from your pores. Good, good stuff.

I remember smelling my moms bottle of this in the late 70's and early 80's and I just loved it! I am a musk lover so they have always appealed to me. Jovan being my 1st fav and the older Keihls musk secondary. Today no musk I find is as good as Jovan there's just something about it that brings me to a good place. I own the cologne spray, concentrate, and oil and I do love the oil the best as it doesn't have the alcohol. But I still love my sprays! No, today's version isn't as musky as the 70's I totally agree with that. But it's still an amazing scent regardless.

I love it in cold rainy days, and cold weather like this. It's so cozy and warm. My boyfriend loves it and I get many compliments as well. Most know Jovan because this was so big back in the day. Now that I'm older I can really appreciate it and love the good memories it evokes. Plus it's a compliment magnet people seem to like musks on me or they like me. Either way I'm glad because this is a classic and will always be in my collection. It's one that I think works great with my body chemistry and it's so good it's still around.

EDIT 12/01/2015: this sat on my headboard bed shelf forever & recently I shopped my stash & found this GEM! I also found a bottle of Bonne Bell Skin Musk, 3 mini loves baby soft & loves rainforest so fricken lucky coz I love all of these perfumes & age doesn't affect it much except the loves baby soft 1 bottle I may toss but what can i say but with age Jovan Musk turned into a lovely powdery soft fragrance that doesn't scream in your face (it only takes a tiny bit barely 2 teeny always (1 neck 1 wrist tap not rub together coz rubbing makes perfumes disapate faster I read online so be patient!). I was shocked to say the least I was gonna toss this w/o even sniffing it coz I had not liked it initially. I'm changing my rating! I'm going to buy a small bottle for my purse & the Jovan oil coz musks are at their best when they are oils. I'm hoping my next bottle won't have to "age" this long but I'm prepared to set it on the shelf for awhile lol this stuff is so good coz it's so fun unique n it's fun coz it's unexpected all I ever sniff on girls as I get wafts of perfume proceeding girls at the mall is VS Love Spell or Vanilla Body Fantasy lol those are both really awesome but remember when ev1 wore bath&bodyworks cucumber melon/warm vanilla sugar? I don't remember when Jovan was the rage but I'm sure it WAS but not now so it makes it unexpected & fresh. This is an animalistic musk to my unrefined nose slightly powdery w the obvious musk note & a little white floral just a tiny bit. Somehow it works wow I'm so impressed!! This stuff lasts forever since I've rediscovered this a couple of weeks ago I've barely made a dent in my tiny bottle. I like my perfumes to proceed me a bit (not protected by an entire bubble of fragrance just don't like it to be kept super close to the body since I don't go in for the hug ever so what's the point in that.). Jovan Musk can proceed you with a heavy application or a small 1 spritze on your décolletage will keep it close. Silage is nil on me, this doesn't change & the dry down lasts forever & to me is virtually not different than the initial spray except it heats up w my body heat some making it animalistic but I can catch whiffs of myself thru the day, esp if sprayed on a jacket. The powderiness of this is my fave thing & how it warms up and morphed into a personal scent. It may be a $3.99 POS to some but not all DS smell gross or like my grandma if she hadn't took a bath in 3 days. This doesn't smell "expensive" (Chanel chance & Dior jadore smell like lighting a $100 bill on fire haha no not really), but if u want a really pretty every day fragrance that won't smell the same on everybody else & isn't in vogue like bath&bodyworks or Victoria's Secret. u need this! And if u don't like it ur only out $4 but don't toss it. Set it up away somewhere & forget about it for a year and come back to it u will, as I was, be pleasantly surprised. Just buy the oil or small bottles don't go for that big spray w the orange cap tempting I know (good value! Lifetime supply!!), but somehow the formula for the big bottles seems different I know it's not sup to be but it is *shrugs* dunno why Yanno but is. So as long as u get the smallest bottle or oil u will be okay. Too bad I can't get Gee Your Hair Smells Terrific shampoo to pair with this. It's a blast from the past out of my 1970s wak waka bom bom playbook. If you are looking for boy bait (cougar bait in my case!), look no further. This is a mature sex appeal scent (hey Jovan has that too! Go Coty!!), I think it should be reserved for the mature crowd 25 n over this does not smell matronly but it's so carnal that it'd be out of place on a high school/college girl imo but that's my opinion that I'm the right age group to wear this! Pushing 40? Yeah you're a perfect candidate. To sum it up I love this perfume now that it has some age & I am learning to acquire the musk taste coz I broke down & bought a medium sized bottle of Body Fantasy Fresh White Musk l swore I'd not do that but these were generous bottles for $2.99 I not seen these shape/size/packaging at any other store & can't beat price. So there ya have it not quite in a nut shell. I love Jovan Musk!!!

