SAPHIR Men's Shoe Treatment

It should be obvious if this is the first time you’ve ever used a polishing creme, that this is not your typical shoe “polish”. The familiar Kiwi shoe polishes are a “wax”. This Saphir product is a superior polishing “crème” . It’s supposed to have the consistency of facial creme and not at all like a hard Kiwi wax polish. What some of the more negative comments I read were implying was that they never used this product before. And so this polish didn’t meet their expectations very well. (one commenter even said she had better results when she “painted” her expensive Italian flats. Huh ? I’m assuming she meant a couple good coats of Krylon spray paint ??I taught myself from an early age what I know about shoe care. Putting the effort into making shoes look nice was just something that gentlemen did back in those days. We didn’t have internet/You Tube videos, and so you taught yourself and learned by trial and error.One word that can’t be stressed enough is preparation. The other thing to mention is that no matter how you apply it, if you bought those pair of shoes that weren’t all that expensive to start out with, don’t get your expectations up where you think some kind of miracle will take place. Keep in mind that even with a pair of shoes where the manufacturer makes the claim to have used a premium full grain leather, the job when using this product on the leather may actually turn out quite well.One thing that needs to done first is to inspect the leather before just whipping out a jar and rubbing it in. The leather very well may have had a plastic shell coating applied to it by the manufacturer. This crème is not designed to penetrate into the leather through that barrier. Once again, preparation is the key.[Tip] Choose a color that is just slightly a lighter shade than the original color if you’re trying to match the original color. You can always make the shade darker by starting with a lighter shade but you won’t be able to go in reverse. i.e, starting with a darker shade and trying to make the shade become lighter.Once I inspected the leather, this is how I touched up the scuffs and marks on the toe boxes. I just used this crème to touch up the toe boxes on a fairly inexpensive pair of Sperry Gold Cup boat shoes. I say fairly inexpensive even though Sperry elevates their Gold Cup as their top of their line.Since I inspected the leather from the day they were first purchased, it was obvious that what was applied was a coating of “plastic” over the leather. That coating made them shine like glass which boat shoes don’t typically do. And so the first step was to remove that coating from the toe boxes using Saddle soap. I didn’t buy Saphir’s products to do this step because I knew by experience it could be removed with what I had on hand. After many short steps of scrubbing, being careful not to saturate the leather or allow it to dry, it appeared I had removed all of the coating. I wouldn’t know for certain though until I had let them dry overnight.After the next day when they had completely dried, I had been successful in removing all of the coating the day before. The next step was to apply a small amount of Saphir Renovateur using just tiny dabs to rub in and nourish the leather. Once the crème replenished the leather back to the state from before the leather had all the moisture taken out by the saddle soap, I allowed them to air for awhile.Then I sparingly applied the polish crème using a cotton cloth using “tiny dabs” at a time. I applied the first coat, allowed it to dry a hour, then brushed with horsehair. I repeated it for a total of three coats. The trick to not end up with a splotchy appearance. You need to apply tiny amounts at a time spreading out each amount applied. It does take time doing it this way.Once satisfied with the appearance, I topped off the coats of crème polish with a single light coat of Saphir Pate de Luxe neutral (clear). After allowing it to dry, I brushed with horsehair to bring out a sheen to match the rest of the shoe. I was very satisfied with the results. There should every reason anyone can achieve highly satisfactory results with any of the Beaute De Cuir colors on closed grain leather.

I bought this because I have a purple purse that had a bad scratch. I used this cream on the scratch and let it sit overnight. I wiped it the next day and the scratch was gone! It re-dyed the scratch! $700.00 handbag saved!!

Great high polish that easily applies to shoes or leather boots. Great polish and shine afterwards. Recommended highly!

Very good product

Put simply, this seems to be the best balance of affordability and quality in terms of shoe polish. There are certainly cheaper options out there (such as Kelly's Shoe Cream) and there is one that is more expensive and higher quality (Saphir's Medaille D'Or line, comprised of their higher end items), but this stuff REALLY does the trick. Though it isn't up to par with the Medaille D'Or line, this Beaute Du Cuir line still uses natural ingredients that are especially good for leather while also enhancing its color tremendously. Heck, it even smells good! No chemical smell whatsoever with this stuff...it almost smells like cherry-flavored candy.In using it, there is going to be some excess on the surface that will rub off when you re-condition the leather or apply any wax polish on top of it. This doesn't seem to be exclusive just to this product, though, and even when some gets rubbed off, the enhancement of the color of the leather is still very much there. Though I didn't take before-and-after pics, I touched up my 3 pairs of leather shoes today, and I thought that would be the perfect time to take some pictures for this review.The color enhancement is tough to see on the dark brown ones (Allen Edmonds 5th Avenues), but it's VERY apparent on the other two pairs (Clarks Bike Toe Derbies in Tan and Allen Edmonds Byrons in Chili Brown). By the way, that third pair is just over 20 years old! Yes, the quality of the materials and the care of the previous owner (I bought them used since new shoes from Allen Edmonds are really expensive) should be credited for them still being in this good of shape after all this time, but this polish just elevates them to a whole new level, and people are shocked at how great they look, especially for their age.Just as a last note, I used Bick 4 Conditioner (from Bickmore) as well as Saphir's Beaute Du Cuir Wax Polish (clear) in conjunction with this cream polish. That wax polish is where most of the shine comes from. If you don't care about shine but want to preserve your shoes and make them look great with just one product, this stuff will do it! I've used it in several different colors, including the Dark Brown I bought here on Amazon, and it's never failed me. To be honest, I really don't see any need to go up to Saphir's higher end line (which, ounce for ounce, is double the price of this stuff) unless you're REALLY wanting the best of the best and nothing below that point. If that's not you, though, the Beaute Du Cuir line is where you should run to, as it's excellent quality while still being moderately-priced. Very pleased with this line of products!

Pricy

Good

goes on easily. great coverage. buffs well.

I love this shoe polish! Easy to use. Perfect match for my Lacoste boots!

Saphir’s products are the very best

This product is easy to use, nourishes the leather and polishes to a nice shine. A fine shoe care product.

Pour mes souliers de golf.

Worked perfectly