The other night I went to the all-night Shoppers Drug Mart at Westgate and I bought something I’ve been putting off buying for about six months.
Razor blades.
That’s not quite accurate. These are razor cartridges. A cartridge is a self-contained head that pops into your razor handle and costs about twenty times as much as a razor blade. It cost $16 for a package of four. That’s why the package comes with an electronic anti-theft device, and why an alarm sounds when you take the package of cartridges off the shelf. (I’m not kidding.)
But these are not just ordinary cartridges, these are two-in-one cartridges. They have “built-in shave gel bars.” The shave gel bars contain rich body butters and a fresh tropical scent. Try getting that from an ordinary razor blade.
Actually, ordinary razor blades are incompatible with my Venus razor. The razor consists of a handle and a snap-on cartridge that you replace from time to time. No plugs, no batteries. Pretty basic stuff, really, but the manufacturer makes its money by forcing you to buy the particular kind of cartridge that fits your handle.
Here’s what their website says about the Venus razor: “Embrace a whole new level of smoothness that’s fit for a goddess. Because there’s a goddess in every woman.”
That’s not all they say. They go on and on about all the different kinds of goddesses there are, and how there’s a different razor for every kind of goddess, and they have a shaving IQ test and you can sign up for “your very own newsletter.” Woohoo.
So anyway, I’ve been shaving every day for the better part of a year with the same cartridge because I can never remember which of the Venus cartridges (Embrace, Breeze, Vibrance or Divine) works with my handle, and because I’m too cheap to pay $16 for four razor blades, no matter what you call them or how many gel bars they have.
But I have to admit, it was a treat to have a new cartridge in my razor. I embraced a whole new level of smoothness. I guess $16 for at least a year’s supply of shaving supplies isn’t that bad when you think about it.
Maybe we all have stuff we hate to buy. For me it’s shaving cartridges. Also garbage bags, because they’re expensive and you just throw them in the garbage, and toilet paper because you just flush it down the toilet.
On the other hand, I love buying things that feel like they’re bursting with potential, like books and yarn and art supplies. (But I have to be careful not to buy things instead of doing things. For example, sometimes I buy art supplies instead of doing art.)
How about you? What are your most and least favourite things to buy?
I simply stopped shaving. Problem solved.
I love Venus’s direct competition, the Schick Intuition, and I love it. Not cheap, but shaving is a breeze now!
I have ALSO been putting off the purchase of razorblades for what seems like a long time. I get around this by using the Mon of Science’s razor which is always nice and sharp. Shhhh. Don’t tell him.
J.
Men’s razor blades are cheaper – though only slightly, if I’m remembering correctly. But there’s no real difference in shave and no one tries to convince you you’re a fucking goddess.
Oh.
I hate buying bras.
I love buying things you can put other things inside.
I hate to buy pads and tampons… Oh, pardon – feminine papers -that’s what one pharmacy calls them. I also hate to buy batteries. I have switched to rechargeables.
Textbooks are the most painful thing to buy.. No matter how much you pay for them now, they will be practically worthless in a few months. At least buying off of Amazon is an option.
Knitting books, yarn, journals/sketchbooks, and pens are the best.
Ooh good question! I hate buying bras too. Clothes generally really. Just this morning I wrapped my foot in a plastic bag before inserting it into my winter boot, because I really don’t want to buy winter boots this year but they are like frickin’ sieves.
I recently got back into the joy of buying books, now that we have room for bookshelves.
I hate buying stamps… I’m not sure why. I keep an eye out mail that missed getting post marked and I reuse the stamps. I also hate buying cat litter 1) because with three cats (one with a urinary problem) I have to buy massive buckets and it’s heavy and there’s never anyone around to do the heavy lifting (Dave hates the grocery store). 2) because seriously.. you’re paying at least seven dollars for a bucket of rocks they are just going to pee in (probably something along the lines of your toilet paper issues) and more for the “good” stuff that stays clumped and doesnt fall apart as you sift for buried treasure. 3) It reminds me that I have to go do the cat box. (My second to least favourite chore … my least favourite is doing the dishes…. stems from childhood)
I too LOVE to buy arts supplies… there’s just something about going into an art store anf filling your basket with materials…
As to the razor blades, I’ve never found a “women’s” razor that gets a close shave. I’ve stuck with my Gillette Excel (mens) I think the blades are around $12 for 5, but they are getting harder and harder to find. I find hte best way to get a really close shave (and indulge at the same time) is to buy a can of fruity smelling shaving cream.
