The Art of Shaving Full Sized Kit Review

Product Name

Reviewed by

Paul McCarthy

Review date

Summary

This product combines aromatherapy with a true gentleman shave. The kit contains a pre-shave oil, shaving cream, a shaving brush and an after shave balm. Retails slightly on the expensive side for every day use but is a perfect gift for men.

Rating

4.4 out of 5 Stars

Product Overview

The Art of Shaving full size Sandalwood kit is a customer favourite shaving set designed to give men the full experience of an authentic gentleman shave.  This particular kit comes with a particularly pleasant sandalwood aromatherapy fragrance that lasts throughout the day and is an excellent gift idea for any man who wants to put the fun and enjoyment back into shaving.

Note that this product shouldn't be confused with the starter kit of the same name.  The starter kit contains a fraction of the product of the full sized kit and retails at $25.

A snap shot of the box and the its contents laid out.

Product Contents

The full size gift set includes the following:-​

  • Sandalwood pre-shave oil (2oz)
  • Sandalwood shaving cream (5 oz)
  • Black pure badger shaving brush
  • Sandalwood after-shave balm

The Four Elements Included in the Shaving Kit

The first thing to note is that all components of the kit are beautifully packaged in their own individual container.  As you would expect with a kit at this price point, there really is a "premium" feel to this kit, even when you're simply unwrapping the contents.

Part 1 - Pre-Shave Oil

The Pre-Shave Oil is the first step in The Art of Shaving. It softens the beard and prepares the skin for a close and comfortable shave without leaving an oily residue.

This is the smallest bottle in the pack at 2.2 fluid ounces - this is because only a dime sized amount should be used for each shave.

The pre shave oil contains castor oil, olive oil, Coumarin and water.  It's a slightly sticky substance with a great fragrance that should be used sparingly prior to the shave.  My personal experience was that the oil helped me get a closer shave without knicking the skin.

Part 2 - Shaving Cream

The shaving Cream generates a rich and foamy lather that helps protect the skin from irritation by improving razor glide.

This is the biggest container in the pack at 5 fluid ounces 

This is an excellent shaving cream that lathers very easily along with the badger shaving brush included in the same pack.

Part 3 - Shaving Brush

​The kit comes with a shaving brush made of badger hair.

Badger hair retains water to help generate a rich, warm lather right on your face while enhancing your lather experience.

A note regarding animal cruelty:  It is our understanding that the badger hair comes from China where licensed people hunt and control the population. The badgers are first used as a food source and then the hair is used for most badger hair brushes

Part 4 - After Shave Balm

After-Shave Balm replenishes moisture to soothe dry skin after shaving. With its blend of moisturizers and Essential Oils, After-Shave Balm will help deliver hydrated skin.

The balm also ensures a long lasting sensual smell of sandalwood throughout the day. The fragrance is not an overwhelmingly powerful smell that can often be the case with sandalwood, but rather subtle and thus pleasant.

A Gift Set Present for Someone?

The premium quality feel, high quality product and packaging of this product makes this kit ideal as a gift for someone.  If you're lazy, you could even get away with giving this gift directly without wrapping it up.

The high quality packaging gives the product a premium quality feel to it and leaves the recipient excited to try it out...

Our Thoughts...

While the price is high, this product does have a premium feel to it, which I like.  This product isn't something that I would use on a daily basis, but when I have the time to enjoy the experience - let's say at the weekends before heading out for a dinner, for example.

The shaving brush isn't necessary for the shaving cream, but does produce a better lather and helps the cream to cover a great area of the skin

My personal preference is that lathering with a brush goes better with safety or straight razors, rather than the popular modern cartridge razors.  I have also read reviews of people who have suggested that the thick shaving cream can clog up cartridge razors fairly easily.  While not strictly necessary, a shaving kit like this really should be done justice with a nice sharp straight razor.

The combination between aromatherapy and shaving is most welcome and really improves the whole experience.  The sandalwood fragrance is not overpowering, but rather subtle and manly, and remains for the duration of the day.  

The shaving cream lathers up quickly and easily.  While they say that you can use the cream without a brush, simply by lathering up with your hands, the brush certainly makes it easier to apply and reduces that amount of shaving cream required to cover the full area.

Four Scents to Choose From...

While we have reviewed the sandalwood full kit version - there are actually four different scents to choose from:- sandalwood, lavendar, lemon and unscented.  Deciding which one to purchase really comes down to personal preference.  

I would, however, recommend going with one of the three scented options rather than the unscented one simply because it's a really nice feeling to be able to smell the subtle flavours even hours after finishing your shave.

In Conclusion

Overall I had a very positive experience of this product. It would make a festive or birthday gift for most men who want to improve their shaving experience.​  

Things we Liked

  • Beautiful fragrance - we reviewed the sandalwood version of the product and it was fantastic
  • Premium feel - the product is relatively expensive but has a nice premium feel to it - perfect for a gift
  • Shaving cream whips up well - the cream and brush combination work really well to create a nice thick, lathery cream for close, nick-free shaving
  • Pre shave oil prepares the skin well - we noticed that the pre-shave oil really helps us to have an irritation free shave
  • Works well with straight edged razors - This kit really is designed for those who use safety or straight edged razors, rather than cartridge razors.

Things we didn't Like

  • Premium price - at $120, it's certainly not the cheapest shaving kit on the market. However, as with most things, you do get what you pay for with this product.
Paul
 

I'm a computer science graduate, have a passion for self development and created this site as a side project due to the lack of complete, understandable, helpful and truthful information about hair removal available online.

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