Will the real "Old Spice" please stand up

Pine said:

I know this over a year later, but my CVS sells its Old Spice Clone for $7.99 a bottle.

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The CVS version is made by Vi-Jon, which is the same company who makes Family Dollar Store's Spice aftershave for about $2.
Check this post in this thread: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showth...ce-quot-please-stand-up?p=7318907#post7318907

Shaveathon said:

The CVS version is made by Vi-Jon, which is the same company who makes Family Dollar Store's Spice aftershave for about $2.
Check this post in this thread: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showth...ce-quot-please-stand-up?p=7318907#post7318907

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Thanks for the note and link to the other thread. Now I need to buy a vintage Old Spice bottle on Ebay (or the B&B boards) for my Family Dollar purchase.

Are vintage glass Old Spice bottles ever sold or traded here?

Thanks again.

Shop-Rite supermarkets also sell the Vi-jon version, was $1.99, now up to $2.29.

Sammy1 said:

Shop-Rite supermarkets also sell the Vi-jon version, was $1.99, now up to $2.29.

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Thanks! Can't beat the price, that's for sure.

Pine said:

Thanks for the note and link to the other thread. Now I need to buy a vintage Old Spice bottle on Ebay (or the B&B boards) for my Family Dollar purchase. Are vintage glass Old Spice bottles ever sold or traded here? Thanks again.

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Why not just buy the glass bottle of Original Old Spice from India and when you use it up, decant your Family Dollar Spice? If you can find a seller of the European Original Old Spice aftershave or eau de toilette that ships to the USA, that would do as well.

Shaveathon said:

Why not just buy the glass bottle of Original Old Spice from India and when you use it up, decant your Family Dollar Spice? If you can find a seller of the European Original Old Spice aftershave or eau de toilette that ships to the USA, that would do as well.

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That's a great idea. Where do you recommend purchasing the glass bottle of Original Old Spice from India? WCS? Another source? Thanks.

Pine said:

That's a great idea. Where do you recommend purchasing the glass bottle of Original Old Spice from India? WCS? Another source? Thanks.

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You could also try Ebay. Look for sellers that have decent stock (more than just a few available), sell more than one type of shaving product, have over one thousand reviews with around 99% positive feedback, and offer free shipping.

You guys almost had me believe that the current OS wasn't worth trying (I know this isn't the intent of the thread of course). I can't comment on the whole formula change and all but I bought a current, PG, Canadian-made bottle of the classic this week and you know what? I quite enjoy it... better or worse than the original I don't mind, it's still something I like, lasts much longer than any of my other after shaves.

The store had old inventory and I saw an old US-made bottle, I may go back and grab it just for fun. In the store, sniffed straight from the bottle they seemed to smell identical to me though. They also had some 75mL or 100 mL bottles (I just remember it was a smaller volume) with a grey stopper. I really have to go back and check those.

Surgeon said:

You guys almost had me believe that the current OS wasn't worth trying (I know this isn't the intent of the thread of course). I can't comment on the whole formula change and all but I bought a current, PG, Canadian-made bottle of the classic this week and you know what? I quite enjoy it... better or worse than the original I don't mind, it's still something I like, lasts much longer than any of my other after shaves.

The store had old inventory and I saw an old US-made bottle, I may go back and grab it just for fun. In the store, sniffed straight from the bottle they seemed to smell identical to me though. They also had some 75mL or 100 mL bottles (I just remember it was a smaller volume) with a grey stopper. I really have to go back and check those.

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Can you take some photos of the bottle in the store, especially the wording on the back of the bottle and the box. It would be interesting to see if Shulton is mentioned anywhere if it's a glass bottle.

I still enjoy the Classic Old Spice, but it's just not as spicy as the version that P&G issued when they first bought the company in 1990, and still had Shulton listed on the bottle. I also don't find the scent of the aftershave to have much longevity, especially in comparison to Aqua Velva Musk or Clubman Original aftershave. The AV Musk has good projection, too. That said, I think the Old Spice Classic Cologne is stronger and spicier than the Classic aftershave as well as the Original OS aftershave from India. I sniffed the Classic OS cologne in a store months ago, but I'm finding it hard to locate the 6.37 oz. bottle. I imagine that the Old Spice Original EDT that's available in Europe is even stronger.

I'll post pics when I lay my hands on them. I must confess: the only AV product I don't hate with a passion was the ice balm (solid blue plastic bottle). I'm surely in the minority here but I'd rather just splash pure rubbing alcohol on myself than wear the other ones... No offense intended to those who like them of course...

I was pretty excited when I found this Old Spice clone today at a cheap market in town. Unfortunately, it was about as far from Old Spice as a scent can get. On top of that, it smelled of jet fuel and isopropyl. Oh well.

Pine said:

I was pretty excited when I found this Old Spice clone today at a cheap market in town. Unfortunately, it was about as far from Old Spice as a scent can get. On top of that, it smelled of jet fuel and isopropyl. Oh well.

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Vi-Jon's Family Dollar and CVS Spice aftershave is a pretty good knockoff of Original Old Spice and your Basic Spice looks to be a knockoff of the Vi-Jon knockoff! Your bottle has some similar wording on the label but different ingredients from the Vi-Jon version. The embossed sailboat is on the front of your bottle and it's on the back of the Vi-Jon bottle. The Vi-Jon label doesn't indicates it's made in China and the back of the bottle is also stamped with a manufacturing date as well as an expiration date.

Shaveathon said:

Vi-Jon's Family Dollar and CVS Spice aftershave is a pretty good knockoff of Original Old Spice and your Basic Spice looks to be a knockoff of the Vi-Jon knockoff! Your bottle has some similar wording on the label but different ingredients from the Vi-Jon version. The embossed sailboat is on the front of your bottle and it's on the back of the Vi-Jon bottle. The Vi-Jon label doesn't indicates it's made in China and the back of the bottle is also stamped with a manufacturing date as well as an expiration date.

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I could not imagine applying this "knockoff of a knockoff" to my skin, much less to my freshly shaven face!

Pine said:

I could not imagine applying this "knockoff of a knockoff" to my skin, much less to my freshly shaven face!

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"I Can't Believe Its Not I Can't Believe Its Not Butter."

This Filo America knockoff (http://www.upcindex.com/793366206222) of Vi-Jon's Spicy Old Spice knockoff contains several ingredients not found in the Vi-Jon version: PEG-60 hydrogrenated castor oil, the delicious aluminum zirconium tetrachlorohydrate which is used in anti-perspirants (http://chem.sis.nlm.nih.gov/chemidplus/rn/57158-29-9) and DMDM_hydantoin (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DMDM_hydantoin).

Filo America is located in Los Angeles, California and appears to be a distributor of products made in China (http://filoamerica.com) while Vi-Jon operates out of St. Louis, Missouri and looks like a manufacturer of health related products that are made in the USA. http://www.vijon.com/. Their Swan products line is found in many discount stores.

http://www.vijon.com/about-us/#approach

• 1992: Vi-Jon purchases a new plant on Page Avenue in St. Louis. Within the year, a compounding section is added, executive offices are moved from the original plant, and six production lines are running.
• 1997: Germ-X is launched.
• 2006: Vi‐Jon and Tennessee‐based manufacturer Cumberland‐Swan, which was founded in 1898, merged, instantly doubling the size of the company.
• 2008: Vi-Jon celebrates its one hundredth anniversary and has grown to five manufacturing and distribution centers in St. Louis, Missouri and Smyrna, Tennessee.
• 2012: Construction is completed on a million-gallon wastewater treatment plant located on the grounds of the Smyrna, Tennessee facility. The new treatment plant is fully compliant with regulations and is more efficient.

It's surprising that when Vi-Jon released their alternative to Original Old Spice, they left out the PEG-60 hydrogenated castor oil, which is part of the Old Spice formula.

Shaveathon said:

This Filo America knockoff (http://www.upcindex.com/793366206222) of Vi-Jon's Spicy Old Spice knockoff contains several ingredients not found in the Vi-Jon version: PEG-60 hydrogrenated castor oil, the delicious aluminum zirconium tetrachlorohydrate which is used in anti-perspirants (http://chem.sis.nlm.nih.gov/chemidplus/rn/57158-29-9) and DMDM_hydantoin (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DMDM_hydantoin).

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Well, this is interesting! Your findings might very well explain why the Filo smelled of jet fuel and rubbing alcohol.

Pine said:

I was pretty excited when I found this Old Spice clone today at a cheap market in town. Unfortunately, it was about as far from Old Spice as a scent can get. On top of that, it smelled of jet fuel and isopropyl. Oh well.

View attachment 633885View attachment 633886

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I picked up one of these a while ago and found it pretty wretched. I haven't found a use for it yet, glad that I didn't pay much for it. The Vi-Jon clones I've found all seem to want over $5 for a bottle, haven't found a deal yet.

yakster said:

The Vi-Jon clones I've found all seem to want over $5 for a bottle, haven't found a deal yet.

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Search for the nearest Family Dollar store. You'll find it there for about $2 to $2.50:

http://www.familydollar.com/store-results

Seneca said:

"I Can't Believe Its Not I Can't Believe Its Not Butter."

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I was shocked!

So, I dropped by the store again today to have a look. To my surprise, there were 4 bottles of US-made OS (2.5oz) that were glass with a gray stopper. 4 other bottles were plastic but US-made again (4.3 oz).

I snatched the 4 glass bottles (of course), seeing how they can, at the least be 8 years old.

Would've been fun to get some US-made plastic bottles as well but there's a point where a man has to say enough... to me that's when I'm taking 4 identical bottles of AS to the register in a very cheap store in town.

Here are a few pics: