White Musk for Men 
Jovan (1992)
DISCONTINUED

This is the fragrance I wanted the Jovan womens' white musk to be. On me it's briefly fresh in a quiet, slightly green-sharp sort of way - I can detect a little of the mind and I think also the apple - then dries down into a lovely sweet powdery musk aura with an occasional moment of mint still shining through. Not much sillage but also not so much as a whisper of the awful plastic-synthetic-musk note that I made myself sick of by overspraying Jovan Musk Oil and Kiehls Original Musk.

I would call it unisex - it certainly doesn't come across as a traditional masculine. There's just enough sharpness to prevent it sinking into sickly, and the sweeter side of it is fresh sweetness rather than the usual "slightly sad bought them at the petrol station flowers" combo used in budget white musks. It actually reminds me a little of Alaia Blanche in its later stages - enough musk to be unmistakably sensual, but not by any means a "dirty" feel. I've definitely found myself a wardrobe staple here and I'm annoyed I left it so long before I tried this one.

White Musk for Men by Jovan (1992) was the last fragrance made under the supervision of original Jovan founder Barry Shipp, and the male counterpart to Jovan White Musk (1990) from two years prior. As those familiar with Jovan products may guess, there isn't a ton of difference between his and hers musk fragrances from the brand, and likewise the separation between his and hers White Musk scents is not very wide. What's most important here, and way more important than anything gender-specific, is what Jovan tried to accomplish here with the White Musk DNA, perhaps 30 years too late when one thinks about it. You see, white musks were actually the most common type of synthetic musks used by Western perfumers in the industry, and the original mainstream synthetic musk oil that hippies adopted with abandon in the 1960's was based on a white musk molecule, perhaps some old nitromusk originally. That scent was Alyssa Ashley Musk (1969), and the direct result of Barry Shipp seeing hippies in head shops across Chicago and NYC where he traveled as a Revlon salesman, combined with the more-expensive natural deer-based Egyptian musk oils the deeper-pockets counterculture members were buying, is what inspired him to develop the virile classic Jovan Musk Oil/Jovan Musk (1972), which later was flanked by Jovan Musk Oil/Jovan Musk for Men (1973). The reason Jovan trounced Alyssa Ashley in the 70's was Murray Moscono, a flavorist enlisted as would-be perfumer for Jovan, used a synthetic reconstruction of deer musk (tonkin) called tonquitone, which leaned into the overtly sex-driven market copy. By the 90's, anything containing the fatty, woolen smell of tonkin or tonquitone would seem incredibly crass and dated, so a "new" sexy was needed.

Jovan White Musk for Men was the answer to a need for a more-conventional synthetic musk that was cleaner and more-versatile than what Jovan's original pub-crawling monster was in the 70's. but could still perpetuate the allure of a come-hither scent. It couldn't be identical to Alyssa Ashley's creation, nor like any number of other white musk scents lurking about in drugstores, so the better-late-than-never entry to Jovan's canon merged simple white musks with rather contemporary fruity and soapy notes. In effect, the ozonic fruity and clean business making the rounds in late 80's/early 90's fresh fougères and aquatics was spliced on top this basic white musk accord, making a slapdash solution from a technical standpoint, but at least not without a modicum of elegance when worn. The opening is going to be tart green apple and sheer honeydew melon notes provided by a bit of watermelon ketone, merged with cooling mint and thyme to take the sweetness down. Geranium and tangerine oil mix with clove in the heart, but the real star of the show here is the unlisted mishmash of acetates, salycylates and ionones to create a compressed modern soapiness that accounts for part of the fruity, dry, floral nature of the opening beyond just the shiny apple melon notes. This synthetic stew sounds abominable to artisanal purists, but why would you be reading a review on a Jovan perfume if you were one? The base is likewise a cocktail of white musks that are cheaper than chips, modern polycyclics and not the old nitromusk goodies in OG Alyssa Ashley to be sure, but the effect is the similar: sheer clean sexy warmth. If you want a fresh out-of-shower feeling that actually lasts, well Jovan Musk for Men might just be your ticket, and honestly this is gender-neutral enough to share too.

The usual "eww it smells cheap" or "eww it's too commercial" quips are really going to come from people who don't understand or appreciate the period of perfumery from which Jovan White Musk for Men hails, and honestly that's okay. the fact rich, opulent, mossy, animalic, or densely-packed aromatic wrecking balls that were 80's and late 70's perfumes found themselves completely upended by back-to-basics simple, fresh, and clean smells is really just a repeat of what happened in the late 60's when the original Jovan Musk Oil caught fire. Youth of the day didn't want their parent's more sophisticated fragrances, and just wanted something they didn't have to think about, which smelled sexy according to their tastes, and was inexpensive. Back in the counterculture years, exotic oriental-themed musks and sandalwood oils were that answer because they carried an aesthetic of a happier, slower-paced life free from the social constraints of Western austerity, while the bright futurism of the late 80's or early 90's ushered in more tech-savvy alternatives that carried the same simple satisfaction but with a sheen of "we are the future" and "less is more" after seeing the hedonistic excess of the prior decades. Those same Gen-X kids would grow in time to love their dad's old powerhouses (and now post about them on Basenotes), in the same way their boomer parents put down the patchouli oils and began wearing their parent's Guerlains and Chanels. I personally do like Jovan White Musk for Men much more than the original if only because it is just comfort food for a tired nose out of the shower after coming home from work, but that's a personal reason which has no bearing on how I rate the scent. For everyone else, this is just another beige freshie from the 90's with an air of cut-rate synthetic luster, but that's fine. Thumbs up

Funny story - the event that kickstarted my perfume hobby was my work with an American businessman in 1992, who wore an AMAZING cologne at that time. I was, like, enthralled every time I met him during the meetings. He was in his mid-50s typical lawyer kind of guy, and I was wondering silently WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WEAR MAN for couple of weeks. Then he left, but the memory about the scent stayed. The fragrance was kind of silver in association, a bit musky, effervescent, fruity but dry, a bit sweet, sensual but professional, comforting, simple and easy - perfect in every way.

My stupidity of not asking him what cologne did he use resulted in a quest that has lasted for 20+ years. I was searching high and low, reading carefully the pyramids of the notes, trying samples, buying left and right the fragrances that seemed to fit the description - Image, Gendarme, you name it. Then I got a mini of Jovan Musk and thought wait a minute, is that it? Not quite, but what if... Jovan WHITE Musk? The 1992 release?

Ordered and received it today - gentlemen, this gestalt of mine is closed at last. It was fun ride, and I'm glad my search is over. If I lived in the USA, I would have found this scent much sooner, but it's better late than never. I hope you all understand the emotions behind my rant, not happens every day.

Jovan White Musk, who would have thought.