Czech & Speake - No. 88 - Review

Ozzy Obsorne. Now there is a guy that smells great.

Do you have a fragrance in your collection that is so ... not you? One that if you left it lying on a washroom counter your friend would not even think it belonged to you? A fragrance so different from your others that wearing it is exciting and bold and delicious?

Enter Czech & Speake No 88. The English men's cologne that rocks my world.

Now I'm all about femininity, usually. Unisex scents don't even play well on me. Then along comes this men's fragrance, not even touted as unisex, and I am so blown away. I remember exactly the first moment I sniffed it. Right there on the patio of Fred Segal during the L.A. Sniffapalooza. I was memorized, hypnotized and it was ... sold out. But I knew even then, I would own this beauty one day. In the midst of the flurry of samples and testers and arms extended ... I knew.

There is something about this dusty rose and resinous wood that smells like sweet incense to my nose. Rose otto itself is amazing stuff; costly, beautiful, exquisite. It takes approximately 60,000 roses to produce just 1 oz of rose otto. That's about two & half dozen roses to make just one drop! Here blended with another favorite, geranium, it is reminiscent of another rose I love - Le Maroc pour elle. The cassie and the sandalwood are so harmoniously blended into the base that the drydown is as lovely as the opening with its burst of bergamot. Frangipanni weaves delicately in and out with enough of an indolic hint to produce a slight musk effect when smelled close to the skin. Unbelievely sexy. And the wear? The wear is legendary.

The definition from Apothia reads: "Based on an original Elizabethan recipe, but still definitively modern, this masculine fragrance contains specially selected natural oils of Sandalwood and Bergamot that give it a rich, woody aroma. A variety of middle notes, Geranium, Rose Otto, Cassie & Frangipanni bring out fresh, sharp flavours that make this scent stand alone."

A bit pricey at $162 for 100 ml, and a little hard to find, yet worth the effort!!

I find mine at: Apothia/Fred Segal Los Angeles (on Melrose)
or here: Apothia

And oh yeah, British rocker, Ozzy Osborne loves the stuff. Hummm I'm seeing a definite contrast here.