Not quite the closest a woman can get! (Gillette Venus)

Member Name: saz_alicious

Product:	Gillette Venus
Date:	12/08/09 (52 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Well designed, gentle on the skin

Disadvantages: Not the closest shave I've ever had!

No pain no gain. Apparently the motto associated with looking good. Well, I was sick of exiting the bathroom holding my leg and half hobbling because my cheap men's razors had yet again drawn blood from my poor legs. I'm not sure if my legs are very sensitive or if they're just always full of hidden bumps but when shaving day comes around although I usually ended up with relatively clear, un-foresty legs they often hurt. A lot.

So, I decided I needed a change. Something more feminine. Something that did the trick but was a bit gentler on the skin. There are lots of ladyshavers out there but the only reason I decided to go for the Venus ladyshaver was that I'd gone into my local convenience store and that was the only alternative to the regular male shavers.

It cost me £3.99 from my local cornershop (although the cashier kindly advised he'd bought them on offer for a pound just two weeks before) and came in a light blue packet which when opened also came with some replacement shavers. To remove the head of the shaver , there's a little dome-shaped button below the razor section. Push this upwards and the razor head will pop off. However, you have to be careful because this can happen accidentally when you're trying to shave and then you have to fiddle to get it back on.

So shaver in one hand, high-lather-forming soap in the other, I entered the bathroom confident that Venus's fire would work its wonders. Unfortunately, despite the good appearances it just wasn't happening for me.

The shaver is well designed. I'll give it that. It fits well in your hand: It has a smooth blue handle with a grip-type section on the underside which is made from rubber and stops your hand from slipping. It's also a lot chunkier than the plain disposable shavers I used to buy. The razor head moves up and down which makes it easier to manoeuvre up and down your leg.

The problem for me wasn't the shaver, more the shave itself. It wasn't a close shave at all. I found that the cushioned pads on either side of the blade meant that the shaver was a lot gentler on the skin but I found I had to keep going over the same areas and even then, I wasn't able to shave off all of the hair. It certainly wasn't as close a shave as my old blades.

This was the case on the very first shave so I knew that it wasn't because the blades had become too blunt. Still, admittedly although I usually shave fairly regularly I hadn't shaved for a few weeks and my legs were a bit more insulated than normal so this probably didn't help. That said, I still think for a first shave it should have been a lot better. I think I was mainly disappointed because I'd been used to such a close (and sometimes painful) shave with my old disposable blades.

Still, results are results and although I know lots of people who have found these razors perfection, they didn't work that well for me. I'm definitely going to go for a different brand next time as this wasn't my Venus or my fire!

Summary: Probably worth trying a different brand!