Customer Reviews

Gillette Venus Embrace Womens Razor, 1 Razor 2 Razor Refill Cartridges Kit

5 star:		(88)
4 star:		(49)
3 star:		(23)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I really enjoy this razor. I have extremely sensitive skin and every shave usually equates to a miserable bout of rash and irritation. This is the first time I have shaved in years without any problems.

The razor is easy to grip and has a very light nick-free action. I got a very smooth shave the first pass (didn't have to shave the same spot twice). It worked equally well on my legs and underarms. It rinses effortlessly thanks to the design.

The suction cup shower holder did not work on my walls. Irrelevant to me but that might be of interest to others. I'd definitely seek out and buy this product again.

I'm not that impressed with this razor. I am one of those people that can go about a week in between shavings. My hair on my legs doesn't grow fast and when it does it's not that coarse. After using this razor several times the results were that I always felt or could see hair the next day or two days later. That leads me to believe that with 5 blades, it's still not a close shave.

I also felt the razor head was surrounded on all four sides with way too much plastic; making the shaving of more delicate areas, bikini line, etc, a little more challenging. I felt I was doing some serious contorting in the shower this morning, and felt if I could have removed some of the bulky plastic, I would have been much better off.

I did like the shower case that suctioned to the shower wall, I liked that a lot. I also enjoyed the fact that I didn't have any razor burn or bumps.

All in all I just don't think it's worth the hype. The 5 blades didn't do anything more or extra that I could tell, and the surrounding plastic hindered anything the blades could have possibly done.

there are definite pro's and con's with this razor, and their all pretty big in my opinion..

Pro:
5 blades give you a super close shave
squishy grip makes it easy to hold onto and control
moisture strips seem to hold up alot longer than the original venus
the shower caddy is small and blends in with tile

Con:
extreamly expensive!! replacement blades are $12+
large head is difficult to manuver around crevices and does not get all hair from bikini area
shower caddy only holds two blades
moisture strips and rubber around head hold onto hairs, hard to clean

overall the razor is ok, its good for leg shaving but very difficult to do any underarm/bikini areas, not to mention its probably the most expensive razor i've ever seen.. its been good while i've had it but i doubt i'll purchase it again, its way too expensive to not be able to shave all areas of the body i'd like.

I have been on the look out for a while for a good razor with replaceable cartridges and though many are fine and fit the bill, I thought this one gave me the little bit extra that will keep me coming back.

I have purchased Venus products in the past but when I could no longer find the blades at my local store for my regular model I bought a lady schick. The lady schick is fine, but not much movement in the head and the shave is thus sometimes not as close as I'd like. I also tried the Venus with the moisture bars, and that was kind of messy and not really a fit for what I was looking for.

Here is what I was looking for and what I found with this Venus Embrace:

I want a plain razor, I don't want soapy little moisture bars around my blade (one of the previous Venus razor's I tried).

I want a head that can move with the contours of my body-hey, an armpit is not an easy thing to shave if the head has limited mobility, right?

I would love a place to store the cartridges, and with this model the shower caddy opens to keep my spare cartridge-great idea! Now I don't have to rummage around soapy and dripping to find a replacement in the drawer when my blade is dull- it is right there and ready to go!

I like something easy to grip. This razor is slim and sleek and has a nice indent for my thumb and has a sturdy gel grip.

I want a razor that gives me a nice shave-this one does it. Nice and close.

The looks of the unit? Well, not that important if it is good, but this one also has a good design, dual colored in green and glue, with a cute little circular shower caddy.

I think it is a good value and I will definitely be ordering refills and keeping this one as my primary razor.

I think this one does it all, it is simple, well designed, gives a great shave and has a pleasant design. No complaints here.

This is some serious razor-ology at work here. 5 blades. Suction-cup storage pod. Moisture ribbon. The works.

I actually like the shave for my legs. My legs stay smooth 1-2 days longer than with my standard disposable razor. However, this razor really pulls at the underarms while shaving, and my underarms were quite senstive after shaving. Plus, this razor is pretty big (got to put 5 blades and a moisture ribbon somewhere), and that made it difficult to see while shaving my underarms.

The storage pod for the shower? Clever idea, but try getting the thing open with wet hands. I've found that it either pops open when I want it closed or won't open when I need it.

Overall, this is a great razor for the legs. I like the smooth, close shave that it provides. However, after my underarm experience on 2 different occasions, I won't even attempt to use this for bikini areas (ouch). It's a bit too bulky for detail work, I think. That means I have to have 2 different razors, and that's a bit much. Considering that refill blades are about 20 bucks for this razor, I can't justify using it for the long term.

OVERVIEW: This is a perfectly adequate razor. It's neither wonderful nor terrible. It's ok. The review by Cherise Everhard nails it.

LONG VERSION: Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty must be reclining comfortably in her mansion in the Pantheon subdivision on Mount Olympus, counting the revenue from her licensing deal with Gillette. The sale of the razor blades alone must be quite profitable, allowing her to fill her closets with designer togas.

This is one of those products that get written about in marketing studies. Where the basic item, a computer printer, for example, has a reasonable retail price but the ink refills are the longterm profit center. In this case, the razor is quite a good value, the price of the razor blades, however, leave you breathless!

