Shoe Polish Types

Polish categories can differ based on who you ask. I believe most Americans, Europeans, and some Singaporean shops have the categories conditioner, cream polish, and wax polish. People in Korea and Japan combine conditioners and cream polish into one category called “creams.” Some people might also separate delicate cream from emulsifying cream. Delicate creams usually have very little or no wax and higher water content while emulsifying creams have oil, wax, and water held together by a solvent. There are so many creams and conditioners that I have not had a chance to use and compare them all but below are some basic descriptions of each category and some popular choices to consider.

Conditioners

Conditioners are used to provide moisture to leather which prevents permanent cracking. People in Asia, especially in Japan and Korea, prefer to use delicate cream or a hybrid conditioner cleaner like Boot Black Two Face Lotion instead of a strong conditioner because you can use it on most smooth leathers without worrying about damaging the leather finish.

1. Saphir Delicate Cream / Nappa Balm is based on jojoba oil and wheat protein. I’ve used Nappa Balm for a while even for crust leather without any problems. I only use it if my shoes are pretty dry or have been dragged through the rain for a couple of weeks.
2. Saphir Renovateur - The most popular conditioner in America is Saphir Medaille d’Or Renovateur which is a mink oil and lanolin based conditioner. According to the Saphir Paris website, there is also beeswax in the formula but probably only a tiny amount. It’s an effective and long lasting conditioner but can damage the leather finish, especially if you over condition a light colored crust leather shoe.
3. Collonil 1909 Crème de Luxe / Leather Cream is a German product classified as a cream polish by some but most people in Asia will use it interchangeably with delicate cream. I haven’t had a chance to use this one yet because shipping directly from Germany to the United States from the official store is not allowed, but some online stores in Japan have started to sell it. It is the most affordable conditioner/cream on this list and people will usually only use the neutral color for all shades of leather but they do come in other colors.
4. Boot Black Delicate Cream / Two Face Plus Lotion are popular options in Japan. I think Two Face Plus Lotion is a great option for people who don’t use conditioners all the time. It works great for stubborn dirt and dust and as long as it’s shaken to emulsify some argan oil is mixed in to soften and moisturize the leather. Boot Black delicate cream is a popular delicate cream alternative to Saphir and it seems to work very similarly.
5. Boot Black Rich Moisture - a strong argan oil based conditioner in the same bottle as Two Face Lotion. I haven’t tried it yet but it is available in the US Boot Black store and my local cobbler. It is about as expensive as Nappa Balm which already has a premium price tag and I’m excited to come back and see if it’s worth buying.
6. M.MOWBRAY Delicate Cream - I’ve seen two Youtubers (Our Shoeshine Blog and Vetiver) use this cream. I believe it is popular for conditioning leather lining in the inside of the shoe and for hand bags like most other delicate creams. For a long time I could not find this cream but the United Arrows Site has it listed now.
7. Paul Brunngard Reviving Cream - recommended by Justin FitzPatrick as a conditioner that is less stressful to use than Renovateur.
8. Pure Polish Leather Cleaner and Conditioner - an orange oil and coconut based conditioner. Like Renovateur, it is very strong and can strip the finish of crust leathers. I generally do not recommend this product because it’s difficult to use but it is a very effective hard wax cleaner. I still think using a delicate cream + Boot Black High Shine Cleaner or Brift H The Cleaner for Mirror Shine are more effective and less stressful than using the Pure Polish conditioner.

Cream Polish

Cream polish, also called emulsified cream, is used mostly to restore color to the shoe, provide a soft shine, and condition slightly. Some people prefer to watch their colored leather fade over time and will only polish with neutral (colorless) cream polish. Most people prefer to polish their black shoes with black polish. A good rule of thumb for maintaining colored leather is to choose a shade that is slightly lighter than the color of the shoe. If you want to darken the leather choose either the same color as the leather or 1 shade darker.

