Aqua Velva Knock Offs

Just recently started to look into Aqua Velva. My first experience was a Walgreen brand. It worked wonders for me on cutting razor burn.

So when I started to look around other stores, they all seemed to have a store-brand right next to the "real thing". I am wondering if all the knock-offs come from the same source?

On Walgreen and CVS bottles, it says something to the effect of "this stuff is not from the maker of Aqua Velva"...

Are they just as good? or am I getting the cheap-quality stuff?

I can't bring myself to use the fake AV.

Gotta be the real thing for me.

I just don't get it. The real AV is still in production and it's not expensive.
I could see going the knockoff route for the out-of-production AS or colognes, but not when the product it's trying to mimic is still available, provided it's not too expensive.

Well, I went for the Walgreen brand because that was the only one they have at the time. I went in there with my face burning from an out-of-control BBS attempt. I didn't want to try the off brand but the saleswoman let me sample it. Lord and behold, it gave my face an AF burn like AWOW, and then it instantly tamed my razor burn. I bought it on the spot.

I was wondering if anyone has tried and compared the original with the knock-offs. I guess I just need to go buy me a bottle of AV.

I have sniffed several of the knock offs. None of them smell quite right. The real thing is readily available at Target and Wal Mart. It costs like 6.00 for 7.5 ounces, which will probably last you over a month of daily use. Not a bad deal at all.

AV is still my favorite aftershave, though I like some of the Ogallala stuff pretty well also.

A lot of the AS knock offs I've come across are made by Vijon. You can usually check the bottom of the bottle to see who makes it. Even if they come from the same place, however, that doesn't imply that they are the same, so I'd just try it out and see if you like it. I honestly think that the knock offs are often just as good, and sometimes better than, their name-brand counterparts.

LinuxMintyFresh said:

I honestly think that the knock offs are often just as good, and sometimes better than, their name-brand counterparts.

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I would agree. Vi John makes some very good products. My knock off AV is a Vi John product.

I've only tried the real AV and it works like a charm, doesn't cost much so I haven't felt a strong incentive to buy an even less expensive bottle of a knockoff product. I suppose chemically the key ingredients, aside from scent, are the glycerin and menthol in a particular balance along with the usual alcohol, etc.. Unless the knockoff uses a particularly bad fragrance to which you react poorly I'm inclined to say it should work the same as real AV.

To your point, which I'm inferring is not cost driven, if AV were unavailable in a pinch or were ultimately discontinued or changed (a la Shulton vs P&G Old Spice) it might be worth testing a store brand... I seem to know a lot more AV users in my generation (x) than the other classic drugstore aftershaves (Brut, Old Spice, Skin Bracer, etc..) so I'm hopeful it will be available for a long time in it's current form.

There can be only one!

nothing like the real stuff.

After reading this thread yesterday, I grabbed some Swan Artic Blue aftershave at the Dollar General, which is an Aqua Velva knock off by Vijon. I was on a Barbasol run, but thought I'd give Swan a shot, since Barbasol is so good and made by the same company. It was half the price of, and had about 40% more in the bottle than, AV, so I consider it a win. Can't wait to try it.

tgr5m said:

I have sniffed several of the knock offs. None of them smell quite right. The real thing is readily available at Target and Wal Mart. It costs like $6.00 for 7.5 ounces, which will probably last you over a month of daily use. Not a bad deal at all.

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Holy crap! Probably over a month? Do you use it like Bronson uses Mandom?

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8bqVL0VXrE[/YOUTUBE]

I tried the Swan knock off a couple of times, and I think I'm going to have to buy the regular AV for a direct comparison. The smell isn't as nice as the real AV I don't think, but it isn't bad. I was really expecing more menthol from something labeled "Arctic Blue" too. It was like nothing compared to Barbasol, but I don't remember how AV was in that department either so... In conclusion, I have mad no conclusion.

A knock off of something that costs $50 an ounce might be worth considering, but there comes a point where the price of the original is so reasonable that it isn't worth even considering a knock off. That's where AV is, it is already about the most reasonably priced product that I use.

I bought some Swan, I did not like it as much as I do AV so I decanted it in a large green bottle with the left over AV and mentol crystals for a Burr effect.

OldSaw said:

A knock off of something that costs $50 an ounce might be worth considering, but there comes a point where the price of the original is so reasonable that it isn't worth even considering a knock off. That's where AV is, it is already about the most reasonably priced product that I use.

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Would a knock off that's 30x as expensive really be a knock off, or do you think the company would say "Don't compare us to that cheap crap! We are 30 times as good as they are, just look at the price difference!"?

Really though, everybody acts like the generic brands are intrinsically of lower quality, and I don't think that is true necessarily. Personally I don't think 3.5 oz of AV is worth $5. I do think 5 oz of Swan is worth $1.50 though. Anything that gets you 90% of the way there, at less than half the cost is worth checking out in my opinion.

LinuxMintyFresh said:

Really though, everybody acts like the generic brands are intrinsically of lower quality, and I don't think that is true necessarily. Personally I don't think 3.5 oz of AV is worth $5. I do think 5 oz of Swan is worth $1.50 though. Anything that gets you 90% of the way there, at less than half the cost is worth checking out in my opinion.

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You should seek out the 7 oz bottle at Target or Walmart as it is around $4.79.

michiganlover said:

I would agree. Vi John makes some very good products. My knock off AV is a Vi John product.

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I also use the vijon AV....and their Old Spice...and their Brute Clone
Love em all!
Viva ViJon!
Wp

I had a bottle of CVS AV knockoff, and I loved it. I bought the large glass bottle of real AV at target for like $7, but when it's empty, there's no telling what I might refill it with.

Prince said:

I can't bring myself to use the fake AV.

Gotta be the real thing for me.

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Me neither. It's so inexpensive anyway, -