Ginseng NRG

Love this one as it takes a lot of qualities I like from a few of my favorite fragrances !! Those fragrances being Azzaro Chrome,Kiton Men, and Prada Luna Rossa!! To describe this scent it opens up slightly citrusy, slightly herbal from the tea and with some lightly sweet musk giving this a fresh,sporty,soapy vibe that’s also strangely enough kind of professional smelling as well !!! This could be a signature scent for sure as it could be a great casual scent but also it’s classy enough for formal occasions as well. Ginseng N-R-G also is fairly linear but as it dries down it becomes less herbal and more musky and semi sweet. This doesn’t smell like a niche fragrance but it does smell like a very nice designer fragrance and was very shocked on the quality of the smell concidering the price! Doesn’t smell cheap at all as on my skin it’s very smooth... Performance on this is pretty decent as well !! It’s never a big projector but does leave a nice scent trail and scent bubble for those close you. With all the Jovan Scents I’ve over the years received compliments with all of them but this is the best in receiving positive attention (with Black Musk being a close second) Overall rating -8 out of 10 !! One of the best overall scents in my collection but the price makes this soooo much better

I bought this juice mainly to use a coupon (yet 30ml/$13 is not cheap anyway). And I'd read that it's special and clean and so forth. The scent, well... I don't know whether there is ginseng in it, but I can recognize that slightly medicinal and mildly woody sweet aroma resembling real ginseng that Asian people may drink. It's a light combination of several soft notes that gives off tender vibes. I can't decern what notes they exactly are. Some comments mention that it's both warm and cool, and I agree, or rather, I'd say it sits outside of this semantic scale of warm to cool, or the scale between masculine and feminine. It's just too special. It's a gem. Sadly (or gladly) I gave my only bottle away to a considerate person who I believe best exemplifies it's tenderness.

I love this stuff soooooo much. I find it beyond attractive. Nothing quite like it. It’s warm and spicy and cool and clean all at the same time. A smooth sweet liquid light tea peppered by geranium, ginger and wood. There’s an aquatic note here that’s beautiful. There is a powdery makeup note in the early dry down that I am not a fan of but it settles as an under-layer that I am willing to accept. (I’m thinking colder weather might bring that out to the forefront more) A sexy neck sniffer that’s dirty and clean at the same time~ And for $9?! Yes, please. Thank you.

I loved this fragrance for years! Super affordable, extremely light and fresh, huge compliment getter and I found I could wear it in both summer and winter-- during cooler periods the freshness really smells like a nice citrusy garden and during the heat brings some musk to back it up, but nothing overwhelming. This is a great affordable sleeper scent. Unfortunately, it appears to be completely gone from old stock. However, I've found Jaguar Excellence to be a strong contender for a replacement. If you're a Jovan Ginseng NRG fan like me, try Jaguar Excellence.

Fresh fresh and CLEAN. I got this for my husband. I sampled it a long time ago and thought OMG this is perfect! I never heard or saw it again until a couple weeks ago and decided to get it. I think it's second best to Abercrombie & Fitch Fierce. These are my all time 2 favorites so far, and anything that Nautica does seems to be wonderful also. Hubby isn't so crazy over this. He can take it or leave it. I would push for him to wear it more often, but it's so weak and just doesn't last. Such a shame. Lovely smell....

I love this stuff, I have never found anything that smells remotely near what the stuff smells like it’s totally unique. I’ve made it work in warmer months and in the winter. You can get a bottle on eBay for less than $10 shipped and in my book that’s a total win. I’m not sure which note separates this and makes it it’s own thing but whatever it is I would like to isolate it and maybe add it to an Aquatic fragrance now that would be amazing!

I have a pretty decent collection of fragrances from discount stores to designers to niche....this 1 has held a special place in my heart since 8th grade(1998). I like to layer this nowadays with Jimmy Choo Man. The 2 compliment each other very well. GINSENG NRG has an addicting factor about it that never goes away.

Impossibly neutral spicy notes, yet somehow pierces the air with a confident aura. All of it wrapped up in comfortable, sweet and simple powdery-ness that never offends, and always puts you into a lighter mood.

