by Darrin Vindiola
Old Spice aftershave is one of those products that has truly stood the test of time. Old Spice has been around since 1938, which should come as no surprise seeing as it does exactly what it's meant to do, and does so quite efficiently.
Old Spice has done a heck of a job retooling their image over the last few years. Their line of products are now viewed as hip and cool.. a far cry from just a few years ago when their products were primarily thought of as being primarily used by old guys.
I've tried out some of their new body sprays and shower gels, but now find myself having a soft spot for the classic Old Spice aftershave and cologne. For years however, I had an aversion to buying it because of the stigma that only old guys only wore it.
Staples in my arsenal of grooming tools
I've loved the smell of Old Spice ever since I was a young boy and my old man used it. Once I began shaving in my early teen's, I started splashing on Dad's Old Spice after every shave. The product served two purposes. It quickly acted as an astringent keeping my skin irritation free, and provided a subtle and pleasant smelling scent. My Dad used to say that Old Spice was the best aftershave ever made. He even used to keep a bottle in his barber shop for the times he'd perform straight razor shaves on his clientele.
Once I hit the age of 15, I abandoned Old Spice and opted for hipper and swankier aftershaves like "Brut". Shortly thereafter I switched to using non scented aftershave lotion, and would slather on colognes like Obsession or Polo. It wouldn't be until early 2010 before I bought Old Spice aftershave once again.
A gift any retro dad would be proud to receive
Much to my surprise however, the aftershave worked way better than anything I had used in recent years. I was also impressed by the scent. Mellow, smooth, and of course.. familiar. I'm sure most ladies can attest to instances where guys smell like they've showered in AXE or similar products. Some cat's just don't realize that sometimes less is more. They douse themselves with their scent of choice so heavily, that you can taste it. In this day and age of sinus twisting body sprays which linger forever even after the person wearing them has long since left the room, the mild scent of Old Spice is truly refreshing. Sure you can definitely overdo it, but that's the case with any cologne or aftershave.
As for the old guy stigma attached to Old Spice? Heck.. I've already embraced my inner "Old Guy" so that's really a non issue for me now. At a time when I was wondering what reactions I would garner by wearing this retro scent, something happened on two occasions which surprised me. While I was shopping one day, a gal probably in her early thirties actually expressed to me that she liked the cologne I was wearing. Also.. while at work, a co-worker said my cologne smelled pretty good, and asked what brand I wore. It seems that Classic Old Spice has been out of the mainstream for so long, that many Millennials and Generation Z-ers very well might not be familiar with the product.
I will say this however, variety is the Spice of life no pun intended, so I use the classic Scent occasionally. Old Spice offers other aftershaves that are more familiar to 21st century male grooming products, which I use on a much more regular basis. All work just as good as the classic scent and as a real retro bonus.. they are bottled in that same old school classic container! If you're interested, 'Wolfthorn' and 'Fresh Lime' are a couple of other great Old Spice scents you can find out there.
Touting the retro goodness of this product could be just what it needs to reinvigorate the classic line of products. Whether it's wishful thinking on this retro Dad's part, or a real possibility.. remains to be seen. Nevertheless, I'll continue to proudly use classic Old Spice on occasion, and sing its praises for years to come.