In Praise of Japanese Aftershaves

[hmansion]

Unfortunately, I do not read any Japanese. However, from the picture that you posted of the two Bravas bottles, one of them seems to be lighter in colour, is it the case with the bigger format? As you probably already tried both, did you notice any differences?

Luc - I opened the liter bottle this morning. It's expensive, green Windex. Sooooo disappointed with Shiseido! I updated my earlier post so that no one who reads it will be persuaded to order! (For the record, I decanted a sample from both the large bottle and small bottle in to two shot glasses to get an accurate comparison of color - the contents of the liter bottle is slightly deeper green.)

I see those giant bottles from time to time when I go to the local DIY/Hardware store. Unfortunately I have a very sensitive wife, and my aftershaves have been largely unused (other than Lucido) since she was first pregnant 2 and a half years ago.

I hope you enjoy your Bravas though hmansion!

Brian - since the bottle ended up smelling like window cleaner, I now understand why you encountered it in a hardware store! Regardless, thank you for the well wishes!

 

[mblakele]

Hmmm - there is no indication anywhere on the bottle as to where it's made, unless it's written in Japanese. My smaller bottles all say "Made in Japan". If you want to see the back label, I can post a pic later of the Japanese text.

I would like to see the back, if you can post a photo. My Japanese is barely good enough to order beer, but someone may be able to enlighten us both.

If the scent is disappointing, maybe it is skunked from the plastic bottle? You could try decanting a little into glass and leaving it alone for a few days.

 

[hmansion]

I would like to see the back, if you can post a photo. My Japanese is barely good enough to order beer, but someone may be able to enlighten us both.

If the scent is disappointing, maybe it is skunked from the plastic bottle? You could try decanting a little into glass and leaving it alone for a few days.

Here's the back label:



Interesting thought about possible "skunking", but in this instance I believe it's a case of Shiseido using a weaker/highly diluted and/or inferior fragrance oil/ingredient. The aroma is very weak, slightly resembling "good" Bravas, but largely overwhelmed by the alcohol aroma. The smell dissipates soon after application, unlike "good" Bravas.

Other than a possible different country of manufacture, I notice this bottle is branded as "Shiseido Professional" (see pic from my original post). It's possible their line of items for salon use have altered formulations (vs items marketed for individual consumers) and some cost-cutting measures have been taken. Just a guess. I'm hopeful someone can identify where this liter bottle of (subpar) Bravas was produced...

 

[mblakele]

Thanks for the photo. My Japanese is just about nonexistent, but what I am not seeing is 日本, the kanji for Japan.

However I do not see Vietnam either: I think that should be ベトナム or maybe ヴェトナム.

For what it is worth, the ingredient list toward the bottom seems to match up with Shiseido_Bravas_Lotion_Aftershave on the wiki, at least roughly. Then the lines under "1,000ml" mention "company" a couple of times, and I think it ends in a Tokyo address. I see 東京 and 7-5-5, so it is probably the same Ginza address that is on the English version. On the English version that address is followed immediately by "Made in Japan", but I do not see anything like that here.

Not very helpful, I know. Hopefully someone else will step in.

 

[stoop]

The only address-like thing on the back is indeed "Tokyo-to, Chuo-ku, Ginza 7-5-5."