Thread: So I went into this razor shop and...

So today I went into this razor shop, a chain of shops called Shaver Shop here in Australia, and I asked a little doubtfully about wet shaving products. Having noticed it was almost wall to wall electric razors. The young chap said 'Yes of course sir, just what were you after?', so I told him I was looking for soaps in particular, but that my interest was wide and I'd look at any of the wet shave gear he had to show.
We checked out soaps first and even though I went in there to buy 'Poraso' to try, I ended up with 'Crabtree and Evelyn' in Sandalwood and, a nice wooden bowl. The bowl would have been cheaper to make, having been made in India, but cost four times the price of the soap that was made in England. When I asked about the Poraso and the scents of different soaps, this bloke more or less stated the the scent of the soap is entirely unimportant . Surely he was joking! It's half the bloomin' experience.He stated the creams all smell like creams and Poraso is only good for making a big lather and not much else. I did notice that the C&E he was flogging off was the most expensive line they had (as a set, refills work out similar price to everything else.)
When I asked about razors for wet shaving I was shown to an array of M3 and fusions and all the clones from recent ages past and future...Not a single DE or Cut-throat to be seen. He must have seen my expression of disdain, because he asked what I currently used. When I told him, he looked at me like I was mad, and promptly stated that I would be much better off with a Fusion. That ended my shopping trip, I was already in the process of paying for the soap, or else I would have just walked out. I don't think I will walk back in again. I can get what I need from Australian online stores Himage.com and MensBiz.com just as readily and have more choice in products overall.


Mick

Don't be too hard on the chap. He's simply been conditioned by the shaving giants that theirs is the only way to get the "ultimate" close shave. We all know they spend billions on this brainwashing.

What can you expect from a guy who sells electric razors?

Call me a cretin, but I do think you will be pleased with the C&E... and I am of the opinion that while proraso works fairly well, it is the tuna salad sandwich of the soaps-and-creams potluck.

Now, if a sales associate told me I'd be better of with a Fusion... well, there's really only one response for that:

Liberté, égalité, fraternité, mort!

A similar story here in the states....I was in a local WalMart store yesterday, browsing the shaving aisle. A woman and her husband were lamenting the cost of cartridge razor blades and the woman asked me (dressed in dress shirt and tie so perhaps I looked like store personnel) why there were no cheaper optiions. I told her I didn't use cartridge razors, instead relying on DE or a straight razor. Meanwhile her husband had finally found some of those reaaally cheap plastic handled throw aways.

It looks like even the DE manufacturers are catching on though.....10 Wilkinson DE blades are now priced at $6 and while cheaper than cartridge blades, aren't any bargain any longer either.

bill

Originally Posted by BKratchmer

Call me a cretin, but I do think you will be pleased with the C&E... and I am of the opinion that while proraso works fairly well, it is the tuna salad sandwich of the soaps-and-creams potluck.

OK, you're a cretin!

I couple years ago I bought three of the great bargain C&E Edwin Jagger brushes. Since the postage was the same, I threw in a C&E Sandalwood. Since I like tuna salad, I'll just say I found the C&E Sandalwood to be the WonderBread of soaps--bland scent and bland lather.

Originally Posted by BKratchmer

Call me a cretin, but I do think you will be pleased with the C&E... and I am of the opinion that while proraso works fairly well, it is the tuna salad sandwich of the soaps-and-creams potluck.

Now, if a sales associate told me I'd be better of with a Fusion... well, there's really only one response for that:

Liberté, égalité, fraternité, mort!

Benjamin, I can think of at least one other response,but forum rules prevent me from posting it.

Well even though I have yet to try the C&E, I think it smells quite good in the wooden tub, and if nothing else, it is a nice wooden tub. I did use another different shave cream today though...A local one I believe. The brand name is GAIA, and as you might have guessed with a name like that it is totally organic. I like that sort of thing personally. Well I must say it was pretty amazing stuff. In the hand this stuff smelt slightly off. Once I lathered up with it though, it smelt wonderful and the lather was quite a rich one. A little bit goes a long way with this stuff too, as I found out. I need to use less than my usual Fauldings brand cream (another local made one). If these two local yokel shave creams do such a good job, I'm setting myself up to expect near bloody perfection from an aristocratic English soap...
Of course if I'm not happy with the quality and last of the C&E, for an 8th of the price I can buy the Fauldings or for a quarter the price I can buy the GAIA...It's all good in the end.
Still, that sales chap could have at least asked if I had ever tried an M3 or Fusion. I could have said, 'Yes! And it was a very poor quality of shave that I was giving myself for years, before I finally saw the light and learnt the art of the open razor.' Now that would have made me feel good...Maybe I'll give him a call...


Mick

I got some of this Gaia at Coles today and will try it tomorrow when I shave test a razor I've been working on.
I'll let you know how I go

can you say dinosaur thread, talk about bring back the dead for halloween lol