The German company Mäurer & Wirtz launched the Tabac Original fragrance in soap form in 1938. In 1955, Tabac Original, developed by perfumer Arturo Jordi-Pey, made its debut as a cologne. For years, every time I went to Europe, I would see faded advertisements for Tabac Original at tobacconists or pharmacies, and often, the white bottles of cologne would be “baking” in sunshine in the shops’ front windows. I assumed Tabac Original was “the European Old Spice” and went about my business – I didn’t need to sniff it. (My opinions of “cheap” — inexpensive — scents and Old Spice have since changed.) Tabac Original has dull packaging and is treated sloppily by shopkeepers, but the fragrance deserves some respect.
Tabac Original contains aldehydes (lots), black pepper, lemon, bergamot, neroli, petit grain, lavender, chamomile, geranium, oak wood absolute, carnation, sandalwood, vetiver, musk, and ambergris. Reading those ingredients, I expected a gutsy fragrance (the formula has no doubt changed since the Fifties), but what I got was a “lean”, flowery, clean and “soft” cologne. Tabac Original is a well-blended scent but does possess some distinct phases of development. Tabac Original starts with the aromas of creamy orange blossom, fresh lemon and pepper; these notes are lively but not jarring or ‘metallic’ like many citrus accords in today’s men’s mainstream fragrances. In mid-development, carnation continues the floral theme but the mix of lavender with geranium and other notes almost pushes Tabac Original into fougère territory. Hours after applying Tabac Original, my skin smells of cloves and light-as-air musk with a hint of vanilla.
I hated getting my hair cut as a child, but now, when I smell anything that reminds me of a barbershop (bay rum, citrus-floral talcum powders, clove-scented soap, lavender water), I’m filled with nostalgia — even for the brusque barbers who gave me dated crew cuts and then slathered my head with sticky, licorice-scented pink pomade. I’ll keep a tiny bottle of Tabac Original handy and sprinkle it on when I want to revisit the smells of a classic barbershop. Tabac Original’s barbershop vibe, soft aldehyde-florals, and well-mannered woods and musks may be too “feminine” or “old fashioned” for some men (the same men who complain about Jean Paul Gaultier’s Fleur du Mâle). I asked friends to sample Tabac Original and they said “a woman can wear this,” “I smell alcohol!” (the aldehydes making their presence known) and, worst of all, “I think an old man would like it.” If you’ve read many of my reviews, you know I get riled when people describe (dismiss) a scent as smelling like an OLD lady or an OLD man but I’m sick of fighting that battle; it seems perfumes that don’t smell “of the moment” are “OLD fashioned” to a majority of people and they limit their perfume palette severely. Pity ‘Em, Don’t Fight ‘Em is my new motto.
Mäurer & Wirtz Tabac Original is available in Eau de Cologne and Eau de Toilette. The Eau de Cologne lasts on my skin for six hours, but it stays close to the body. The Eau de Toilette version is a bit heavier and the ‘almost-fougère’ aspect of the fragrance is more apparent (though the floral aromas are still strong). Tabac Original is available online and a large bottle of the fragrance can be had for under $20. The Tabac Original fragrance is also available in shaving, body and bath products.
Oh yes, Tabac of course ! I've seen Tabac everywhere in my life, it has somehow become part of the scenery of those things that 'belong' in a house like toothpaste belongs there.
Tabac is part of the background of our lives. At the moment I cannot recall immediately how it smells but I do know that the moment that I smell Tabac again I will just know it.
Do you have Tabac in The States?
Hi, Kevin–
I'm totally with you on the “Old Lady/Man” comments. What exactly, is that supposed to tell us? Wouldn't it be easier to say “old fashioned,” “dated” or any other descriptive phrase? Why does that particular one seem to haunt perfume?
As to Tabac Original, it sounds interesting, but tobacco is a difficult note/accord for me to wear, except in the original Lolita Lempicka; I think posted about my dislike for Bandit in one of your columns on perfume insults! Otherwise, I think more women could try classic men's colognes; not only is it easier to find a good fougere or chypre on the male side of the counter, they are often cheaper!
