Ginseng

Jovan Ginseng came out in 1975. This is a review of the women's version. Although this page is supposed to be for the men's version, the pic of the bottle on this page is the women's perfume from the 70s. The men's version was always a square bottle. I fell in love with original Jovan Ginseng for women when I managed to acquire a vintage Jovan sample set a while back on Ebay. The set had vials of all the old, long-gone Jovan fragrances from the 1970s, and Ginseng was the stand-out. It's very intriguing and lovely. Although Jovan marketed Ginseng as an oriental, my 1984 H&R Guide correctly identifies it as a sweet lily-based floral. For reference, other vintage perfumes that were in this group were Estee Super, Moon Drops by Revlon, Babe by Faberge, Yendi, Miss Worth, etc. It also reminds me a bit of Ivoire de Balmain. Ginseng is centered around lily, but it has a sharp 'green' component that is unique -- I'm guessing it's that sharpness that's supposed to represent the ginseng. It has a sweetness from the lily and amber, and of course there is musk, and there is also a whack of frankincense in the base, which gives it an unusual quality. This is a very unique scent. ETA: The drydown of Ginseng by Jovan is quite similar to Lady Stetson IMO.

Take a bale of sun-warmed hay, laden with freshly watered mums. Put that scent in a bottle. Does this appeal to you? This is why I pine for vintage Jovans. You loved them or didn't, but they said something in a distinct voice without irony, fuss or apology.