Top Notes 
Peppermint
Rosemary
Bergamot
Heart Notes 
French lavender
True lavender
Base Notes 
Oakmoss
09/17/2013
Apicius
224 Reviews
Apicius
Very helpful Review
7
Rough edges!
Ever since Caron issued Pour Homme in 1934, the perfumers follow the role model of combining lavender with vanilla. It is quite hard to find a good lavender perfume with a different concept, but here it is.
What I do not like so much about that popular combination is that lavender and vanilla are two totally different scents. Very far apart from each other it is quite difficult to find a bridge between them. Also, the rough and herbal aspect is what I like about lavender, and I don't think that it necessarily has to be tamed or moderated.
Oxford & Cambridge comes without any vanilla, and also without any other ingredient that pushes the lavender into an oriental direction. Supported by some peppermint and rosemary in the top notes, the herbaceous aspect is even emphasized. A woody and maybe mossy base allows this lavender to keep a pure fougère character.
What is not in the notes is that I smell something dry, maybe leathery and smoky as well, and I always get pictures of tobacco and tobacco smoke. This lavender is very much on the rough side. It is not exclusively a lavender of elegant gentlemen, but also a lavender of rugby players or the rowing team. It can complement a fine suit just as well as a Fred Perry sweater.
Oxford & Cambridge can stand up well against the fumes in a raunchy bar, and it may be the most “masculine” lavender around. It is clear that this name evokes images of traditional English colleges and their alumni, of men only clubs and the smell of elitism and political conservatism. Such an appeal is not to everyone's taste, and so I'd say this perfume is what you make of it. Being cool, herbaceous, dry and deep dark, it may put some distance between you and other people, but the kind of distance that makes the wearer all the more attractive. If this is sexy, then no vanilla sex!
Lavender is a fleeting note, and in many perfumes, it does not survive the top notes. With Oxford & Cambridge, the perfumer managed to keep the lavender character throughout the whole development of the fragrance. According to my understanding of lavender, this should be nearly impossible, but here it works in a regular Eau de Parfum strength. Oxford & Cambridge comes in a beautiful deep blue bottle which is in the best of taste. The colouring exactly reflects the character of it.
Oxford & Cambridge demonstrates that it is possible to create a consistent and harmonious lavender fragrance without twisting the main scent ingredient. Next to the more elegant Utopian by Social Creatures, Oxford & Cambridge is my preferred lavender. Well done and recommendable!
What I do not like so much about that popular combination is that lavender and vanilla are two totally different scents. Very far apart from each other it is quite difficult to find a bridge between them. Also, the rough and herbal aspect is what I like about lavender, and I don't think that it necessarily has to be tamed or moderated.
Oxford & Cambridge comes without any vanilla, and also without any other ingredient that pushes the lavender into an oriental direction. Supported by some peppermint and rosemary in the top notes, the herbaceous aspect is even emphasized. A woody and maybe mossy base allows this lavender to keep a pure fougère character.
What is not in the notes is that I smell something dry, maybe leathery and smoky as well, and I always get pictures of tobacco and tobacco smoke. This lavender is very much on the rough side. It is not exclusively a lavender of elegant gentlemen, but also a lavender of rugby players or the rowing team. It can complement a fine suit just as well as a Fred Perry sweater.
Oxford & Cambridge can stand up well against the fumes in a raunchy bar, and it may be the most “masculine” lavender around. It is clear that this name evokes images of traditional English colleges and their alumni, of men only clubs and the smell of elitism and political conservatism. Such an appeal is not to everyone's taste, and so I'd say this perfume is what you make of it. Being cool, herbaceous, dry and deep dark, it may put some distance between you and other people, but the kind of distance that makes the wearer all the more attractive. If this is sexy, then no vanilla sex!
Lavender is a fleeting note, and in many perfumes, it does not survive the top notes. With Oxford & Cambridge, the perfumer managed to keep the lavender character throughout the whole development of the fragrance. According to my understanding of lavender, this should be nearly impossible, but here it works in a regular Eau de Parfum strength. Oxford & Cambridge comes in a beautiful deep blue bottle which is in the best of taste. The colouring exactly reflects the character of it.
Oxford & Cambridge demonstrates that it is possible to create a consistent and harmonious lavender fragrance without twisting the main scent ingredient. Next to the more elegant Utopian by Social Creatures, Oxford & Cambridge is my preferred lavender. Well done and recommendable!
