I find the blades wear out very quickly!! Only after a few uses

My current razor is the sensitive skin one. It gets the job done, but the thick moisture bands are totally useless. They make it very difficult to navigate areas like the bikini line. There's always a band that I have to go over where the blades stop and some useless plastic begins. And the moisture strips don't seem to actually do anything; you still need shaving cream and you still need lotion after.

I did not like the feel of this razor. It felt like I was using a plastic toy. I would not buy it again

Although the razor itself is nice to handle, the blades don't cut close enough to the skin so it does not give a perfect smooth feeling. And if you forget the razor in the shower a few days and other people use the shower, thereby getting water on it,, the stips get all sticky and useless.

I got this on sale from my drugstore, so on sale the price was ok for what I ended up with. I would not pay full price.

Very average razor! Works ok - can get dull pretty fast, feels like it needs to be replaced more than some.

Works wonders,though beware not to forget it on the side of the tub..gets very slimmy

I have very sensitive skin and it was supposed to be for sensitive skin and let me tell you it hurt so badly the day after I will never use again.

It is good product but my only problem is that it is very expensive and once you buy a whole razor you can buy only cartridges. However the problem is that even the cartridges are expensive. I don't have any problem with it's quality or effectiveness. But if you compare its price with the quality then i feel it is not worth paying that much money.

I have always found Gillette Razors to be great quality. It was really exciting to be chosen to participate in reviewing all these different Venus razors.

This Venus Original has 3 blades with thin moisture strips. It works well, as long as you apply shaving cream (or conditioner or soap) prior to shaving. The handle feels nice and has non-slip grip. I also like the shower hook and the second cartridge that came with the razor.

Unfortunately, I am a huge fan of gel/moisture bars so I am a bit bias. I started the review process using all the razors with the gel bars and I love Love LOVE them. In comparison to those razors, this Venus Original just doesn't give me to same warm fuzzy feeling after the shave. Plus I really think 5 blades work better than 3 blades.

In my opinion, I think it's worth the extra money to pay for, at the minimum, the extra 2 blades, if not the extra moisture/gel bars.

I am pretty faithful to my razor brand and have been using Schick Quatro for years now. I enjoy the sturdiness of the handle (it is heavy like a men’s razor), the dependability of the blades, and the convenient holder that attaches to your shower wall with suction cups. I will compare my experience with Venus Razors to my usual brand throughout my review. I should also mention that I use conditioner in place of shaving gel/cream when I shave, as this did affect my experience with some of the razors. I have organized my review into several categories based on the type of razor and the ease of use.

3 blades – Original Venus, Venus Divine
I used to use the original Venus razor when I first began shaving. The Venus Divine is a slight improvement on that original with intensive moisture strips. I think that these two razors are best suited to the no-fuss type girl who likes things plain and simple. They have 3 blades, and provide a clean and effective shave. I think they are perfect for girls who have just started shaving.

3 blades with shave gel bars – Proskin MoistureRich, Breeze and Spa Breeze
After trying each of these razors I have to say that I am not a fan of the shave gel bars. I find that I don’t know how to prime my legs for shaving. Do I use my typical conditioner which just made the surface of my skin slick and slippery with the added shave gel bars, or do I leave my skin wet but bare, and use the razors on their own? I found both undesirable because in the first scenario my skin would be too goopey to get an even and close shave, but relying on the built in shave gel bars alone wasn’t enough because I got razor burn and again didn’t get an exceptionally close shave. Also, I didn’t find the shave gel bars to last more than about 3 shaves which I was not impressed with. I loved the scent of the Spa Breeze razor but ultimately I need more in a razor than a yummy scent.

5 blades – Embrace, Venus & Olay, and Venus & Olay Sugarberry
In terms of getting a close and even shave I found the 5 blade Venus razors to be the most reliable. My favourite is the Venus & Olay original which smells amazing while also giving my legs some moisture, even if I choose not to moisturize after showering. I was extremely impressed with this! However, I found the width of the razor to be quite large and clunky, and like the shave gel bars, the moisture strips did not last more than about 3 shaves. I also had the same dilemma with deciding whether to prep my legs with conditioner or not; the moisture in the Olay razors got really goopey when I used conditioner. I did however find that the moisture strips were excellent for sensitive skin areas such as the bikini line and underarms and will definitely continue to use this razor in these areas.

Moisture strips vs. Shave gel bars – Moisture strips hands down. They were more reliable, provided the best results, and the least amount of fuss.

Interchangeable handles/razors – I love that you can change the handles and the razors. This really provides you with flexibility that other brands do not offer. My favourite combination is the Venus & Olay razor with the Spa Breeze handle.

Shower cartridge (suction cups) – I like that that Venus ProSkin, Breeze, Spa Breeze and Olay razors all had suction cups with little hooks to hold up the razors in your shower. I really like these better than my Schick Quatro holder because they are not as clunky, take up minimal space and hold your razor far enough away from the wall that it can dry properly. I loved the Venus Embrace pod because although it is large it is sturdy and holds extra cartridges. The original Venus and Venus Divine also hold extra cartridges but I found their suction cups to be a little bit weaker.

Repurchase / recommend?
Overall I am unsure if I would repurchase these but I would certainly recommend them to a friend. I liked them but I feel like I enjoy how sturdy and reliable my Schick Quatro razor is – I like the sturdy handle and the extremely close shave. While I enjoyed many aspects of the Venus razors (particularly the scents, the flexibility of them being interchangeable, and the moisture they provide) ultimately I think many of the perks are just bells and whistles – fun and enjoyable, but also frivolous and unnecessary. In my opinion, the most important thing about a razor is that you get a close and long lasting shave, and for this alone I think my Schick Quatro does a superior job. I would still recommend these to a friend however because I acknowledge that they were easy to use and effective, but I just don’t want the fuss.

I received these razors (generously!) to try from ChickAdvisor and Gillette.