original review:
I soooo wanted to like this!! It was only US$4.99 + tax. I looooved Bonne Bell Skin Musk & Body Fantasy White Musk is pretty decent but not my fave (prefer BB Skin Musk over it by far however I mean BB skin musk is 1 of my favest DS perfumes ever esp the oil!!!). Anyways I digress. I guess I don't have a true sense of appreciation for musks how ever much I wanted to like them!! I am starting to think musks are an acquired taste so I might going to keep on wearing my Jovan until it's used up but won't repurchase. UNLESS I start getting compliments on it lol as I haven't worn it out & about. To me it's a headache inducing nauseating mess. Just let me stick to my BB Skin Musk instead! <3 I get a sore throat when I spray this so I am glad it's prob the smallest bottle they make! ;/
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tl;dr finding something that was lost in shopping your stash is exhilarating! I <3 Jovan Musk!!

My husband bought me this for my birthday last year...it was always my "signature scent" -- soft, clean and feminine -- when I was younger. It surprised me that even an hour later I couldn't smell it at all--neither could hubby. In researching I found that Coty had taken over this particular brand and suddenly it all made sense.

To be sure, I bought a bottle of vintage Jovan Musk for Women on eBay...one that was manufactured long before Coty took it over. It just arrived today and oh, it just transported me back many many years. And three hours later that wonderful, but not overpowering scent is still there! And I feel really pretty when wearing it.

When will Coty stop messing with the really successful formulas -- watering them down and zapping their staying power? (Same thing happened with the Philosophy line as well.)

As for if I would buy it again? Yes, but only from those who are selling the ORIGINAL formula on eBay.

I just went to Rite Aid at lunch and bought the only two Jovan Musk Oils they had -- 1/3 oz bottles, with little stick dabbers in them -- $14.50 each. I then drove to the mall, sat in the car and opened one -- dabbed it on -- and entered Books A Million.

Then the lady manager, who was walking right behind me, enthusiastically & rather loudly exclaimed, "Ohhh, I LOOOOVE your perfume! What is it?"

I told her Jovan Musk Oil, and I pulled it from my purse and showed it to her. She knew it, nodded, and said she's always loved Jovan.

I'm a musk fiend -- always have been, ever since that very first magical drugstore find in my college years in Ann Arbor. That very first find was soooo sensuous (can't remember brand), but they're just not making them like that any more. Even the ones from the 70's that are still in production (Jovan original & Bonne Bell, for 2 examples) don't smell as good as they did back then -- they've mostly been bought out by other companies & reformulated. Plus the laws have changed in regard to the usage of natural musk.

I love not only straight-up musks, but also complex designer scents that contain a lot of musk. Nothing turns my head in public like a warm sensuous musky scent, either on a man or a woman -- mmmmm! I have memories of specific fabulous whiffs I've gotten in public from people I couldn't chase down and ask what they were wearing -- but their overall scent was warm & musky & very sensuous. For me, this beats florals or fruits any time, but especially in Fall/Winter and cool temperatures.

I have many musks in SPRAY form (Narciso Rodriguez for Her EDP & EDT, SJP Lovely, Jovan Musk, Jovan White Musk, Kiehl's Original Musk EDT, Coty Wild Musk, Fresh Musk Fantasy, Bonne Bell Skin, Tova, & more) ...

... plus many musks in OIL form (Coty Wild, Kiehl's Original Musk oil, Cabot, several Nemats, Earth by Vinci-Rakos, CO Bigelow, Body Time Egyptian & China Musk & Civet Musk, Auric Blends Egyptian & African & Love, Kuumba Made Egyptian, Oriental, & Arabian, The Body Shop's White & Japanese Musks, Alyssa Ashley, Dragonfly Blue Nile Musk, Bourbon French Musk, Bonne Bell Skin oil, and more).

I generally much prefer my musks in oil form -- they're just richer, smoother, and smell better without the alcohol carrier, to me.

From today's musk offerings (none of which is as good as musks were in the 70's, in my humble opinion), Jovan Musk Oil continues to be one of my favorites. It's golden warm, light, natural, & not animalic -- very nice.

I also have 2 bottles of fairly recent purchases of Jovan Musk for Women in spray form, but it's not nearly as concentrated and sensuous as when it first came out in the 70's. My sister used to wear the original spray back around 1975, and when she would walk past me on her way out for a date, she used to smell *incredible* in that spray -- just awesome! It's not like that any more, unfortunately -- they've weakened it considerably. Spray is still okay, but in today's weaker, sharper, and not as sensuous formula, I prefer oil form.

Jovan Musk Oil came out in 1973, and here are the notes, per parfumo.net:

Top Notes: Bergamot, Peach, Star anise
Heart Notes: Cocoa butter, Lavender, Ylang-ylang
Base Notes: Musk, Patchouli, Vanilla, Vetiver

One lippie off for the disappointment of not being as good as it used to be and not lasting like it used to. I'm always on the lookout for an outstanding musk that recaptures the richness and sensuousness of those 70's musks -- which now exist only in my memory.

On me this is a clean musk - fresh, powdery with a hint of florals. Very simple, feminine and kind of sexy. Great to wear on it's own or for layering with other fragrances. Love this classic, affordable scent - a must have in my collection.

I haven't reviewed this fragrance and since I've been wearing it again lately and getting lots of compliments I thought it was time.

I've been wearing/smelling Jovan Musk for Women for over 30 years. I just bought a new bottle of the cologne concentrate today. I only have been using the spray cologne version again in the past couple of years.
My favorite is the oil perfume which I have never been without over the years. I am so glad that the oil is still available on store shelves.
Jovan Musk is a floral musk according to others I think it really warms up on the skin and it does last all day. Other people will still smell it on you (you'll smell warm and cuddle-worthy) after a long day and no re-application.

I think I've gained a new respect for the cologne spray. It dries down to a clean pretty scent.
I have tried any and every musk I can get my hands on. Keihl's isn't "me" too hairspray and sharp on my skin. I've always loved Skin Musk and own the oil, body spray and cologne. Coty's Wild Musk is a must have especially in cooler months. LV Musk is my favorite higher end musk with a rose-floral smell. I try cheapies and expensive ones all kinds because I love musk. Jovan White Musk is right up there as a favorite too. I wear it quite a bit.

I have a friend back home who always smelled so good. She's a beautiful classy lady who dresses immaculately and is very polished and professional yet super fun to be around. Once when I complimented her scent and asked her what it was she told me Jovan Musk. I thought I knew the scent pretty well but wow it was spectacular on her! That moment established this perfume as pure class in my mind.

I get to a point playing in my fragrance collection that a simple beautiful clean musk is my nose's re-boot. Plain ole square bottle with orange cap...won't ever call it the u word because the juice is beautiful. It's like the plain Jane girl with glasses who "get's all cleaned up" for the party with hair and make-up and leaves all the boys in awe. Jovan Original Musk for women is and will always be one of my top choices for gorgeous timeless simplicity.

sorry guys but just don't see how this is sexy. Perhaps the formula has been changed since its creation and is letting it down. On me it just smells like Johnsons no more tears baby shampoo - wet and soapy but not even powdery soapy. Clean but thats it. The white musk is better but still rather weak. Would like to smell the original oil formulations!

I bought this as a child in the 70s and my mum liked it so much she bought some too. Since then my memories of my wearing if it and it evoking memories of my mum and the loving childhood she gave me are completely intertwined. This fragrance to me brings out deep memories of being about to grow up and all the excitement that came with that mixed with memories of snuggling up to my mum or reaching for her hand for reassurance in those times when I was happy to admit I was still a little girl. I still love to wear this now for all those reasons and more. It is soft, warm, comforting and sexy. How can one fragrance be so disarming and yet so erotically sensual? I don't know...but as this bargain price it should be in everyone's fragrance wardrobes. It will always be my favourite musk.

I have both the spray and the oil and I definitely like the spray better. I thought I would like the oil better as I love the body shop white musk oil, but Jovan's oil is much weaker and doesn't have hardly any staying power. The spray on the other hand, sticks around fine if I use an ample amount, which I have no problem doing since it's dirt cheap.


I bumped this up a lippie. Since I've started wearing this again I've gotten more compliments on this fragrance than any of my high end designer perfumes. Sad, I know. I've also decided that, yes, I do have to douse myself in this to really detect it, that it does have decent staying power afterall. I used to think it faded completely after a couple hours, but since I started wearing it again I've noticed its scent on my dirty laundry at the end of the week. So I've decided it does stick around for quite a while, at least on clothing. I think the issue is that many musks kind of blend with skin after a while making them hard to detect by the wearer, but you still smell good to other people!