Tova Borgnine, a Norwegian-American businesswoman and the fifth wife of actor Ernest Borgnine, established her beauty brand after successfully testing a cream on her husband’s famous character face. She acquired the formula from a Mexican family and launched marketing campaigns in tabloids, which soon spread word about her highly effective face cream, touted as a “face lift in a jar,” renowned for its wrinkle-fighting abilities.

Initially, Tova had intended to distribute her beauty products through prestigious department stores. However, failing to secure a deal with any major chains, she began selling her merchandise through catalogs. Today, her beauty and spa products, as well as her fragrances, are primarily available through QVC, a home shopping TV channel, and its website. Catalog orders contribute only a small percentage to the company’s sales. Tova’s success enabled her to establish the Tova Wellness Institute in Beverly Hills, California.

By the year 2000, Tova had astoundingly sold over four million bottles of perfume through direct marketing on QVC, without ever spraying a drop of fragrance on a customer’s skin. Her first fragrance, Tova for women, debuted in 1982. With an intense and commanding composition, it encapsulates Tova’s determination. The fragrance’s prominent notes include bergamot, lavender, jasmine, sandalwood, and musk. In 1983, Tova Signature, a floral-woody-musky fragrance with dominant notes of bergamot, aldehydes, lavender, jasmine, musk, and sandalwood, was presented.

In 1992, Body Mind & Spirit was introduced—a fresh, serene, and delicate floral fragrance for women, featuring osmanthus, apricot, white roses, jasmine, heliotrope, lily of the valley, sandalwood, amber, and musk. Tova Nights, a well-blended floral perfume, made its debut in 1997. Its composition revolves around carefully selected notes of peony, spices, lily, sandalwood, patchouli, musk, violet, lilac, and rose. The year 2002 saw the launch of Nirvana, an oriental and spicy fragrance inspired by Indian and Chinese cuisines. Its notes include bergamot, pineapple, ylang-ylang, nutmeg, white pepper, freesia, jasmine, rose, violet, green tea, patchouli, rosewood, sandalwood, and ebony.

Since then, more fragrances have been introduced. Designer Tova Beverly Hills currently offers 15 perfumes in their fragrance base. The first edition was created in 1982, while the most recent is from 2010. Victor Rouchou is the perfumer responsible for crafting these fragrances.