Czech & Speake No. 88

Well, I guess I've been on a bit of a tallow soap binge lately....

So, here it is: the mysterious, enigmatic C&S No. 88



Emerging


Aahhhhhh....


And the all important tallow first ingredients!


From the company website:

No 88
A favourite with men and women, our signature fragrance, No.88 is a truly English scent. The first and most complex in the Czech & Speake Aromatics Collection, No.88 has a fresh, woody top note of reviving and uplifting bergamot, the richness and warmth of geranium, rose otto, cassie and exotic frangipani. Combined with dry base notes of vetiver and sandalwood, this modern classic has a full-bodied, sophisticated sensuality.

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Complex is right.

I had heard that this was a rose smelling soap. But rose is not the first thing that leaps out at me anyhow. It certainly is in there, but it is surrounded by all sorts of other aromas. When trying to figure out how to describe the scent, the best I can come up with is that it is some sort of rose inspired potpurri. It has spicy, woody scents mixed with the rose. Damned if I know what frangipani is, but it certainly smells like it's in there! Or maybe it's the bergamot....like I said, it's complex...

I opted for the puck only and put it in a vintage silver plated mug. Still cheaper than the highway robbery they want for the soap with dedicated No. 88 black glass bowl. Makes me feel like I'm a refined gentleman as well.

Anyhow, not a boring scent by any means. I found myself sniffing it again and again trying to figure out what it smelled like (I couldn't).

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.



EDIT: 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!

It would seem that they have added a box to the product, the few that I have are wrapped in heavy paper. More than likely in response to labeling laws in the EU.

The "Made in Italy" is further confirmation that this could be a product of the company that makes Valobra. ( and the AOS soaps...?)

This soap has had some bad reviews, as well as some excellent ones.
I was speaking to a very experienced member who purchased his soap from the same vendor as did I, he had a terrible experience with the soap. I had the opposite.
Normally we are closely aligned in preference and I know that he is an experienced wetshaver and can make a good lather. The only thing left to do is swap soaps to confirm that its a bad batch of soap. This was spoken about in a long thread over at SMF a while back.

Congratulations on another fine soap purchase.

Very nice review, thanks.

Jim said:

It would seem that they have added a box to the product, the few that I have are wrapped in heavy paper. More than likely in response to labeling laws in the EU.

The "Made in Italy" is further confirmation that this could be a product of the company that makes Valobra. ( and the AOS soaps...?)

This soap has had some bad reviews, as well as some excellent ones.
I was speaking to a very experienced member who purchased his soap from the same vendor as did I, he had a terrible experience with the soap. I had the opposite.
Normally we are closely aligned in preference and I know that he is an experienced wetshaver and can make a good lather. The only thing left to do is swap soaps to confirm that its a bad batch of soap. This was spoken about in a long thread over at SMF a while back.

Congratulations on another fine soap purchase.

Very nice review, thanks.

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Thanks go to YOU for your tallow based soap compendium.

Your very expensive to me tallow based soap compendium!

I haven't tried the soap, but I've really gotten where I love the scent. Its complex and took time to love. I have to admit that, at first, I thought it was too floral. I don't have any desire to skate the line (such as there is) between masculine and feminine, but this is a keeper.

I'm no expert on fragrances, so I had to look up what bergmot was.

It said it was used in Earl Gray tea, which we happen to have here in the break room, so I gave it a sniff. Yup, the spicy scent seems to definitely come from the bergmot, and then gets swirled around with the rose undertones.

I find the soap to be pretty good. The lather dries out quickly or something for me, but I think I just need to experiment with it a little more. Still, I got a great shave with it and really can't complain. The drying out issue was very minor for me. If you like the EdT this is a nice compliment for it--LOVE the smell!

adonnellyr said:

I find the soap to be pretty good. The lather dries out quickly or something for me, but I think I just need to experiment with it a little more. Still, I got a great shave with it and really can't complain. The drying out issue was very minor for me. If you like the EdT this is a nice compliment for it--LOVE the smell!

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That was my initial experience as well. You definitely want to keep refreshing the lather as you go along with your shave. Or at least that's what I did. As I become more familiar with it, perhaps it will cease to be an issue.

Seraphim said:

That was my initial experience as well. You definitely want to keep refreshing the lather as you go along with your shave. Or at least that's what I did. As I become more familiar with it, perhaps it will cease to be an issue.

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Do you mean refreshing it by adding a bit of water, or simply swirling your brush around in it a bit?

Also, as a side note, this was a good post on this product!

adonnellyr said:

Do you mean refreshing it by adding a bit of water, or simply swirling your brush around in it a bit?

Also, as a side note, this was a good post on this product!

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Lately I've been a face latherer, so I do what I have to to get the lather where I want it--maybe just take the loaded brush back to my face, or perhaps it needs a touch of hot water under the tap, or after that a trip back to the puck. I'm talking about refreshing the lather on my face, not in the bowl. But I guess whn you face lather your face is your bowl....

I just noticed that your puck seems much whiter in color.

Jim said:

It would seem that they have added a box to the product, the few that I have are wrapped in heavy paper. More than likely in response to labeling laws in the EU.

The "Made in Italy" is further confirmation that this could be a product of the company that makes Valobra. ( and the AOS soaps...?)

This soap has had some bad reviews, as well as some excellent ones.
I was speaking to a very experienced member who purchased his soap from the same vendor as did I, he had a terrible experience with the soap. I had the opposite.
Normally we are closely aligned in preference and I know that he is an experienced wetshaver and can make a good lather. The only thing left to do is swap soaps to confirm that its a bad batch of soap. This was spoken about in a long thread over at SMF a while back.

Congratulations on another fine soap purchase.

Very nice review, thanks.

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Hi Jim,

I see that you also have the C&S Oxford & Cambridge.

Is that as complex a scent as the 88? It is listed as a predominantly lavendar, does it come across as such, or is it a cornucopia of smells like the 88 is?

I think the common reference to the 88 as a rose soap is somewhat misleading. It does have a roseyness to it, but it is not predominantly so in my experience.

I'm looking perhaps to add a lavendar to the collection (just o n e more soap, and then that's it! Really, I mean it this time....), and don't know whether to go for the AOS lavendar, the O&C, or Harris.

Jim said:

I just noticed that your puck seems much whiter in color.

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Probably just the lighting/camera. It is a sort of gray/pink.

Seraphim said:

Hi Jim,

I see that you also have the C&S Oxford & Cambridge.

Is that as complex a scent as the 88? It is listed as a predominantly lavendar, does it come across as such, or is it a cornucopia of smells like the 88 is?

I think the common reference to the 88 as a rose soap is somewhat misleading. It does have a roseyness to it, but it is not predominantly so in my experience.

I'm looking perhaps to add a lavender to the collection (just o n e more soap, and then that's it! Really, I mean it this time....), and don't know whether to go for the AOS lavendar, the O&C, or Harris.

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After you use the O&C a few times it does settle into a good lavender scent. it is not as cacophonous as the 88 by any means but it is not a 100% pure lavender (99.5%?). The soap has some aromatic "top" to it that just barely suggests something like a camphor.

I strongly dislike the matching Cologne.

If you do not have any DR Harris soaps that would be a very fine choice, and I give it the nod over the C&S O&C.

You really owe it to yourself to get the Arlington also.

And a Blenhiem

Jim said:

After you use the O&C a few times it does settle into a good lavender scent. it is not as cacophonous as the 88 by any means but it is not a 100% pure lavender (99.5%?). The soap has some aromatic "top" to it that just barely suggests something like a camphor.

I strongly dislike the matching Cologne.

If you do not have any DR Harris soaps that would be a very fine choice, and I give it the nod over the C&S O&C.

You really owe it to yourself to get the Arlington also.

And a Blenhiem

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Thanks. Yes I have the Arlington (I also live in a town named Arlington, so I just had to, right?)

Any tips on the choice between AOS lavendar and Harris? Does the AOS perform like this C&S, seeing as they are likely made by the same folks?

Seraphim said:

Thanks. Yes I have the Arlington (I also live in a town named Arlington, so I just had to, right?)

Any tips on the choice between AOS lavendar and Harris? Does the AOS perform like this C&S, seeing as they are likely made by the same folks?

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The DR Harris is my favorite Lavender, followed by the AOS, then the O&C.
This is based on performance in total, not just scent.
Of course, if you add out of production soaps into the mix- Yardley is king.

Jim said:

Of course, if you add out of production soaps into the mix- Yardley is king.

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Amen. OH yeah!

Jim said:

Of course, if you add out of production soaps into the mix- Yardley is king.

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The last good looking puck of Yardley I saw on 'da bay went for north of $70.

Jim said:

After you use the O&C a few times it does settle into a good lavender scent. it is not as cacophonous as the 88 by any means but it is not a 100% pure lavender (99.5%?). The soap has some aromatic "top" to it that just barely suggests something like a camphor.

I strongly dislike the matching Cologne.

If you do not have any DR Harris soaps that would be a very fine choice, and I give it the nod over the C&S O&C.

You really owe it to yourself to get the Arlington also.

And a Blenhiem

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Good thread. I have not used the 88 soap, but I like a lot about the scent. Very complex. Very dark. To me permeated with rose, but with lots and lots of other stuff going on. I have felt almost ambivalent about it from time to time--strongly drawn to it and a bit repelled at that same time.

I have had a sample of the C&S O&C scent, but again have not used the soap or cream. Interesting that you would like the soap but dislike the edt. I love O&C as a scent. I do not know lavenders all that well, but it gets written up as having one of the purest lavenders around, which makes sense to me. To seems very clean, happy, and uplifting. The opposite of 88 in many ways. Strong mint in the opening, and rosemary. In the base notes mossy scents, too. So not absolutely pure lavender, but the lavender is prominent and very pure. I think the edt is a very well made scent Lots of balance in there. Very evocative of lots of things. I think C&S does a heck of a job with its scents. To me it seems like, except the the plain rose, there is a lot of perfume making skill that goes into each C&S scent. The particular scent may not be my favorite. But they almost invariably seem like scents that I appreciate. The one that throws me is Mimosa. That one seems not complex, not good, and something I just do not get.

I am also surprised that you do not like the O&C scent given that you like Blenheim. I am utterly enamored with BB. Not that it smells anything like O&C, or 88.

Good reviews. Thanks.

I am not sure when we hijacked this into a lavender thread-

If you are a lavender fan this is the EDT for you-




If you really like the 88-

Maybe mine went rancid, but it smells absolutely vile in the dish and while I lather it in a bowl, but it gets nice once it's lathered on the brush. Fortunately, I face lather these days, so it smells nice pretty quick. I'm mixed on how it shaves. It dries out quickly, and isn't that great an all around performer. I forget whether I liked it for lubrication or feeling good afterward, but it's only really top notch at that one thing.