Hey Everyone!
Today I have a special guest on my blog. My husband!! He had the opportunity to review some products for Fathers day. Below is a great Fathers Day gift guide!!
I was recently asked to review two
products as Father's Day gift ideas; the Remington Head to Toe
Grooming Kit and the other a four-piece lotion and brush set called
The Art of Shaving by New York, boasting the four elements needed for
a perfect shave.
At this time my beard was a few days
old, so I started with the element set, relying on my old standby
razor to cut through the wild growth. A few drops of the Pre-Shave
Gel massaged onto my face left my stubble feeling slick, which is not
unusual as this gel is an oil, said according to the label on the
bottle “softens the beard and prepares the skin for a close and
comfortable shave,” while also promoting razor glide. This applies
smoothly, with no medicated tingle and seemed to raise the whiskers.
It is labeled as unscented, but this does not mean it is absent
smell; it has a citrus, lemon like smell, in no way overpowering and
rather pleasant.
I left this to work while I prepared
the shaving cream. For some reason, I felt compelled to dig up an old
tin bowl to lather up the shaving cream in, feeling I suppose rather
nostalgic for the old days, where the barber mixes up his lather to
apply with a brush, which brings us to the next item in this kit.
With the lather as foamy as I could
get it, I set to work rubbing it on with the included brush, made I
might add, from genuine badger. Now, I have to ask, who is this brave
(or foolish) person who goes out into the wilderness and coaxes this
vicious little ferocity into giving up his fur so that I can shave
with it? For some reason, I expected the bristles to be coarse, but
they are surprisingly soft and allowed me to apply the cream, from my
tin cup, smoothly onto my face, in an even layer, although not as
thick as what I am used to, and I was expecting to feel razor burn
from what I felt was a rather
shallow layer. Again I was surprised
at the out come. I did not feel the drag or scraping that I normally
do if I have not used enough of the foam type aerosol products.
After the shave I applied the
after-shave gel, which went on nicely, absent the alcohol burn that I
normally have from other products I have used, I think due to the
pre-shave oil and the cream itself offering a smooth razor motion
which did not leave the nicks I always seem to manage.
Over all, I feel this is a unique set,
perfect for the gentleman in your life who does not see shaving as a
chore (as I do) but as an opportunity to relax and escape from the
daily distractions, even for a few moments.
Pre-shave Oil
Shaving Cream
Shaving Brush
After Shave Balm
The Art of Shaving is available at
Ulta
stores for $60
The second thing that I tried out was
the Remington Head to Toe Grooming Kit, pictured below on its
attachment holder.
This was rather involved, as I wanted
to test as many of the attachments that I could, so I apologize if
this seems long. Naturally it took several days to review as I had to
wait for things to grow a bit to put it through the paces.
Starting at the left we have the 8
length hair clipper and the full-size trimmer, then 3 beard and
stubble combs. Below this is the nose/ear trimmer, the foil shaver,
the body hair trimmer and the base unit itself.
The only way I can describe the base
unit itself is that it has a rotary tool type look to it, which
matches due to the different cutting heads. It is powered by lithium
batteries, with a quick-charge time of 5 minutes, and a full charge
in 4 hours. The blades are surgical steel, which should last well
past the lifetime of the unit itself. One handy feature is that all
of the attachments come clean by just running them under the tap.
These attachments remove by a ¼ counter clockwise turn and snap in
with a secure feeling lock. An offset pin on the rotating crank
transfers the rotary motion of the motor into reciprocating to work
the cutting blades.
If your bathroom is anything like
mine, then I am sure you will feel my pain. I have no place to put
the stand, our counters are flooded with hair-dryers, crimpers,
straighteners, flatteners and a whole host of strangely hued powders
applied with a gaggle of specialized brushes. The first thing I had
to do before even using this was to shove all of my wife's things
neatly to the floor and re-claim a small portion of counter space.
The shaver is marketed as a Head to
Toe kit, and while I did not do the complete head to to thing, I can
see the potential. Where there is hair, this will help to eliminate
it.
My grooming adventure started with the
nose and ear trimmer, which did exactly what it was supposed to, and
I even managed to do it with none of the ripping or gouging that I
have endured in the past.
Honestly, I was not overly impressed
with the body hair trimmer. There are 3 settings for adjustable
length/depth cutters, depending on which slot you attach the
comb/guard to. I used it on my chest on the closest setting and did
not notice that it cut much, although it did comb it so that it was
not as “rough” looking. I had to switch over to the trimmer
without the guards to take care of the strays that seem inclined to
peak up over my collar.
I used the trimmer, again with no
guard, to even up hair at the back of my neck. I just had my hair
cut, so there was no real reason to try the 8 depth cutter, but did
play with it. The plastic guard slides over the trimmer and is
adjustable to 8 lengths. The only thing annoying about this, and this
is just me, was that you have to pay attention to where it is, other
wise the depth adjuster goes shooting across the bathroom. There is
no stop at the end, which I suppose if there were, the trimmer could
not be used by itself.
I waited a day for the stubble to
sprout and then tried the foil attachment. It worked as I would
expect, but seemed rather small in width to do a full face.
Over all, I liked some of the features
on this, but it seems also to be too much. For example, the 3 beard
combs could have been eliminated, favoring the 8 length clipper. To
me, it seemed too small to really be used everyday, but for the man
in a hurry, or trying to straighten up a bit of unruly hair, it is
perfect. I would recommend the Remington Head to Toe Grooming Kit to
anyone who is always on the move and who likes to look “fresh”
between meetings. This would fit nicely in a glovebox or briefcase,
always ready to pick up the spots that might be missed.
The Remington Head to Toe Grooming Kit
is available at
Ulta for $34.99
