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ojdwirokgstmnvcy – :
UPDATE: i but the bullet & got a ‘vintage’ bottle of this on ebay in 2018 and boy does it smell awful. i guess this perfume doesn’t last for decades (i doubted it would, but figured i’d give it a shot.) i did spray it on myself and saw it does leave an oily residue like the original (i’d read) did, so i think i got the real deal, but it really smells like pepper and bug spray – i guess the old bottles went bad over time. so dont bother wasting hundreds of dollars getting the vintage stuff like i did :/ learned my lesson. i wish someone else would post something else this smells like so i can try that perfume. over a period of about 4 years, but more than 10 years ago, I used to stop random people in the street when i smelled something wonderful and say, what are you wearing? the reply was always a smile, and then “tova.” happened about 4 times, but i was a broke early 20 something and couldn’t afford to buy it at the time. the only only other time i stopped someone, they were wearing casual. anyway, i never got it for myself and by the time i got around to buying it, the formula had changed. i did manage to try some dupes, bought an original bottle on ebay, and a decant of the original. to me, they all initially smell like strong pepper mixed with soap (although now i see the decant i got from surrendertochance does dry down to a calming lavender scent, like moonlight path) – i think what happened is the original used real jasmine, etc. natural materials like that simply won’t smell the same after years have passed. so to anyone buying original bottles, beware – they don’t age well and it’s been many years since the original formula. if anyone finds ANYTHING that smells like the original tova, please post here. i’ve been told to try china musk from body time, which i already love, and j lo glow which is a ripoff of china rain by body time, etc but nothing smells the same to me. if anyone has any suggestions, please write it in the reviews, because i check this thread sometimes even now, that it’s feb 13 2018. i will continue to do so. i see that someone mentioned chanel no 5 premiere, so i will try that next. thank you!
ABRAMOFF – :
This is a lovely perfume. I love it, and I get many a compliment wearing it. It’s pretty and innocent, and has a fragile feel to it. I love it.
a25964447 – :
If you have this version from the ninties, this is the original scent! A friend gave me the other narrow slender weighed glass bottle of signature. Does not smell the same at all! More synthetic note to me. The original above had a pure perfume clean smell. Got tons of compliments from anyone that came in contact with me.
IrranoVam – :
Hello everyone I think anyone who fell in love with the original Tova should absolutely try Ad Lumen from MiN. I have been in a many year ‘hunting and hoarding’ state of mind with the original Tova and I felt your pain reading through this post lol. I ordered a sample from them and wore it and its perfect (at least for me). Good luck!
makdak777 – :
I have two eau de parfum (3.3 and 2.5 ods) and the powder if anyone wants it for exchange.
Mehaf916Unlogrere – :
This version was really good. The newest one isn’t bad and I own 2 bottles of it, went through 1 bottle already and gave one as a present. It was the closest to the original, so I hurried and bought a bunch up. It is clean, fresh and although I say I don’t like musk, I guess it’s in there. Do give it a try. Make sure you don’t pay hundreds of dollars on Amazon for the ones that look like this, because they are black market ones. How do I know 🙁 I did. Sadly, I gave my real bottle away years ago. I wish I still had it. Oh well, I do have one small bottle of Tova Nights, which I really loved even more than this. But do, I say give it a try! It really is different than anything else.
GordiS – :
This is and has always been my favorite scent.. My mom and I started using it back in the 80’s and to this day, I haven’t found another perfume I like as much. I am saddened by the fact that the original is not being produced anymore. If Tova only knew how much money is just waiting for her if she would only go back to making this scent.
It is fresh and long-lasting and clean and crisp.. I don’t think I will ever feel about any other perfume the way I feel about Tova.. Please come back
ivanovanp – :
My Mom wears this and I don’t care for it on her. This is a petite, linear, one-dimensional powder that is too quaint for her exuberance. She smells way better in Hypnose IMO. I won’t even try this. I would much prefer to wear lavender as a soliflore where its dimensions can be free to interact with my own skin oils.
westerteiner – :
A very nice lavender-rose-slightly spicy, warm yet cool musk. Hard to explain. She basically ripped it off from Body Time’s China Musk oil…which has been around since the 70’s. There’s a letter online actually stating this. Idk if I’m allowed to post a link here, but if you google Halbert Tova China Musk you’ll find it.
demaTeams93 – :
I was just given a bottle by my aunt and I’m in love. It reminds me slightly of chanel no5 premier but softer and more herbal. Really lovely (this is the vintage version)
AnPon – :
I have a small smount of the Original Tova left. Just ordered the “new Original Tova” set from QVC. Wait and see. It has been my favorite for many years.