I have several things I hate to buy:
1. Razor blades/shaving cream – I’m with you on this one, and I usually wait until Christmas because my mum always leaves some in my stocking.
2. Toilet paper – like flushing my money down the toilet!
3. Garbage bags – not the kitchen kind, but the green variety.
4. Gas – burning your money… solve this with bus tickets! Er… maybe not.
5. Insurance
6. Feminine hygiene products – like flushing my money down the toilet! Though I suppose this could be rectified with one of those reusable thingies, but, well I’m just not there yet.
7. (And this is my most HATED thing to buy) Haircuts. I hate paying someone a ridiculous sum to take something away from me… it doesn’t last, I can never do it the way they do it, etc. I hate going to the salon because I can’t stand how much it costs to get my hair cut. As such, it has been one year and four days since my last haircut. I think it’s time though.
All this said, there are PLENTY of things I LOVE to buy.
I hate spending money on haircuts, too, and I have resolved the problem by simply refusing to.
I like buying books and craft supplies, but I think my very favourite places to shop are secondhand stores where I might find the perfect bargain. No guilt, no pain … just gain.
And what I generally look for in those places are craft supplies (sweaters for felting for example) and storage solutions that will keep on making me happy. Almost all my pantry containers are Sally Ann finds.
I was in heaven in Nova Scotia where Frenchies stores have the secondhand market cornered.
I hate buying light bulbs. I won’t spend money on them…I simply wait till I have enough Canadian Tire money and use it. I am a bad one for paper products too. Just ask my family. We never had kleenex, paper towels or napkins. I am getting better about napkins, but Rob buys the paper towels because I always walk by the paper aisle.
I love buying books or office supplies (except ink cartridges). I love the feeling of having a newly organized desk. Yesterday, I bought a new desk, and lateral filing cabinet. I squeezed the ink cartridges in there too so it wouldn’t hurt as much. My all time favorite thing to buy seems to be dinner ware as can be witnessed by the pantries full of extra plates etc in my basement. I could have a dinner party for about 60 people and not run out of plates.
Oh yeah…I use Venus too and love it but also hate buying the cartridges. It’s funny how I have no problem buying a bottle of wine that lasts one day, but resent paying for enough razors to last a year.
I hate buying bathing suits. No matter how much you diet and try to firm up, once you enter the change room, put on the suit, and then finally make eye contact with the mirror, you are able to see every tiny imperfection on your body. I think that changing rooms should have muted lighting instead of the overhead, glaring, fluorescent lighting that all change rooms seem to have.
Cheers
I’m with megan and cinnamon gurl — I HATE buying bras. I wear a really small size and I can never find anything to fit. I hate trying things on to begin with, and having to get half naked in a fitting room — usually with one or more toddlers in tow — is just torture. Another thing I hate buying is makeup — I almost never wear it because the makeup section at the store is just too overwhelming (there’s like, 100 types of foundation alone) and too costly.
On the plus side, I love to buy any and all paper products. Books, of course, but also wrapping paper and greeting cards and recipe cards and gift tags. Needless to say, Etsy has been a BIG problem for me :).
You know there’s no law that says you have to shave. That whole smooth woman thing was the result of a sustained marketing assault by Gilette beginning in 1915 in the US. They very kindly provided the first women’s razor that same year: the “Milady Décolletée”. We are one of the few cultures so obsessed with removing any sign of adulthood in our women. Coincidentally, I had a post planned for tomorrow on waxing.
I’m with woodsy with the “feminine papers”
I do enjoy buying Shampoo. I love smelling them to see which one smells the best
Zoom,
I hate buying razors, haircuts, oil changes for my car and feminine hygiene products. That being said, I do get around having to buy some of these things. If you want razors, try searching the web for free razor promotions. My rooommate and I do this on a regular basis. They take like 6 weeks to arrive. But hey, they’re free. I ask my mom or someone I trust to cut my hair and as for the hygiene products. For everyone out there, I recommend the divacup or its equivalent in your country.
I hate buying paper towels. I find them very wasteful. But I love buying pretty paper things…journals, note cards and beautiful papers to make journals and note cards.
Um… sorry, I got stuck on the “shaving everyday” bit. Really? You are the second woman I have met in my entire life who does that. Anyway, I hate shopping so I hate buying almost everything, especially pricy organic vegetables that are just going to turn into science experiments in the refrigerator before I remember to eat them. And clothes, because they are never in the size that the fantasy me wears. But yes to yarn and knitting doodads, journals and fancy pens, herbal teas (which I also forget about but at least do not rot), and coffee because it makes the car smell so good.
