Early American Old Spice for Women

I impulse purchased a bottle of this off eBay this week. It came in a set along with a bottle of similarly scented bubble bath soap. (should I try the soap? I'm scared to) Both in a very 30/40s folk art-inspired box. This was the clear slightly oval bottle with a white cap and band around the neck that says "toilet water". When I opened the bottle I was struck with a punch of mixed florals and powder. I was reminded of both feminine and masculine vintage scents. It has a barbershop fougere quality as well as a powdery floral quality. As it dried down the familiar Old Spice smell began to shine through with its carnation, clove, and woody components. It's been a while since I smelled classic old spice deodorant but it's deeply ingrained in my olfactive memory since my dad always wore it. The main differences I detect are more prominent Rose, Lavender, and Powderiness/Orris. According to the fragrantica pyramids, it lacks the nutmeg and anise notes found in the men's. I would have to smell side by side to judge those notes. It's fascinating to me that one of the most famous and iconic men's scents started as a woman's scent and evidently didn't need to be changed much. Nowadays basil, petitgrain, and lavender are more often associated with "masculine" scents. It goes to show you how socially constructed these associations are. As a personal aside: I love the gender fuckery of wearing a women's fragrance that became a men's fragrance as a trans person. I think anyone who can pull off wearing a 90+ year old fragrance could pull this off regardless of their gender. In a way It's quite unisex. its overall impression to me is mostly; antique, nostalgic, spicy, and warm. <3

Recently, I shared my thoughts on Old Spice as a tribute to my Dad for Father's Day. Many do not realize that Old Spice was actually a variant of the original Early American Old Spice, marketed to women, and originally dubbed Old Spice for Men. The formulas differ little, both heavy on clove, with Early American having orange, basil, lavender and rose dominate the initial phases, with an overall plush, powdery feel. Otherwise, the dry downs are quite similar, with more prominent nutmeg and cinnamon and anise in the heart of Old Spice for Men. I perceive neither as being more feminine or masculine, which is proof positive that in this nascent time of gendered fragrances in the 1930s, there was much overlap and convergence between men's and women's fragrance formulas that we would continue to see for years to come. Early American Old Spice was eventually discontinued by the 1960s, while Old Spice for Men, by then simply Old Spice, became the men's grooming icon in the decades that followed.

A comforting warming smell - not too spicy, not too powdery, not too sweet. It's a comforting blanket type of smell. With a balmy aspect.

I finally got an old vintage bottle of Early American Old Spice, and am wearing it and Old Spice Cologne (the men's version) to compare the two. I'm not sure how useful this comparison is given how old this Early American Old Spice juice is. It seems this old juice's pyramid is truncated, with mostly woody and earthy base notes manifesting more strongly, while the mid's spice and florals just aren't lively. I did an AI query on the differences between the women's and men's version and looked at the Fragrantica accord stack and note listing to use along with my nose to try and compare the two scents. A good place to start is with the AI assessment: "Early American Old Spice for Women has a softer, plusher scent with more prominent floral and powdery notes from ingredients like rose and lavender, while Old Spice for Men is a spicier, more citrus-heavy and amber-like scent, with nutmeg, cinnamon, and vanilla being more central. " I do NOT agree this women's version is softer, plusher, and with more prominent floral and powdery notes. Quite the opposite actually, and it appears that the Fragrantica votes agree with me. The 'Floral' accord is listed second from the top of the stack for the men's Old Spice version, and at the very BOTTOM of the accord stack for the women's Early American Old Spice version. That is quite a difference. I do agree with the AI assessment that Old Spice for Men is a spicier, more citrus-heavy and amber-like scent, with nutmeg, cinnamon, and vanilla being more central. The cinnamon in the men's version is far more apparent to my nose than the cloves in the women's. The anise joins in the spicier men's version and aldehydes gives the men's version more lift. Then again, I'm wondering if the much greater age of the 1950's Early American Old Spice juice has deadened its top and mid notes. I get almost all of the woody, earthy base, with mere background hints of the spice, floral and citrus in the women's. But again, the listed accord stack reflects some of that reality reaching my nose, so my conclusion is a bit of both: age-effected juice in the Early American Old Spice for Women AND less spicy, floral, and more woody. Powderiness is roughly the same in both, which is reflected by its position in the accord stack. What is interesting is that to my nose, the women's Early American Old Spice is more masculine that Old Spice for Men! While I'm using an Old Spice Cologne for Men splash bottle that is at least three decades old, my 3/4 fluid oz. splash bottle of Early American Old Spice has, written around the neck of the bottle, "Shulton Inc., Clifton NJ, USA. Toilet Water. 3/4 FL. OZ." AI seems to suggest that this little splash bottle is from the 1950's. AI also suggested Early American Old Spice (marketed to women) was discontinued sometime in the 1950's. So its much older juice than the vintage Old Spice Cologne for Men.

So, my question is, how close/different does this smell to the iconic, classic, ubiquitous men's Old Spice? All I know is I've read that the profile of the 1937 women's version was "tweaked" in 1938 to create the iconic men's version.