Zaman2804 – :
The original in the frosted bottle with the black cap is by far the BEST. All others have been made with cheaper more cost effective ingredients. I wish they would go back to the original and just charge more, they would establish a consistent following. Tove Borgnine should be ashamed of her self for caving into an inferior product. I have been wearing this since the eighties and have been able to keep my stash in a climate controlled dark area and the scent has not changed at all. If I hadn’t received a gift basket from Tova’s late husband Ernie than I would never had discovered this scent in the first place. Lastly it is my favorite of all my scents I have ever worn, its just sad that I can’t wear it everyday, and have to save it for special occasions only.
SmantGymn – :
Ok, so help me get this straight–Tova and Tova Signature are different fragrances and now there are a total of three different editions of Tova Signature? I’m so confused…..
tory88 – :
I have several bottles of the original black lidded, frosted bottle Tova, a couple of Signature Royal and a couple of the newest Tova Signature in the tall slim bottle with the gold cap and little bow on the neck. Personally, I ADORE them all! While I will trust that there are subtle differences in the scents, if only for the fact that good ol’ fragrance laws (?!?!?) have made certain ingredients illegal. (Thank you, Big Brother, for saving us from ourselves…)
But to my rather unrefined nose, these all smell delightful! Soft, confident, sexy. Clean with a dash of raunchy musk to keep it interesting.
The past 3 days, I have worn the tall slim Tova Signature and all 3 days men have told me how wonderful I smell. Two of them wanted to know what it was. I wear many different wonderful fragrances but sometimes I wonder if those fragrances are wearing me rather than me wearing them. I never feel that way when I wear any of my Tova’s.
On my skin, the longevity is amazing! I put this on 17 hours ago. Four sprays, two on my torso and two on my back. Even after that many hours which includes an hour long run on a treadmill, I can still smell it on myself.
MarioEW – :
This fragrance is citrusy, only vaguely floral and musky. Definitely unisex friendly. In its original prereformulated version it was a silliage monster. If the fragrance gods are with you, you can still find this version at a thrift store and hopefully, theres some left. Recently I visited the QVC website and there is yet a newest reformulated version and the reviews, for once, are good. Let the faithful rejoice! I’d buy a new bottle. It’s that unique and that good. One of the few I’d buy at full price.
dvser – :
Although the new juice isn’t exactly the same, can you all say IFRA, this new elixir to my nose smells very close to the original. It’s a whole new world out there, so if you don’t embrace it, it just may get you. This lasts long on me, I can smell it all day. While I have a whole arsenal of fragrances there is none that compare to Tova. She stands alone. I love my Amouage, my Xerjoff, my Soliani, my Kilian, oh you name it, I have them all just about. You can define some as floral, woodsy, vanille, chocolate, but Tova falls into a category all her own. She is not a fragrance, she is an essence. You’ll never see the “original” version again, but this one currently marketed is her little sister. You can tell they are related, they could share blood for an operation. I love it. My daughter loves Tova on me more than the very expensive Amouage. She says it smells like Mom. I actually prefer this one to the “original”, so maybe that is why I am even writing this review in the first place. And for all you who have never tried it, I suggest that you do because not all great perfumes are on the counter at your local mall. In fact, the vast majority of great fragrances are not even sitting out at a counter.
martinflok – :
I first fell in love with Tova signature in the early 90`s when a celebrity client was sitting in my makeup chair…she was so kind and the fragrance was so soft and warm..it was rather exclusive then but she confided in me what it was…
I can`t wear many perfumes as they give me headaches. but never with Tova original and i never got bored with it…( i get bored easily) in 2000 i was in near fatal car accident and i realized it was on QVC..so i ordered and was thrilled and actually soothed by it…it reminds me of a pure ,warm and innocently clean embrace calming to the soul and others around you…i wouldget comments all the time by complete strangers male and female and children…
so now i am on this site because i have had to resort to buying black market older bottles and so disapointed by QVC teasing everyone even with the known ban ingredients and trying to pass the new formulas as the original…not even close…smells like bug spray..really does…
they messed with the other fragrances in her line as well and discontnued some really great fragrances …
i am looking for another signature fragrance as my supply of originals are fading and i feel it is stupid to pay 500.oo for a bottle as rare as it is and its not a money issue with me…just the disapointment or feeling betrayed by a lover which once put you in bliss…now costs like an expensive escort… so sad…Tova is a lovely classic woman and a highly reguarded peer in my industry of makeup.