Marianne: I have NEVER seen it at a store but it's easily bought online.
Hope: Don't worry about tobacco in this one…I have no idea why it's called “Tabac”! Perhaps it's a nice scent to accompany a pipe or cigarette?
The old lady/old man comments never fail to get my blood boiling, I think because it is meant as an insult to both the fragrance and to the elderly. Young whippersnappers will get what's coming to them…
Exist: let's hit them over the head with our canes the next time they get sassy?
I take comfort in the thought that, one day, (if it still exists), Pink Sugar will be associated with “old ladies”. 🙂
Yay! for cheap thrills. I am going to put this on my “to buy” list asap.
I am never sure what is responsible for the perceived old person-ness of a scent. Do you think it is the powdery aldehydes? I know that powdery rose or violet get tagged with that all of the time. Or is it just not smelling like suntan lotion or results of a collision between a Karo truck and a florists window? My paternal grandmother wore White Shoulders (and could you get more “old lady” than White Shoulders) and I can't think of a more comforting scent: it is a balm for my soul. I feel the same for all of those “barber shop” scents that I am sure tag me with “old man smelling”.
moon grrl: TRUE!
monkeytoe: maybe certain aldehydes are present in lots of scents that are preceived as being “old fashioned”…and of course these days people love the POWER of ozone/fresh notes
Oh, I love Tabac! It used to be the fragrance of my grandpa and brings back so many memories. (You know, until 20 years ago over here in Germany practical all the grandparents smelled of Tabac and 4711.)
I wouldn't qualify it as an “old gentleman”-scent, though. It's just classical and has this wonderful creamy quality about it. Perhaps I should buy my boyfriend a bottle?
That's a wonderful thought.
Yes, indeed.
Kevin, This is yet another cleverly written and well-observed review of a classic German fragrance and of a bygone era when all a man could find in the way of male fragrance was Old Spice, Tabac, Brut and Blue Stratos. I know that Tabac has a new fragrance line which I have sampled and loved, but I can't for the life of me remember the name of it!
We certainly have come a long way in male grooming and fragrance lines, yet sadly, I find the market over-flooded with countless 'younger male'-targeted, boring perfumes, usually coloured blue and with a messy-haired, unshaven, cookie-cutter male model, looking vacuous and bored.
Some perfume Houses now even blatantly advertise their youth-market age range.
Classic, male-oriented perfumes of any significance, are usually labelled 'old school' (the current PC version of 'old-fashioned') and immediately dismiss these original masterpieces as 'old man-ish', 'old lady-ish'.
A classic example of this was a review I read of the fragrance “Homme de Gres” by Parfums Gres. The reviewers damned the perfume as being 'old man-ish' and boring; yet when I eventually bought a bottle and tried it, it brought back wonderful memories of my youth and living it up in the late 70's – it was in fact a fragrance I wore then and completely forgot about it until I smelled it again!
So it goes to show that “Pity ‘em, Don’t Fight ‘em” is also my new motto.
Linaria: it's easy to find mini's of Tabac…so buy away without fear.
Desmondorama: welcome to the PEDFE, or PIty 'em Don't Fight 'em, club! Also, Mäurer & Wirtz and Tabac have great websites so you can find the name of the scent you can't remember very easily. For fun's sake I HAVE to find a sample of 4711 ICE…also a Mäurer & Wirtz licensee these days
I must laugh just a little, because I am not exactly a spring chicken, but at the same time, when I smell a particular kind of powdery iris scent, the first thing that pops into my mind is “old lady drawer sachet”.
For older scents that are very tasteful, say Chanel Pour Monsieur, my thoughts are much more tactful, more like “a very mature scent” or “a classic”. I think it is just that particular type of iris note that sets me off 🙂
Asha: a CLASSIC…a perfect phrase to use.
I almost didn't want to bother reading this review because when I hear “tabac,” I'm pretty much ready to run the other way. I need to cultivate my tobacco scent appreciation, but nice to see there's none in this.
