The Art of Shaving

It is expensive but it it is convenient and you get your items the same day!!! I know I’m in the tech era but I absolutely dread shopping online so to be able to go to the store and get this stuff is great to me I don’t mind paying a little more. I’ve gotten their Royal Shave quite a few times and every time it has been great!!! Also every time I get one I relax more and more. I found it hard at first. I couldn’t get over the concept of someone holding a knife to my throat. But the staff made me very comfortable very quick. The Sinatra music in the background helped too lol But all in all an absolute wonderful place for a man to kill an hour or two while his wife does some shopping!!! Keep up the good work

I love the fact that quality shaving products are becoming more main stream. However this is NOT the place to get them. They are really just Dovo straight razors with AoS branding stamped on them (for an extra 40% markup)
The brushes overpriced as well. Do yourself a favor and buy from Parker, Edwin Jagger, Trufitt and Hill, or even WhippedDog for a quality silvertip (better quality badger than AoS sells, note Best quality is lower than silvertip quality) for much much less.
This is basically a store meant to make lots of money on newbies to wet shaving who do not know what price they should pay.
If you want to buy from a place in Chicago, then go to Merz in Lincoln Square, Merz in the loop, or Trufitt and Hill on Michigan Ave. If you want the best deal, go online

Yes, yes, yes! This place was sick! My friend brought me in here cause he was so impressed with it.
First, the products aren’t cheap but they aren’t crazy high. If your a real shaver you spend a lot on this stuff anyway!
The starter kit are great for getting you in the door and the demo they do for you is cool.
I was helped by Cathy and Miguel. They were what all employees should strive to be. Nice, informative, easy to talk without being or feel like I’m bothering them. Cathy got a customer for life and when my kid starts shaving I’m bringing through.

Just a little confused by the reviews I have just read. I have been a pretty loyal customer to this shop for three years (along with several of my friends).
Yes, it may be a touch more expensive than Walmart, but the personalization and education in shaving and product offering that one receives from the staff (which I always find appropriate and professional) is worth it.
I have enjoyed both haircuts and Royal shaves for many years at this location and the new Master Barber is professional and attentive.
Regarding the fine details comments, I have to say that I have received a number of professional haircuts and shaves from spa’s (and likes), and I believe that this staff does a great job in comparison to higher priced shops.
I guess I can understand the points made from a few of you — and appreciate your review, but as a business owner with many employees myself, I appreciate the good service I receive here!

I discovered The Art of Shaving about 5 months ago and puchased a brush, shave soap and balm. For decades, I basically used gel or Barbasol and thought «shaving is shaving and just a necessaey evil.» I decided I would try a brush and soap and from the that first shave how much superior this is over using canned gels and foams. YES, TAoS is expensive but you will use less product in the long run compared to canned gels and foams. Basically, you get what you pay for.
Store manager, Domingo, did a great job of explaining their product line and has offered great service on my subsequent visits. If their prolific branding bugs you, go elsewhere. I personally don’t get hung up on it. I no longer dread the daily ritual of shaving.
I’m a big fan of their store, service and products.

My review for AoS is more for Orlando, their barber. I’ve been going to him for a year now and am surprised at the low rating for this store. I get lots of compliments of my haircuts that I never had before. I’ve also heard good things about their shaves. Do yourself a favor and stop in. I drive 30 minutes to get a haircut here. I wouldn’t do that for just any barber!
Btw, notice that all the positive reviews for this place are filtered out?

The place is definitely well designed, clean and looks upscale. The employees are courteous and friendly. That is pretty much all the good I can say about the place.
However the quality of the service is abysmal. There a different names for the service provided, but basically I got a haircut and a shave. The craftsmanship for the service is definitely poor. The barber used a trimmer for my entire haircut, as if he is shearing sheep! No use of scissors whatsoever, no care to any fine details. So the haircut, which was very crude, ended in about 8 minutes.
The shaving part was definitely more elaborate, warmed foam and steamed towels being used multiple times during the process, and lasted about half an hour. But the end result is a shave that is not as good as I can get with my mach3 in 5 minutes and I got plenty of skin irritation.
And on top of that, they are charging dearly for the service, paid something like 65 — 70 $ plus tip.
I wanted to find a good barbershop in this area, this one definitely is not what I am looking for.

