January 24, 2008

Review of The Art of Shaving's Unscented Pre-Shave Oil

The Art of Shaving is one of the most prestigious and preeminent brands in the shaving world. Born out of a modest kitchen, and grown into a prominent brand with several boutique stores and a presence in many upscale department stores, The Art of Shaving has put luxury shaving products on the map. I've been looking forward to trying their products out for a long time now.

Even before you start shaving with The Art of Shaving products, you'll notice their packaging. Sturdy, thick, glass jars where appropriate. Minimalist labels. Classy design. They look great on your bathroom counter.

As we've mentioned before, there are shaving oils and pre-shave oils. With a shaving oil, you shave with just the oil; nothing else. With a pre-shave oil, you typically add a layer of shaving cream on top and then shave. It's basically the first layer of protection on your face before you start slicing.

The Art of Shaving's Unscented Pre-Shave Oil falls into the latter category, and really should be followed by their shaving cream. In fact, if you're interested in trying these products, I'd definitely recommend getting the pre-shave oil. They've developed a system. Pre-shave oil is part of it. Don't skimp.

And follow the directions:

Before shaving, rub a small amount of The Art of Shaving Pre-Shave Oil in the palm of your hands and massage into beard. Lather Shaving Cream or Shaving Soap over oil and shave.

Pretty simple. Actually, the only tricky part is the "lather..." step, but we'll talk about that tomorrow.

The Art of Shaving's Unscented Pre-Shave Oil has a mild, pleasant scent. Reminds me vaguely of chartreuse. It's simple to dispense and smoothes easily onto your face. Again, if you're interested in these products, and I think you should be, get the pre-shave oil.

The Art of Shaving's Unscented Pre-Shave Oil is $22 for a 2 ounce / 60mL bottle. Tomorrow we shave!

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