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.
not as good as its shaving soap and too much expnensive.