Tags
6/10, bermagot, cologne, Czech and Speake, floral, geranium, Rose, sandalwood, shaving soap, vetiver, wood
As with a lot of soaps or creams based off of Colognes, I find it’s best to go straight to the horse’s mouth for a description rather than try and describe what it smells like myself:
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.
Anyways, I found it reasonably pleasant, although not enough so that I’d buy the cologne. The strength was fairly lacking, not at all strong to begin with, and faded to nothingness by the end of the shave.
The lather, however, was very good; nice and thick, very good glide, reasonably wide sweet spot for acceptable water content, and some decent moisturization.
- 8/10 Scent Pleasantness
- 5/10 Scent Strength
- 9/10 Lather Quality
Overall, I think I’ll round down and give no. 88 a 6/10. The scent is just too weak to make it worth-while, especially considering that we’re talking a shaving soap that’s supposed to be based around a cologne.
- Cost: The sample I used was from Garry’s Sample Shop for $7.50. A set of three 25g travel-sized refills goes for £18, or £65 if you want the matching anodized aluminium travel dish, although I think that only comes with a single refill puck; a full 90g puck goes for £21, or £95 if you want its matching aluminium dish.
Gear Used:
- Brush: Ecotools Kabuki Finishing Brush
- Razor: Gillette Travel Tech
- Blade: Shark Super Stainless
- Scuttle: Robert’s Feats of Clay #4
Ingredients: Sodium tallowate, water, potassium palmitate, potassium stearate, sodium palmitate, sodium stearate, sodium cocoate, potassium cocoate, glycerin, palmitic acid, stearic acid, cocos nucifera, fragrance, lecithin, petrolatum, zea mays, tocopheryl acetate, CI 77891, CI 77499
