OK...I imagine you have already read this...and this isn't filled with documentationing data...But it's on the money...ClubmanRob knows his stuff...

I copied this from "ClubmanRob" Aug 29, 2009...B&B:
In a nutshell...

Aqua Velva was introduced in 1929 as a mouthwash/hair tonic/aftershave, and a couple of years later it was marketed strictly as an aftershave. The original formula was a brownish/amber colored liquid and from what I can tell, it smells almost exactly like the Ice Blue we have today, give or take a couple of off notes. Williams got the contract to supply the US government with AV during WWII where it found its way into most soldiers Dopp kits. Because it was the only form of alcohol readily available to most of the boys in the trenches, it was pretty popular as a spirit.

To discourage this behavior, Uncle Sam pressured Williams into mixing the formula into something a little less desirable as a drink, so Williams added a bittering agent and changed the color to something similar to the Blue we have now. Rumors that the new batch was poisonous were spread in order to discourage drinking by our armed forces.

In the mid 50's Williams tired of manufacturing two different blends of AV- one for civilians and one for soldiers- so it was decided that they would trim their production to the "blue" AV. Instead of explaining this to the consumers of the day, (cue Don Draper) it was decided that a new ad campaign triumphing the Ice Blue as a new product would make more sense. So, in '55 or '56 the Ice Blue was in and the Brown was out. Soon AV was available in all types of different flavors, including Sport and Musk which are still manufactured today.

It's stayed pretty remarkably true to its roots for the most part. In the late eighties, amid slagging sales, Williams decided to stop making the original formula Ice Blue and to try marketing their Euro blend (which was cheaper to make) and it damn near put them into bankruptcy. The Original came back with a warm welcome.

Not much to add, except for that embarrassing lapse in judgment earlier this year where they were considering putting Aqua Velva in plastic bottles, until we here at B&B flooded their offices with complaints and hate mail. I think that's a moment in AV history that Williams/Combe would rather forget, though...

END OF QUOTE....

Unfortunately a few years later after this B&B post was made, they did go to the plastic bottles....but at least we still have the juice...

Ohhh and I see the original date issue again.....this leads me to believe....if AV was originally released in 1917 that maybe it wasn't really "known" until 1929....

Yes I have come across this. And yes I think the first half of that is absolute rubbish. You pointed out the date issue. But also it really sounds to me that he has confused the topic with Listerine. The way he is describing the color is not the same as Aqua Velva, you can see in advertisements dating from the 20s through 40s that Aqua Velva was a crisp, light Yellow color. NOT the brownish/amber color he is describing. But you know what is, Listerine is that color. Also around the same time frame that he is quoting Listerine was in fact an aftershave. You can see in this advertisement that has been retained at Duke University that in 1930 Listerine was an aftershave. You can also see here in this advertisement from 1926 that Listerine was also a hair tonic for Dandruff. You can also see Listerine here advertised as an Astringent for women in 1928.

Because I believe that he is mixing two different products in his head, that totally blows his credibility with me. Human memory is known to be flawed you have just shown that. Maybe at one time he knew his stuff but not in 2009 and unless someone has corrected him he probably still does not. If something is true then odds are there is documentation somewhere to back it up. For instance if in fact "Williams got the contract to supply the US government with AV during WWII", then where is that contract? By now this should be public record. Where is it? Show me the proof.

Also another thing I absolutely disagree with this statement "The original formula was a brownish/amber colored liquid and from what I can tell, it smells almost exactly like the Ice Blue we have today, give or take a couple of off notes." Yes this is an opinion but in my opinion they smell nothing alike. The modern AV Ice Blue smells similar to the 70s AV Ice Blue but not that similar. Neither Ice Blues smell anything like the original 20s through 30s Aqua Velva. I don't have a 40s through 50s bottle to compare but I don't think it had changed in this time frame.

As for the original date according to Connecticuthistory.org "In 1923, the advertising tagline was Your Strongest Suit – A Face That’s Fit!" This slogan can be found on advertising all through the 20s.

Well, hopefully your quest for truth will bring you hours of enjoyment, and make you lots of new friends on the way.

So here is another Aqua Velva mystery that needs solving:

"A new exhibit at the Diefenbunker Museum in Carp has recreated the CANEX store that operated at the underground base during the Cold War.

The stores, first opened under a different name in the 1950s, sold personal supplies at military bases around the world. They provided military families with North American consumer goods and services, no matter where they were posted.

The Diefenbunker has recreated a CANEX store from 1977, featuring many of the items that would have lined the shelves at the time."