This is one of my favorite scents of all time. Very nice tea fragrance. I wish I could find a niche that smells 90% similar. If anyone knows of one let me know.

I used to have this stuff in high school and remember getting tons of compliments for it. For years I thought it was discontinued, then I randomly found it in a Fred Meyer one day and I was stoked. I bought two bottles on the spot since it seems to have become a rare find. The initial smell is very green, and I notice the signature "ginseng" note along with green tea leaves and citrus. The smell eventually morphs into a floral scent, while still keeping the signature ginger/ginseng note, and also a hint of light wood. This cologne does a great job of smelling very floral while still seeming masculine. The scent, however, is a "younger" smell, which I think would be good for high-schoolers to early/mid-30's. You probably won't find anybody older than Gen X'ers wearing this. The longevity is low-to-moderate, which you would expect from a drug store cologne. A reapplication after several hours isn't a bad idea and won't become overwhelming. Initially, I thought the projection was weak, but recently, I was complimented on my smell from someone who had to be about 6-8 feet away, so maybe it differs with the weather. Overall, this is a good cologne, and for it's price point, it really can't be beaten.

First, the superficial: Jōvan's packaging is terrible. Not the bottle - the bottle is fine (if a bit boring). The branding, however, is something I would expect to see on a generic 'our impression of...' drugstore cologne box. But don't let that stop you. What's inside is good. While sold for men, this is definitely a cologne with mostly unisex notes. It has a very sweet note to it that keeps it androgynous. The overall impression of the scent is of a glass of a bubbly ginger ale with a wedge of lemon on the rim. Citrus is present but not the main attraction. There's just a touch of earthiness in it. Ginseng NRG is a clean, modern, happy scent good for the gym or general daily wear. Bright and upbeat, it is unlikely to offend, and likely to please. The sillage is good, but the longevity could be better. Still, it is a cologne, and given that you can get it at the drugstore, I'm more than willing to say that it's worth it. Give it a try.

I completely agree with the general consensus that this is a "nice freshie with some zing." It really is that basic, yet with its own flair that is impressive - especially given the very modest price and packaging. I wore this when it was first introduced. My recent bottle took me right back to those days. The freshness and almost-metallic tartness of this tea-based concoction have been softened just a tad by something creamy like sandalwood. The listed notes don't reflect that. Other people have mentioned a reformulation, and this is the only change I can detect compared to the original. Performance is more like an EDT instead of a cologne (as usual per Jovan). Hello, old friend Ginseng N-R-G. You've barely changed. And in these times, that's "refreshing" in every sense of the word! Welcome back to my home.

Old friend indeed! This was one of the few readily available colognes I was able to afford back in my early high school years. I had completely forgotten all about this until just recently when I was walking down the fragrance section at Walmart and reunited with it once again. The smell brought me right back to 2000-2001 when I felt boundless and optimism was out the roof. Man this brings back memories!!! And it's not like it smells out of this world or anything of that sort, but it's really a unique type of smell, one that leaves an imprint on your mind. Definitely smell the musk. Almost a soapy fresh sorta vibe. It seems more of a winter type of scent since it gives this warm and cozy sort of feeling, it's hard to describe... Anyways, still smells just line when I used to wear it back in high school.

This is probably one of the best drugstore fragrances around. It really comes off much more sophisticated than the price would imply. Just a nice somewhat spicey masculine scent. The longevity and projection won't break any records, but they're not terrible either. All said, it's a leader at this price point (around $11 at rite-aid). What I'd really like to see would be for Jovan to bring back their original ginseng from the 70's. But that's another story...

This is actually a pretty good cologne. It’s pretty unusual. The beginning is really good with citrus and tea. In about two hours it totally changes and smells very much like powdered ginger, still very good. It lasts a long time but projection after a half hour is weak. It is a good spring and summer scent. I only see it in a one ounce bottle. It’s worth giving it a try.

This is a great scent with decent projection and longevity. Fresh scent, a little powdery and floral/feminine but the amber and woods add just the right amount balance to make it more unisex and multi-seasonal. The citrus doesnt stand out more than the florals. No one else so far has drawn any similarity to Prada Luna Rossa, but to my nose it is somewhat similar.