I'm thinking that bottle might look nice alongside the vintage Monsieur Balmain I was persuaded to buy by your review last year! Not really sure how much this would appeal to me though. So would you say the analogy of “the European Old Spice” is somewhat accurate, given that your opion of Old Spice itself has changed?
Kevin, Thanks for the tip and I located the new line by M&W – it's called “GranValor” and is really quite lovely and very masculine, with lots of santal and tobacco. This reminds me, I must get a bottle from the pharmacy today!
This is a description of GranValor TABAC:
High-quality ingredients and an innovative scent sequence – resulting in a highly-charged overall composition. The freshness of mandarins, invigorating warmth of cardamom and galbanum as well as spicy cinnamon bark determine the head note of Granvalor Tabac. The “nature-prints” of finely tanned leather and aromatic pipe tobacco set new standards in the heart note; the natural raw ingredient oak absolute rounds off the fragrant chords. The triad of vetiver, patchouli and cistus underscores the masculine and yet fresh base of the composition.
Desmondorama: that does sound nice, but I've NEVER seen any other MW products available in the US besides 4711 and Tabac….
Joe: just read all tobacco reviews for MY sake, OK?
OS and TO share a strong carnation note and aldehydes…I would say Tabac Original has a bit more complexity…both are nice and (I'm always surprised, even after all these years) they do NOT smell cheap!
I need to find this and smell it.
I confess to loving the way men smell in Old Spice. I hate all those fresh sport marine hardbody whatever they are things – I love it when men smell like you want to curl up against their chest (wearing a nice pullover sweater, of course, a little scratchy).
I also adore 4711 and used to keep a bottle in the fridge for those hot days. Need to find some!!!
old spice- je l'adore, and now i can't wait to sniff Tabac as well. there are bottles of it at my local pharmacy & 'fume boutique where they must sell well as the bottles are not dusty or neglected. it does take me back to when men's scents were sexy musky clean skin scents, grrr- not the aquatic-y ozone-y stuff that gets up and slaps you silly- Tama said it perfectly.
What a nice surprise to see this here!
It was the first scent I can remember consciously trying when an uncle gave me his half emptied bottle. That must have been in the early eighties. I was a child then and since kept it in a secret place like a treasure (together with a wasp nest, an ermine tail in white winter fur, which I found during a trip to the Alps, a Blythe doll with burned hair, peacock feathers, and some peculiar stones from diverse holidays). It might still be there in a box in a cellar.
When I grew up I never admitted liking it and discarded it as a cheap and dated thing. I'm sure I thought it smelled of tobacco, maybe they took out that note over the decades?
I didn't know it was German and that old. Interesting, cause there really aren't many traditional fragrances in G. TO is indeed everywhere there.
I have to try this again. I'm sure I'll feel differently about it now.
Since reading this blogg I learned so much about scents and I became much more open-minded. Not that I didn't experiment before, but I was snobbish and thought cheap scents couldn't be good. I really like Old Spice (I enjoyed your review!) and carnation is a wonderful note. The later Tabac lines like “Culture” were horrible. But I remember the Original always left a lasting impression. You made me curious and I'll definitely try it again soon!
Lars: I also keep little boxes full of interesting “things” like you once did and love to go thru them every year or so. Since you have an older version of Tabac (if you can find it) let me know if it smells radically different from today's version; I could not find tobacco in ANY of the listed formulas that have been put out over the decades so the name puzzles me! It's listed as a floral-aldehyde in classification indexes. I'm a big tobacco lover from Olde Virginny and don't notice ANY hint of tobacco in the current version.
Tama, and I want to find the 4711 ICE with menthol…have you tried that?
No, I haven't tried that – but I saw it on fragrancenet, which has free shipping this weekend (code FMY85). I think I'm going to start with the regular – menthol scares me a little – lol.
It's really funny. By most young people in Germany 4711 is considered tacky, cheap stuff. I love it, it's a wonderful classical orange-flower cologne.
I think this blogg might have contributed to the rediscovery of forgotten classics. I recently saw a page in GQ were they presented all those scents popular many decades ago like the green Polo, Old Spice etc.