1. Saphir Pommadier Cream (1925) - The gold standard cream polish known for having lots of color pigment, oily look and texture, and soft glow after brushing.
2. Saphir Beaute de Cuir Cream Polish - beeswax and almond oil based cream polish. Works great with cheaper closed pore leathers and comes in more colors than the Pommadier cream. The only downside is that it has less color pigment than Pommadier cream.
3. Boot Black Cream Polish - Competitor to the Saphir Creams. I’m curious about trying out these creams because I’ve only found one post reviewing these products from shoegazing. According to shoegazing the lineup is solid with some products maybe having a learning curve. I have way too much cream to get through but as soon as I run out of my Saphir creams I will be trying out the Boot Black lineup.
4. Pure Polish Cream Polish - One of the latest brands from America. All Pure Polish products use orange oil as the solvent and coconut oil as the main conditioner. Honestly when I used this back in 2021 I thought it was the weakest product in the Pure Polish lineup because of the lack of pigment and I generally dislike coconut oil as a conditioner because it tends to darken leather. Scott’s Corner of Fun and Exploration actually states that the newer formula will have more pigment.
5. Brift H The Cream - This is my latest pickup and I will say that it’s fun to use. It has a very soft texture, lots of pigment, and creates a slightly oily finish. I can’t say that it’s better than Saphir but I do think it might be better for those that do not want to use a standalone conditioner at all. Yuya Hasegawa, the owner of Brift H, only uses cream polish to condition. The only reservation I have about this product is availability but I think Brift H’s online store has the more commonly used colors in stock.
6. The Way Things Go Cream Polish - An emulsified cream that looks more like delicate cream. It is used by Ken of Kish the Work and is recommended for cordovan leather and all smooth leathers. One day I would like to try out these creams.

Wax Polish

Wax polish is completely optional for shoe care but it can help protect against light scuffs and create a shiny finish for the toe and heel.

1. Saphir Pate de Luxe, Boot Black Wax Shoe Polish, Brift H The Wax, Pure Polish Paste - I actually group all of these wax polishes together because most softer beeswax based wax polish perform similarly to each other. Even with the small amount of coconut oil in the Pure Polish, I could still use it interchangeably with the rest of the wax in this list. These products are my main waxes of choice because they create a natural and transparent finish when mirror polished.
2. Saphir Mirror Gloss, Boot Black High Shine Coat for Mirror Gloss - I’ve only tried Saphir Mirror gloss in this category but I still prefer the look of the softer waxes. Using harder waxes to mirror polish definitely speeds up the process.
3. Pure Polish High Shine Shoe Polish Wax - I wanted to separate this wax because I actually think it has potential to be the best hard wax and it is by far the best product in the pure polish lineup. It surprisingly spreads pretty easily but still dries quickly. The only issue I have with it is that it only comes in neutral so if the product is too cold or if there isn’t enough fresh solvent on the parts of the wax you are picking up, it can leave white specks on your leather shoe. It’s especially hard to fix this problem on dark shoes with brogues and patterns.

Shoe Care Mystery

You might be wondering why Kiwi, maybe the most famous shoe polish brand, is missing from this list. Kiwi and Bick use petroleum based products which newer shoe polish brands claim are harmful to leather. Back in 2015 I tried looking for anything that falsifies this claim but I could not find anything about it. Looking for it today I found a Stridewise article written in 2024 about the subject which asks the makers of Venetian shoe cream why petroleum distillate is used in shoe care products. It seems that it doesn’t really matter if these products are used on leather but information on this subject is still pretty scarce. Kiwi and Bick products definitely still work and have cult followings but I tend to not use them because they smell bad and the other products on this list are much easier to use.

Cloth

There’s a big push for custom cotton cloth for polishing. Kirby Allison has multiple lines of cloth. Brift H, The Way Things Go, and Pure Polish have their own custom cloth as well. Overall, I think the ability to tie the cloth well, using more water on more absorbent cloth vs silky cloth, and making sure that the wax polish has enough time to dry are more important than the exact cloth to use. I have recently picked up Brift H’s polishing cloth from their gift box kit and it is fun to use but I would not say that it is a must have. Most people and some bespoke shoe makers just use an old cotton shirt for polishing.