Gillette venus divine razor

Well another from the vaults as they say (or is that just me thinking about watching Rocky Horror again thats brought that to mind?) Anyway to shorten my list of drafts which have gone blank I decided to try and cure my insomnia by writing about my current razor.

I say my current razor because I have four of the things and as with the rest of my toiletries am trying to decide which is best therefore which I'll be keeping.
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...read that right that is the first thing I choose to tell you about it, and now I shall explain why. I like blue, and hate pink the original Venus is only avaliable in pink which meant I refused to buy one and stuck with whatever it was I had before. Plus the blue means it matches the blue and turquoise bathroom. Sad isnt it I match my razor to the bathroom but never mind.

Like the original Venus the replaceable blade section has three ... more

Well another from the vaults as they say (or is that just me thinking about watching Rocky Horror again thats brought that to mind?) Anyway to shorten my list of drafts which have gone blank I decided to try and cure my insomnia by writing about my current razor.

I say my current razor because I have four of the things and as with the rest of my toiletries am trying to decide which is best therefore which I'll be keeping.

So the Venus Divine, its blue.... Yup you read that right that is the first thing I choose to tell you about it, and now I shall explain why. I like blue, and hate pink the original Venus is only avaliable in pink which meant I refused to buy one and stuck with whatever it was I had before. Plus the blue means it matches the blue and turquoise bathroom. Sad isnt it I match my razor to the bathroom but never mind.

Like the original Venus the replaceable blade section has three blades and three moisturising strips, and due to the identical clip system are totally interchangeable, meaning that while the 'divine' blades cost almost £1 more than the original venus blades you can buy either depending on your budget. Which to me means the whole change of colour and new name is simply yet another marketing ploy.

Sorry feeling abit jaded this evening as well as being unable to sleep not the best combination!

Looking at the blade face, you will see that there are two moisture strips at the top of the head as you look at it, the three blades, and then below the blades there is a rubber section with the third moisture strip.

While the rubber bit seems a little odd it is actually quite important, when it is laid against your skin the direction of the shave should mean that this is the 'first' part of the head to cover and area of skin, this in theory means that the rubber pulls the skin taut therefore smoothing the area under the blades to ensure a close shave - but it is not a unique feature many if not all except the most basic budget razors have this in some form, and as long as your skin is wet this contact will moisten the moisture strips so that you dont end up with dry scaley areas.

The head of the razor is able to pivot slightly this means you can shave 'curved' areas such as around your ankles and knees smoothly, as the adverts illustrate, apparently shaving your knee is easy - so why do I almost always end up with shaving cuts on my knees, doesnt matter if my knee is bent or straight I always end up cutting myself! Although not so much as I used to with a non pivoting razor.

Right time to stop the semi rant and tell you if this actually works and if I like it right?

Well yes the venus range of razors and blades is probably the best I have ever used, in general even dry shaving I get a close shave and my legs in particular dont seem to end up too dry. Wet shaving does get the best results and does benefit from the moisture strips in fact I very rarely use a shaving gel because I know that this razor will give me a smooth, close shave and moisturise without it, however there is something to be said for the luxury of shaving 'properly' as my male calls it and slathering on the shaving gel first. The smell of the moisture strips is negligable but they do contain aloe which is well known as a moisturiser and has a pleasant enough smell.

It handles the shaving of the somewhat tougher areas such as bikini lines and underarms as easily as it does legs (although these areas will blunt the blades quicker), again the moisture strips are sufficient for a close and comfortable shave but to ensure long lasting comfort you really should use a shaving gel as well (nothing more uncomfortable than ingrowing hairs in those 'creased' areas is there?).

The handle which when all is said and done is what you are paying for in the initial purchase is a reasonably weighty plastic and rubber thing, which doesnt feel as though it will snap unless you were particularly trying to, and the clip which holds the blades in place is equally well constructed and the blades feel firmly held in place, there is no feeling that if your hand slips you are about to flick a razor acorss the room - unless that is your intention of course but in that case this may not be the razor for the job. The rubber sections on the handle are on the underside where your fingers will be gripping further reinforcing the view that this isnt the razor to use to accidently hit someone with (thoughts I have had about my male when hes been particularly annoying and decided to stand and watch me shower - I need some space occasionally you know!)

The cost of this intial purchase of your handle and two razor heads is around £7, this is the same as the cost of a pack of four replacement heads. So not the cheapest around but my heads tend to last between a week and two weeks in the summer months and in the colder times up to 6 weeks - body hair is mostly for insulation who am I to argue with nature! So all in all not bad value when you consider the purchase of a cheaper brand which wont last as long. Also in the pack with the handle is the storage case, this has a clip with sticky pads so it can be attatched to the shower wall but still be removed if necessary and the lid folds open to allow you to store up to four replacement heads inside, the main body of the razor fits in the cradle on the top. Here it is held firmly enough to be placed on a vertical surface but still loose enough to be removed with wet slippy hands.

For a product in a market which has to be fairly fast moving my previous Venus handle lasted me almost 5 years (remember the pale blue sparkly ones?) it looked grubby and had mildew on it but was still perfectly adequate for holding my blades as I hacked at my legs and underarms it is unclear if this sturdy construction and potential longevity of the handle is a good thing for Proctor and Gamble's profits but it is certainly a useful thing for the consumer.

My final analysis is that despite the ranty start to the review I think this is the razor I'll be sticking with for the time being, it does the job I expect it to - a smooth close shave with minimal cutting of my flesh and at a price I am happy to pay even though I can be tight fisted with somethings others are worth paying more for and in my opinion a decent razor is a must have item. 

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