Will the real "Old Spice" please stand up

I got Vintage Shulton Aftershave as a gift. They got the 1980 NOS bottle for $1.00. I think the scent, strength, and sensation is far
superior to the current P&G version. It will always be my favorite aftershave.

Great shot. Great bottle of juice.

I went to the Patel Brothers store here in Louisville today looking for Indian Old Spice or some of that Indian shaving cream I've heard about. They don't carry any of it at all, sadly. Looks like I'll have to stick with eBay for my Indian Old Spice. At least there, I won't have a rude employee make a comment to me at checkout when he mutters something under his breath at me, and when asked what he said, snaps "I was not talking to *you*."

Even if they had it, I wouldn't go back because of that alone.

Penknight said:

I went to the Patel Brothers store here in Louisville today looking for Indian Old Spice or some of that Indian shaving cream I've heard about. They don't carry any of it at all, sadly. Looks like I'll have to stick with eBay for my Indian Old Spice. At least there, I won't have a rude employee make a comment to me at checkout when he mutters something under his breath at me, and when asked what he said, snaps "I was not talking to *you*." Even if they had it, I wouldn't go back because of that alone.

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The last time I looked for "anything shaving" in Louisville I tried World Market and they had zip, nada, zero. The story I heard is there are 2 Indian brothers; one owns WM and the other, Pier One.

Musikmann said:

The last time I looked for "anything shaving" in Louisville I tried World Market and they had zip, nada, zero. The story I heard is there are 2 Indian brothers; one owns WM and the other, Pier One.

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If I understand things correctly, Patel Brothers is a chain of Indian stores that carry goods from India.

I really wish there were more places here that carried shaving supplies...

Penknight said:

If I understand things correctly, Patel Brothers is a chain of Indian stores that carry goods from India.

I really wish there were more places here that carried shaving supplies...

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Thanks for the info, I know several Indians with the last name Patel so I know for sure that is an Indian surname.

Other than your Art of Shaving, the only place in Louisville of which I'm aware is Heimerdinger Cutlery Co. at 4207 Shelbyville Road. The GF and I paid him a visit and he stocks more kitchen cutlery than anything. But, he had some Colonel Conk, Taylor of Old Bond Street, locally made shaving soaps, and at least one Dovo straight razor. I don't remember seeing any safety razors but we compared notes and both use the same style of Merkur (23C) so he probably has some DEs.

Musikmann said:

Thanks for the info, I know several Indians with the last name Patel so I know for sure that is an Indian surname.

Other than your Art of Shaving, the only place in Louisville of which I'm aware is Heimerdinger Cutlery Co. at 4207 Shelbyville Road. The GF and I paid him a visit and he stocks more kitchen cutlery than anything. But, he had some Colonel Conk, Taylor of Old Bond Street, locally made shaving soaps, and at least one Dovo straight razor. I don't remember seeing any safety razors but we compared notes and both use the same style of Merkur (23C) so he probably has some DEs.

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Thank you for the information! :-D

My Indian-made bottle of Old Spice arrived today from West Coast Shaving. I bet I haven't officially smelled Old Spice up close for 15 or 20 years, but upon smelling the stopper, I was presented with precisely the scent I wanted it to be from my memory of it as a child.

I have used the New formulated Os and the Indian one, also the vintage one, i prefer vintage one or the one from India. New formula is also good. I also have the shave cream from India, good stuff. I have two Nib Old Spice bottles, never used.

Can anyone tell me if there's still a source for the original Old Spice cologne? I'm wearing some that I just now put on that I've had since 1999, and I'd love to find out if India makes the cologne as well, or if they left the cologne scent alone and I can still purchase it from Wal-Mart or online. Any advice would be useful. Thank you!

Here's a source:

http://www.fragrancenet.com/old-spice-cologne/shulton/mens-fragrances/mf/en_US/01794

HeadlongFlight said:

My Indian-made bottle of Old Spice arrived today from West Coast Shaving. I bet I haven't officially smelled Old Spice up close for 15 or 20 years, but upon smelling the stopper, I was presented with precisely the scent I wanted it to be from my memory of it as a child.

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I was very impressed when I bought mine...this stuff reminds me of when I was a kid...no doubt about it!

So having never used nor smelled Old Spice before (neither my father nor my grandfather ever used aftershave or cologne) I picked up a bottle of P&G Old Spice at Wal-Mart to see what the fuss was about. Without any "it's not like how I remember" bias I think I can safely say it's pretty awful stuff. The first splash smells really musty and damp in a not pleasant way, and when it dries down it's pretty much all powdery scent. You would have thought I doused myself in talc.

I'm pretty disappointed, but seeing all the reviews of the new P&G formula I'm not really surprised. Before I continue the exploration and order a bottle of Indian Old Spice from West Coast Shaving, I wanted to try the knock-off "Vi-Jon" I've seen mentioned that's supposedly a little better. Just where can I find this stuff though?

Lomoru said:

I wanted to try the knock-off "Vi-Jon" I've seen mentioned that's supposedly a little better. Just where can I find this stuff though?

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I bought mine at Family Dollar for $2.00. Pretty large bottle too, I think it's 7 oz. But between P&G, Vi-Jon, and the Indian, the Indian is my favorite.

Rumor has it that if you mix the P&G OS and Vi-Jon Spice together 50/50, you get something very similar to the original Old Spice.

patrickthebassbash said:

Rumor has it that if you mix the P&G OS and Vi-Jon Spice together 50/50, you get something very similar to the original Old Spice.

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I would definitely have to stand alongside that rumor! A 50/50 mix is in a 70's OS Admiral decanter on my counter at all times!

Having grown up with OS and being around for the P+G makeover, I have to say that the current version of Old Spice "Classic" smells like the best parts of the pre and post P+G formulations combined. Initially when it came out around 2008 in the aerosol spray can, it was very sweet and powdery. An obvious effort to "modernize" the scent had been made. Now it seems to have been tuned more to the original scent. Just received the Indian version from WCS, and I'm sorry, but despite the fact that it smells really good, it maybe shares 25% of it's makeup with what Americans know as Old Spice. Anybody who says otherwise has a faulty scent memory.

Again, for those that don't read the whole thread, yes, the 50/50 mix of P&G Old Spice and the Vi-Jon comes very close to the original Shulton. The Vi-Jon is carried in many of the "Dollar" stores and several Drug Stores under various brand names. It will say Vi-Jon on the bottom or back somewhere.

WCS and some others do carry the Shulton, but it is still much less expensive to order it from India, roughly $10/100ml shipped.

I transfer my Shulton Old Spice to my OS "Flying Cloud" bottle.

I am a 3rd generation Old Spice user.

Major Bludd said:

Having grown up with OS and being around for the P+G makeover, I have to say that the current version of Old Spice "Classic" smells like the best parts of the pre and post P+G formulations combined. Initially when it came out around 2008 in the aerosol spray can, it was very sweet and powdery. An obvious effort to "modernize" the scent had been made. Now it seems to have been tuned more to the original scent. Just received the Indian version from WCS, and I'm sorry, but despite the fact that it smells really good, it maybe shares 25% of it's makeup with what Americans know as Old Spice. Anybody who says otherwise has a faulty scent memory.

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I have one of the aerosol cans P&G called Body Spray and I'll agree it is different. I don't know how long I've had my new splash bottles of the classic, but I never had a problem wearing it. Since you posted this, I'll pick up a fresh bottle to compare with my "older new" stuff and the Indian WCS version.