Featured Aftershave - Tabac Original

**DogHair** · 03-01-2011, 06:49 AM

The Mäurer & Wirtz company, the creators of the Tabac scent, has been run by the Wirtz family for five generations. The current family Managing Partner is Dr. Hermann Wirtz. Although formally the cosmetics and fragrance division of Dalli Werke the companies have operated independently since 1990. Founded in Stolberg Germany in 1845 by Michael Mäurer and his stepson Andreas August Wirtz the company first produced Tabac as a soap in 1938. Twenty one years later in 1959 the scent we know was introduced as an Eau de Cologne, Aftershave and Electric Pre-Shave. The Tabac scent now covers an entire line of male grooming products and is available in 140 markets worldwide. I highly recommend visiting their website for more information.

Tabac seems to be one of those scents you either love or hate. There seems to be little middle ground here. After much use I could have sworn it has tobacco in it but that's not the case. Mäurer & Wirtz describe the scent as "a harmonious accord of aldehyde notes, peppery spicy accents and precious exotic woods with flowery elements". While my nose can't find all that I do enjoy the masculine and somewhat barbershop-esque scent. The website has a good page illustrating the scents and layers involved in developing the fragrance and it is well liked on Basenotes.

I am a big fan but I will admit the scent can be a little overpowering at first but it calms down quickly. The splash is not overly moisturizing, not drying and does a good job on razor burn. Overall a good all around aftershave with plenty of fans over in the reviews section. Presently I use the aftershave, soap and cologne and find all to be excellent products and highly recommended.

The aftershave is available in a big 10 oz. bottle for around $20 from several of our supporting vendors. Definitely a good buy if you like the scent.

Ingredients: alcohol denat, water, propylene glycol, fragrance, PEG-40 hydrogenated caster oil, lactic acid, sodium hydroxide, hydroxy-citronellal, citronellol, alpha-isomethyl ionone, coumarin, evernia furfuracea(treemoos)extract, benzyl salicylate, isoeugenol, butlyphenyl methylpropional, benzyl benzonate, limonene, amyl cinamal, gerniol, hydroxyisohexyl 3-cyclohexene carboxaldehyde, eugenol.

**talibeard** · 03-01-2011, 07:18 AM

I have been using this stuff for decades in rotation and while the scent of the soap puts me off half of the time oddly enough the AS never does. It is a scent that lingers long after using it but with a non-offending strenght. I don't use it as much though as Irisch Moos, also made by Mäurer & Wirtz.

**cymric** · 03-01-2011, 07:39 AM

My token fragrance, although I will swap with the EdC on occasion if I want to wear Tabac but haven't shaved. Have used it for nearly 20 years now, and will continue to do so until I die. I wore it the day I met my love, and so to her Tabac means 'me', meaning that it is a fragrance she firmly approves of. I also use the shaving soap (of course, and with great satisfaction), the douche gel, and on rare occasions the deodorant.

Tabac AS can be readily obtained here in Holland, most if not all drugstores carry several products of the line. That said I rarely smell Tabac on other men, and I think it's a crying shame that the shaving soap on the other hand is quite difficult to locate. (But ordering it is simple.)

**Mike Schutz** · 03-01-2011, 09:31 AM

Great product and great price. The bottle of AS will last as long as a puck of the shave soap, forever.

**azmark** · 03-01-2011, 03:01 PM

Very cool, Kevin.

**Crashingcraig154** · 03-03-2011, 11:13 AM

I wanna get either the tabac splash, balm or cologne, what would you guys suggest? Im looking for what smells closest to the soap.

**cymric** · 03-03-2011, 11:51 AM

These products all more or less smell the same, with the EdC smelling somewhat sweeter, inching towards the very floral EdT already. Personally I'd say the AS is closest to the soap, but that's like saying that on a scale of 1 to 10, 6 is closer to 1 than 7. (I have all products you mention in my possession, and took them out prior to formulating the answer.)

**Dennard** · 03-03-2011, 12:04 PM

Originally Posted by Crashingcraig154

I wanna get either the tabac splash, balm or cologne, what would you guys suggest? Im looking for what smells closest to the soap.

My only experience is with the edc, but I wholeheartedly recommend it.

**Sir Sartana** · 03-03-2011, 07:08 PM

Originally Posted by Dennard

My only experience is with the edc, but I wholeheartedly recommend it.

