Aqua Velva Original Sport has eluded most wet shavers in the US, because it is only available in Canada. I have wanted to try it for a very long time. I recently arranged a trade with a fellow B&Ber from Canada, so I could finally experience this green elixir. What follows is my experience and review of it.
First of all, the trade was amazing. Shipping was uncharacteristically (and amazingly) fast! His box to me arrived in 5 days! And my package to him took 6. And surprisingly we both received our packages on the same day. That was nuts. He sent me 3 boxes of Williams Mug Soap, 2 decorative glass bottles, and 3 bottles of AV Original Sport.
So, first of all the bottles are huge! It's 235ml of aftershave, but being metric system challenged in the US, that doesn't mean a whole lot to me. I'm used to seeing 3.5 oz bottles in the store, which is about 103ml. And less common in stores now is the 7oz bottle, which is about 207ml. So this bottle is even slightly bigger than that, at about 7.95oz! That's a lot of juice!
Now, a little back story, I'm a big fan of AV Ice Blue and AV Musk, but not so much a fan of Ice Sport. Ice Sport has that cheap knock-off cologne vibe to me. It also has that cheap sporty scent that you'd expect a middle/high school locker room to smell like. I feel like it's just a step above the Axe sprays that are so common these days (probably the way folks viewed Brut in the 70s/80s, huh?). Anyway, I think it is supposed to smell like Cool Water, which is where I'm picking up the cologne type smell from.
So, I told you that to say this. My first impression upon wearing it, was that it was similar to Ice Sport. It had that same cologne-type scent, but in a different way. I could tell these two 'sports' were kin, but still unique. It doesn't smell at all like Cool Water, and all I could think initially was that it just smelled 'green'.
And talk about strong! Boy, howdy... it goes on even heavier than Ice Blue! The first time I put it on, I though, "Oh My, what have I gotten myself into... not sure if I like it." Luckily, it fades nicely, and the initial strength is gone after 30 minutes or so. But after the drydown, it stays fairly constant throughout the day. Which is a big plus. The scent on my skin at the end of the day was subtle, but still present. That's about perfect performance from an AS in my opinion. Just don't put it on immediately before a meeting, or you'll be "that guy".
Now, going back to the scent, I hated it at first sniff. It was just too strong and cologney at the onset, but after the drydown it is quite pleasant. It took me a few times of using it, to figure out what it smells like, at least to me. I don't have a very refined sniffer. I can't isolate notes, so I can't describe it in much detail. But I think I have figured out, that this is a fougere scent. I could be wrong, but that is what it smells like to me. And the more I use it, the more I like it. But I still don't care for it at the beginning, so I kinda have to suffer through the first part of it. But after that it's really great.
So, this is now a new favorite of mine. I do love the green scent. I'd probably place this either right in front or right behind the Musk. I haven't figured out which I like better yet. But at any rate, it's way better than the Ice Sport. At least to me. If you are a fan of the Ice Sport scent, then your opinion may differ. If you are able to find some Original Sport, it's definitely worth it.
I'm curious, for those of you who have tried it, how you describe the scent.
First of all, the trade was amazing. Shipping was uncharacteristically (and amazingly) fast! His box to me arrived in 5 days! And my package to him took 6. And surprisingly we both received our packages on the same day. That was nuts. He sent me 3 boxes of Williams Mug Soap, 2 decorative glass bottles, and 3 bottles of AV Original Sport.
So, first of all the bottles are huge! It's 235ml of aftershave, but being metric system challenged in the US, that doesn't mean a whole lot to me. I'm used to seeing 3.5 oz bottles in the store, which is about 103ml. And less common in stores now is the 7oz bottle, which is about 207ml. So this bottle is even slightly bigger than that, at about 7.95oz! That's a lot of juice!
Now, a little back story, I'm a big fan of AV Ice Blue and AV Musk, but not so much a fan of Ice Sport. Ice Sport has that cheap knock-off cologne vibe to me. It also has that cheap sporty scent that you'd expect a middle/high school locker room to smell like. I feel like it's just a step above the Axe sprays that are so common these days (probably the way folks viewed Brut in the 70s/80s, huh?). Anyway, I think it is supposed to smell like Cool Water, which is where I'm picking up the cologne type smell from.
So, I told you that to say this. My first impression upon wearing it, was that it was similar to Ice Sport. It had that same cologne-type scent, but in a different way. I could tell these two 'sports' were kin, but still unique. It doesn't smell at all like Cool Water, and all I could think initially was that it just smelled 'green'.
And talk about strong! Boy, howdy... it goes on even heavier than Ice Blue! The first time I put it on, I though, "Oh My, what have I gotten myself into... not sure if I like it." Luckily, it fades nicely, and the initial strength is gone after 30 minutes or so. But after the drydown, it stays fairly constant throughout the day. Which is a big plus. The scent on my skin at the end of the day was subtle, but still present. That's about perfect performance from an AS in my opinion. Just don't put it on immediately before a meeting, or you'll be "that guy".
Now, going back to the scent, I hated it at first sniff. It was just too strong and cologney at the onset, but after the drydown it is quite pleasant. It took me a few times of using it, to figure out what it smells like, at least to me. I don't have a very refined sniffer. I can't isolate notes, so I can't describe it in much detail. But I think I have figured out, that this is a fougere scent. I could be wrong, but that is what it smells like to me. And the more I use it, the more I like it. But I still don't care for it at the beginning, so I kinda have to suffer through the first part of it. But after that it's really great.
So, this is now a new favorite of mine. I do love the green scent. I'd probably place this either right in front or right behind the Musk. I haven't figured out which I like better yet. But at any rate, it's way better than the Ice Sport. At least to me. If you are a fan of the Ice Sport scent, then your opinion may differ. If you are able to find some Original Sport, it's definitely worth it.
I'm curious, for those of you who have tried it, how you describe the scent.
