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 J.B. Williams Company.

History

Aqua Velva was first trademarked in 1917 by the J.B. Williams Company and later acquired by the Beecham Group in 1982, SmithKline Beecham in 1989, then by GlaxoSmithKline 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 co ...

in 2002. As of 2016, it is marketed by Combe Incorporated and

Unilever Unilever PLC () is a British multinational consumer packaged goods company headquartered in London, England. It was founded on 2 September 1929 following the merger of Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie with British soap maker Lever B ...

(formerly Sara Lee) 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. The change was made reportedly at customer request, and 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, a cocktail called Aqua Velva is made with 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. File:Aqua Velva 30s.jpg, Original Aqua Velva bottle from the 1930s File:Aqua Velva 30s Back.jpg, Aqua Velva bottle from the 1930s, showing the back of bottle and side of the outer box File:Smart Set.jpg, "The Smart Set" from the 1970s: a combination of Aqua Velva aftershave scents normally sold around the holidays. File:Aqua velva Williams.jpeg, "Williams Aqua Velva" in 100 ml glass bottle (marketed in Italy) File:Aqua Velva 2000s.jpg, Aqua Velva Ice Blue bottle from the early 2000s File:Ice Blue 100th.jpg, A 100th-anniversary Aqua Velva Ice Blue bottle from 2017 File:Musk 100th.jpg, A 100th-anniversary Aqua Velva Musk bottle from 2017

References

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External links

Official website
Combe Incorporated brands Perfumes Products introduced in 1917