After a few weeks of trying, I decided my leg epilation project was better left to the cooler months. When we get the rare treat of a beautiful spring day, the last thing I want to do is wear pants because I’m in-between sessions of yanking my leg hairs out. It really sucks that I put myself through the torture of the initial session without maintaining it, but next time, I’ll just go get a wax and then take it from there. A valuable, if painful, lesson learned. So for my legs, I’m back to shaving.
For a long time, I’d been using the Venus Vibrance from Gillette, which was good, but I think they are phasing it out. As mine are slowly dying off (I had one at home, one in my travel bag, and one at my Mom’s) I’ve had a hard time finding replacements in stores. A few random places online still have them, but really, it’s time for an upgrade. It’s only a matter of time before my last Vibrance goes to the big bathtub in the sky.
There are so many lady razors available these days, each with more blades and more moisturizing strips and larger gel bars than the ones before. When I first heard about razors with four blades, I rolled my eyes. Seriously, how many blades does one razor need? It seemed like a joke, or at least a gimmick. Remember when razors only had one blade? Haha, meee neeeeither! (I do remember, and they were the orange and white bics or the pink daisies. Both sucked.) Anyway, soon after four blades came five blades. Of course. What’s next?
So I kind of ignored all the new and improved razors for a while, and stuck with my completely non-gimmicky vibrating 3-bladed pink Venus razor for years and years.
Recently, I saw an ad for Schick Quattro that said it “provides such long-lasting smooth skin, you could skip a day or two. Because you never know what could happen between shaves.” It’s true! I said to myself. You never DO know what could happen. You could get really lazy and not even shower. Or maybe shower but not bother shaving your legs. But that could NEVER happen. They must be talking about alien abductions or romantic weekends or something more likely.
The only way to tell for sure if the razor lived up to it’s claim was to launch one of my highly unscientific studies based only on my own experience and my own opinion. Schick Quattro vs. Venus Vibrance cage match!
I started out by skipping a day… for science! Then I loaded up each razor with a new blade. Specially made for that razor, of course. I shaved my right leg with the Venus, and my left leg with the Schick. (Oh Schick, what an ugly, ugly name you have. Why did you not create a glamorous-sounding sub-brand for the ladies?)
At first the Schick seemed very small, like a doll razor. (For Ken, obviously, because Barbie’s legs are always perfect and hair-free.) The handle is not actually smaller than the Venus handle, just less bulbous. The Schick glided along so smoothly, I felt like it couldn’t possibly be shaving off the hair. But indeed, it was. I thought it might take more passes, because the head was smaller, but the width of the blades is actually the same as the Venus. The head of the Venus is just way bigger because it has all kinds of crazy bumpers on it. (Though not as crazy as some razors.) The Schick actually required slightly less time to shave my leg, because it did a better job on the first pass. I think it really does give a closer shave, but when I was finished testing both, my legs were about equal in silkiness. Schick just got it done a little faster and easier.
The next morning the first thing I did when I woke up was to touch my legs to compare. They both felt the same. A little later in the day, they still matched. They were definitely not smooth enough to “skip a day,” unless that’s what you already do because you A. Don’t need to shave your legs every day or B. Don’t care to. As far as a close shave goes, the Schick definitely seems a little bit more efficient. Is it worth dropping your current fave razor for? Probably not.
But let’s talk price and aesthetics.
I ordered my Schick through Soap.com because I had a 30% off coupon. The regular price is $11.40. Refills are also $11.40 for 4 ($2.85 each). Since the Venus Vibrance is no longer available from major retailers, I can’t compare prices exactly. Gillette doesn’t seem to make a four-blade lady razor, they skip from 3 straight to 5. The Venus razor handles themselves are all about the same price as the Schick. The refills, however, (thatshowtheygetcha) range from the most basic: $10.40 for 4 “Original” refills, to the totally insane: $16.99 for 4 “Embrace” refills. You do the math! (I did the math. $2.60 each for original, $4.24 for extra fancy.) So, essentially, the bottom tier Venus is only slightly less expensive than the Schick. Do with your twenty-five centses as you see fit.
I thought the Schick was going to be pink, but they ended up sending me a “limited edition” purple handle. I sort of hate most shades of purple. How about a limited edition silver handle? Gold? Black! I wonder if I bought a boy-Schick handle if it would work with the lady blades. Maybe it would screw up the carefully engineered lady ergonomics. Anyway, yeah, it’s purple alright. But the rest of the handle is metal and it feels nice in your hand. It’s easy to maneuver and generally more graceful than the Venus Vibrance, or any Venus razor.
In the end, the Schick Quattro is a fine little razor. Really, it’s “fine.” It's a good replacement for my Venus Vibrance, even if it's not exactly groundbreaking. Perhaps you need 5 blades for that. Or 6 blades, with shaving cream stuffed in the handle. Seriously.
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