Oxford & Cambridge Eau de Parfum

The 2021/2022 Oxford & Cambridge Eau de Parfum comes at a time when well-established fragrances are being released in a new concentration (EdP, Parfum) for no apparent reason other than marketing, at the expense of the scent being 'tweaked' - something us fragrance freaks find quite insulting. Fortunately with Czech & Speake, this is not the case. Their existing "Cologne" concentrations suffered at the hands of regulation, with some being weakened or diluted. The result is the overall scent deviating from its original formulation. The current Eau de Parfum revolution at C&S began with its signature No. 88 fragrance, which - to everyone's surprise - matched the original No. 88 accord much more closely. This has now been followed by Oxford & Cambridge and Cuba. The modern version of Oxford & Cambridge cologne suffered from poor longevity/projection and its dry down did not feel quite right. Despite being one of the nicest herbal lavender fragrances currently on the market (dare I say a benchmark lavender fragrance) and having a genuinely calming and soothing nature, some may have hesitated to get a bottle. The new Eau de Parfum, however, has once again turned the tide and the result is a fragrance that remains true to its original accord, subtle and (thankfully) does not vanish after 30 minutes. Most importantly, the dry down (which is the part most will end up smelling) is much more pleasant, woody, yet herbaceous, with the lavender accord sitting nicely on top. In keeping with the overall theme of this lavender concoction, projection is moderate but not monstrous as some might expect. The progression of the Eau de Parfum is no different to its Cologne counterpart; it opens with some mint and rosemary, somewhat camphorous, but quite herbaceous before the lavenders kick in. The overall scent is supported by a delicate oakmoss, which is ever so slightly sweetened, but is by no means thick or syrupy. Ultimately, this is a scent that you wear to stay close to you and in any season apart from in the extreme cold. There's nothing 'dressy' or fancy about it, but I suppose it can come across as sporty. It's very laid-back though and will work equally well in smart-casual wear or your typical jeans and t-shirt. One final point. Given how calming this scent is, it's one of the best to put on when you are not sure what to wear, if you're having trouble sleeping, going through a period of stress, or are just not feeling well. Totally inoffensive and unobtrusive. Attention seekers need not apply.

If this fragrance had the performance, this could be personally I believe one the most well blended lavender fragrances currently on the market. Upon wearing this, nothing within the fragrance is a noticeable outlier, its so so smooth. Beautiful herbal lavender opening reminiscent of Pour Homme de Caron which dries into a pure and outright lavender essential oil then merging into something along the lines of Prada Lunna Rossa Carbon, quite mineralic and more masculine in comparison to the opening. However, this fragrance doesn't last more than 2 hours at a push. Projection is almost intimate/moderate but I suppose it is expected with a lavender fragrance that doesn't rely on the push of woody ambers. Having had such a fantastic experience with the sample I'm really contemplating purchasing it, but, at the price its at I can't warrant it at the moment. Maybe something like the body wash might suffice the happiness this fragrance brings me but in regards to lavender fragrances this is up there with what I'm looking for.

Oxford & Cambridge opens with Peppermint and Rosemary that creates menthol coolness with little bit of bergamot initially. Enter the Lavender. Very well blended herbal lavender with mint takes this one to stratospheric levels in contemporary perfumery. And it works very beautifully with a bit of oakmoss. C&S have consistently used very refined ingredients for all their fragrances and Lavender is the star here. I agree with the reviewer below that this fragrance is extremely versatile and can be used when you aren't sure of what scent to wear. I can imagine sportsmen wearing this luxurious scent or very affluent people playing golf lieserly on a lazy noon. Projection is very decent for the first three hours and recedes gradually to become a skin scent slowly after that. When I wore this fragrance people have asked me - What fragrance are you wearing? This smooth, sporty fragrance is such a welcome change from the usual, mundane scents we see people wearing everywhere. Try it.

this is the best lavender fragrance ive ever smelled by a long shot, i was not expecting this. its like a way way better more natural ysl rive gauche pour homme. like a extremely expensive shaving cream type lavender oakmoss but very modern. hope they keep making it