I myself was seduced by the allure of Venus when a women's magazine named the Venus Embrace Razor one of the beauty innovations of the year. (Yes, I read women's magazines! So what? This is a women's product! If you are a guy reading this review, you can just take off your judgemental hat and go back to watching the droning ball game on the sofa where you usually repose. Relax, have a beer!)

Not being able to purchase Mach 2 razor blades anywhere for any price was causing me upset. I had a perfectly good razor that was totally useless. I bought a Soleil. It was French. It was pink-orange and white like a creamsicle. It was curved like a dolphin. It had three blades which was one more than the Mach 2 had. I was unimpressed.

So, there I was, with a three bladed razor thinking that this was not nearly enough.

Listen, hair removal is a tricky business. There are multiple solutions to the problem, some very, very bad and some very, very good. With chemotherapy and radiation being the very worst solutions, the best solution, in my admittedly fairly limited experience, is waxing. Unfortunately there are times when waxing is inconvenient. Like 10 minutes before you are planning to leave for the beach and you feel some stubble on your ankles. This is when you really need a razor.

So I read about the Venus Embrace being an innovation of the year and I was hooked.

What you get when you buy the "starter kit" is:
- A pretty, ergonomically curved razor that has "attractive sea foam green and turquoise" (purple and teal) colored gel inserts on the handle. These cause a squishy/sticky feel that is not unpleasant but somewhat odd.... like holding a silicone spatula or a dog toy. The manufacturer claims that these gel inserts cause the razor handle to sit more firmly in the hand and not to slip.

-The blade. The "business end" of the razor is HUGE! Its an oval shaped disk that contains five "spring mounted" blades that are surrounded by wide areas of plastic covered by variously colored slippery coatings that the manufacturer describes as " Protective Ribbon of Moisture".

-An extra razor cartride which comes packed in a clever, water-proof, sealed plastic container.

-A plastic "Shower Pod" which is a small holder for the razor and extra blades that is supposed to attach to the bathroom tile with a suction cup.

The first thing I noticed when I opened the package is the sticky/squishy feel of the razor handle. The blade cartridge sits safely in its sealed plastic container and is easily inserted on to the handle.

The blade is sized perhaps for true Olympians like Venus Williams rather than mere mortal-sized women such as I. Did I mention is is HUGE? Paul Bunyon huge. Yo, Venus! Did you actually approve the size of this cartridge? I bet not.

The shower pod is a tacky plastic thing that would not stay suctioned to my tile wall. It went directly into the trash.

Although the razor head pivots, the blades are "spring loaded", there are moisture strips, and the handle is curved and tricked out with gel inserts, the Venus Embrace razor is unwieldy. It just doesn't go where you want it to go when you want it to go there. And when it goes there you don't really get such a close shave. I don't notice any better shaving than with my old Mach 2.

What I have noticed about the Venus Embrace is that I have not cut myself once and I have not experienced razor burn. These were not significant problems with my Mach 2 but I thought I should mention them.

My fundamental saddness with this product arrived when I needed to purchase additional blades and sticker shock set in. Three buckeroos a cartridge makes one think once or twice about continuing to use this razor. Sorry Goddess Venus, but that's one Sister's opinion.

While the 5 blades made it easier to shave without constantly cutting yourself a lot easier, The hair removal abilities on this razor weren't that great. The hair that got shaved off would get stuck in the razor and took a lot of rinsing and tapping to get the hair out of the blade. So It took twice as long to shave completely. But Since it didn't cut the skin like a lot of other razors used in the past, I would recommend this. It worth taking longer to shave with this razor than to bleed.

My wife has been shaving with this razor for two weeks now, and here's what she has to say about it:

The problem with this razor is that it's too smooth. Sure, it doesn't burn or scrape, or nick sensitive skin, but it also doesn't cut the hair close enough. Meaning, that I now have to shave my legs almost every day whereas before I was shaving once a week. So, yes, the shave is a delight. But it's now become a lot more work! I'm not sure if the trade-off is worth it.

When Gillette released the Fusion 5 blade razor for men years ago they revolutionized shaving yet again. Changing the angles of the blades and adding 2 extra, it seemed slightly ridiculous, what was next 15 blades? But upon using the 5 blade wonder from Gillette I quickly found that the hype was worthwhile and the end result was the greatest shave I had ever gotten. Smoother, quicker, and with less irritation then I ever had before. I tried going back to the Mach 3 but it was impossible, the stakes had been raised. It was only a matter of time before a womens razor with 5 blades would be released, could the magic happen again?

You bet it could.

Being in martial arts I found the benefits of shaving areas that men don't usually shave as opposed to staying hairy all over (go ahead and insert your metro sexual jokes here) and have used a womens razor for years so I know what I am talking about. With the edition of the lubricant outer edge, the aforementioned 5 blades, a comfortable grip and a shaving station to put your razor back, this newest invention by Gillette truly is a work of art. Razor burn is a thing of the past and irritation has been sent out to pasture as well. My wife loves the quality of this new razor and her legs lasted smoother longer.

This is one of those cases where once you try you can't go back. The new Venus Embrace is a lights out home run of a product that exceptional.

***** HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION

I bought this about 3 or 4 weeks ago and it work great! I know its just a razor and a lot of people don't care but I have sensitive skin and dark hair so I need a close shave but I also need a gentle shave. This razor provided both. I have used many razors from disposable single blade bic razors to an expensive electric shaver. This is better than all of them and is definately the best that Venus has put out on the market.