Musk redux

Okay, my Posse Peeps – I’mma fake my way through this timeline because I really do NOT have a sense of time (ask me what years I got married/moved/divorced/moved/worked at X – I dares ya!)

So… let’s harken back to the late 70s – I was part of a crew of young goobers, working at the vaunted Marshall Field & Company (the name hadn’t yet been changed) and… (this is where it gets.. muddled.. in my poor sieve-brain) I ‘think’ one of our ‘clients’ was Jovan.  I say ‘think’ because, to be honest, I wasn’t that much into beauty and perfume yet (though I wore both – a lot ) – I was much more into home goods – just ask me about Wedgwood’s Colonnade Black … or the first Cuisinart..

But several of my cohort wrote the copy for Jovan which (again, with the memory) was headquartered in Chicago… we used to call it ‘JoMAMAvan’ because we were just sooo cute.  I remember (and still have a cuticle oil !!!! – I throw out NOTHING! –   when Jovan did nail products!  Everything was touched with orange (maybe their signature color?) – and everyone Not Me was wearing Jovan Musk.

Now… I only remember that because last Saturday I was trolling our local Goodwill and, right before checkout, noticed a bunch of perfumes in the display case.  There was an appalling Avon, called ‘Clint’ – several minis of that (the charming SA… omg!  the face he made when he cracked open one of those minis!!) – I’m probably showing my savagery here but… yikes!   It could be that the minis – being minis – simply succumbed to the vagaries of Time.  Dunno.

.. and.. bombarded by all the ‘Clint’ (there must’ve been 6-8 of those minis) I nearly missed the gem:  a vintage* bottle of Jovan Musk (for Men) – for $1.99 – BEFORE the Senior Discount!  Pouncing on it, the SA and I both sprayed and sniffed – and were delighted by it (of course, he wasn’t even a twinkle in his daddy’s eye in 1973, the year this was released – but he still ‘gets it’, bless his hort.  I, however, was immediately transported back to the Jurassic Era, aka, Disco!).  Now, back in the 70s, at least in my world, women and men didn’t wear gender-fluid scents and most masculines were more in the piney-woods/bayberry camp  (remember Polo?  1978 – I’ll bet you could smell it on the MOON! but now I’m wondering if it was just the rabid overapplication, rather than the cologne itself.  I will probably never know, as I still have Scent PTSD from the sillage – every dance club choking the life out of me with that scent) –  it wasn’t until Grey Flannel (1975 by Geoffrey Beene) came onto my scene that I found a men’s cologne that I both appreciated on men – and on myself.   Looking at the notes list on Fragrantica I can definitely see why.   It’s a cornucopia of a whole LOTTA lotta of Stuff I Like, with an herbal base and some roses and woody notes thrown in – it’s definitely a scent of its era.  And the Jovan for Men that I scored, while not having the persack same notes (nor not nearly as many), shares a lot of the same scent profile as Grey Flannel – and it’s definitely representative of the era, as well.  I’ve been wearing the JfM for the bulk of this week, in cool weather and hot, atop a host of slightly scented creams as well as unscented (honey.  you will NEVER find my skin un-creamed)… no matter what, it ends up drying down to a really seductive skin-scent, like when you come across a really attractive man, sleeves rolled up, with sunkissed skin that has  just a bit of a sheen, but his shirt still has a hint of not overwhelming fabric softener  (Lordt.  I really am a ravening beast. …  obviously;-).  But it’s also working on me – not only am I enjoying it, I’ve gotten at least 3 compliments – not “I like your perfume” – rather ‘wow.  you smell great!‘.  (insert shrug emoji).

jovan and the disco yoga pants!

However – for a scent that is called ‘Musk’ – it’s not really ‘musky’.  And the musk in the list of notes doesn’t come in until the bottom of the base.  But maybe that’s the point -it’s not supposed to smell like musk ??? – maybe it’s supposed to evoke the primal feeling you get when smelling something good, clean and skin-scenty ?  I feel like this one is one that very closely amplifies ones natural musks – if that’s even possible?  This is a bit of uncharted territory for me, as I am Quing of BWFs and their ilk and haven’t really explored the musky perfumes all that much.  I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.  Let me know if you’ve tried this, what you think of it,  your favorite musks/skin scents, etc etc… Surrender to Chance has several iterations and I’ll pull a winner and send out some Jovan Musk goodies for you to try.

I’m calling it ‘vintage’ because it looks old and smells like it did back in the late 70s – there is a way to batch-code this but! Jovan reuses their codes every 14 years, so it could be 14 years old or 28 years or 114 years.  Who knows?  I do know that it smells GREAT!

  • Mals86 says:

    I’m iffy on musks, myself. Never know what I’m going to get.
    That Smell Bent thing that Tom said smelled like “clean baby” was straight-up locker room on me, all sweat and hairy armpits. I liked Musc Ravageur — not enough to buy it, but I liked it. No.5 L’eau was hideous laundry detergent IMO. My mom used to wear Jovan Musk for Women as her “everyday” scent (No. 5 parfum for church and her rare date nights with Dad), so JMfW is very comforting to me and yet I’d never wear it.
    [shrug]
    But the idea of simply smelling nice without smelling perfumey continues to appeal.

