Hi, friends! I have a new subscription box review for you today. You might have heard of them. Does Wet Shave Club ring a bell? They've recently come out with a woman's box, so they sent one over for me to test out. A girl's gotta shave, especially in the summer, so I figured why not?
Wet Shave Club? What's that?
Wet Shave Club is a monthly subscription box centered around getting a good shave. Up until recently, they were marketed for men, but they've just added a women's box. You can get the men's or women's box for $29 a month, but there's a discount if you pay in advance for 3 months, 6 months, or a year.
From what I found, the men's and women's boxes don't seem to differ very much. According to their website, in each box there is always blades, aftershave (I'm assuming body lotion for women), soap, and then a mystery item. In the first box, you also get a fancy brush and razor (and you don't get another, so I hope you don't lose them). The page I linked to, like most of the website, doesn't acknowledge the women's boxes, so I dont know if they're trying to keep it a secret or what.
From what I found, the men's and women's boxes don't seem to differ very much. According to their website, in each box there is always blades, aftershave (I'm assuming body lotion for women), soap, and then a mystery item. In the first box, you also get a fancy brush and razor (and you don't get another, so I hope you don't lose them). The page I linked to, like most of the website, doesn't acknowledge the women's boxes, so I dont know if they're trying to keep it a secret or what.
I appreciate them throwing in an info card, but I wish it were more informative! It would have been a great opportunity to name drop their products and show you what steps to use them in specifically. They also mention shaving your face in step seven, and I don't know many women that would be buying this box for that. I might be being nitpicky, but making a separate info card would make me feel less like the women's box was thrown together from the leftovers of the men's.
But enough about that. Let's get to the good stuff~
This is the razor you get in your first box. It's surprisngly heavy, a lot more weighted than a typical women's razor. It took me a little practice to get used to it, you have to hold it at a slightly different angle than a usual cartridge razor to get it right. It feels very expensive, and heavy--you wouldn't want to drop it on your toe or something!
You get ten blades with the razor, and unlike the ones you buy in the store, these don't come in a cartridge. They're just the thin blades themselves. Actually, they're so thin and flexible that I'm afraid I might snap one in half. It took me a minute to figure out how to get them in the razor, before realizing I had to unscrew the top. Some instructions on that would have been nice as well.
These blades are really sharp! Between that, and the fact that I was trying to figure out the best angle to hold the razor, I actually cut my leg. I haven't done that since the 8th grade! So, if you're tired of dull blades, you might like this. They recommend changing them every three days, but I took that to mean every three uses, since I don't know woman that needs to shave their legs every single day (and I feel like that would be very irritating to the skin). I also always stretch the life of my razor blades, so I laugh in the face of of their three-day recommendation.
After some sleuthing, I discovered that Crown Blades sells separately online, and you can buy a pack of one hundred blades on Amazon for less than $15. If you're not into the frills and extras of a shaving subscription box, you can get the first box for the fancy razor, and then continue to buy the blades separately. Just FYI.
These soaps are included as a shave gel equivalent. They're made of beef tallow, which is why they're red. They also start to melt in the heat, which I have discovered by leaving them in the bathroom (where people shower, and where we have no air conditioning). I'm curious as to why they chose it. Maybe they think it's more manly? All I know is that I had no place to store these once they're unwrapped, so they're just sitting on my sink and my roommates probably think I killed a small cow. R.I.P.
You get different scents in your box each month. In my box, I got Black Cherry and Strawberry Bubbly, but they were both pretty mild so I don't have a preference.
You're supposed to use them in tandem with the included brush to get a lather (see below). I found that they didn't offer as much of a buffer as shaving gel or hair conditioner, but perhaps they work better on a man's face.
This is the luxury item for this box. It reminds me of being in a barbershop. The instructions say to put the soap in a cup and swirl the wet brush around in it. It's cute, but most days I just want to shave and get it over with. My legs have a lot more surface area than a man's face. I ain't got time for that! It works, and it's a fun experience I guess, but I prefer the ease of shaving cream. Plus, I don't want to have to use one of my drinking glasses for the soap, and I don't have specific "shaving cups" in my stash. A Wet Shave Club swirling cup would have been a good addition to the first box, in my opinion. But it's a cute luxury experience, I suppose.
Instead of aftershave, it seems that women get a body lotion in their box. I'm glad they thought of that, since I don't really want to be that kid in Home Alone.
It's okay, just average, nothing special. For people who love Bath & Body Works, this is not a complex scent by any means. Don't expect The Body Shop level fragrances here, but it's nice. And I think it's a good idea. I believe the scents differ every month (like the soaps), which is nice. I hope they change it up by season. I would love to see them partner with someone like Fortune Cookie Soap!
The Pros
- The razor feels expensive
- The razor blades are sharp
- The barbershop brush is a cute idea
- It includes everything you would need to shave
The Cons
- Not really women-focused--it feels like a women's box curated by a man
- Shaving with a brush takes an actual century
- They could have done a better job with their inserts explaning how the process works
The Verdict
Their about page is all about being the manliest man. They kind of remind me of a luxurious version of Dollar Shave Club, except now they're trying to change their image to cater to women, too. Personally, I think they have a lot of work to do before they fully integrate women into their fan base. It seems like they havent put a ton of thought into the box (the instructions tell you how to shave your face), but I'm hoping they'll be improving things in the future since it's still new.
I appreciate that they're trying, and I think it's smart, since by creating this women's box, they could potentially be opening themselves up to a whole new market (or maybe I've just been watching too much Shark Tank). I think for a man, it's a nice little luxury gift, maybe for your dad's birthday (or this Father's Day that just passed). But, as a woman, I would rather just go to the drugstore and get the products myself. That way, I could get the razor I want (maybe even with a moisture bar), actual shaving gel, and a body lotion of my choice. Women's razor blades are stupidly more expensive than men's, and in the future, I would love to see a fully inclusive, women's box that feels like it was curated by someone who knows what women want.
What do you use to shave? Let me know!
Want to see more subscription box reviews? Click here!
I also have a review of Dollar Shave Club. You can see that for comparison here.
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Disclaimer: Wet Shave Club provided this box free of charge for editorial consideration. All thoughts and opinions are my own. There's an Amazon affiliate link in there because I saw an opportunity and I took it. So, there.