alex-n-zel – :
I first fell in love with Tova signature in the early 90`s when a celebrity client was sitting in my makeup chair…she was so kind and the fragrance was so soft and warm..it was rather exclusive then but she confided in me what it was…
I can`t wear many perfumes as they give me headaches. but never with Tova original and i never got bored with it…( i get bored easily) in 2000 i was in near fatal car accident and i realized it was on QVC..so i ordered and was thrilled and actually soothed by it…it reminds me of a pure ,warm and innocently clean embrace calming to the soul and others around you…i wouldget comments all the time by complete strangers male and female and children…
so now i am on this site because i have had to resort to buying black market older bottles and so disapointed by QVC teasing everyone even with the known ban ingredients and trying to pass the new formulas as the original…not even close…smells like bug spray..really does…
they messed with the other fragrances in her line as well and discontnued some really great fragrances …
i am looking for another signature fragrance as my supply of originals are fading and i feel it is stupid to pay 500.oo for a bottle as rare as it is and its not a money issue with me…just the disapointment or feeling betrayed by a lover which once put you in bliss…now costs like an expensive escort… so sad…Tova is a lovely classic woman and a highly reguarded peer in my industry of makeup.
stalker_9787 – :
A musky lavender beauty. This could easily be unisex.
ryclan2010 – :
I received a Tova gift basket while working on Air Wolf with her husband. I fell in love with this fragrance and it became I signature scent. People would tell me they knew where I was or where I had been from the lingering scent. I am one of those fortunate few who over the early years (before QVC) had stock piled a small treasure, especially before her Beverly Hills Salon closed.
What I don’t understand is if loyal scentenista’s are willing to pay for the pure perfection of the original scent. Why wouldn’t whom ever is producing the product now go back to the original formula? I mean you get what you pay for. I would be willing and I’m sure there are others who would also step forward.
I wish, I wish, I wish I might . . . .
marudenok – :
My mom used to wear the original stuff several years ago – I haven’t smelled it since then. The new crap is just that – crap. It’s awful.
Guess Tova Borgnine got her money and left all of her loyal fans high and dry ’cause the new stuff is missing everything that made the original a beautiful, weightless musky beauty.
MCRichard – :
I wore this for years, beginning in the early 80’s. Used to order it directly from Tova Beverly Hills. Also bought it when Tova first brought it to QVC. Then, after a few years (some say after she sold the rights to QVC), it changed—for the worse. The last bottle I bought had a sharp, chemical sort of smell. One thing I had loved about the original was that it was soft, different, non-headache inducing, and lasted a long time. The same can’t be said for the new formula. I notice on Fragrantica’s site the notes are the same for the original and for the current formula, EXCEPT that where the original listed only bergamot as the opening note, the new formula lists bergamot and ALDEHYDES. Methinks this accounts for the change in the fragrance. I realize that aldehydes are common in other fragrances, but I think the guys working on the NEW Tova Signature frag got their measurements out of whack. But then, why add aldehydes to a formula that was so good to begin with? Cost? I’m not the only one complaining about it, take a look on the internet. There is no way I’ll be wearing Tova Signature again until it’s “repaired”. However, I do find Tova Signature Autumn to be nice, but it’s not like the regular Signature.
Brick1488 – :
I too loved Tova….sexy, clean and inviting. Making it available to us would be greatly appreciated…a true classic.
Sonts – :
I had this perfume for many years before I started using it regularly. I fell in love with it gradually. What I loved the most is the way people would tell me that I smelled so good; because I smelled so clean and fresh. I never realized that the “soapy” scent could be so attractive. I am so sorry that the formula changed. I have spent the last 2-3 years looking for a clean, soapy, musky, powdery replacement.
I tried the philosophy fragrance family but none of them tickle my fancy. Any suggestions??
skr55 – :
I am so sad the scent changed; how dare QVC do that. I say, start producing the original, and charge more; many will buy it. Tova, you made a big mistake in selling your signature scent.
Biakinwaf – :
I have worn Tova for 20 years, but not for the past 2 since it was bought by qvc. Is there anything out there that is similar in scent??
umoril – :
I just want the first Tova back.
ncl184speagoessenda – :
I’ve been wearing Tova on and off for so many years now, but recently I bought a new bottle and I felt that the smell wasn’t the same. I thought I was wrong but when I read the reviews today I was glad that I was right. I just hope they can bring it back as it used to be.
nutaliusa – :
I love Tova; have been wearing it on and off since the late 90’s. It has changed, though. I agree with randik, it is a scent you either like or don’t like, no “in between”. I find using the body lotion after a shower gives me just a hint of the scent; not too overpowering.
c00peR21 – :
I haven’t worn Tova for many years now. I use yo wear it often back in the 90’s. I continue to hear the scent is not the same. What a sad pity. I introduced so many of my family members and friends to Tova. Everyone loved it.
reunkence – :
This scent you have got to love or hate. You simply cannot stay indifferent to TOVA. I am in the first category: I have used it for 12 years now, and it has become very close to a signature scent for me. It is on the border of demanding at first, but the musk and lavender keeps everything smooth and alluring. And the staying power? Triumphant!
7413587 – :
Smells like the industrial cleaning fluid of Shangri La Philippines’ hotel lobby. First class but still cleaning solution.
Definitely musk! Think Acca kappa’s White Moss.