This is a nice cologne. I found a 30 ml. bottle of it at Walmart for around 10 dollars! What a steal and totally worth it! Light, but not too light, very fresh, perfect for spritzing on after a shower for a non-offensive smell that has a little "zing" to it. It's quite special for being such a cheapie. If you can find it, buy it, you won't be disappointed!

A found this lil cheapie gem yearrrrrrs ago. It's nothing to write home about but everybody should have a bottle. It's refreshing and a perfect change er' upper from your reg frags, Wear this any time of year day or night. Super clean scent. Decent longevity and projection. You wont be disappointed.

I'm not surprised this has hardly any dislikes. Just smelled it out of curiosity and it's very pleasant, not cloying, not cheap smelling. Fresh, citrus slightly sweet. Perfect for warmer days. I'll definitely buy this for my boyfriend! $16. Id k about the longevity but for that price who cares

Invigorating, casual, clean freshie. A simple green ginger smell. I wear it while doing yard work, filling the same fragrance space as Tommy for me. An easy spring/summer activity scent that stays light and clean from the first spray to the dry down. Very casual and youthful. It could fit in at a patio party or bbq in the summer heat. Mild projection and average longevity.

Fall 1998 I was a first year student at university, and Jovan had invested in a number of posters with samples of NRG around our campus' buildings. Being a student with little money and a fragrance novice to boot, I snagged some samples, which I used often and it was always greeted with "you smell so good" - for some reason I went from this to Fahrenheit and a bunch of the Calvin Klein fragrances, maybe because I thought a good fragrance had to be at a department store counter. 22 years passed, and I had completely forgotten about this fragrance. One day I had a memory of it, and started racking my brain to remember this particular fragrance. Eventually, the hologram sticker popped into my mind, followed by my memory of the name being a "90's name" (consonants put together without vowels), mixed with a "90's ingredient" (trendy at that time was herbal supplements like Ginseng). Putting it all together, I was finally reunited with this beauty. I must say that the scent to me has no change, and it still brings me back to 1998, and all of the glory of that period of my life. It's not at all that I long to be that age again, but it's occasionally nice to be reminded of and transported to the optimism, the lack of boundary in what the future holds, exploration of potential, etc. which I was experiencing at that time. So, the fragrance itself is really hard to explain. It is fresh and light, and it is kind of floral but not really - maybe it's a combination of jasmine, tonka, and musk - but they come thru at the top. The opening (or maybe the softer side of the fragrance in general) is very close to Realities for Men by Liz Claiborne. The ginger is definitely present and adds a slight "zing" as others have described. It dries down to an almost earthy base (like the breeze when walking past fresh, mineral-rich dirt), combined with a gentle and pleasant woodiness. The fragrance is definitely a sum of all parts, which is wonderful in my opinion. Longevity and silage are somewhat light, but good - and on the clothes this has very good longevity.

This still smells the way it did fifteen years ago. I've been sampling this thing for about that long, every time I pass it in a drug store or Walmart. The older version is pictured on this page - the new 1 oz bottles come in an all gray box, and the bottle's label matches. The only difference between the new stuff and the "rainbow" version of yesteryear is the citrus is toned down now, replaced by a unique herbal green tea and white musk accord. Earlier versions were a bit citrus heavy in the first minute or two, but not anymore. There's just a hint of citrus and ginger root, along with a cool "metallic" sort of note, possibly from the way dihydromyrcenol is used (it gets notably bitter as it dries down). Ginseng NRG feels more like a modern nineties "fresh" scent, related to Creed's Green Valley and Silver Mountain Water, but separated by a few degrees of musk overload. The drydown, diffuse and rather warm after the crisp gingery/herbal start, is a big white musk and soapy amber note, and that's all I get for the two hours or so that this frag is noticeable. It's definitely unique, and yeah, there's a vague analog of ginseng tucked behind the synthetic musks, but all things considered, this isn't anything to write home about. Think of it as a decent sport scent in the dead of summertime. The one thing it has going for it is that it doesn't resemble any of the myriad of Cool Water-inspired "freshies" of the last twenty five years, offering instead a sleek take on the metallic citrus theme Olivier Creed & Co. made so popular.

