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Tabac VS Arko

Tabac vs Arko

  • TABAC smells great but ARKO stinks

  • ARKO smells great but TABAC stinks

  • They BOTH smell GREAT

  • I can't stand the smell of either


Results are only viewable after voting.
Love the smell of Tabac, as does my wife...yeah! I'll triple up, using the soap, lotion/splash, and balm, on the mornings I reach for the Tabac. - I have others I like as well, Stirling Green, PDP63, Old Spice, and just use the matching aftershaves and/or colognes/edt.

Arko, and Derby (same smell, just a harder version of what seems to be the same soap) has a less than pleasant, almost cleaner type smell to my nose. I know there's supposed to be a lemon scent to them, but I don't smell it, it's more like a commercial cleaner smell to my nose, not horrible, but I'd rather have a pleasing scent when shaving. Was PIF'd a stick of Derby with my Rex from Ken Surfs, and while the performance/lather is pretty darn good, not fond of the smell. - But at least the smell lessens a bit after the stick has been opened a while, freshly open, it's pretty darn strong.
 
The initial smell of Tabac was strange and I was kinda put-off but after using it and appreciating the performance, now I like it...
The initial smell of Arko was nice and refreshing and it remains so until now...performance is as good too...
 
I literally just got my first samples of both in the mail 10 mins ago! I haven't tried any of the products in my order before, but I hear about them (Arko & Tabac) all the time. So I'm very keen to try & vote.
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The order was <$30 and I got the bowl, shave gel (I don't use canned stuff), Lea & Derby were all freebies! I have never heard of Lea so I'll be interested to test it. I have heard Derby, apparently itis like Arko?? We shall see.
 
You missed the point :D
Leave smell alone...It happens that I like both scents.
Performance wise:
Bith soaps are really easy to make lather from. Lather is creamy, provides extraordinary slickness, there is a lot if residual slickness, and you don't need to use a lot of product to make lather. So, both of them are long lasting.
There are two differences
First: Arko, after finishing and washing face, leaves skin dry and you need to put some kind of moisturizer on the face.
Tabac doesn't dry out the skins so much if at all.
But, arko is like 4x cheaper...so...for me it's a tie.
Both of them are fantastic soaps, and I use them regularly.

Scent is so individual it's stupid to even comment on that. :)
 
I like the smell of both soaps, so that's a tie.

Arko Pros:

1) Cost effective
2) Easy to load and lather
3) Will not get stolen, you won't feel bad even if it gets lost

Cons of Arko:

1) Dries up the skin afterwards
2) Doesn't come in container (for stick)

Pros of Tabac soap:

1) Phenomenal performance and slickness
2) Post shave feel is great
3) Doesn't dry up my skin afterwards
4) Lathers up great and keeps on multiplying

Cons of Tabac soap:

1) It may be stolen or asked to share :c17:
2) Too good and thus destroys my interest in ARTISAN soaps.
3) Initial cost to procure is high
 
I like the smell of both soaps, so that's a tie.

Arko Pros:

1) Cost effective
2) Easy to load and lather
3) Will not get stolen, you won't feel bad even if it gets lost

Cons of Arko:

1) Dries up the skin afterwards
2) Doesn't come in container (for stick)

Pros of Tabac soap:

1) Phenomenal performance and slickness
2) Post shave feel is great
3) Doesn't dry up my skin afterwards
4) Lathers up great and keeps on multiplying

Cons of Tabac soap:

1) It may be stolen or asked to share :c17:
2) Too good and thus destroys my interest in ARTISAN soaps.
3) Initial cost to procure is high

A pretty good analysis of both soaps.

I cannot say that I hate the smell of Arko, but it is certainly is not one of my favorites. I rate the scent as 5/10. I cannot use Arko because it dries my skin terribly.

When a puck of Tabac is first unwrapped, the scent makes me gag. However, if I leave it out so the volatile scent components can evaporate (presumably the aldehydes), it becomes reasonably pleasant. As you noted, the performance is as good as many artisan soaps.

Tabac and Mitchells Wool Fat are the only two traditional soaps I will recommend. However, I still prefer high quality artisan soaps. However, they work best if used as your daily lather so the pucks stay moist.
 
Best performing soaps are simply soaps, wich are Hard ones! for example Tabac, Arko, Haslinger, Mitchells wool fat. They are all hard and cost effective ones, they last long and does not waste your wallet...
 
Best performing soaps are simply soaps, wich are Hard ones! for example Tabac, Arko, Haslinger, Mitchells wool fat. They are all hard and cost effective ones, they last long and does not waste your wallet...

Maybe hard soaps work for you, but soaps like Arko and Haslinger do not work for me at all. I can use Tabac. Once lathered MWF is a decent soap, but it is far too difficult to later for me to mess with it. I like soaps that can load in 10 seconds and lather in 30-40 seconds and hard soap won't do that.
 
OK, I have now shaved with both. Both are solid performers with thick lather and slickness, but I'll have to use Tabac a few times to see if the scent grows on me. It's not offensive and the wife said it was OK. The Arko is also a great performer and has a fresh scent, but I think it's unkind to say urinal puck.
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Maybe hard soaps work for you, but soaps like Arko and Haslinger do not work for me at all. I can use Tabac. Once lathered MWF is a decent soap, but it is far too difficult to later for me to mess with it. I like soaps that can load in 10 seconds and lather in 30-40 seconds and hard soap won't do that.
Easy as pie with Arko. I've never used the other soaps.
 

FarmerTan

"Self appointed king of Arkoland"
I could not vote. If I COULD have written in my vote, I would have written: "Arko smells GREAT, Tabac smells good."

They both perform well on my incredibly handsome face.

My lovely best friend, The War Department, prefers the Arko scent over Tabac. So I, of course, choose Arko, because she is a great cook, and still has great legs.
 
Tabac's scent... You either like it or you don't. I like it. The Tabac aftershave is the same scent, but STRONG.

Arko, to me, smells like lemon Pez candy. And a bit like industrial lemon-scented cleaner. I have no issues with Arko's scent.

Performance wise? Tabac is the gold standard for a great shaving soap. It IS the bar that others try to match. Arko is surprisingly good for its inexpensive cost. It is not as good as Tabac.
 
Arko is the story of the underdog giving an unexpected stellar performance. Being appalled is part of the appeal.

But next to Tabac; comparison will be the thief of joy:

 
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