Art of Shaving Products

This doesn't really belong in shaving creams, aftershaves, or the like, so I thought I'd put it here.

My first batch of materials for wetshaving came from Art of Shaving, and I paid $75 for the big supply of Pre-Shave Oil, Shaving Cream, and Aftershave. They also gave me a brush.

I believe I'll need more shaving cream before I need more of anything else, but it just seems overly expensive and I have a feeling that AoS is just overpricing a lot of stuff (like the Merkur blades they sold me for $12, forgive me, I was a noob).

Anyway, I'm wondering, does anyone else use their stuff, and are you happy with it? Or have you moved on to better things?

The shaving creams and shaving soaps are generally highly regarded. The bulk of the negative attitude towards AOS is in their ridiculously overpriced hardware, and the overall lack of proper knowledge from their sales staff.

AOS sells probably the only versions of Valobra shaving soap in essential oil/non-fragrance oil scents (lavender, lemon and unscented). Those are the only products I get from them.

Roger

The bulk of the negative attitude towards AOS is in their ridiculously overpriced hardware, and the overall lack of proper knowledge from their sales staff.

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Yeah the silver $1,000 razor set is absurd... Anyway, I think some of the people in their store need to wear a helmet to function safely. I discovered this after one of the guys explained to me that Merkur blades weren't bad, he uses them all the time. His face was lit up red from the razor burn he had.

AoS soaps and creams are at the higher-end of the price range; but, most people seem to think the soaps and creams are higher-end products, so the prices--if high--are at least reasonable for the quality you get. I fall in that camp.

I consider the aftershave balm best in class: I really, really like it, and it lasts the longest of any of their products (for me). I've had a soap puck for about a year (in rotation with other stuff), and cream for about 6 months (also in rotation). I've used over 1/2 the soap, but much less of the cream. Regardless, I use my AoS balm every time I use either AoS soap or cream, and I've used about 1/10th of the bottle. It's a high up-front cost, but I think it's also very much worth it.

I don't use preshave oil at all, so no commments there.

And that brings us to the hardware: brushes and razors. The DE razors are typically Merkur, which are great razors, but they're vastly overpriced at AoS. You can buy the exact same razor for no more than probably 1/2-2/3 the price from many of our exceptional vendors. The brushes are also embarrassingly overpriced. I'm not sure they're bad brushes (I haven't used one); but, I know you can get top tier brushes for again, probably 1/2 the price. When you can get a Rooney in Super for $75, or a Shavemac Silvertip for $100, that pretty much closes the book (for me) on AoS brushes.

Rule of thumb: buy only their soaps, creams, and aftershave balms.

Wow!!! $1200 for a brush!!! At that price, does the badger come with it?!

dashmaverick said:

Wow!!! $1200 for a brush!!! At that price, does the badger come with it?!

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If you are lucky, you can often pick it up when it is on sale and then it is only $600.

mr. Igg said:

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Rule of thumb: Buy only their soaps, creams, and aftershave balms.

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+1

I like their sandalwood shave cream, but that's the only thing I've bought from them.

mmack66 said:

If you are lucky, you can often pick it up when it is on sale and then it is only $600.

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Only $600, what a deal!! I'll be sure to pick that up ASAP!!

What are your thoughts on the pre shave oil? I don't really know what its supposed to do, but I have yet to try and shave without it...

I use their shave soap regularly. Yes, it's expensive, but IMHO it's just about as good as it gets.

I too think their products are excellent. I have the sandalwood SS, all 3 scented AFBs, lavendar gel and sandalwood gel. I have a decant of the Sandalwood EdT and like that very much too.

Their scents smell great. The lemon and lavendar are particularly authentic smelling.

Disclaimer: I did not pay full price for any of the above (got 'em for about 40-50% off).

I think their AS Balm is their best product. I really like their soap and cream too and use it exclusively. I found that the oil doesn't do much for me so I stopped using it.

This company over price they product . I dont understand why they sale product more spensive than company who are more than 200 years in the market ex. Truefitt And Hill and DR Harris .

ramon said:

This company over price they product . I dont understand why they sale product more spensive than company who are more than 200 years in the market ex. Truefitt And Hill and DR Harris .

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I like the products that they all make though I agree that AOS is pricey (that's why I've bought their items when available for 40% off), but I don't know why you're so concerned about how long they've been in business.

While it's cool that some of these companies have been around for a long time, I don't really care. What I care about is how the product works. While one might think a company like Castle Forbes has been around forever, I think they've only been making shaving products and colognes since 1996, but they're fantastic products.

Also, I'm not sure, but my AOS sandalwood shave soap seems extremely dense and it seems like it's going to last a really long time.

ramon said:

This company over price they product . I dont understand why they sale product more spensive than company who are more than 200 years in the market ex. Truefitt And Hill and DR Harris .

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Their soaps and their creams are excellent, and they're widely available. I think that they are every bit as good as the long-established UK companies. Their EdTs--at least the sandalwood--aren't bad either. When you factor in the fact that just about everybody can find a brick and mortar store where they can buy one of these products, the price isn't that bad. I'm a cheapskate and I'll pay for an AoS soap.

On the other hand, the rest of their products are insanely overpriced.