Do you ever just pick something up because it looks cool? I couldn’t even tell you the last time I did, but when the cruZer products from Braun arrived in the mail, I had to play with them because they just looked cool.

The cruZer line is a series of shaving devices created to express the diverse personalities of the men who use them. Your facial hair and body style express your own personality and attitude, and the cruZer line was designed to “underline your personal style.” And how does Braun plan on doing that? Unparalleled versatility.

I received two electric shavers from Braun: the CruZer6 Face and the CruZer Beard & Head Trimmer.

The CruZer6 Face electric razor is marketed as a 3-in-1 shaver, styler and trimmer, and it really was each of those, not just slick marketing. Its primary function is to shave your face, but even if you rock a goatee or Fu Manchu, you could still use it to touch up existing facial hair. The Trimming Comb is a plastic sheath that fits over the head of the shaver that you can adjust to four different lengths, which makes it ideal to trim and maintain a beard or other type of facial hair.

Another feature that speaks to the versatility of the CruZer6 is the Twistable Trimmer on the back side. The trimmer has long been a staple of an electric shaver, but unfortunately, its lack of adjustability is also well known. Not only does the CruZer6 trimmer extend out from the base of the shaver to give you an additional couple inches to work with, it also has two different sizes of trimmer head — narrow and wide. Instead of adjusting your style to fit the function of the razor, the CruZer6 adjust to the needs of the user and provides additional flexibility that other electric razors don’t. In a pinch, you could even use the CruZer6 to shave and manscape or trim any other body hair because it is so versatile.

Since I was so impressed overall with the CruZer6 and its design, I decided to put it to the test. I used it on two separate occasions — once, after not shaving for a period of five days, and then again two days later to compare and contrast. I will have you know that I hadn’t used an electric since I was roughly a freshman in high school because I have always found the shave to be inferior compared to a razor. Not only was there always more irritation (thanks to having to go over trouble spots repeatedly) and little white bumps, but it just didn’t really feel as refreshing as shaving with a razor.

The first thing that jumped out at me was how wide the saving head was — its width was wider than any previous shaver head I had encountered. Plus, the flat SmartFoil technology was more favorable compared to multiple, rotating heads. It made the shave much cleaner.

The CruZer6 did have a little trouble handling the five days of growth, but that is to be expected from any electric in that scenario. But what it didn’t do was rip my hair out, or prove to be uncomfortable. Two days later, I fired up the CruZer6 again and was not disappointed. The shaving head cut a wide swath through my facial hair and didn’t require me to go over the same spots repeatedly — it was essentially a one and done scenario. There was some difficulty around the contours of my neck, but what was cool was being able to pop out the twistable trimmer and handle those areas. All in all, it was a much better experience than the last time I shaved with an electric. And it was quick — I was done in roughly seven minutes. Some other nice features? It only takes five minutes to charge (making it ideal for use during travel), it’s waterproof and easy to clean.

The CruZer Beard and Head Trimmer was actually the first of the two products I used because my faux goatee/soul patch combo was in dire need of some love. Since I am an old schooler at heart, I had been using small grooming scissors to even out the hair that encircled my chin and the hair below my lip. But, since you can rarely be objective on matters regarding yourself, I could never know for sure how even or uneven my trimming actually was.  

The first thing I noticed when I unsheathed the trimmers was the beard comb which lets you choose between six different length settings. Nicer still was the ability to go from one length to another simply by sliding it into the desired position, rather than having to fumble around with and remove attachments of different lengths.

Since I like to keep my facial hair a little longer, I set it to six and cautiously proceeded- but my caution proved to be unnecessary. After a few strokes, the hair on my chiny, chin, chin was even and looked sharp. And the trimmer didn’t tug to pull on my hair; it trimmed it rather than pulling or tugging it out. It was very smooth. The beard comb is also removable, which allows you to cut or even fade your hair. I loved this because as the proprietor of a fade, trimming the fire breathing demon of neck hair needs to be done between cuts and makes the fade look better for longer. In five minutes, my neck hair was trimmed and I felt clean. And my skin wasn’t irritated after like it can be with other electric clippers.

The need to trim my soul patch lead me to the discovery of the next feature — a sliding trimmer (separate from the primary trimmer on the front) located on the back that extended and slid out with the push of a button. It was narrow, but not too small, which allowed you to trim whatever hair you were targeting in an efficient manner. I neatly trimmed up the three sides of my soul patch and looked in the mirror — I was impressed.

