Thread: The Obie Memorial First Tier Soaps and Creams Thread.

Some soaps definitely don't do well over time. I have a puck of Acca Kappa Almond which was a fantastically great scented soap and after maybe 3 years it has developed a funky smell and the almond component has shrunk. Not something I would want to use on my face.

Originally Posted by JOB15

Czech & Speake Oxford & Cambridge

Yesterday i tried this soap and i was impressed with its slickness which is very good..I am no expert but i think bowl lathering would be the way to go with this one.
One thing that is puzzling me though. The soap smells awful . A smell which i think is some kind of Tallow/Fatty smell but i have seen a few reviews where they talk about its lovely lavender fragrance .. Do you think i got a bad batch..Maybe my puck was made from leftovers?

Anyone else tried this?
Cheers
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I have used this soap for years, the Oxford and Cambridge scent, that is. The soap works beautifully in every way. I love the scent, too. It could be that the one you have has gone bad because of age or something else. The soap is easy on the skin. I have it in the First Tier. I’ll also included in the Sensitive category.

I have the 88 soap and it has a clay type smell to it, I can just make out the fragrance but the earthy clay smell takes over. As it was direct from C&S I contacted customer service, they were less than helpful.

Originally Posted by markbignosekelly

I have the 88 soap and it has a clay type smell to it, I can just make out the fragrance but the earthy clay smell takes over. As it was direct from C&S I contacted customer service, they were less than helpful.

That probably means that they are aware of the dodgy smell..... I has issues from the start,, i had to send them photos of my paypal & bank account to prove i had in fact paid after weeks of waiting.. They did give me a free sample of 88 EDT ..

That's why I dont think yours is old stock, they always seem to be out of stock. It took me a while to figure that I needed to bloom the soap for 20 mins to get a decent lather (my water is very hard) it's now a great performer for me but the clay smell ruins the experience.

I have both 88 and Oxford & Cambridge. When I first used them they both had bugger all scent. After using them for a week or so each, they still had bugger all scent. However, scent aside, I find the soaps to be fantastic performers.

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Would it be possible to add some essential oils to these soaps or just combine them with another more fragrant soap?

I do remember from many years ago that we learned to take a puck of Williams soap, start to work up a lather, then add one drop of mineral oil to the brush head and then one drop of glycerin, and viola! we had a much slicker and much more volume head of lather on the brush.

Originally Posted by randydance062449

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Would it be possible to add some essential oils to these soaps or just combine them with another more fragrant soap?

I do remember from many years ago that we learned to take a puck of Williams soap, start to work up a lather, then add one drop of mineral oil to the brush head and then one drop of glycerin, and viola! we had a much slicker and much more volume head of lather on the brush.

That thought did cross my mind...There seems to be an inconsistency with there scents from what i have seen/read so far, maybe it just varies batch to batch.

I love the scent of both soaps, as well as their A/S and EdT. No. 88 is a rose oud, and has been their most popular scent. I smell oud, rather than clay and many people don't care for oud. O&C is a lovely blend of French and English lavender, but there are so many versions of lavender scents and I think everyone probably has their favorite. I'm glad that I was able to pick up a few spares before Valobra closed down, as well as a few Valobra shave sticks. I also have a stash of vintage AOS by Valobra, although the scents of all but sandalwood are beginning to fade. It's hard to imagine such a quality soap maker closing. All Valobra products have always been on my Tier III list.

Valobra = my favorite soap but I never bought it for what I feel are 'meh' scents. I also had a couple of spares go 'off' after a year so my remaining stash now lives in cold storage.

Proraso acquired Valobra in 2018 and a Hong Kong fund purchased about 30% of Proraso last year. Hope that explains the delay in re-launching Valobra....