No, Old Spice was never "reformulated"

Discussion in 'Scents' started by olafurson, Feb 21, 2009.

  1. olafurson

    olafurson Member

    And here's why I say that:

    1. Proctor and Gamble says it's the same formula Shulton used back in the day. Why would they lie?

    2. I bought lots and lots of bottles of Old Spice to prove or disprove this theory. Spent lots of money on eBay. Bought bottles that were new, 10, 20, 30 and 50 years old.

    Here's the truth, IMHO:

    After a few years, a new bottle of Old Spice loses a little of its sharp top note, and a bit of the alcohol, and goes straight to the luscious middle and base notes. That's all there is to it.

    If you put the "new" stuff on your arm and wait a few minutes, it'll smell just like "vintage" does.

    IMHO. and my DWHO as well.

    Cheers, fellas.
     
    178-bplatoon and Asd like this.
  2. Hi there,

    I've read some of your other posts, and it should be good having you as a member here. Always nice to have someone posting about things (like fragrances) that lots of us are interested in. I look forward to seeing more of your thoughts. Heh, also, it seems like you may even have a good sense of humor. Oh, how are you with sarcasm (asked innocently).

    Anyway, those were some interesting observations by you two, and it really surprised me. I haven't sniffed the older and newer versions side by side, but most people who have did notice a difference. Yeah, this fragrance thing is pretty weird. Actually, the most logical answer is that someone is lying........only thing that makes sense.

    Speaking of weird......yes, this 'hobby' can become sort of addicting to just a few of us, and it looks like you're set to jump in with both feet. Heh, lots of us will be happy to assist in your various acquisitions.......no problem there.

    Good luck on your convoluted and twisted journey,
    Martin
     
    PLANofMAN likes this.
  3. olafurson

    olafurson Member

    What can I say, the Newbie Free-Stuff Contest reeled me in. :o

    Thanks for your kind words. I look forward to being here.
     
    SRNewb likes this.
  4. olafurson

    olafurson Member

    PS: Woohoo! 15 posts! :D
     
  5. 1969Fatboy

    1969Fatboy New Member

    I would be glad to hear if the 2 are the same. I will admit that i am not a monster OS fan but still admire and appreciate it as well as respect it. I do know that certain fragrances do change and this might be one. It was always an assumption that OS didnt spoil, ferment, change, evolve, etc b/c of its non-transparent glass bottle. Those of us younger folks(34) still think OS is OS. I think that people perceive formulations changing to start controversy. I would be curious to see how the Indian Shulton OS compares to the new and old versions as well if you havent already touched on that. I did read about the lime version.
     
  6. wchnu

    wchnu Duck Season!

    And they were post that actually counted for something.. BRAVO... Some post BS stuff or dredge up old post to get in... You sir did not. thanks for the Info and welcome to the Den.

    Fuzzy
     
  7. rollsshaver

    rollsshaver Peace be with you

    This is my take on the Old Spice situation. Now, I have been using Old Spice longer than most of you have been alive. Whenever P&G has bought out one of these products, they tend to switch to cheaper vendors to get the ingredients they use to make the products. The base formulation may be exactly the same, but the QUALITY of the ingredients is not. The difference in the older OS and the newer OS is really minute, and most would not be able to even tell. But there are some who posses very sensitive sniffers. Luckily, I am not one of them!! At the end of the day, Old Spice is still among the most revered and ever popular after shave colognes in history, and most likely will be for many years to come.
     
    Eeyore, 178-bplatoon and SRNewb like this.
  8. Baloosh

    Baloosh Duder

    I have 3 bottles of vintage OS, two bought off ebay and one that was my Dad's when I was growing up (in the 70's/80's). All 3 smell similar, and all 3 definitely smell different than what's available in drugstores these days under the OS name.

    The difference is subtle, but very noticeable.
     
