I never wore Brut aftershave, but I used to wear Brut stick deodorant back in the 80s. It had a singular scent that everyone in the room could smell, and know someone was wearing Brut. I quickly grew to dislike it. Fast forward to today. I popped the tops on a few aftershaves at Wal-Mart (thanks to whomever suggested that) including Brut. I was stunned to find it nothing like the scent of the stick deodorant from the 80s. It was quite good, to my nose, lacking that telling odor that I remember. So, I bought it and put some on after shaving this afternoon. My wife, an old Brut fan, likes this new iteration, but said "it doesn't smell like Brut, anymore". When did they change the recipe?
They didn't. Faberge Brut Special Reserve is the original aftershave, now gussied up in a fancy bottle and sold as cologne/EdT. Brut 33 (1968 and called 33 because it was 33% of the strength of the original) is now the aftershave, but watered down significantly. It got renamed to just 'Brut.' Then you have the Brut made by Helen of Troy Ltd., Which is different from the Faberge stuff. You also have European versions of Brut, and Australian versions of Brut. In short, if it wasn't made by Faberge, you have one of the licensed versions. It can be quite confusing, as both the Faberge and Helen of Troy versions are sold in the U.S. I've found the Faberge versions at Walgreens pharmacy chain stores. I know far too much about this stuff, and I don't particularly like the scent at all, in any of it's formulations.
Faberge Brut Special Reserve Is silly expensive, compared to regular Brut. BTW, I'm not a fan of it either. There are other vintage aftershaves that I like more, and I have stocked up on them.
I like the recently acquired bottle of Brut Classic that I bought. It smells nothing like the underarm stick from the early 80s.
I always knew the jingle to be "The Essence Of Man", whereas the French say "The Essence of A Man". Was there a particular man the French were referring to?
I avoided Brut like the plague for most of my life, then bought a bottle several years ago and I was pleasantly surprised. I bought the After Shave version from Helen of Troy sold in drugstores. I also bought the knockoff from Dollar General (I think it has been discontinued), and to me it was a dead ringer. To my nose, Avon Tai Winds is very, very close to the same scent. Tai Winds, however, has an extra "ingredament" that kicks it up a notch.
Fifteen years ago my son needed something to cover the smell of a stinky brace after foot surgery for about three months .......... Brut has never smelled the same since.
