The best there is.
My father used to carry my brother and I to the old mall in Gainesville, Florida, to get our haircut. An elderly gentleman had a shoe-shine stand in the barber shop, and my father would always get his shoes shined. I think this is where my love of good-looking shoes started. After school, I joined the Navy where, of course, my shoe-polishing education continued. Now, I'm 64 and have taught school for over 20 years, and I've kept my shoes polished all these years. I mention all this merely to let the reader know I have some experience polishing shoes. Simply put, Saphir is the finest shoe cream I have ever used. After I discovered it, I did away with all my wax-based polishes except for black which I use for the heels. If you polish with wax, you just keep piling it on top of itself, and after a few years your shoes don't look so good anymore. They start to crack. Wax-based polishes are not designed to be good for your shoes; they are designed to put a shine on them. Conversely, Saphir is easy to put on and there is something about it that makes it good for your shoes. When you put Saphir on, you can feel how soft and supple it makes the leather, and this may sound strange, but it even makes the shoes smell good. You smell it, and you know it's doing what it's supposed to for that leather. I have always felt that a good review mentions the pros and cons. I can only find two cons with Saphir. One is the price. However, I am not deducting stars for that, because I think Saphir is the best shoe cream out there. Also, you can do a lot of shoes with that little jar of cream. I would estimate that a jar will polish 8-10 pairs of shoes. This cream is really thick, and a good dab on a cloth will literally polish almost half a shoe. That is my experience anyway. My second con is that Saphir does not impart a bright shine on a pair of shoes. It is more of a dull shine, but the shoes feel oh so good. And, personally, I don't feel the need to see my reflection in a pair of shoes. Actually, at my age, I don't want to see myself at all. I'd prefer my shoes last a long time and look good that entire time, and that is what Saphir helps me accomplish. My school routine is this, I polish every new pair of shoes before I wear them. This prevents scuffs, a lesson I learned the hard way as a child. I asked my parents for a new pair of boots and scuffed them the first time I wore them. I asked Daddy how to get the scuff out. He asked me if I had polished the boots. I, of course, said "no". Daddy said, "Then you can't get it out." He was right as always; I couldn't get it out. I still remember how bad I felt about those boots. So, after the initial polish, I put cream on my shoes every 6 months to 1 year based on usage. To keep them looking good daily, and this is important, I use Weiman Leather Wipes every day or few days that I wear the shoes. These wipes cut way down on the number of times per year that I was having to polish my shoes. And Weiman Leather Wipes are not expensive. In fact, they are relatively cheap. These wipes will impart the bright shine you are missing with the Saphir, and keep the shoes clean and healthy. To me, Saphir and Weiman Leather Wipes are the cat's meow of shoe care. And, no, I don't own stock in either company, I just try to help people when I write these reviews. I'm a teacher, and it's summer so I'm off. I've been doing some shoe polishing to pass the time. It relaxes me. And... I am so slow.... I just figured out Saphir has all these colors, and I could have been using it on my tennis shoes and leather shoes of varying colors. I had only been using it with dress shoes. So thinking outside the box (finally!) gave me the picture I am showing you. I've intentionally left out newer shoes. Every pair of shoes here is 5 years or older. The newest is the olive green pair of Rockport's, and I used a neutral color on them (called Reno Mat but Saphir also has a neutral-colored creme). And if you're thinking those are not 5 years old - yes they are - I have a lot of shoes so I don't wear the same pair every day. The oldest shoes are the Timberland's, front right, they're over 20 years-old, and I used Saphir Renovateur to clean them and then applied a burgundy cream. You should have seen these before I started: fishing, mowing yards, general destruction for 20 years. The front row, second from left, are Rockport's that are now cognac colored - they were light brown. I think they look good. The dress shoes in the back row, far right, are 15 years-old or older. I put Saphir on them every year. So, now that you see the picture, maybe you can decide if Saphir is worth the $30 or so including tax, and the dull shine it imparts (use the wipes). I think it more than is. Thank you for your time. I know this is very long, but I hope it helps. Read more



















