Posted by red on January 28th, 2008 in Review

Something I’ve never discussed in these Red Sneaker Diaries is the fact that my skin can’t handle any of the standard pubic hair removal techniques. Waxing gives me wicked ingrown hairs, shaving always irritates my skin. In fact, the only thing that I’ve found that works for me is trimming close using an electric trimmer, and if I want a close shave, I spend a good hour with my Body Bare (which is an utterly amazing dry use razor).

Thus I was a bit hesitant when I was contacted by Newf Cosmetics asking if I would consider reviewing their new product line, the Venereous Shaving Trio. Being an adventurous girl, I decided to give it a go anyways. And I’m glad I did…

Venereous is synonymic with lustful, lascivious, libidinous. That’s a tall order for a line of shaving products, but Venereous lives up to its name. The Venereous shaving line consists of three products: Venereous Shaving Jelly, Venereous Shaving oil and Venereous Mountain Mist. The packaging is subtle and classy, I really like the little blue bottles and I found the instructions just detailed enough. Apply oil, apply jelly, shave, apply mist. Easy right?

The shaving oil can be used on its own, or with the jelly. The concept of shaving oil is not a new concept, in general shaving oils are excellent at reducing nicks and the ever unpopular razor burn. This shaving oil is quite pleasant, the scent is approximately medicinal and approximately herbal. The feel of the oil is great, I will definitely admit to enjoying rubbing it all over my mons and outer labia for a lot longer than I really needed to. Not only was it – ahem – stimulating, but it left my skin really nice and soft.

The shaving jelly could also be used on its own, in which case it would be very similar to your standard shaving jelly. With one key difference of course – the shaving Jelly does not foam. To me this is a nice perk – I find foaming shaving gels a pain to work with – it just always ends up being an epic mess of stiff white foam. But maybe that’s me. At any rate, the shaving jelly is also designed to pair nicely with the shaving oil, and let me tell you, it really does. The jelly allows you to see where you shave, provides a cooling sensation whilst you contort, and moisturizes the skin to boot. The oil allows the razor to glide along the skin, providing a close shave without irritating the skin (read: no razor burn). That’s a wonderful thing.

Interestingly enough, I actually found the shaving jelly a tad stimulating. A quick look at the ingredients reveled that it contains which hazel, which as you may or may not know, promotes blood flow. Now I have large outer labia, and thus my shaving routine includes removing hair that grows toward the inside of the outer labia – ever so close to those lovely thin-skinned-pink areas beyond. Thus, I think when I applied the Jelly some ended up on my more tender bits. Don’t get me wrong; I like that kind of stuff – there’s nothing more exhilarating than cinnamon oil, peppermint oil, or hey, even a Listerine breath strip applied to inner labia. So frankly, the tingling stimulation was a much appreciated side perk to the whole process.

I could get used to this – a slow massage with the shaving oil followed by tingly excitement from the shave jelly…

After cleaning myself up, I spritzed on the mist and reflected on the refreshing sensation as well as that somewhat medicinal smell (the mist scent was more potent than the oil; probably because the herbs and natural plant ingredients used are more water soluble). Again, it wasn’t a BAD smell, just approximately herbal. For a product that works as well as this stuff does, it’s a small price to pay. And yes, the mist does seem to work well – although honestly, there’s no way to tell directly if it actually adds to the awesomeness of the shave I got using the jelly and oil. It certainly feels soothing, and I have opted to apply it daily for the few days following my shave, just to make sure I avoid any regrowth irritation.

So what’s the verdict? Well personally, I NEVER wet shave with a razor because no matter what I’ve tried I always get irritation. That is, until I tried the Venereous shaving trio. I have absolutely no irritation. I was FULLY expecting irritation despite the claims of the product. Instead, I have smooth, blemish free skin. I am 100% happy with the shave I got from using these products. I think I might have to keep a supply on hand for times I need a quick shave. Oh, and if the price seems steep, consider this: one set of bottles is supposed to last about a year (according to the website), which I am inclined to believe based on how much I used for my one shave.

I give this product Five Stars. I highly recommend it.