Using both the CruZer6 and the Head and Beard Trimmer was like a shaving intervention — I had been living in the dark ages using a razor and scissors, and in the process, limiting myself and my style. And I wasn’t even aware until I broke my normal pattern. In addition to being effective, both cruZer products just looked cool sitting on my sink. If someone used my bathroom and saw them I could momentarily fool them into thinking I had my shit together.  

“Wow, Paul has really turned a corner in his life. I never thought that dude would grow up.”

To check out the entire cruZer line from Braun, visit theofficial site or follow this link.

One of the tensest moments in the seminal 80s classic movie “Predator” is the scene where Sergeant Mac Eliot shaves his face in the jungle, sans shaving cream, with a cheap plastic razor while awaiting an encounter with the Predator.

For years, that one scene impacted the way I shaved my face. If it felt any better than the way it looked, I assumed I wasn’t doing it right. The act of dragging cold metal across dry, fractured skin in an effort to remove facial hair is the manliest thing there is — how in the world could it be pleasurable? And if it was, was I even doing it right?  Hence, stumbling blindly through mediocre shaving products for years, and even knowing full well that I was doing it.

TwinLuxe is redesigning the concepts of shaving and men’s skin care together, at the same time, with a line of products to bring pleasure back to the shaving ritual. The TwinLuxe line is comprised of seven different skin care products. I received three of them: Smooth Shave Cream, Booster Serum and Renewing Face Wash & Scrub. The bottles themselves looked clean and sleek and hinted at the experience that was to come. There was a distinct order to applying the following products which I followed diligently.

First, I applied the Face Wash. You could immediately feel a tingling sensation as soon as you rubbed it on. Simultaneously, I noticed the smell and the way it made my skin feel upon application. The scent was as much aromatherapy as it was a shave product, and my skin felt vibrant and alive as I worked it into the area I intended to shave. There were little rough pieces of scrub that were so tiny you couldn’t even see them when you pumped the cream into your hand, but you could feel them briskly scraping against your skin upon application. Also, you really only needed to squeeze a small amount of cream out of the pump to get the proper amount to cover your entire face and neck areas.

Next, I applied the Booster Serum, which came in a cool little pump that portioned out the exact amount needed with just one squeeze. I spread it evenly around my face and intended shaving areas. It made my skin feel tight and composed, but it also felt like a moisturizer as the serum didn’t dry out immediately.

The actual Shave Cream itself was a vision — just upon laying my eyes on it I could tell a pleasurable experience was in store. The cream looked a lot like whipped cream, although the urge to eat it was temporarily staved off. The simple act of dipping my fingers into it let me know immediately that nothing about it was substandard. It was thick yet light and airy. It wasn’t just a glop of overly dense cream masquerading as a soothing Shave Cream — it was easy to spread over the areas I intended to shave and felt good.

One thing I have noticed over the years while using certain products like Gillette or Edge shaving cream is that upon application it almost becomes a race to shave, because once the air hits it, it begins to dry out and evaporate. But not with the Shave Cream. It never dried out or evaporated because it was so thick to begin with. And even though it was thick, it came off smooth with one swipe of the blade in any given area.

Finally, after I was done shaving, I applied one more pump of the Booster Serum which now functioned in the role of after -shave. But instead of shocking my skin into submission and making it tense up and feel hard, it moisturized and protected my entire face, making my skin feel light and smooth.

After following the steps and applying the three different products, I can honestly say that my skin felt completely different than the post-shave feeling I have generally become accustomed to. It felt rejuvenated rather than stripped down.

What TwinLuxe is doing is giving you an entire shave experience. They aren’t just throwing some shaving cream on you face from a white container with the words Shaving Cream in black and then throwing a razor against your face haphazardly to complete the task. I found it to be energizing and pleasurable and the extra time it took to shave was worth it.

The one perceived negative about TwinLuxe was the price. The Smooth Shave Cream costs $34 a bottle, the Booster Serum costs $76, and the Renewing Face Wash & Scrub costs $38. But while it may be more expensive than the eight dollar bottle of shaving cream you’re used to, it is nothing like it. You really are paying for a higher quality, multi-faceted product than a regular shaving cream. Plus, you are using less cream to get more out of the experience, because with all three products, you didn’t need a heaping handful to achieve the desired result.

So, sorry Sergeant Mac Eliot — the jungle is now urban and the “Predator” is inferior shaving products. Once you try TwinLuxe, you’ll never be able to shave with your old products in good conscious.

To order, check out the website: http://www.twinluxe.com/