+1 Its great stuff

**winstonage** · 03-04-2011, 03:38 PM

I haven't tried the as yet, but have been using the cologne since the 70's. My father who was from Europe, turned me on to it. It is an awesome,masculine scent, and I like the fact that not many wear it. It is nice to wear something unique, and not smell like every other man.

**OldSchoolYoungin** · 03-06-2011, 09:52 PM

At the price point, almost all Tabac products I've tried are some of the best values in wetshaving; the aftershave is no exception.

I don't really give a **** if it's considered "cheap" by Europeans because it's widely available there. I'm an American and I'll wear whatever the hell I please, regardless of how offensive it is to others

**cymric** · 03-07-2011, 02:38 AM

Actually, it isn't cheap at all. It's definitely mid-range.

**djh** · 03-07-2011, 01:20 PM

I finished my bottle of Tabac AS on January 24th. A very worthy product, but I am trying to "thin the herd" a little, so it will not be replaced in the short term.

**ESTEBE VERDE** · 03-10-2011, 12:22 AM

Most Excellent!

**gaj90027** · 03-10-2011, 12:23 PM

Tabac soap and afteshave splash will always have a place in my rotation.

I haven't smelled the cologne or EdT yet but hope to change that this weekend with a visit to Perfumania.

**Prince** · 03-10-2011, 12:27 PM

Nothing like shaving with Tabac, then following up with the AS and Etd.

Use some the other day around 6am and that night at almost 11pm, I could still catch a whiff of it.

Not for the faint-of-heart.

**StuMcB** · 03-11-2011, 07:45 AM

Have just started using the AS, I like it a lot. Will be getting a soap or stick soon.

**Mr. Scruffy** · 03-12-2011, 08:13 AM

Used the AS splash this morning for the first time.

Meh.

I was hoping it would smell like the soap. It doesn't.

SWMBO says it smells like baby powder. Not what I wanted to hear.

Hello BST.

**Ignatius** · 03-12-2011, 12:29 PM

Originally Posted by talibeard

I have been using this stuff for decades in rotation and while the scent of the soap puts me off half of the time oddly enough the AS never does. It is a scent that lingers long after using it but with a non-offending strenght. I don't use it as much though as Irisch Moos, also made by Mäurer & Wirtz.

Similarly, I quite like the splash (in winter), yet cannot get along with the scent in soap form (and the scent is, as mentioned, very consistent across the range).

**Phog Allen** · 03-13-2011, 01:55 PM

Interesting discussion. I have used the Tabac shave soap for a few years now and it is a wonderful scent. Yet I have never used the a/s, cologne or edt version of the product. Till now. I managed a sample from Garry's sale thread in the vendors section. Wow. I like the soap's scent but I love the a/s. As an a/s splash it is fine. It is not Musgo but what is? Yet neither is it as drying as the Taylor products nor did it burn me like Clubman. All in all a very satisfactory product.

The scent is what really drives discussions about Tabac! I had always likened the scent of the shave soap to English Leather on steroids. Now mind, when I say English Leather I am speaking of the real article from Mem. I haven't a clue what this impostor from Dana is. Don't get me wrong. I actually like it but it most certainly is not real English Leather. It is a dry soapy scent and as an a/s it worked quite well for me.

As a small child one of the most reassuring smells in the world was English Leather on dad's collar when he swooped in for a hug or you thought you were big enough to wrestle him. It was not hard core leather but a non cloying sweet scent that seemed to mix leather, wood, honey, and a warmness that left you feeling secure. Tabac is now that product for me. Tabac is the scent that your kids will associate with the responsible males in the family. Good uncle Roger or William and not that dodgy n'er do well from mom's cousins side of the family.

Immediately after application I was able to pick out the floral scents in the mix of wood and sweetness. Unusual for me to distinguish things, I immediately thought of geranium and sure enough, it was in the list linked to by the OP. So finally I got a note correct. My nose is not discerning most times. I always seem to think of the scent as a whole instead of being able to pick out different scent notes. So I may have gotten "floral" in the scent but would not normally pick out geranium. And I think this is why Tabac is such a like or leave it scent. It is actually very well blended and made. And that lets chaps with all sorts of different skin chemistry have a certain part of the scent come to the fore. If you like it, like I did, fine. If not then you see where I am going here. I know that could be said of most scents but you get the drift. This stuff has not been around for fifty years on accident. All in all I love it and will likely buy the 10+ ounce bottle. Long live Tabac.

Regards, Todd