Has the fragrance in Old Spice changed?

**BIGBLUE** · 02-27-2011, 04:17 PM

I received and Old Spice Classic scent Cologne/After Shave set for Christmas. Upon using it the first time, it seems the fragrance is stronger now, more cinnamon and pepper notes to it than the Original Old Spice. Any one else have any experience with the Classic Old Spice sold now versus the Original version?

**DavyRay** · 02-27-2011, 06:05 PM

Welcome to B&B!

There are several long discussions on B&B about Old Spice. Some are very likely in the Aftershaves forum. It is a good reason to try out the Search function. In a nutshell, some think it has changed, others disagree. There is the Shulton version vs the P&G version issue as well. Lots of history there.

**_MementoMori_** · 02-27-2011, 06:10 PM

Whatever it's done, I still like it. I decant my modern OS into an old Shulton milkglass bottle and just go with it. Ignorance is bliss.

**inkcoffee** · 02-27-2011, 06:13 PM

I like it too. Plus it has excellent longevity for an EdC! I pour mine into a 15ml spray bottle, works great.

**Deltaboy** · 03-01-2011, 01:27 PM

Many of us believe that Ivy Club Spice is closer to the old Old Spice than the P&G. One fellow here mixes Ivy Club with modern P&G Old Spice and likes it.

**Greyfox** · 03-01-2011, 02:20 PM

Though I still like it the formulation has changed.

**my19** · 03-02-2011, 11:01 AM

Originally Posted by Deltaboy

Many of us believe that Ivy Club Spice is closer to the old Old Spice than the P&G. One fellow here mixes Ivy Club with modern P&G Old Spice and likes it.

which of the many 99 cent and dollar stores carries Ivy Club? is it Dollar General or one of the others? I sniffed the present OS formulation at a store one day and can't say it stirred any old olfactory memories ... and I used Old Spice quite a bit in the '70s. Maybe Ivy Club would suit me better.

**mmack66** · 03-02-2011, 11:10 AM

Originally Posted by my19

which of the many 99 cent and dollar stores carries Ivy Club? is it Dollar General or one of the others? I sniffed the present OS formulation at a store one day and can't say it stirred any old olfactory memories ... and I used Old Spice quite a bit in the '70s. Maybe Ivy Club would suit me better.

Family Dollar is where I get Ivy Club. I got the Brut clone as well.

**Mako72** · 03-02-2011, 10:59 PM

Last weekend at a small antique show I finally found a full bottle of Old Spice EdC from '67-'72 according to cr8on.com. It smells so much richer & fuller than the Ivy Club. However one thing I did notice and is sure to get me some nasty remarks but... It has a bit of that subtle powdery scent that the new P&G stuff has, tho not as much at all. The Ivy Club is pretty good for an daily AS splash but after wearing the original OS EdC they do not compare. Enjoy the eye candy!

Jay
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**my19** · 03-03-2011, 09:03 AM

Originally Posted by mmack66

Family Dollar is where I get Ivy Club. I got the Brut clone as well.

Thanks, Mark. I have a Family Dollar on the route to the office. Maybe I can stop this afternoon ...

**Bruce Wayne** · 03-03-2011, 01:29 PM

We seem to get alot of "Old Spice scent change" threads. Maybe it is time we make a sticky?

**MrMoJoe** · 03-03-2011, 02:11 PM

Here are the facts: Nobody on here knows if the formula has been changed. P&G says they haven't changed it since they purchased it in 1990.

Anything else is opinion.

I have experience with both. I'm 51, and my father used Old Spice when I was a kid in the 60's, and I used it as a teenager and young man in the 70's-80's. I currently use the P&G version, which to me, smells just like the stuff my Dad used in the 60's and I used in the 70's and 80's. When my wife first smelled it on me (without knowing what it was) after I started wet-shaving a few years ago, I said "Do you like it?" Without hesitation, she replied "Yes, it's Old Spice; my daddy used it when I was a little girl". She recognized it immediately as the product her dad used in the 60's and 70's.

Many people insist that today's P&G version smells different than the old Shulton version. I believe them. I believe with all my heart that it smells different to them. That doesn't mean that the formula is different. It simply means that

A: The new P&G version smells different to them than they remember the Shulton version smelled years ago.

OR

B: The new P&G version smells different to them than the 20+ year old bottle of Shulton Old Spice they have now.

Either way, they are 100% correct. Either way, it doesn't mean the formula was ever changed. We'll never really know.

**Tekka** · 03-03-2011, 02:31 PM

Yup, I came across an old bottle last year. It was EXACTLY like I remembered it smelling as a kid. Very different than the new stuff.

**MrMoJoe** · 03-03-2011, 02:51 PM

Originally Posted by Tekka

Yup, I came across an old bottle last year. It was EXACTLY like I remembered it smelling as a kid. Very different than the new stuff.

I recently found an old box of photos from my swinging bachelor days (think 1980-1990). Also in the box, along with a pocket knife and a cigarette lighter, was a half-full bottle of Polo. After 20+ years of being wherever that box has been, it smelled noticeably different than the bottle I got last Christmas. I've thrown other colognes away after having them for a number of years for the same reason.

**The Pontificator** · 03-03-2011, 05:23 PM

Yesterday I spoke with an Indian store owner on this very subject. He says that having grown up on the original Old Spice products (he loves the original shave cream) he swears the P&G product is not the same. "It smells like baby powder".

**Deltaboy** · 03-04-2011, 10:27 AM

They smell differant to me and to the Wife. I can wear Ivy Club Spice and get you smell good but I but on P&G Old Spice and I get you smell like my Brother!

I tested my nose on a couple of bottles I had stached at my parents one was marked on the Box Christmas 1988 and the other was Christmas 1998. I test them myself and blind tested my mom and wife and they said they smelled differant to them too.

**MrMoJoe** · 03-04-2011, 11:21 AM

Originally Posted by Deltaboy

They smell differant to me and to the Wife. I can wear Ivy Club Spice and get you smell good but I but on P&G Old Spice and I get you smell like my Brother!

I tested my nose on a couple of bottles I had stached at my parents one was marked on the Box Christmas 1988 and the other was Christmas 1998. I test them myself and blind tested my mom and wife and they said they smelled differant to them too.

You're right, the sense of smell is a very subjective thing.

I have the CVS Spice (Vi-Jon) version, and I've done the blind sniff test with several people, and have yet to find anybody that can distiguish it from P&G Old Spice. If they could, as in your case, it would not surprise me though, as they are two different products. And I'm not shocked at all either that you got different smells from bottles of 1988 OS, 1998 OS, 2011 OS, and Ivy Club.

**mftoms59** · 03-04-2011, 11:29 PM

No matter which you try, Shulton, P&G, Ivy Club or the Indian Version, they're all good in their own way, I like each version and have mixed the P&G with the Ivy Club for something a bit different.

**DavyRay** · 03-05-2011, 04:04 PM

They did not have to change the formulation. Some of the available ingredients may have changed. Eye of newt, for example. The newts of today are far larger and meaner than they were in 1963, due to global climate change. Therefore, the eye-of-newt oil in OS is stronger now than it used to be. That is where the powdery note comes from.

**The Pontificator** · 03-05-2011, 04:18 PM

Originally Posted by DavyRay

They did not have to change the formulation. Some of the available ingredients may have changed. Eye of newt, for example. The newts of today are far larger and meaner than they were in 1963, due to global climate change. Therefore, the eye-of-newt oil in OS is stronger now than it used to be. That is where the powdery note comes from.

Just in case I stopped at Family Dollar and grabbed another bottle of Ivy Club. Gave myself a good slathering of it after this evening's shave. Love it!