You can see midway down the page bottles of Aqua Velva. These bottles and boxes at first glance look like regular vintage bottles and boxes. However if you look closer you'll see that they are labeled 1 3/4 FL. OZ. or 1.75 FL. OZ. I have seen the bottles in this size from the 70s. But I have never ever anywhere seen the boxes in this size.

So do you think these are original old stock from somewhere or do you think these are historic reproductions that are goofed?

I've used the European Aqua Velva for a while now. I rate it slightly below the German Pitralon. Not sure if the American one is better (but if it is in a plastic bottle, I'll pass. Aftershave belongs in a glass or ceramic bottle, not in cheapish plastic).

That's it, I'm never using AV again after this thread! No, I'm not going to provide a sworn affidavit or court injunction papers to support this.

@Weasel640 sir, you are one good sleuth I'll give you that. May I suggest you find a way to present your facts in a manner that is a little less accusatory and perhaps a bit friendlier? We here at The Shave Den try to be a forum that is kind and friendly and frankly sir, while your info is likely correct and supported, I find myself not caring one iota for your side due to the harshness in which you deliver it.

It kind of feels like you are coming in and bullying friendly people for something that is hardly worth requiring such treatment. We aren't trying to convince someone of some other weighty subject.

You are welcome here man, please work on your delivery....this ain't the forum for angst and misery. You'll find many others that'll scratch that itch further down the interwebs.

I do believe that a forum is only as good as the information that is being put out on it. If that information is wrong then that entire forum loses credibility. I believe allowing wrong information to be posted without correcting it with research based reasoning is setting a poor standard.

I do not equate being direct and honest on my beliefs to bullying. I'm sorry if pointing out something might be wrong, and presenting why I think it's wrong and/or asking for clarity feels unfriendly to some, but I don't agree. To me having that discussion and presenting that evidence is exactly the opposite. If something I've said is wrong then please show me why it is wrong. Otherwise I think we just have a differing opinion on how we feel about direct vs passive discussion.

But hey if that going to cause you not to use Aqua Velva then that'll be more for me to collect up and squirrel away for later. I love the stuff.

So, seriously, you read what you say and how confrontational you are being and you don't find it even slightly abrasive? If someone came to a forum you've been a member of for nearly a decade (I'm rounding, please see my stats for evidence of having nearly a decade's worth of membership here) and started rather assertively pushing information into a very casual discussion, how would you feel? Nobody likes to be poked in the chest and have someone get in their face about something, especially such a casual topic. This thread went from a very nice and casual discussion on the merits of AV and have turned into a thesis discussion without anyone being able to get a conversational mention of AV having a mouthwash/drinkable history simply because there is no trail to back it up, without you stepping up to them. Please, check your audience. Your behavior IS NOT friendly, whether you do or don't see it. Can you not see this? Lighten up a little, please. I think we can all see you know your stuff with respect to AV. I think we could all learn things from you and would appreciate your contribution to the site. I know this group....if you can't feel them recoiling, I'm telling you, they are. Let's relax and have some fun.

I say we all drink an 'Aqua Velva'...not the after shave but the coctail named in it's honor...
Aqua Velva Cocktail recipe as donated by Jake Gyllenhaal to a book of Hollywood mixed drinks...
RECIPE
3⁄4 oz / 19 ml vodka
3⁄4 oz/19 ml gin
1⁄2 oz / 12.5 ml blue curaçao
Lemon-limeade, such as 7UP or Sprite


Shake the first three ingredients with ice and pour into a Hurricane glass filled with ice. Top up with the lemon-limeade. Garnish with a lemon slice and a cherry skewered together on a cocktail stick, along with a cocktail umbrella and straw.

Or we could splash the cocktail on our faces and drink the after shave...

nahhh, I'm stickin with what's worked for decades. Y'know, I use ACT mouthwash after brushing my teeth, and it looks quite like Aqua Velva, but a darker blue. One for one thing, the other for the other.

Great idea! I'll drink to that suggestion!

Hey...Vodka, and gin have worked together for ages....just never added blue curacao to it before...But I'm game...

DISCLAIMER: And any suggestion about throwing the cocktail in our faces and drinking the after shave was strickly in jest....If anyone took me serious about it I apologise...

Too late Lloyd! My face is sweet with curacao and my breath is amazing!

(J/K too, please nobody drink Aqua Velva, the alleged mouthwash days of the wonder tonic are long past)

Now, just for a moment, while we are posting about an Aqua Velva cocktail, using curacao as an ingredient... Who can pronounce curacao correctly...?

I'll try...."KER A COW"

Hrmmm... This is what I thought for many years, but I was told that I was wrong!

Achtung!

looks like the young Bruce Lee in The Green Hornet

@stingraysrock it is cure-a-sow I believe.

Bewm! You got it Bob!