Favourite: yarn, books, fresh flowers
Least Favourite: footwear (think wide size 3 foot), vacuum cleaner bags, cat litter.
Oh yeah! Vacuum cleaner bags – I have this random odd vacuum cleaner and have to pre-order bags at the one vacuum store that can source them for me.
Re: razor blades – I read about this invention by some guy – it’s a disposable blade sharpener. A small thing like a whet stone – he just runs it over the blade a few times & has been using the same blade for years. I fantasize about getting one of these, every time I have to recycle the cardboard packaging & throw out the plastic blade holders & old blades.
I love the fabric flea market each fall at the Glebe CC – I’ve made so many fun fur gifts for people this past year it’s crazy! In a good way…
My shaver has specific cartridges too, but I usually buy the largest, most economical pack I can, that way, I only have to do it every few years.
In general, I hate buying clothing at all. I need it to be in a civilized society, so I buy it, but it’s not something I enjoy.
I enjoy buying books and pretty much anything artsy or crafty.
I hate buying razors too. I use a multi-blade (sensor / mach) from Gillette. They are constantly changing the name and adding addition blades and giving a new name to the moisturizing strip. The blades continue to go up in price every time the darn thing get renamed. They are about $16 for 4 blades too. I buy them in bulk at Costco so they last awhile giving me a bit of extra time before I have to get aggravated over their price.
For the person with the 3 cats. I have a neighbour with lots of cats, she say’s to buy “horse bedding” (compressed pure wood pellets) – it lasts longer than kitty-litter between changes, comes in 35-40lb bags, is cleaner and she thinks it’s actually better for the cats. We have one cat so we haven’t had the need – but I’m going to try it too.
Cheers.
Love buying: secondhand stuff and shopping my local farmer’s market. I love mauling the produce and the wool and the lovely soaps and I always feel all “local economy virtuous” when I buy my swiss chard there.
Hate buying: bras (definitely my number one hatred). I technically need a 32DD of 32E and it is not to be found in normal stores so I end up trying on 20 bras that I KNOW will feel too big around my ribcage in a month or so and try to leave with the cheapest of the least offensive. Why do cheap bras always have foam round cups to make you look like a barbie doll? I buy myself two new (illfitting) bras a year and I end up needing to spend about 80.00 for that displeasure. But…that’s better than driving to Halifax and spending 80.00 on ONE bra that really fits and I feel horribly guilty about the expense and am afraid to wash lest it wear out.
Only time I ever didn’t mind buying a bra was scoring a sports bra at the dollar store. My osteopath told me to get rid of it last week. “Is it bad for my posture?” I asked. “No”, she laughed, “its butt ugly and you have a flattened uniboob in it.”
Great comments!
I don’t like buying a lot of the same stuff you guys don’t like buying: bras, bathing suits, paper towels, vaccuum cleaner bags, haircuts, ink cartridges…
But for those of you pointing out that shaving is optional: yes, I agree. Not shaving is a valid option. I once went a year or so without shaving and it was okay. But I prefer to shave.
As for Abby’s comment, about shaving daily. Yeah. I just do it while I’m in the shower. It only takes a minute or two. I only grow hair on about a quarter of my legs. Hmmm…that sentence sounds weird. Okay, I only grow hair on the area of my leg that a sock would cover. I figure 20 seconds per leg and 20 seconds per armpit. 80 seconds total if I do it daily. (TMI?)
Sam – textbooks, yes, I’d forgotten about that particular scam. Outrageously priced, and they come out with new editions every year so you can’t resell them easily.
Megan – why DO they think they need to convince us we’re goddesses anyway?
@ megan:
Sounds like a contradiction!
Isn’t a bra one of those “things you have to put other things inside of?”
Myl
@ zoom!:
Sooo It’s normal for a woman to shave legs each day? If so…I need to find a normal …
Myl
[…] A Reluctant Knitnut.net Splurge " They have "built-in bar Shaveh gel." Panel Shaveh gel contains a rich butter and fresh tropical scent. Try getting that from ordinary razor blade. Actually, a regular razor is not compatible with my Venus razor. …. I also hate to buy a razor. I use a knife-multi (sensor / mach) from Gillette. They keep changing names and adding additional blades and provide a new name for the strip moisturizers. Knives prices continue to rise every time … […]