Thread: Czech & Speake No. 88

Great review, Seraphim. Whenever I go to Cambridge Chemists I drool longingly at all the C&S offerings. I haven't been able to bring myself to pull the trigger on any though. I tad dear to delve into at the moment. They make a great lavender EDC as well. One of these days.

Jordan

I purchased this from Cambridge Chemists. Be sure to tell them you are a forum member to get a discount, and free shipping. Big shout out to Cambridge Chemists!

So did you ever find out what frangipanis are? I thought they were the little colored things you sprinkled on ice cream. Now either I have a mis-apprehension there or Speake really Czeched this out carefully and sorted out only the little white jobs to put into the soap.

Frangipani:

Originally Posted by Seraphim

So, down to business--had a shave with it this morning. Lathered up easy as pie. Good cushion, good glide, good scent. Nice. It did seem to dry out rather quickly, and I had a couple of "snowstorms" when re-lathering between passes due to the previous lather having dried out completely. That wasn't a problem when shaving, as I face lather immediately prior to putting the blade to my face, and refresh the lather as I see fit. Nice shave, easy BBS.

drop a little water on the brush between passes for the snowstorm.

I find this gets better after the first few shaves.

Originally Posted by Seraphim

I purchased this from Cambridge Chemists. Be sure to tell them you are a forum member to get a discount, and free shipping. Big shout out to Cambridge Chemists!

+1 on this. If you are looking to layer it. Cambridge has the No.88 EDC in the small travel bottle as well. Might be better if you are just trying this scent. They also have the Dark Rose cologne, which I love with this soap.

I used it again today. I think the smell is sort of like how sometimes you buy a new album (OK, you kids would know this as getting a new CD...), and the first time you listen to it, you think it's complete garbage "why did I ever buy this?!". But, since you dropped $14.99 on it, you listen to it a few more times. Next thing you know, it's your all-time favorite album ever.

The shave today was again very nice, lathers easily, slick and cushioned, not super-rich and thick lather like with Penhaligon's, but no slouch either. Again, the only drawback is the lather does tend to dry out rather quickly. Keep it hydrated, and the lather performs quite well. The scent, especially when lathered on your face is enveloping and fascinating.

Goes well with Sheffield blades.....

I really enjoy using my puck of No.88

I seem to take a bit more water than my other soaps but is always at the top of my rotation because of how well it performs and the great fragrance.

Went back to the 88 again today.

I think the soap is coming into it's own now. Perhaps I had to get through a boundary layer, or something? The lather no longer seems to dry out as it did when I first started using it. It just plugs away like good tallowy AOS/Valobra lather. And the rose seems to be coming more to the fore than it was initially.

Very, very interesting soap to use, it's like a mood ring or something, it changes and surprises you each time.



EDIT: Damn fine razor doesn't hurt niether!

Originally Posted by Seraphim

... I think the smell is sort of like how sometimes you buy a new album (OK, you kids would know this as getting a new CD...), and the first time you listen to it, you think it's complete garbage "why did I ever buy this?!". But, since you dropped $14.99 on it, you listen to it a few more times. Next thing you know, it's your all-time favorite album ever.

I haven't used the C&S 88 soap, but I love the cologne, and this is a very good observation.

I love rose scents, heard lots of good about C&S 88, and bought it without trying a sample first. For a lot of money. My first reaction was really negative, it smelled strong and cheap, what was I thinking?!? I wanted to pour it down the sink.

But after giving it a try, I started to get it. It comes on strong at first, but it dries down in a complex and fantastic way nothing else does. A great scent, a complete classic. A classic leather-bound book with gold edges, in a world of paperbacks.