Finally Tried TABAC

[Doug57]

I got a Tabac stick two days ago, and tried it for the first time yesterday and again this morning. Yesterday, i face lathered with a badger brush and had an incredible shave with the easiest and slickest lather I have ever built. This morning, I tried it with a boar brush. I think I squeezed too much water out of the brush and/or put too much soap on my face. It was a little pasty on the first pass and stuck to my razor. I worked a lot more water into the lather for the second and third pass and it was again, the same amazing experience that I had yesterday.

The scent will take some getting used to (it just comes across as really strong), but my girlfriend absolutely loves it.

 

[TexFlood]

Tried my Tabac stick this morning. Scent was powdery and soapy to me, left a post-shave sort of classic manly scent. Lathered very nicely. Slickness was OK but I've had better. Seemed to leave my skin drier than anything I've used lately so thinking I need to go put some more moisturizer on it. So first impression good with some reservations. I'll be trying it again, of course, so my opinion might improve just a bit. I like it but it just had such a sterling reputation with many that my expectations were quite high and it fell just a bit short, in some respects, of that so far.

Summary in earlier posted format...

Love the lather.
Love the feel, slickness OK but not the best.
The smell was not something I'd probably pick smelling the soap but it left a classic scent behind that I like OK.
Price is high but I got this on a deal to try out so not really a problem this time.
Left my skin drier than anything else I've tried.

Will use some more in future and see if my opinion changes.

 

[T.Orso]

Outdoor use for Arko? I've got a better idea, if you've got neighbors you dislike, slip it into a crawl space in their house, they're sure to move out soon after

If it kept the racoons away from my bins I would feel I had got my money's worth.

 

[VirtualAsylum]

Just a suggestion based on your first post- which others may have already covered:

Load more soap, use a little less water. Use circular motions to build lather, painting motions once built. (Preferably with a badger brush.)

I really think you'll feel differently about the soap. Almost no one disputes it's world class performance; it's the scent that people struggle with, if anything.

Just my 2 cents..

 

[Johnny DE]

???
You must be the only one here...

Hahah, yes he is totally fired!

 

[Johnny DE]

J
I really think you'll feel differently about the soap. Almost no one disputes it's world class performance; it's the scent that people struggle with, if anything

+1

 

[Johnny DE]

I just love Tabac and I have to admit I like the scent too. It doesn't bother me at all, but for me it kinda has some sentimental value as this was my father's cologne back in the eighties.

 

[BradtheImpaler]

Ivory? I'm quite sure your mistaken. It's " crusty old lady in the nursing home". Noooooo doubt about it. I've smelled a few. I'm sniffing it once a day hoping I get immune to it so I can get up the nerve to use it. I'm not going to let the smell beat me! I will win!

I have it in the cologne and I have never understood why so many claim it is "manly" or why they named it Tabac in the first place - as if it had a tobacco note? To me, (like you, apparently) it is just straight flowers, reminiscent of Chanel.No5. I actually don't hate the scent but it is too girly for me as a cologne or aftershave so I use it as an air freshener.

 

[Pepin]

I have it in the cologne and I have never understood why so many claim it is "manly" or why they named it Tabac in the first place - as if it had a tobacco note? To me, (like you, apparently) it is just straight flowers, reminiscent of Chanel.No5. I actually don't hate the scent but it is too girly for me as a cologne or aftershave so I use it as an air freshener.

Historically manly scents were floral, lilac, lavender, and rose for example. Advertising, Marketing, and Hollywood have changed that overtime.
Perhaps it should be "traditional manly scent". I have the shave soap, bath soap, aftershave, and deodorant; so I love the scent.