I’ve spent most of my life chasing true vanilla. Although I came across some lovely ones along the way, I dismissed most of them. In the early 2020s, I reined in that search and shifted my focus to finding genuine lavender. I encountered a few decent options, but something always felt missing. Masculin Pluriel had a beautiful opening, but ISO E like synthetic note that followed put me off. Sartorial bothered me with its metallic scent from the very first hour. La Collection Rive Gauche Pour Homme – that sharp note (Geranium?) we are familiar from Drakkar Noir feels unnecessary to me nowadays. Caron Pour Un Homme – I’ve tried it several times, but it never completely convinced me. That said, it does have a certain charm that keeps you from giving up on it. The vanilla could have been better used. I’m still unsure. My wife liked it. Ferrari Pure Lavender was brilliant for the first hour, but then the synthetic cashmeran that reveals itself later is something I have no need for. And finally, Oxford & Cambridge Eau de Parfum by Czech & Speake. I got hold of a 3ml decant. I’ve been applying it to my skin drop by drop a few times now. To be honest, it’s a familiar lavender, but the fact that it smells so natural is lovely. It is sharp, crisp, clean, and elegant. It exudes a sense of being refined, put together, and in control of yourself. I think I will purchase a full bottle of this, and for the first time, a perfume will become my signature scent here in Fragrantica. This perfume made me feel like 'this is me.' I need to finish my decant to see if the performance is worth it.

Czech and Speake are a great house with excellent products but this one just doesn't perform at all. The scent itself is actually very nice although I personally detect none of the listed mint and just a mild touch of the other notes. Even so, if this had any oomph about it then it'd be glorious I think! I keep asking myself if I'm missing something? It has a very high score here on Fragantica so I've given it a lot of wears over different times of the year and temperatures. I've let it sit and hopefully macerate/mature too but this is a product where this process has made minimal if any difference. I'm used to wearing gentle and moderate scents, I believe they have a place for normal day to day usage especially. I enjoy Floris, Truefitt & Hill etc which aren't particularly well known for their fragrances performance, though I'd consider their products monstrous when compared to this! 😬 Unfortunately, this really is a fleeting fragrance to put it mildly, no pun intended! 😆 I wear C&S's no.88 regularly and it's one of the all time greats for me personally, so there is definitely no bias from me in that respect. In fact, that stuff will linger for days which makes this Oxford & Cambridge EDT even more disappointing. I genuinely get less than 1/2 hour of noticeable wear. I've double checked with others to make sure I'm not anosmic but if I am then so is everyone else I've asked! As I alluded to, the scent itself is delicate but quite lovely, just pure lavender really. No issues from me there as I love this note very much and seek it out often in my perfume selection. Even after the dry down I can barely detect this one for 45minutes with my nose pressed against skin. Again, others can't either. I've also tried over spraying and applied to clothing etc but to no avail, it just won't perform for me at all. If this had at least a moderate longevity and any notable sillage it'd be a worthy consideration on scent profile alone but only when on sale. I don't often feel disappointed with perfumery and especially with Niche brands that I adore but this one is just not up to the job at all. Sorry Czech and Speake, I hate to post negativity but at the price of this product it's only fair. What I will say as a positive, I'll often spray this on myself right before bed as it's soothing for the few minutes there is any kind of projection. 😔 A poor consolation really. Christ knows what the cologne is like if the EDT is this weak! It's probably drinkable 😆 , it'd probably go well as a mixer with gin! Sorry for the negativity, I really wish I could offer something more positive for this one but I guess you can't win them all!

You can see my original review from early on in my frag journey. I previously quite liked it and got a lot of mint from this. However my tastes have changed and I haven’t found myself reaching for this one much. It is quite rosemary/ oak moss heavy. I don’t get much mint or bergamot. Lavender is there but it gets overshadowed imo. This vibe is more along the lines of a luxury hand soap or essential oil and the performance isn’t great. That being said, it does smell good and has a nice calming effect. Just not my cup of tea for a fragrance

Mint and lavender opening, then soapy fresh English lavender. A few hours later a soft sweet comfy oakmoss drydown. I love lavender, so this is easy to like this. But this is more just a lavender scent than a complex fragrance, really. Not better enough than say Atkinson's English Lavender since this costs so much more. Smells the same as the EdC version, this is a bit stronger but also more expensive.

I hope this works for someone, but it didn’t for me. Perhaps it was that I sprayed it on too hot a day? It didn’t last. Maybe I thought the price point hinted at a more sophisticated handling of lavender? This is a pharmacy quality blend. Maybe I’ve tried too many lavender perfumes and lavender oils so I know the difference? This smelled camphorous like an essential oil and I can get that for ten bucks.