Gillette Venus Embrace Razor: Product Review

I've had the same replaceable-head razor for several years now. The thought of switching never occurred to me. Until I received a free Gillette Venus Embrace Razor through a women's forum I belong to. Since it was free, I decided to try it out.

The Gillette Venus Embrace is one of 6 types of razors Gillette has in the Venus line. There's also the Breeze, Vibrance, Divine, Disposables and the original Venus. We're just going to focus on the Embrace.

The Embrace is touted as Gillette's first 5-blade razor for women. A "Ribbon of Moisture" on the head is to provide smooth gliding while it's flexibility is supposed to allow you to hug every curve. The end result should be "dramatically smooth" skin. (http://www.gillettevenus.com/en_US/products/embrace_purple/index.jsp)

I was rather skeptical that it would be any better than the razor I was used to, and the fact that it has 5 blades merely made me think "oh boy, more blades to get cut by!" It's flexible, pivoting head seemed to move much too easily to provide a good shaving pressure.

Lo and behold, I was happily surprised by it's performance. Since I have certain sensitivities, I only use soap to shave with. This worked very well with the Venus Embrace. The moisture strip ("ribbon of moisture") completely surrounded the blades and I could tell it was providing extra protection in addition to the soap.

The flexibility of the head did not hinder the razor's shaving performance like I thought it might. Applying normal pressure, you can still feel it on your skin like any other razor. The pivoting head does indeed allow the razor to go over the natural curves of your body with ease. You don't have to stop and reapproach the area from another angle to prevent cutting yourself. Just gently run the Venus Embrace through each curve in one swipe. This makes shaving your legs so much easier!

The soft grip handle is a nice little feature too. It feels like silicone rubber, fits in the hand well and provides an excellent grip for shaving.

Since this is the first one, I haven't had to buy refill cartridges yet. They are available in 4 or 8 count packages and can be found at most major grocery or drug stores. Based on my first trial run, I'm definitely going to continue using this razor!

If you would like to sign up for the women's forum go here: http://site.vocalpoint.com/guest/index.html
It's completely free and is an excellent resource for moms, in that it provides helpful information, great offers and free coupons and products. I should note - it is for mothers with children under age 19 living at home.