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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.
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.

For you, Tabac might be the "gold standard" that sets the bar to which others aspire. Four years ago, I would have agreed with you that Tabac performed as well as the best soaps in my collection. But artisan soapmakers have worked hard at trying to improve the performance of their soaps of the past four years. I have made it my goal over that time to acquire the very best soaps available. I now have thirty soap bases in my collection that I consider to be superior to Tabac. Some of those bases are no longer available as the soapmakers have phased them out in favor of even better products. Specifically, these new soaps are easier to load, have better residual slickness, and better post shave moisturizing/conditioning than Tabac.

Tabac is still an excellent soap, but I certainly would not consider it to be the "gold standard" in performance, not anymore. However, I readily admit that the soaps that perform better than Tabac all cost more than the price of a Tabac refill puck. Thus, for those on a budget, Tabac is still a great value.
 
I've only used Arko and I like it a lot, even though it dries my skin a little bit, but that's not a huge issue for me. I want to try Tabac, but most people claim that it has a very strong scent, which is the reason some people don't like it. I don't know if my nose is sensitive or what, but I hate strong scents with passion. The Proraso green soap is also a good soap, but it smells like a chemical factory and it was definitely what I was expecting.
 
I've only used Arko and I like it a lot, even though it dries my skin a little bit, but that's not a huge issue for me. I want to try Tabac, but most people claim that it has a very strong scent, which is the reason some people don't like it. I don't know if my nose is sensitive or what, but I hate strong scents with passion. The Proraso green soap is also a good soap, but it smells like a chemical factory and it was definitely what I was expecting.

The only way I could use Tabac was to unwrap it and leave the puck open to air out for about two weeks. That allows the strongest aromas to evaporate. It certainly is not my favorite scent even then.
 
...Performance wise? Tabac is the gold standard for a great shaving soap...
It is well know Fine Accoutrements objective was to provide Tabac performance in other scents. Here's a quote from another artisan soap maker; "We’ll take that compliment. I said in this thread, or another thread somewhere along the line that Tabac was a performance inspiration for us when we started."

Imitation being the sincerest form of flattery illustrates your point quite well. Why bother imitating something if it isn't the top of the heap?
 
Tabac's scent was odd at first, and after my first shave with it the soap left a kind of "aftertaste" with me, but that's faded. It's now one of my standbys.

Arko's scent remains, but my interpretation of it has morphed from "plain old soap" to "dishwashing powder" to "stale corn chips."

I still use it, and love the performance.
 

Owen Bawn

Garden party cupcake scented
I think everyone agrees both Tabac and Arko work great but I seem to be in the minority of people who likes the smell of Arko but not Tabac. I'm curious if the people who like the smell of Arko don't like the smell of Tabac.
Personally I can't believe that men were writing about the scent of Arko way back in 2008. I thought it was something I first thought of myself about 3 or 4 weeks ago.
 
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
You forget arko is multifunctional
Doubles as insect repellent
Doubles as a room/luggage refresher
 
M

mtcn77

Hi, if the thread is still going strong, I want to know how you store your Arko?
I just noticed mine smells less than the menthol foam I use to clean the safety razor afterwards from soap scum.
I keep it out on the open and after a few hot water blooms the smell is gone.
I just noticed I, too, feel the volatile compounds, but a few hot water loads later, it is mellower than the lingering scent of the shaving foam I use to rinse the razor from soap scum.
 
I like Arko and I like Tabac. Most of the complaints I've read during the last few years have been regarding the scent rather than the performance. Of my five senses, my sense of smell is probably my least valued. I want to keep all five, but if I could only have four... the nose goes :)

I'm fine with the scent of both Arko and Tabac as long as they continue to perform and contribute to great shaves. Just my $0.02
 
Just got my tub of Tabac. Smells fantastic. The scent reminds me of this hand cream my mom used to use every single night when i was a kid. How can anyone find it offensive. It smells damn clean. I get the old lady purse reference. But not a dirty old lady. Looking forward to scraping my face with it.
 
M

mtcn77

Tabac stinks. I can tolerate Arko
My cargo got held up, otherwise I was planning on comparing the two today. Truth be told, I enjoy Arko since I'm Turkish. We have a discussion going on in the local community about a local brand of soap and it got really intense about fresh scents available, yet not currently found in the market. We really like soft scents. Everybody agrees on rose oil, or resins that are abundant in Turkey. We have no artisan soaps, yet the largest fauna, lol!
 
My cargo got held up, otherwise I was planning on comparing the two today. Truth be told, I enjoy Arko since I'm Turkish. We have a discussion going on in the local community about a local brand of soap and it got really intense about fresh scents available, yet not currently found in the market. We really like soft scents. Everybody agrees on rose oil, or resins that are abundant in Turkey. We have no artisan soaps, yet the largest fauna, lol!
We have some new artisans but they’re not ready to explore the world.
 
M

mtcn77

We have some new artisans but they’re not ready to explore the world.
It is true. Maybe some expert opinion is needed. Evyap didn't reinvent the wheel when they began soap making, but they had a clear vision.
 
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