Customer Reviews

RITUALS Samurai Shave Gel 200 ml

I've tried numerous varieties of shaving foam and was previously using Gillette Classic Shave Foam Sensitive Skin 200ml.

The Rituals Samurai can has a nice cap which feels like real wood to me.
The scent is described as 'Basil and Ginseng'. I don't know how ginseng smells but the fragrance is intriguing / odd. It smells like artichoke to me (really!). I actually like artichoke, but wouldn't eat it in the morning! After rinsing off, the smell seems to calm-down to a gentle standard sandalwoody type smell. But still not really 'Basil'.

I did a half / half shave with the Rituals and the Gillette foam to compare.

This gel is RICH. The nozzle is wide, so don't expell too much, the Gillette foam simply has a small hole which I would prefer; this Samurai gel could go a long way but only if it can be dispensed sparingly. A pea-sized blob really is enough for a standard shave.

The Gillette stuff advertises some kind of gliding compound and is labelled 'Sensitive'.
However, the Rituals is NOTICEABLY more glidey, the Gillette foam causes the razor to drag in comparison.
And although I have very sensitive skin, I detected no discomfort or redness.

So overall, this gives a very nice shave and despite the unconventional initial smell, I recommend this with all 5 stars.

The aroma from the Gel is fine, nothing too memorable and it doesn't last very long, in fact about an hour later my wife couldn't smell anything and she is very sensitive to fragrance, and, I suppose that's a good thing as you want your normal cologne to provide a fragrance rather than a shave gel.

So why give this 5 stars? Well frankly the shave gel is awesome !!
The foam isn't as sticky and thick as Gillette's typical gel's and it goes on easy and the razor glide is great. I never thought there was any real difference between Gel's but there is here. Try it yourself and see what I mean.

The only drawback though is it's hard to find (I've never seen it at the supermarket) and it's a tad on the expensive side. Well, more than a tad but if this was the same price or even just a quid more than Gillette I'd use this all the time.

All Ritual products are excellent.