Tabac... Am I The Only One?

[slamjet]

According to all I've read in this forum, it seems there are three soaps/creams that all wet shavers must start off with; Bigelow, Arko, and Tabac. But for the life of me, I cannot like, or even force myself to like Tabac, and it's making me feel, well, outcasty. It's so bad that this morning it triggered a headache that feels like it's going to morph into a migraine (so I'm not a happy camper right now). And yes, it's been open for about a year. I swear the first razor I sell that junk is going with it, for free if I have to.

Please comfort me, I hope I'm not the only one that really, really hates this stuff. And besides, what's it suppose to smell like anyways?

 

[MoJoe]

There's a reason why YMMV is such a big part of our vocabulary. And Tabac is one of those product whose scent is without question a YMMV thing - it's very polarizing. I'm no fan but then again I don't hate it either. If you were able to ignore the scent I'd say use it because it is a terrific performer. Since you can't, there's no disgrace in a PIF. So, you're not crazy, you may simply have to sub out Tabac for MWF which is a safer scent.

 

[Mike H]

Take comfort, I am sure there are many here who do not like the smell of Tabac,... but I am not one of them.

From a recent thread - What does Tabac Smell Like

 

[Krona Kruiser]

I'm with you on the scent. It's not for me but the performance is top notch though.

 

[slamjet]

I decided to go to the extreme... Unscented Soaps. In any case, how does one start a PIF and is there demand enough for a bowl of Tabac to go PIF'ing along?

 

[Mike H]

I decided to go to the extreme... Unscented Soaps. In any case, how does one start a PIF and is there demand enough for a bowl of Tabac to go PIF'ing along?

Oh yes, there will be.

1. Start a thread title "Tabac PIF" or something like that.
2. Set the rules to enter.
3. Let it go for a couple days.
4. Announce your winner.
5. Make someones day!

 

[Marco]

Tabac, as several other popular soaps (Cella, Martin de Candre or Arko, just to name a few) is a love or hate thing. If you do not like it, no problem at all. There are so many great soaps to try and eventually enjoy!

 

[slamjet]

Soaps? Oh yea, I'm gonna try them. I ordered me some Mike's unscented. The next soap I want to get is Dr Harris but for now, I'm on Arko Duty.

So I assume to do the PIF in the General forum, correct?

 

[Niles]

Scents are very subjective. Some despise the smell of Tabac. I love it. There's no shame either way.

 

[htownmmm]

You aren't the only one, but no worries. Get rid of it in a PIF or trade and get something that doesn't give you a headache.

 

[slamjet]

It is now being PIF'd

 

[Galengwath]

While I don't hate Tabac, I don't particularly like it. It produces a decent lather, but not notably better than other soaps, IMO, and the scent is rather unpleasant. I recently sold my puck after it sat around unused for quite a few months, and I'll certainly never try it again.

 

[slamjet]

That's my deal. Lather is great but the scent is horrid. But it did turn me onto Tallow based soaps so it did serve it's purpose.

 

[Galengwath]

That's my deal. Lather is great but the scent is horrid. But it did turn me onto Tallow based soaps so it did serve it's purpose.

Still, there are plenty of other soaps that, in my personal opinion, are better jumping off points into the world of Tallow. At least Tabac is popular enough that it's not hard to find a buyer if you want to get rid of a puck once you've tried it and decided to move on.

 

[slamjet]

I've already tried glycerin based and it was good, but I liked the lather and feel of the tallow's. So I'd thought I try that out for a bit. Who knows, in six months it might be something else.

 

[Kentos]

I actually prefer MWF scent and performance wise, but YMMV.

 

[my19]

I like both MWF and Tabac ... but Tabac seemed a little easier to whip into a nice lather. Or maybe I've just read so many things about how tempermental MWF can be that I think it's harder to lather than it really is. Both give great shaves. But MWF has notably less scent than Tabac, more just a clean soap smell.

 

[Cochese2323]

Like the others said, you are not alone and scent is probably the biggest YMMV variable in shaving products. I personally love Tabac, but Cella is another beloved soap around here and I do not love Cella. I do not deny its outstanding performance, but I choose not to use it because of the scent.

There are sooooo many good soaps available now between other major brands and the great artisan soaps, you don't have to worry if one of the Legendary heavy hitters of shaving soaps doesn't get it done for you.

 

[bakerbk73]

I don't understand the level of scent in some soaps. What could be pleasant turns into a full on assault of the nostrils. I'm leaning more and more toward unscented stuff and less-scented stuff just because I think it's totally unnecessary for soap to smell like anything but soap. If Tabac had an unscented version, I'm sure it would have more fans.

 

[Samjax]

YMMV in regards to smell...re: Tabac & Arko. However, I would hope that you agree the actual performance of Tabac (and Arko for that matter) are pretty good overall. If not...well...umm...face it, you're an outcast.