Some have claimed this was reformulated badly, which I think refers to 1 ounce bottles by Coty. I have a 50 ml by Coty, and I'd say this is mid 2000s or earlier. There is clearly dihydromyrcenol in this, but it's blended in nicely, and over time you get some amber to soften things up. There is citrus and perhaps ginseng, or something like it. There might be a bit of violet leaf or wood (most likely rosewood, as someone else suggested). It's not too sweet, it's not "barbershop," it's not "old school musky," etc., so many of the youngsters might like it, though I wouldn't be surprised if some of them say it's too close to Cool Water. I prefer this one to Cool Water, though, and don't see it as especially similar. For something in the same range but that is more grassy, there's Bobby Jones Cologne.

Spartan Standard Approved. Jovan Ginseng NRG.. is A Legend in it's own time...Its the Fragrance that in 15- 20 years people will look back with fond memories and say if only I had bought A few more bottle or they will say if only it was the same formula today as it was back then.....The Great thing is Now you know about this small bottle with the Big scent! It's Fresh & masculine at the same time...Best of the drugstore cheapies.. although at $10 for A 1oz bottle it's not exactly in the cheepies category.. just A good value.. I really like it.... just love the Musky dry down...It's the Scent that kids will grow up and remember how good their Father smelled..It's A must try... Masculinity 8/10 Wearability 8/10 Value 10/10 Projection 7/10 Fragrance Quality 7/10 Bottle Worthy / Yes

This drys down into a fresh and clean scent after your nose is introduced to a unique scent comparable to what you get when you accidentally spill hot tea on a leather chair - I mean this in a good way. It is strangely refreshing. After an hour it starts to turn into a unique green + leathery mix complimented by the ginseng, aquatic ginger, rosewood and musk. Projection is decent and it lasts around 4-5 hours on my skin - but it stays with you as a skin scent for around 6-7 hours. To be honest I like it more during the soft last couple hours when my skin smells softly of green tea and leather. My hat is off to Jovan who seem to be able to create nice scents for prices lower then what some fragrance houses charge for samples.

Yowzer!!! Got this the other day for under $10.00 USD and received my first rave comment from the opposite sex. Let's begin: The spray: Almost, and I do emphasize almost, like someone rubbed two steel poles together and you can smell the friction...Citrus in some capacity mitigates the metallic scent. Dry down: Whoa!!! Somewhat powdery, and somewhat floral... Nice!!! Base: Scent is there, and then again it is not... Overall: Starts with a Bang and phases out... Not too overpowering, although it does seem to last bankers hours (spray on at 9am, no trace by 5pm). Overall: Get it when you can!

Another girl review: I was in love with the 1970s version of this scent..."Jovan's Ginseng". I had a mini that I kept for over 20 years just to sniff the bottle. Then it disappeared... Tonight, I bought Zirh's "Ikon" at Marshalls, $14.99 for 4.2 ounces. To my astonishment it is very, very similar to the old Jovan Ginseng, especially in the dry down. I don't know how similar it is to Ginseng NRG, but if you miss the original version, I would suggest trying Ikon.

Very refreshing citrus based cologne, with a nice nod to ginger in the opening. I would have no hesitation in 'promoting' this to any male of my aquaintance. Dare I mention that the bottle is adorable? :D The only objection one could possibly have to this likable little cologne is lasting power. Since it's clearly labeled AS cologne, I take no umbrage. Four Stars. Good job, Jovan!

girls review: I bought these for myself soooooooooooo many years ago. Found a little left and gave it to my husband to wear and it smelt fabulous on him. I do think this can be unisex and I am so sad to run out of it, I have not seen it in forever so I don't know if they still make it but I may try to find another, its a must have.

Didn't expect much but holy shit this is impressing, it is simple fresh, but not your usual freshness, this has a minty, cooling tea vibe. Refreshing, relaxing, simple. I just think that it is more expensive than the presentation suggests, the bottle is really cheap unlike the juice it contains.

This was a smell I had to smell it provokes confidence I thought :) reminds me of Lucky for him if your familiar with that smell.but its really Good fragrance to buy.

Great frag to wake you up in the morning! Discontinued? If not-- try it! Not good on longevity though. More of a "pick-me-up" frag.

This juice literally got me through high school. I got so many compliments wearing this.