Sammi the Beauty Buff: Review & Thrifty Find: Dollar Shave Club (and How to Get Their Products Cheaper!)

Hey, friends! Yesterday I posted a link on my Facebook page about how women's shaving/deodorant/etc products are almost always significantly more expensive than men's. Today I'm sharing with you a shaving subscription box that's actually directed at men (I was recommended it to try it by my older brother!). It's a lot cheaper than many other women's razors you'll find at the drug store!

I haven't done a Thrifty Find in awhile, but today I've included a dupe on how to get these products even cheaper than they already are. Crazy, huh?

I pulled out the green holiday towel again, because 'tis the season...ho ho ho.

Dollar Shave Club? What's that? - Dollar Shave Club is a monthly shaving subscription service marketed at men who are tired of spending hundreds of dollars a year on razors and blades. There are multiple options and add-ons you can select to customize your order, allowing you to receive everything you'll ever need to shave right to your door every month. If you decide to sign up, I would appreciate it if you signed up with my referral link. Thank you!

Dollar Shave Club offers three types of blades:

"The Humble Twin" - This razor has two blades and comes with the handle and five cartridges a month. They advertise it as $1 a month, but this is the only selection that doesn't incorporate shipping into the price, so in reality is costs $3/month.

"The 4x" - This razor has four blades and comes with the handle and four cartridges a month. They also advertise that "your girlfriend can use it too," which I found interesting. This is the one I selected because I saw the word "girl" and figured it would work for me, so I guess I'm a sucker for marketing after all. The $6/month price includes shipping.

"The Executive" - This razor has six blades (when is that ever necessary though) and comes with the handle and four cartridges a month. It also says it has a "special trimmer edge" built in, but I don't quite know how that works. This one is $9/month and includes shipping.

Dollar Shave Club also allows you to include add-ons in your monthly subscription.

Dr. Carver's Shave Butter - Costs $8 to add on.

Dr. Carver's Post Shave - Costs $9 to add on. I've never used after shave (obviously) but the only experience I have with it is that scene in Home Alone when Kevin screams after using it, so I figured I would pass on this.

One Wipe Charlies - These glorified, wet toilet wipes are an extra $4 to add on. I think these are honestly just diaper wipes for adults so I also decided to forgo them. I'm a trooper, I know.

Now let's take a look at what I received in my box:

The first thing you see when you open the box is this Member's Handbook. I always appreciate when companies do this, and it's honestly better marketing for them, since it lays out all of the information in a clear and concise manner. This talks more about the different options to customize your box and all of their products. It's convenient.

This is everything I included in my introductory box. Let's get into everything!

As stated earlier, I chose the $6/month box to start out with. This handle is weirdly heavy, but as sources tell me (aka my older brother) men's razors are often heavier than women's. I'm used to using lightweight plastic ones, but maybe society things that women aren't strong enough to use heavier handles, I don't know. It feels sturdy and nice.

It comes with four cartridges, each one containing four little blades. They say you should use each one a few times and then discard it, so basically this allows you a new blade once a week. I didn't like these as much as the Schick Intuition, but that's because I've spoiled myself and now I'm used to having a nice moisture bar at the top so you don't need shave gel. These worked like any other disposable blade, giving me a close shave and all that.

My introductory box also included a little sample of their shave butter. I wasn't much a fan of the texture for shaving. It was more moisturizing than shave gel, I suppose, but it also didn't lather up like good 'ol $2 Skintimate shaving gel, either. I'd pass on this in the future, but then again, I mostly used it to shave under my arms so maybe men with hair on their faces would like this.

Overall - This is a good option if you're spending way too much on your razor and blades (because women sometimes pay twice as much as men for blades, as well as other hygiene care items). Although the nice blades you find in the store are more expensive, I think they last longer before you have to change them out. I think if you try it, you won't regret spending the few dollars to get at least a month's worth of shaving. I'd personally rather not pay for the handle every month and just get $3/$6/$9 worth of blades, but that's just me. Maybe people lose their razor handles or something. I've cancelled my subscription just because I don't need four blades every month (because it's winter, so I have a very small surface area to cover--shaving your legs in the winter just makes them cold). But, I wouldn't be opposed to signing up again if I'm out of razors and don't feel like $15 on two replacement blades.

Because friends don't let friends pay full price - When I was originally looking at purchasing this box, I kept it in my virtual cart for a few days on their website and then I guess I forgot about it, because I received an automated email giving me a coupon code for my first box. I suppose I took too many days after that to decide, because a few days after that, I received a code for my first box free! So if you're curious about trying this box, but don't want to pay for it, just keep it in your cart for awhile and stop at the last step before the checkout is complete, and you might receive a code for the first box free!

Is $6 for a razor handle and 4 blades too expensive for you? Tired of paying for an unnecessary new handle every month? Check out Dorco. My brother did some sleuthing/research after receiving his first box, and found out that they share the same manufacturer as Dollar Shave Club. Some of their models are identical to the ones you receive at Dollar Shave Club, so if you find a favorite, check out Dorco's website to compare. You can also buy the refill blades in bulk--would you rather get 24 refill blades for $26.71 (about $0.90 per blade) or $6 for a handle and 4 blades? Check it out, dude. They have both "men's" and "women's" models, though as a woman I can safely say that you can use men's razors without an issue (I didn't start growing a beard or anything). I might buy replacement blades for my "manly" razor when I run out.

What razor are you using right now?

Disclaimer: I am not sponsored or affiliated with Dollar Shave Club. I should have paid for this but I left it in my cart long enough, deciding, and I got an automated email with a code to just get the first box free. Yolo, inc.

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Monday, December 22, 2014

Review & Thrifty Find: Dollar Shave Club (and How to Get Their Products Cheaper!)