Aqua Velva is an American brand of grooming products targeted at men. Its best known product is the Ice Blue
aftershave
Aftershave is a product applied to skin after shaving. Traditionally it is an Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol-based liquid (splash), but it can be a lotion, gel, or even a paste (rheology), paste.
It often contains an antiseptic agent such as de ...
introduced in 1917 by the JB Williams Company.
History
Aqua Velva was first trademarked in 1917 by the JB Williams Company and later acquired by the
Beecham Group
The Beecham Group plc was a British pharmaceutical company. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. Beecham, after having merged with American pharmaceutical company SmithKline Beckman to become SmithKline Beecham, merged with Glaxo We ...
in 1982, SmithKline Beecham in 1989, then by
GlaxoSmithKline
GSK plc, formerly GlaxoSmithKline plc, is a British multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with global headquarters in London, England. Established in 2000 by a merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham. GSK is the ten ...
from 2000 until it was sold to
Combe Incorporated
Combe Incorporated, based in White Plains, New York, is an American personal-care company founded in 1949 by Ivan Combe. Combe products are sold in 64 countries on six continents. Ivan Combe primarily promoted the brand names instead of the comp ...
in 2002. As of 2016, it is marketed by Combe Incorporated and
Unilever
Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy drink, t ...
(formerly
Sara Lee
Sara may refer to:
Arts, media and entertainment Film and television
* Sara (1992 film), ''Sara'' (1992 film), 1992 Iranian film by Dariush Merhjui
* Sara (1997 film), ''Sara'' (1997 film), 1997 Polish film starring Bogusław Linda
* Sara (2010 ...
) in Europe. Aqua Velva products include Classic Ice Blue, Ice Sport, and Musk as well as Original Sport (sold only in Canada). The Classic Ice Blue serves as the original version of Aqua Velva.
Combe Incorporated began shipping Aqua Velva exclusively in plastic "Shatterproof" bottles on February 1, 2010. Previously it had been packaged in glass bottles. It was stated that the change was made at customer request, and that the new plastic packaging contains the same product, with no changes in formulation.
Reception
In James Jones' autobiographical war novel The Thin Red Line, a PX store is set up behind the lines during the Battle of Guadalcanal, which stocked exactly two products: Barbasol shaving foam and Aqua Velva aftershave. Within seven hours, the entire Aqua Velva stock was sold out, while plenty of Barbasol was still available. The reason for this was the high alcohol content of Aqua Velva: mixed with canned grapefruit juice, the aftershave tasted passable and ensured a “solid high” for the narrator's entire company. Later, the alcohol in Aqua Velva was
denatured with denatonium benzoate.
In a nod to the blue color, there is a cocktail called
Aqua Velva
Aqua Velva is an American brand of grooming products targeted at men. Its best known product is the Ice Blue aftershave introduced in 1917 by the JB Williams Company.
History
Aqua Velva was first trademarked in 1917 by the JB Williams Company ...
, which consists of vodka, gin, lemon-lime, and blue curacao. Among other things, this is discussed in the film Zodiac — The Killer's Trail as the favorite drink of author Robert Graysmith.
References
{{reflist
External links
Official website
Combe Incorporated brands
Perfumes
Products introduced in 1917