Tabac Shaving Soap

Occasionally, the somewhat onerous duty falls upon me to examine novelties of the modern age, presented to me by my well-meaning assistant. I must confess, I should much prefer to spend my hours appraising objects of established antiquity and proven vertu. Alas, such is the march of time. One recent discovery placed upon my dressing table is a shaving soap bearing the brisk moniker of “Tabac.”

I am given to understand that this particular formulation was introduced to the world in 1959 by Mäurer & Wirtz, a most industrious German outfit. In my own day, of course, one would refer to its birthplace as the German Empire, or Imperial Germany. Though the soap itself is a mid-century invention, I find comfort in learning that the firm possesses a highly respectable pedigree, having been established in 1845 with headquarters in Stolberg, North Rhine-Westphalia. In those early years, my assistant informs me, they produced humble washing powders and basic soaps. I cannot recall ever observing their wares in the chemists or department stores of London; however, that signifies very little. I was then, and remain to this day, an unrepentant Truefitt & Hill man, accustomed to the familiar comforts of Jermyn Street. Consequently, a continental offering would scarcely have caught my eye.

On the Matter of Efficacy and Lather

Regarding the soap’s performance, I am bound by honour to admit a profound sense of admiration. It is an eminently capital product. The lather it yields under a good badger brush is undeniably superior to many of the more commonplace shaving soaps of my own era, certainly surpassing the hard, chalky pucks one might have acquired in a pinch at a provincial apothecary.

It provides a rich, unctuous cushion that allows a blade to glide with the smoothness of a polished mahogany drawer. Even my beloved Truefitt & Hill, I believe, has substantially improved its milled soaps in the intervening decades, though one must always allow for the haze of an aging memory. Simply put, Tabac performs its primary function with absolute decorum and unfailing reliability.

An Olfactory Evaluation

The modern habit of deconstructing a scent is, frankly, a punctilious exercise quite new to me. Nevertheless, adapting to the times adds a certain fillip to one’s continuing education. We have managed to uncover the following fragrance profile:

• Top Notes: Lemon, Bergamot, Neroli, Petit Grain, and Black Pepper.
• Heart/Mid Notes: Lavender, Chamomile, Geranium, and Oakwood/Oakmoss.
• Base Notes: Sandalwood, Vetiver, Musk, Ambergris, and Tobacco Flower.

In practice, what I am most readily able to pick up on is the crisp, gentlemanly greeting of bergamot and lavender, which shortly yields to a deeply comforting foundation of sandalwood and dry tobacco. It evokes the familiar, reassuring atmosphere of a reputable Burlington Arcade tobacconist, mingled with the clean, sharp scent of freshly starched Irish linen and fine saddle soap.

To properly contextualise this for you, dear reader, I must note a fascinating shift in societal tastes. An Edwardian gentleman of my station would likely regard Tabac, with its distinct floral heart of chamomile, geranium, and neroli, as leaning somewhat toward the feminine. An assertive floral bouquet was often reserved for a lady’s toilette or perhaps a very daring gentleman’s handkerchief. This is not to suggest the scent is off-putting; rather, it serves as a brilliant illustration of how the boundaries of a strictly “masculine” scent have expanded and softened over the intervening years. Even during my own period, tastes evolved dramatically from the heavy Victorian bay rums and Macassar oils to crisper, lighter fougères. Tabac stands as a fascinating, and highly pleasant, bridge between those shifting eras.