  • Brigitte says:

    I love all musks (including Dame’s) but I grew up on the drugstore classics (Jovan, Laura Ashley, Coty) so those will always hold a special place in my heart.

    • Musette says:

      My mother was Queen of Coty, so I grew up on those as well – and I continue to love and wear them to this day. I’ll holla about my Coty Loves in a post, sometime.

  • Amber says:

    I am a musk animal, lol! I love all the musks soooo much! I have all the vintage cheapies and then some. My favorite vintage is Alyssa Ashley Musk oil, most likely because my mom wore and it was my first experience of wearing perfume. I used to sneak a bit of it whenever I got the chance. I like my musks more animal than clean.

    • Musette says:

      So many of us got our first perfume hits from our mother’s dressing table! Musks were not on my mother’s radar – she was more aldehydes (Norrell, which smelled stunning on her – but smelled like I’d been on a bender and ended up in a urine-soaked alley on me – alas)

  • rosarita says:

    I did a project I called The Summer of Musk ages ago where I sampled every straight musk I could find. I’m with Kathleen as being a fan of Dame’s New Musk; Kiehls and Coty Wild Musk, both clear winners. Also love some white musk, Clair de Musc is the gold standard. I don’t recall Jovan for men but a lady I used to work with wore Jovan White Musk as her signature and she always smelled great.

  • March says:

    Ooooh! A musk sounds like just the ticket today. Maybe some SL Clair de Musc or some NR… yeah I never wanted “just” musk back in the day, but I’m totally with you on the “you smell great” thing. And yes, I figure every scent I put on is combined with the smell of Ye Olde Hawaiian Tropic and some Yadain 😀

  • alityke says:

    Musk can be headache inducing for me. NR, Kiehl’s, Jovan White Musk & others all do it.
    I did reviews of the Marlous. Poudrextase is stunning! All inner thigh & pale pink, silk French knickers.
    MKK was roses & sheepskin. Musc Rav is spices rather than musk to my nose & better for it. The surprise is that I adore SJP Lovely, totally musky!

  • cinnamon says:

    I’m sure I tried this a lifetime ago. Absolutely no memory. Will have a look next time I’m in town.

    By the by, home 2 and a bit days and testing positive for Covid. Deeply annoyed.

  • Tom says:

    I don’t think I’ve smelled this, although I don’t see how I could have avoided it..

    I do remember the artificial”men’s versus women’s” scent thing. Chanel Cristalle was a huge deal then but my parents absolutely forbad me from wearing it. You’d think I wanted to wear a fair isle sweater and Lilly Pulitzer capri pants.

  • Kathleen says:

    Such a great find! I’ve never sniffed Jovan Musk. Best compliment when someone tells you that you smell good. The current musk I’m loving is by Jeffrey Dame New Musk Perfume Oil, powdery, white floral and musky. Funny you mention Polo, I did and still do love the scent! A friend still wears it and he always smells amazing.

  • Maggiecat says:

    I love musks, preferring them soft and relatively clean, but not screechy. I have the NR edt, Ellis Brooklyn Myth, SJP Lovely and probably a whole lot more I can’t think of right now. I don’t recall wearing the Jovan but its possible. I’m glad you found a treasure!

  • Maya says:

    I remember Jovan Musk, but at the time it did not interest me very much. Perfumes that are heavy with white musks sometimes give me headaches. I do love vintage Bal a Versailles and Musc Ravageur – a lot. They are wonderful perfumes!
    I think the wow. you smell great compliment is the best.

  • Pam says:

    Oh yes! Bal a Versailles! Kiehl’s! I must dig them out, haven’t sniffed them in forever. And I do remember with fondness the Jovan.

  • Dina C. says:

    After doing a note search on “musk” it looks like my collection is mostly scents with either clean musk, or just a bit of musk blended into a floral. I’ve got 3 Narcisco Rodriguez scents with his blend of musk: the original edt in the black bottle, the white cube, and Fleur in the hot pink bottle. Of course I remember seeing Jovan products in the drug store, but I never bought any. My drugstore favorite scents were Revlon Jontue, Coty Emeraude, and Skinny Dip.

  • Portia says:

    Heya Musette,
    The Jovan Musk smells a lot like that Balmain Ambre Gris on me. They both have this weird metallic bite that is both interesting and a little repellent, for me anyway.
    I love Kiehl’s, MKK, Musk Ravageur, Ferragamo Gold Musk and still have a bottle of Courtesan (which also has that weird metallic tinge, but in a lower concentration).
    Recently I bought a new one that really floats my boat. Cristian Cavagna Murice Imperiale, it’s a salty tuberose that heads musk. I think you might just love it Musette.
    Portia xx

  • Eldarwen22 says:

    I do love Kiehl’s Musk blend no 1. It’s a slutty musk but can be worn out if the house plus it’s cheap as chips in terms of perfume math. My vintage musky loves are Bal a Versailles and Tigress Musk. MKK is a tough one for me. I love how it smells in my decant but it’s a little too much for me on skin. Yes, I like my Musk perfumes slutty and don’t have any polite musk in my collection.