“What a man wants from woman, Jovan created.” So says the sticker on Jovan Woman by Jovan’s brown plastic cap. From smelling Woman, I deduce a man wants a woman who smells like a dude. In a head shop.
Woman by Jovan is a strange concoction. Released in 1977, it seems to presage the big, spicy orientals to come — Yves Saint Laurent Opium, Chanel Coco, and Estée Lauder Cinnabar being a few — but somehow misses the bull’s eye by a few inches. It’s as if Jovan created its own silky, spicy, woody, oriental fragrance ahead of the curve, but before bottling it, a few gallons of aftershave fell in the vat.
From reading the few reviews I can find of Woman, it seems to have a cult following who fearfully tracks its dwindling supply. (I found my dusty bottle of cologne concentrate spray at Rite Aid.) In reviews on Makeupalley, I saw Woman compared to Balmain Miss Balmain, Paloma Picasso Mon Parfum, Caron Tabac Blond, Parfums Grès Cabochard, and vintage Christian Dior Miss Dior…
A week of reviews of drugstore fragrances wouldn't be complete without a rundown of a few inexpensive musks, and reviews of drugstore musks wouldn't be complete without 
Paris-based rose florist chain Au Nom de la Rose has launched a set of Eaux de Parfum for men and women:
