Czech & Speake Fragrances

[Cuttingboard]

Alright...after many many months of cruising the B&B Cologne forum, it seems that C&S is consistently getting lots of love regarding their fragrances. I love them too and find it somewhat odd/bizarre that a company that manufacturers bathroom and kitchen fixtures could produce such great fragrances and shave soap. I doubt very seriously that C&S actually manufacturers their own scents but whomever does, sure gets a round of applause from me. There products seem to be consistently good to great and always have a little twist that I find interesting...e.g. peppermint in Oxford & Cambridge. Does anyone know who manufacturers the fragrances for C&S? Anyone have any knowledge of C&S fragrances that they would like to share?

[Tricky]

Can't help you at all, but my O&C soap and cologne will be here tomorrow!!!

[Cuttingboard]

Can't help you at all, but my O&C soap and cologne will be here tomorrow!!!

Awesome...let us know what you think! :thumbup:

[rickboone1]

I don't find all of their frags long lasting. Still working through a sampler pack. Maybe I need to add a little more? The Frank and Myrhh was surprisingly very nice. Cuba smelled nice but had no longevity. I will be getting a bottle of 88!

[The Knize]

<Does anyone know who manufacturers the fragrances for C&S? Anyone have any knowledge of C&S fragrances that they would like to share?>

Basenotes lists John Stephen as the perfumer behind most of the C&S scents. He is head of The Cotswold Perfumery Ltd. I do not know very much about Cotswold, except they supposedly have only 7 employees. I have no idea what C&S's annual sales are, but perhaps Coswold has something to do with the manufacturing of C&S scents. I assume that one firm could do the actual putting together of the juice, while some other place, for instance, did the actual packaging, packing, bottling, etc.

No idea though., really!

[JaDo]

<Does anyone know who manufacturers the fragrances for C&S? Anyone have any knowledge of C&S fragrances that they would like to share?>

Basenotes lists John Stephen as the perfumer behind most of the C&S scents. He is head of The Cotswold Perfumery Ltd. I do not know very much about Cotswold, except they supposedly have only 7 employees. I have no idea what C&S's annual sales are, but perhaps Coswold has something to do with the manufacturing of C&S scents. I assume that one firm could do the actual putting together of the juice, while some other place, for instance, did the actual packaging, packing, bottling, etc.

No idea though., really!

Very interesting! Thanks you for posting.

[The Knize]

Very interesting! Thanks you for posting.

I missed earlier this from the "History" section of the Cotswold web site: "behind this idyllic facade is in fact a thriving company that that has grown steadily over the past thirty years and now manufactures fragrances for some of the most famous perfume houses in the world."

So sounds like Cotswold has the capabiity of making the juice for C&S. I am intrigued. Mr. Stephen seems to have a heck of a nose. He seems to have put together a whole series of scents that include my very favorites and where they are not my favorites they are fascinating, which in a way is lots better in my eyes (my nose?) than just being something I like!

[Tricky]

I know it really isn't helpful to this thread, but someone asked for my opinion on my O&C cologne and soap after I received it today. It all came in some spectacular packaging, by the way.

First, the cologne. I love the bottle it was shipped in. The bottle is NOT nearly as blue as any of the pictures would have you believe. It is almost as if they took the blue bottles and sprayed a light coating of some black finish on top to really darken the bottle. It is a really dashing appearance. What I do not care for is the cap on the bottle. It was as if they just took a thin sheet of black aluminum and pressed it into a cap and then it was just pressed down onto the atomizer. I am worried that with great use, it may be deformed or hurt in some manner.

Now for the soap. The scent is absolutely identical to the cologne and very pungent. I could immediately smell the soap after I opened the box the entire shipment was scent in. I can still smell it on my hands!!

I did not purchase the bowl, as I was sure I could find something more attractive for much less. I am not sure I could say the same if I could get my hands on that beautiful blue glass soap bowl that seems to have disappeared off the map. I may have considered paying for that one!

The puck's dimensions are exactly three inches across, and some odd inches deep. The crest embossed on the soap is just beautiful, but I imagine it will be gone soon enoug :thumbup1:

I have no idea what bowl I will put it in. I would love to put it in a tabac bowl, as I think it would be an almost perfect fit, but being the fashionista that I am, I want something different and distinct for it to leave on my counter top.

I hope some of y'all find this interesting!

[Z3ke]

I did not purchase the bowl, as I was sure I could find something more attractive for much less.

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=127999

Check out the bowl from Gentleman's Best offered to us members in this thread. And if you already have one then you could always use another.:thumbup:

[Cuttingboard]

Here a picture of the bowl from Gentlemen's Best with a puck of C&S. I bought the same wood bowl and its much nicer than I thought it would be. May have to buy the O&C Cologne with shave soap for myself as a summer present. My wife is out of town all next week...if I order now, I should have it Tuesday and she'll never know! :sneaky2:

102299

[don.putnick]

I missed earlier this from the "History" section of the Cotswold web site: "behind this idyllic facade is in fact a thriving company that that has grown steadily over the past thirty years and now manufactures fragrances for some of the most famous perfume houses in the world."

My wife and I visited them about 20 years ago. They really are quaint and small. And they give a great guided tour. One thing that sticks in my mind is how they had us detect the individual notes of a fragrance. Once you recognize the top notes of a fragrance, you saturate your sense of smell with the essential oils of the top notes. The middle notes magically appear! Repeat the process to bring out the base notes. If you're touring the Cotswolds, it's definitely worth stopping for.

[Cuttingboard]

My wife and I visited them about 20 years ago. They really are quaint and small. And they give a great guided tour. One thing that sticks in my mind is how they had us detect the individual notes of a fragrance. Once you recognize the top notes of a fragrance, you saturate your sense of smell with the essential oils of the top notes. The middle notes magically appear! Repeat the process to bring out the base notes. If you're touring the Cotswolds, it's definitely worth stopping for.

I'm assuming Cotswolds is in London?

[don.putnick]

It is a region about 1-2 hours drive west of London

[The Knize]

I love the look of that O&C bottle, too. I like the look of the O&C bottles in general, but that blue is really special.

If I recall, Cotswold gives scent making classes. Sounds pretty cool based on the what was said on that tour.

[kingfisher]

Here a picture of the bowl from Gentlemen's Best with a puck of C&S. I bought the same wood bowl and its much nicer than I thought it would be. May have to buy the O&C Cologne with shave soap for myself as a summer present. My wife is out of town all next week...if I order now, I should have it Tuesday and she'll never know! :sneaky2:

102299

Is that O&C soap in that beautiful wooden bowl? If so, I am officially jealous.

[Cuttingboard]

Is that O&C soap in that beautiful wooden bowl? If so, I am officially jealous.

Yes, that's an O&C puck in a Gentelmens Best natural wood shave soap bowl. The shave soap bowl is a B&B fundraiser at the link above for almost nothing. I was surprised by the quality of the bowl given the great price. And you can you can have your initials engraved on the lid. :thumbup: