Just ordered puck. What shall I expect?
Czech & Speake O&C
- Thread starter German
- Start date
Have one, haven't used it yet. It's made by Valobra to specs similar to the old AOS soap, so expect a good lather. As far as scent, there's the usual clay note you get with Valobra soaps but be prepared for a WALLOP of lavender and mint. I was expecting something cologne-like, similar to TOBS lavender (my favorite). But this is like sticking your nose in a pile of herbs and flowers. Very fresh and natural.
I will say that even though it's a 90g puck, it's smaller in diameter than I expected. Doesn't sit snugly in most wooden shave bowls.
I will say that even though it's a 90g puck, it's smaller in diameter than I expected. Doesn't sit snugly in most wooden shave bowls.
Fantastic lather and a great scent.
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/334321-Czech-amp-Speake-Oxxford-amp-Cambridge-Shave-Soap
Expect awesome. Those two bands of yours will be very happy.
Outstanding performer with a wonderful, subtle lavender scent!
One of the great soaps of the modern era...
My favourite scent after English Fern.
I will PM you my address. That soap is toxic to fine brushes. You must send it to me immediately. I have access to superfund shave dens and will dispose of it safely.
A very high quality Italian made soap. Congrats, Sir.
Apart from the cost if you go for the dish as well, the O&C is one of the best. Made by Valobra, it performs exactly like the former AoS soaps but without that clay smell. A mixture of English and French lavender, with peppermint, bergamot and oak moss. Heavenly!!
Does anyone have a view as to how it compares to Martin de Candre? Does it smell similar to it?
I would say no. I regularly alternate between the two and don't find them similar though many people will focus on the lavender in both and disagree with me.
I think the difference in styles is wildly dissimilar. MdC is like being punched in the nose by an entire field of lavender. I find the scent very aggressive and raw and, when newly arrived, powerfully over the top. I like that. Some don't. It's also quite a natural scent in style; it doesn't have the complexity of something that was "designed". Others, btw, get mint and rosemary in it. I've never gotten the rosemary, but sometimes do pick up on something like mint.
The C&S, however, is extremely refined. I don't know how to describe the scent by reference to "notes" or to other smells, I'm just not educated enough. Smell does, however, often spur images in our brain and this one makes me think of a well dressed Englishmen in a bowler hat and a grey flannel pinstripes just stepping out of his club. It's elegant and traditional and subtle. Theres also something spicier about the C&S than the MdC.
I can make an analogy with wine for those of you who are oenophiles. The MdC is more like an old vine California Zin and the C&S like a vintage Burgundy.
Wow! Really appreciate the fast response and detailed analysis.
I have been to the C&S shop in Jermyn Street several times and will probably go again to give this one another sniff. I think this may be a hidden gem that slipped under the radar. I tried the No.88 a while ago - all I got from that was the "clay" note that others have said. The shave wasn't that good anyway.
I agree with what you say about MdC - the scent is quite overpowering at first (especially the glass bowl version) and then starts to mellow. I get a lot of rosemary from it as well as lavender.
Rum,
I also have the 88 which I do enjoy, but not nearly as much as the O&C. You are perfectly correct on the strong clay note in the 88 which is much less evident, hardly even there, in the O&C.
Let's not forget the performance though. This is one of the slickest and most protective soaps I've used (though I'm testing a new one now that may be in the same league) and its performance easily equals MdC.
How much is the soap at the Jermyn Street store? Do they sell it in big huge blocks like at Lush and cut a hunk off in the size you want? That would be awesome.
Scent is such a YMMV thing. Even though I know that both O&C and MdC have lavender notes, I don't think of them as being lavender based scents. Both scents are fairly sophisticated blends that include lavender but I don't get any hint of a Castle Forbesesque singular lavender note at all.
Rather, these are two excellent examples of how lavender can be blended with other herbaceous (and other) scents to create something unique.
In other words, I would not avoid these soaps if you don't care for lavender or alternatively, buy them because you are looking for a singular lavender note.
Of course this is just MHO - YMMV.
Rather, these are two excellent examples of how lavender can be blended with other herbaceous (and other) scents to create something unique.
In other words, I would not avoid these soaps if you don't care for lavender or alternatively, buy them because you are looking for a singular lavender note.
Of course this is just MHO - YMMV.
I stayed away from this soap for a long time because of the price point, but a couple of months ago curiosity got the better of me. Now I am pissed that it took me so long to order a puck, this soap is indeed top, top tier in every single way.
It's a great soap with an intoxicating scent. Simply superb.
Shhhhhhhh! Supplies are not limitless.
I luvs the O&C so much I stuck it in this soap dish and stole a wooden lid off another to retain the scent.
It is as good as soap gets IMHO.
It is as good as soap gets IMHO.
I might have to try this stuff when I work through some product