  9. Well........to continue along the fishing idea for a minute: Hehehehe, you better hope you DON'T win all that stuff! Yeah, right now you're just still sorta nibbling at the bait....maybe the hook is very lightly set in your upper lip. You still have time to escape if things go right, in other words.

    Winning the double lucky bonus newbie jackpot is like..........think of swallowing the hook totally. No way to fight it then........you are truly hooked. There's a great selection of things being offered, and it will be too much of an onslaught of scent and sensations to ever free yourself from this innocent looking 'hobby'.

    There now, I hope that makes you feel better....just in case you don't win.
    Martin
     
  10. rollsshaver

    rollsshaver Peace be with you

    The guy who got my package from the December newbie award got some suprises.... All I will say is that I hope he likes fish.
     
  11. olafurson

    olafurson Member

    As for the Indian old spice...

    I only ever tried the Fresh Lime from India, and the American version was "better". Now, my theory on this is that the American version, which was 20 years old, had lost some of the Indian version's top notes that I didn't like anyway.

    I strongly suspect that Indian Old Spice will smell virtually identical to American Old Spice.

    Plus, the Indian stuff comes in a cheap red plastic bottle with a cheap screw-on cap, which I consider a huge negative.

    Of course, I suppose the American stuff now comes in a cheap white plastic bottle with a red cap... so we're all screwed either way.

    My preference at this point is recent-vintage glass-bottled OS from eBay. I personally prefer the spray cologne version with the gold top, which for some godawful reason has been discontinued and replaced by a messy splash.

    As an aside... I would be willing to bet Proctor and Gamble get at least some of their "ingredients" from India anyway. So really it's all a wash.
     
  12. crackstar

    crackstar Israeli Ambassador to TSD

    No, I am definitely convinced that the Shulton version of Old Spice is nicer-smelling than the P & G version.
     
  13. ClubmanRob

    ClubmanRob New Member

    Hi all, first post here. Some of you may know me from Badger and Blade, and for those that don't I'm a vintage aftershave and cologne aficionado as well as a chemical engineer. I've analyzed all eras of Old Spice, and this is the breakdown of the five different major reformulations of Old Spice.

    Original formulation (Schulton): From 1938-1990.

    Early P&G: (1990-1992): Essentially the same as Schulton, but with the removal of saccharine as one of the ingredients. Less "tart" than Schulton.

    First major P&G reformulation: (1992-2007): Added alcohol, less fragrance.

    P&G Plastic Bottle re-formulation (2008-present): Same amount of alcohol, substitution of genuine floral extracts for synthetic knock offs.

    There's also the Indian version that's floating around. Contrary to popular belief, this is not the original Schulton formula. It is closer to Schulton than the current P&G formulation, however.

    If you have a bottle of vintage Schulton that smells just like the current P&G, one of three things have happened- the fragrance has "turned", the bottle has been refilled with modern Old Spice, or your sense of smell is not discerning enough to pick up the difference.
     
  14. JimR

    JimR Active Member

    Hi ClubmanRob, thanks for posting! We LOOOVE science here.
    Welcome to the Den, by the way.
     
  15. crackstar

    crackstar Israeli Ambassador to TSD

    Welcome!
     
  16. ClubmanRob

    ClubmanRob New Member

  17. Baloosh

    Baloosh Duder

    Awesome post, and welcome!!!

    I've bolded the part in your post above that strikes me as similar to my findings. The Indian Old Spice splash doesn't smell *exactly* like the vintage Shulton's stuff, but it's close.

    Thanks for the clarification on all the different versions!
     
  18. otherstar

    otherstar Rodney Dangerfield of TSD

    Thanks and welcome the The Den! I'm going to have to find some vintage OS. I used an old bottle when I first started shaving and when that emptied, I bought new. I honestly don't recall what the original formula smelled like.
     
  19. Dave_D

    Dave_D Member

    After comparing them both there doesnt seem to be major difference, but there IS a difference. The Shulton is a little sharper in a good way, less powdery than the P&G (which is still a good scent)
     
  20. nefastvs

    nefastvs New Member

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