Jovan Woman
Jōvan (1977)

I picked up Jovan Woman for twelve buck-a-rooos as practically an afterthought a number of years ago, at the already ailing KMart—for reference, of course, setting it aside for some time because towards Jovan at the time was ambivalent at best (man, has that changed). When I finally gave it the proper attention, I was shocked at how impressive Woman really is (now I have the John Lennon tune in my head (Oooooooooh, well, well...doo, doo, doo, doo, doo...).

It's a fierce unisex-for-today 70s style chypre, equal parts green, spicy, amber, and...woody, obviously. Imagine the rose coriander haze of Jean Couturier Coriandre, the "take no prisoners" punch of Paloma Picasso, and floral-aldehydic-mossy twill of Miss Dior, and you could approximate Woman. Sadly, I recently discovered that this is no longer showing up in discount department stores and prices online are rather steep. I apologize in advance for any FOMO. I stress that this one is not essential, but it's still sensational, so if you do find it on the cheap, don't hesitate to snatch it up.

Spoiler alert: Coriander here renders this otherwise sensual, interesting, spicy 70's beauty unwearable for me.

If you can wear and enjoy coriander, though, I would recommend it highly. Put it on and bellydance-- it's just that hot.

Definitely a chypre to my nose, neither a woody floral, nor an oriental.

This is spicy, warm, animalic, but with a fruity floral overlay that never lets it get too serious about its base notes.

Jovan succeeded brilliantly this time, one of their very best scent creations.

Top notes: Bergamot, Geranium
Heart notes: Rose, Jasmine, Ylang, Orris, Carnation
Base notes: Patchouli, Oakmoss, Vetiver, Musk

Beware the re-formulation. Look for it on Ebay in the vintage bottle - curved black top, glass straight on one side, curved in on the other.

Well worth seeking out - and so inexpensive.

Searching : Woman by Jovan The title says it all. Its the perfume of all times but just not easy available. When you do find a site that does sell it, they dont ship it directly to South Africa. Some reviews says "I found it at the local store" but neglect to mention the store name or to provide a link so that others sharing the same quality The best is that some poplular sites such as Ebay and Amazon ships almost eveything to South Africa, note I said 'almost' ... but they dont ship that spesific perfume Woman by Jovan to South Africa So, the question is, who cares that much to share that vital information of which stores does have it?Pros: The best of all timesCons: I Can't find the stores that are selling it and ship it to South Africa"

Yes, a woody floral. Nothing sweet or powdery here. Very affordable ($14.00!!!)Definitely feels like a 70's fragrance, which I happen to love. I'm careful not to overspray, and in fact I tend to spray around my legs and let the fragrance waft up as I walk, leaving a softly fragranced path. I wish I had discovered this one sooner.

If you want to get technical, Jovan Woman is an oriental (it's listed as such in my old H&R guide)...but the scent definitely has the spirit of chypre ALL over it, even if technically it does not fit into that most precisely defined of fragrance categories (i.e. chypre = bergamot + labdanum + oakmoss). This is a very unique scent and very pretty. Sometimes when I wear it I get an initial blast of vintage hairspray, but over the course of half an hour or so, it settles into a beguiling and distinctive warm, soapy, rosy/geranium-y, spicy/woody scent of woman. It is a complex and bewitching scent, sexy & womanly, and it smells unlike anything else out there. This drugstore beauty is one that I always have on hand.