Czech & Speake No. 88
Czech & Speake claim No. 88 is based upon an old Elizabethan recipe, and it certainly has that texture. The arrangement seems vaguely familiar, but the excellence of No. 88 resides in its elegant style. My enjoyment of it is akin to watching artfully made Hong Kong action films . Many of the wuxia-type movies I like best seem embedded in an old recipe, too. But nowadays what elevates a flick to a film has much to do with the way the stylistic choices are made, and the depth and resonance of those choices.
A bittersweet bergamot opens No. 88, brightening my skin with shafts of cold sunlight. A clean floral element amalgamates into this note as if it were a herbal tonic. As the scent warms, the light remains cold while the cologne’s colors intensify in tone.
A rose then actuates, moving through the golden liquid. Its path is defined by the sandalwood rooted in place. While this mix may read as ordinary, in No. 88 it is anything but.
Green elements lurk inside its heart. A barbered tang* of geranium somehow fills the fragrance with both stealth and stridency. When I’m not paying attention I don’t notice it at all for a while. And then BOO! its there.
Vetiver is often noticed in No. 88 by other perfume fans, but I think if this note is used in the base, it is to cast a stemmy shadow against the brighter shadings of the rosy sandalwood backdrop.
As a whole, the scent wears remote on me, as if it is distancing itself from my skin.
It’s like being close enough to stare at a warm glow, but too far removed to feel the heat. This may sound like a negative quality, and for some folks it will be, yet I find the effect strangely beautiful.
Starting from the top, with image source cited in parenthesis, the movie images above are: Fong Sai Yuk (cinemafareast.de), Hero (Yahoo! Movies), House of Flying Daggers (Yahoo! Movies), The Bride With White Hair (portlandstreet.com), and The Legend of Zu (hkcinemagic.com). I especially recommend Fong Sai Yuk, since it’s my favorite Jet Li movie. (He didn’t always make crummy Hollywood movies with second-rate pop stars.)
*Pun not intended, but there it is I guess.