Pros: amazing scent, good performance, excellent post-shave comfort
Cons: takes more work to lather than other creams, expensive
Tabac Original is a brand owned by the German manufacturer Mäurer & Wirtz that makes products geared towards personal men care.
Developed in the late ’50s, Tabac Original is an iconic name in the wet shaving world.
Their famous triple-milled tallow-based soaps are often regarded as the benchmark in terms of performance and comfort.
Today we are going to take a look at another equally acclaimed product in our Tabac Shaving Cream review.
Packaging
This cream is only available in a 3.6 oz metal tube.
I have always preferred metal as opposed to plastic tubes when it comes to shaving cream packaging.
They look and feel more like a quality product and have an old-school, classic vibe. The color scheme is the traditional Tabac brown and orange we all know.
Considering the price per ounce, the Tabac Original is a pretty expensive shaving cream.
Scent
The smell of this cream is classic Tabac: woods, black pepper, tobacco flowers and a hint of vanilla that blend together into a wonderful masculine scent.
It’s a warm, relaxing and discreet fragrance that’s unmistakable and very hard not to like.
I often find myself opening the tube just to get a sniff; definitely a personal all-time favorite of mine.
Lathering
I will say right off the bat that it takes a bit more work to lather this Tabac compared to other shaving creams; also, it requires more product and more water. It’s pretty much similar to lathering a hard soap, except you don’t have to spend the time loading your brush.
Another thing I noticed is that for this particular shaving cream, adding just a few drops of water at a time works best in order to create a lather that isn’t too foamy and has just the right consistency.
Some other shaving creams, like the ones from Taylor, pretty much don’t mind anything you throw at them; they will lather without an issue. That’s not the case with this one.
The end result is a thick, nice lather that smells absolutely delicious.
The strength of the scent doesn’t become more subdued once the cream is lathered. And that’s a good thing, at least in my book. But do keep in mind to use a bit more product than you normally do, especially if you’ll do three passes.
Performance
For the purpose of this review, I used my standard gear for testing shaving creams: Edwin Jagger DE89 safety razor, Gillette Platinum blade, Edwin Jagger best badger brush.
The overall shaving performance of the Tabac cream was excellent; I would have liked more slickness, but this didn’t seem to have a negative impact on the comfort and closeness of the shave. The lather remained properly hydrated throughout the three passes and didn’t dry out.
I have very sensitive skin and the post-shave feel is a very important marker when judging the performance of a shaving cream. I’m glad to say that this one lived up to the expectations: the skin felt well nourished and hydrated, with no signs of irritation. Also, the scent tends to linger for a while once you’ve finished shaving — and it really is a wonderful fragrance.
Alternatives
While the performance was definitely very good, I still get slightly better results in terms of closeness from other similarly priced (or even cheaper) shaving creams.
However, I will keep the Tabac cream in my rotation as I enjoy the scent and the comfort it provides.
Having said that, the Speick Shaving Cream is less expensive, easier to lather and, at least for me, it allows for a closer and even more comfortable shave.
The scent is not a favorite of mine, but I am willing to let that slide as it more than makes up for it with the fantastic performance.
My advice? Just buy them both.