As a man with relatively light beard growth, I can often get away with just a quick swish and swash with the electric razor in the morning, looking sharp, if not barbershop sharp. As products, razors are something you keep coming back to day after day, so there’s no reason why you shouldn’t have one that gets the job done.
I have mixed feelings towards The Art of Shaving. It is a unique concept in a day and age of disposable blades and poor shaves, however their execution leaves much to be desired.
Pros:
+ In a mall overwhelmingly dedicated to women’s stuff (not a bad thing, but us guys need places too), the AoS fills a gap
+ Unlike the internet, you can actually get a little hands on with the barbers, if that’s your thing
+ The AoS straight razors are made by Thiers-​Issard, a reputable French brand that is hand-​made
Cons:
— Sales girls are annoyingly overly friendly, as in, they are on commission (and I’ve worked in commission sales and management!) and you can read right through them
— Would you trust a man how to teach you to shave your legs ladies? I didn’t think so. So why should we trust a bunch of annoying girls how to teach you to shave your face? Point made.
— Prices are very expensive, even for a mall, you can get similar quality products online for much, much, cheaper
— As noted by a previous reviewer, the branding on each of the straight razors is really intrusive. Instead of a little spot towards the tang of the blade, the logo covers the whole cutting surface and looks cheap
A well-​shaved man will get noticed by men and women alike, so it behooves us guys to know a bit more about the trade craft. The AoS might not be a bad place to start your research, but I recommend ending it online, as the information you find there will ultimately be much more helpful than in this store.

Don’t bother with the gaudy disposable multi-​blade kits they have here, or all the marketing they have for them. If you want a good shave at a good price, you need to either go with a straight edge or safety razor.
They sell a few straight edges here (not sure about safety razors), but they’re buried under piles of metal-​handle, plastic-​head bullcrap. And once you find them, you’ll realize that AoS has plastered their logo all over the «real» ones (i.e., the kind you have to sharpen). Their logo is front and center on just about every product they sell. It’s great they have such a selection, but I don’t want my bathroom to be an AoS advertisement.
Lots of people complain about it all being overpriced, but honestly, it makes sense. If you want the same or better quality products, find one of the many shaving stores online. AoS brings it all to you, in the mall, and you can buy it now, which is probably expensive for them, so I understand the extra margin they take.
I can never get past the over-​branding though. I will gladly shop there when they bring some less gaudy products in, from some reputable manufacturers (i.e., Thiers-​Issard, Hart Steel). Good for getting slightly higher-​quality products quickly, but not much else.

First off I HATE shopping but when my girlfriend dragged me into this store I was caught off-​gaurd by walking into a store all about men? What is this weird concept?
After the guy showed me how to «use» the brush with their shaving cream I was still a little skeptical as the kit was $ 100, truly an «investment» as he put it especially from my edge can of gel I had at home.
The cool part was the barber, Orlando invited me into the back where he did shaves?! Funny how you forget that barbers even exist but to come in and then literally walk right into a store with a barber shop was kinda cool.
After being talked into a shave I was sold. I had the Royal Shave (that my girl paid for ;)) and that’s what sold me on the products. My face was as smooth as a baby’s rear and I felt good.
It’s been a 3 weeks since I made the «investment» I have to say that I couldn’t be happier.
Sure the products are a bit pricey but with the difference I am actually seeing in my skin (less irritation on my neck) I can see what the fuss is all about.
Honestly what sold me was the sales guy said if I didn’t like it after a month that I could gladly return it so in a way it was a no lose situation.
Count me happy that I was dragged in and my girl couldn’t be happier which really what its all about anyhow.
PS…they even carry and sell the straight razor blades… How freakin’ cool is that???

Bought a few things for my dad since he’s big on shaving. This place is super expensive and I doubt I will be back but the guy that helped me was super nice and very attentive to what I was looking for. In the end I chose a nice gift set for my pops. I wish the prices weren’t so pricey, I would totally come back if that was the case.

So, by writing this review I am admitting that I let someone take advantage of me. I did not do enough online research and talking to people. This place was a huge rip off. Cute girls who work there and work on a commission are not the best people to talk about shaving. They only have one kind of straight razor, which should have been a tell tale sign. Their strop is decent, but more than twice as much ($ 75) as others you can buy on the internet. And the ones you can buy on the internet are even better strops.
The one girl told me I did need to use the paste on my strop right off the bat and that I did need to strop my Razor before my first shave. The Second girl told me the opposite. They made no mention of how to hone, or the fact that I would need to hone, and their stuff is so outlandishly expensive.
They hand out $ 25 coupons like candy which really goes to show their margins. All in all, I hate this place and will not be returning.
(Added an extra star because the girls who work there are super cute. But I hate them anyways.)

My brother and I had been meaning to stop by at the new Art of Shaving Chicago location, but did not get a chance and accidentally came across their Woodfield Mall location. The staff here is really friendly and will take their time to explain you all the details about their high end men’s grooming products. We walked out with some free samples and plan on trying out their products in the future.
If you want to shave like 007, then you need to get the shaving tools here.
PS: They also have an in house barber that will shave you in old school fashion.