Only a few years ago I wondered who was actually still buying this stuff but now I understand why Tabac survived. These scents seem to have a very elaborate structure and i.m.o. if the structure works the rest is just a matter of taste.
Also, it shows how big the profit margin must be with well selling classics like, say, 19sixties Paco Rabanne or Eau Sauvage, when you can get a good cologne for a third of the price or less. Or is the quality that much better in a EdT of a renowned fashion brand that it justifies the much higher price?
I'll do my best. My parent's house doesn't exist anymore but I'm really curious myself now, so I'll search all my boxes… 😉 I also like tobacco. Again, I have to annoy you with this: try D&G pour homme if you like tobacco… still waiting for a review of this classic as D&G nowadays has lost quite a bit of reputation with the exception of Light Blue.
I have to correct myself, as a teenager I quite liked Tabac Culture but I think nowadays I'd hate it and much prefer the original.
Also, I love ceramics bottles! The new (19nineties) lines looked really cheap, in opaque glass, a bit like D&G light blue for men only green…
Regards, L
Lars: some of the cheapest smelling things I've worn in the last six months are from designer/mainstream perfume houses; they use materials that smell harsh and as ugly as scented window cleaner or diswashing detergent. In fact, since I use “green” cleaning products around the house, I'd rather wear THEIR scents than some of the department store fragrances.
Lars, that is such an illuminating commentary on 4711! So, the young people in Germany think that 4711 is TACKY??? Argh! They must be singe-ing their nose hairs off with something very bad!
I have to confess that I am a 60-something, born and reared in Germany in the 50's, and definitely qualify as a mummified old person, from the point of view of those youngsters. However, taste trumps youth every time, which is why I have a 500 ml bottle of 4711 in the fridge at all times for decanting!
Moreover, I do find the cheap and tacky stuff in some of the weirdest discount places: this past Christmas, I was in a very rural discount store near Brunswick, GA, and found a stash of the small round bottles for $1.00 each, so I bought 'em all! My gain, their loss! I've given them to AMERICAN young people and they LOVE them! Ha!
Helene: have you looked at the 4711 website? DO SO! They have great video clips of TV ads from Germany over the decades. Kevin
I know it's sad… I also have friends in their 20ies/30ies who use it. But these are people interested in fragrances anyway. Two of my best girlfriends were actually surprised to see that I own such an “old-fashioned cologne”. I think it is really considered as cheap because it doesn't cost that much and these rococo turquoise-golden bottle design with the cheap plastic lids looks like from a different age. With most people not understanding that it's a cologne and thus a different product category from EdT.
That's a nice bargain you made there. I love bargains 😉
I always watch out for it too, but it seems 4711 is having some sort of comeback with M&W trying to promote it as their heritage…
Actually, I smelled it again and it's how I remember it (I like it a lot). It still smells of tobacco to me… Maybe didn't know the real stuff and until today my brain connects a different scent with the term “tobacco”… hmmm. Although of course by now I smelled real tobacco and fragrances with it.
To correct myself: when Tabac Culture came out I was already a twen…
Lars: thanks for re-sniffing. Tobacco is different things to different people I”m sure…to me it's the scent of rafters full of drying whole tobacco leaves. I have a tendency to dismiss anything that calls itself tobacco and does not come close to that smell…it's one of my favorite smells. I'll try to get my hands on a sample of D&G to review…I've never seen the tester in any store I visit.
Hey thanks! Make sure it's the first Dolce & Gabbana (not the “D&G” line) for men… Wonder if you like the tobacco in it. And have you sniffed “Alt-Innsbruck” yet, the pure natural tobacco infusion? I think I recommended it to you last year. I siffed it again last month in Berlin and loved it. Will definitely buy a bottle soon.
I love reading reviews of old and “medium-old” well known mainstream fragrances.
It's so easy to forget about them, with all the new releases. I'm interested in understanding why a scent still sells well after decades and while others are discontinued after a year or so. That's why I like reviews like this of Tabac. Other ideas for reviews would be Habit Rouge and Cerrutti 1881.