Billie Razor
Shaving. Many of us do it, most of us aren’t particularly in love with the process for one reason or another. Be it time, cost, irritation – whatever. Let’s face it; the drugstore heavy-hitters when it comes to razors are expensive AF. Even favoring men’s razors in an attempt to eschew the Pink Tax doesn’t always give you the results you’re looking for.
At the end of January, I placed an order for a Billie razor. They arrived promptly, and within a couple days I tried my new razor.
Assembly
My Billie razor came pre-assembled. That is, the head was attached to the handle already. For fun, I popped it off to get a sense for how it behaves. Like many razors, the head detatch/disengage mechanism is a slide-latch at the neck. The head pops off relatively easily. Placing a new one on the handle, however, was a little fussier of a process than removal was. There are little lanes or tracks on the head that make it a little difficult to attach a new one without closely scrutinizing the attachment mechanism.
Basically, I can pop a new head on a Venus or Mach3 without looking. I have to look at the Billie to do it. I initially thought this was just because I was less-familiar with the hardware, but its also just that the mechanism is a little less elegant.
Blades
The blades within the cartridge housing are offset from each other further than most razors I’ve tried. Additionally, they seem to be set at a slightly different angle – so the shave itself feels different. Overall, it feels a bit closer than I can get with what I was using.
Blade longevity is about average; they don’t seem to be dramatically more or less long-lasting than anything else I’ve used.
Protip: Keep your razor outside of the shower – or at least high up enough that little water reaches it – when not in use.
The only issue I have is that the dimensions of the head are a bit large for the precision bikini-area tasks require – but this is actually a complaint I have about Venus heads as well.
Mositurizing Goo
Like many women’s razors these days, Billie features a lubricant bar built into the shave head to facilitate razor glide. Some people seem to find this enough to operate their shave without issue. The skin on my legs, however, is incredibly bratty, and requires all the help it can get. I’m still using my favorite shave oil from Tree Hut to prevent my skin from having a tantrum. My underarms, though, are fine with just what the built-in bar offers.
Price & Shipping
Each shipment of four blades is $9, including shipping, and appear at your door at the frequency you choose. A four pack of Venus blades are double that excluding shipping! I was typically going for the men’s razors to avoid the pink tax, and even they range $12-15 for a four pack.
Shipment Management
The Billie site is incredibly user-friendly. You can manage and update shipment frequency and dates easily without having to jump through thirty hoops. My day job gives me a huge appreciation for good user experience on e-commerce sites, so +30 points for that.
The Bottom Line
I’m a happy Billie customer and plan to keep using the service. I wholeheartedly recommend their product. It is cheaper for a better quality shave than what I can get at the drugstore. I haven’t completely broken up with Gillette; I’ll continue reaching for a Mach3 or Fusion for bikini-area shaving tasks.