 

[fuzzymuzzle]

Tried the TABAC again day before yesterday. I followed the advice given; thick lather, little-by-little add water, I always do circular motions so I brush all grain directions, follow with deposit more with painting motions.
Did 2 passes with straight (re-lather each time), followed with additional pass with Gillette slim on "7" along jaw line and chin, also with re-lather.
It was certainly better than the first try and quality of shave was equal to a couple of my other shave soaps, but way short of producing the rich, smooth and almost sinfully great shave I get with "Gentleman's Hangar". Also, my teen son likes TABAC's scent better than I do. So, I ordered another mug for him to put his puck of TABAC in. Plus, a couple of more soaps and creams for me. Also ordered another (this makes 3) Semogue silver tip brush. That too will go to one of my teen boys.

 

[doofus]

Ok got the nerve to smother my face with " crusty old lady in the nursing home" this morning. I did get an incredible shave super easy to lather for the first time. Darn you smell! Darn you!

 

[Shiloh]

Ok got the nerve to smother my face with " crusty old lady in the nursing home" this morning. I did get an incredible shave super easy to lather for the first time. Darn you smell! Darn you!

Maybe add a couple drops of The Veg to soften the fragrance?

 

[dabrock]

Maybe add a couple drops of The Veg to soften the fragrance?

That will make you wish you had just Tabac scented Tabac!

 

[doofus]

Maybe add a couple drops of The Veg to soften the fragrance?

I'm pretty sure without trying it.....I'm not chosen.

 

[Porgy Tirebiter]

I got a shipment Monday from the Italian Barber which included my first Tabac stick. Gave the Tabac a go this morning and right off the bat, the larger circumference of the stick appealed to me. The stick has a larger surface than Arko, Speick and La Toja. My face lathering technique is to rub on the beard, brush lather and then squeeze out the excess lather into a bowl. Dipping the brush in water to finish off the initial lathering before starting the first pass helps get everything squared away, lather-wise. The Tabac this morning had tons of that excess lather, much more than the other sticks I use, and I didn't exactly go hog wild in applying the stick.
As for the shave, not bad. I like La Toja's overall performance, and the utilitarian aspects of the ultra cheap Arko. Speick is okay when lathered properly, but not one I reach for on a regular basis. Tabac isn't as slick as La Toja, but slides into second place on my list. I was able to do some post-pass touch-ups just by rubbing the stray bits of lather (from my ears, bottom of the neck, moustache) into some areas and lightly buff with no irritation afterwards.
I had enough excess lather to do three comfortable passes and one more lathering to apply before I do the hardware clean up (I use that final lathering to wash my face...don't judge me!)
The scent...i dunno...it smells like soap. Paired with my newly acquired Clubman Virgin Island Bay Rum (thanks, Italian Barber), the soap scent, such as it is, didn't interfere with the aftershave. I sometimes get a funky reaction when pairing some soaps with certain aftershaves.
All in all, a decent soap.

 

[Cricket1]

I think Tabac shave soap is terrific. I just think it is overpriced.

$13.99 US is overpriced??


Umm... ok...

 

[MidnightMatador]

The more I use this soap, the more I like it!

 

[Pepin]

I think Tabac shave soap is terrific. I just think it is overpriced.

A puck will last up to a year, so with so many shaves pr puck it is not really expensive at all.

If a person can go through four pucks of a soft artisan soap in eight months (another thread) (at $16 to $25 per puck) a year of Tabac is a bargain.

 

[SpikedLemon]

A year from a puck of Tabac?
I'm a pretty light loading latherer and, while PdP lasts ages, even the PdP didn't last a year. I can't see Tabac lasting that long at all with daily shaves.

At $15-25 for a puck of Tabac (refill, of course): it's priced at the same range as many other soaps. Shop around and you can get it for the same price as Proraso. While it's no Arko-esque deal but I would call its price fair.

 

[Pepin]

A year from a puck of Tabac?
I'm a pretty light loading latherer and, while PdP lasts ages, even the PdP didn't last a year. I can't see Tabac lasting that long at all with daily shaves.

At $15-25 for a puck of Tabac (refill, of course): it's priced at the same range as many other soaps. Shop around and you can get it for the same price as Proraso. While it's no Arko-esque deal but I would call its price fair.

I believe there is a member in the "Soap of the Month Club" who used up a puck of Tabac, and it took a year (or close to it).