[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] Out of the box, the Gillette® Venus® Silk-expert Powered by Braun had a great feel. It is solid and packaged nicely. I was wanting instructions that were a little more clear (or easy to find in the box). But once I got the hang of it - it made sense. I worry a little about the brightness of the flashes of light -- should I be wearing sunglasses? Yikes! Even if you aren't looking straight at it, it's very bright. The little "zaps" from the Gillette® Venus® Silk-expert Powered by Braun aren't too uncomfortable. But it is noticeable in the more sensitive areas (bikini line and underarms). It's easy to reach any areas that you're trying to "treat." I received this product for free from Braun.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] My legs have never been so smooth. Easy to use,light weight,safer then shaving. My legs were smooth in less than 4 weeks. I haven't even had to use as much lotion on them as I did with razor shaving. No stubble,no hair AT ALL!! I will never use a razor again nor will I use any other system. I have found the easiest and best way to remove hair,who would have thought the best product would also be the eadiest?!

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I've been thinking for awhile about getting laser hair removal; however, the time involved with going in for treatments and not knowing what to expect was a deterrent. When I found out about Braun's Gillette Venus Silk-expert that you could do yourself at home, I couldn't be more excited. I received the new Gillette Venus Silk-expert Powered by Braun for free from Braun in exchange for my honest review. Below are my own opinions from my use. First things first, you will need to make sure that both your skin tone and hair color are appropriate for the Silk-expert. The Silk-expert won't work on very dark skin tones and light hair. There are many other warning and instructions, so please make sure to read them all! The biggest for me was that the treated area could not be exposed to sun for 1 week and since you use the Silk-expert weekly for 12 weeks, I will be covering up or using sunblock! Straight out of the box the silk expert appears rather large (reminded me one of those small blow dryers in hotels), but it is rather light. The size is a positive except in one instance I will get to below. The front has a window where the light energy is dispersed with skin tone sensors on the side to determine the proper light energy based on your skin tone. There is a LED power bar on the side that shows how strong the light energy will be with a button on top to turn it to gentle mode if the sting is too strong. Then there is a large button on the top that you press to emit treatment. Finally, there is a power cord (yes it requires a power cord, no batteries), but the power cord was very long and reached nearly across my long bathroom. The Silk-expert may be used on the legs, arms, underarms, and bikini area for women (for men you can treat that back and chest hair!). Unfortunately my hopes were dashed as it cannot be used on your face. To get started you simply need to shave the intended areas first and do a spot test - no negative reactions here! So first I'll start with my experience on my legs. The silk-expert has two modes: gliding mode and precision mode. The gliding mode is supposed to allow you to press and hold the treatment button then slowly glide the device along the area (think up your leg in a straight line) while continuously flashing. This was not my experience (or at least not my definition of continuos). As I press and held the button, it would emit the flash and be at least 3 seconds before emitting another flash. So instead of gliding along my leg, I more slowly moved it from one spot up to the next while holding the button in a regular pace with short pauses between each flash. Once I changed my plan based on how it was working, it wasn't an issue though a bit slower then I would have hoped for. My other issue with the gliding mode was that the treatment window was too wide (back to the size I mentioned above) for the bottom of my leg, so I could not in fact glide up my leg as the skin tone sensors couldn't lay flat on each side of the bottom of my leg. Instead I changed to gliding around my leg so the window could lie flat. Once I had adjusted my perception I was able to complete both legs in 15 minutes. I expect it will be faster next time. Now I am sure everyone is wondering about the pain. I can honestly state that on my legs it didn't really hurt at all. On my lower legs, I didn't really feel it, though it became warm as time went and passed in a few seconds. On my thighs I could feel a very minor sting like a small flick of a rubber band, but nothing that would stop me from using it or even using the gentle mode button. I was originally concerned that the Silk-expert would not work on my thighs as they have a lot of dark freckles, but it was not a problem. Next I did the bikini area using the precision mode. With the precision mode you press and release the treatment button so it emits a flash and then you pick it up and move it to the next spot. In this area I felt the greatest sting (more of a sharp rubber band snap), but again, I was still fine with it given the small area and quick process and did not need to use the gentle mode button. Just to test, I did try the gentle mode and found that it did indeed cut the sting in half. I was able to complete this area in 2 minutes. Last was my underarms where I went back to the gliding mode. In this area, I again was able to feel more of a snap with the treatment, but it was not as a bad as the bikini area. It's also so fast, that I barely had time to register anything before I was done with it taking less than 1 minute for each underarm. It honestly didn't bother me at all. Now, it will take at least 6 treatments per you are supposed to notice a difference, so you will need to keep up with it to receive the benefits. Though I was lucky enough to notice after one week when I didn't have time to shave one day that the hair that had been treated and thinned some and was not itchy all day as it normally would be having not shaved that day. After working out a few adjustments to what is a very easy to use device, I will definitely have the 15-20 minutes to spare once a week to complete.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I have been using the Venus silk expert on only one armpit for eight weeks. I have not had any true discomfort, just some irritation after shaving, but I think it might be because I am shaving skin off instead of hair. It is habit to shave both armpits daily in the shower. The armpit that I have used the Gillette Venus Silk expert on has decreased with hair growth compared to the other armpit that I did not treat. The hair grows slower and is sparse, but there is still hair growth. I am hoping that after sixteen weeks the hair growth will stop. After this week, I will start treating the other armpit. At work it has begun to be a game about my armpit hair growth and this product. Co-workers are very interested in this product and if is works. I have explained that the product works depending on skin tone, skin sensitivity, and usage, so results could very per person. For BzzAgent this product is hard to rate because the true results take time. I have enjoy using the product and will continue to use this product. I wish that it could be used on the face.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I'm excited to see how this all works out. I did the test area and then 24 hrs later I used the silk-expert on my lower legs. It was super easy to use and I did not feel a lot of pain. I know that other areas may be more sensitive, but I'm going to see how my legs work out first. The only complaint that I have is that the instruction booklet is a little hard to follow. I remember reading through bzzagent that I should not use the silk-expert more than once a week on a single location, but the instruction booklet does not say this. If once a week is a requirement, that should be clearly stated in the instruction booklet.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I would love to never have to shave again. Even reducing shaving from 7 days per week to 3 would be good. Maybe with the Venus Silk-expert, I have finally achieved that dream! Unfortunately, I have coarse, think hair on my legs. And it grows like a man's beard. I get five o'clock leg shadow by 8 a.m. the morning after I shave. I started using the Venus a few weeks ago. I shaved with the handy Venus razor supplied with the Silk-expert and then went to town zapping my legs. The "flash" is a bit bright, so I wear sunglasses when I use it and was glad I read the instructions, as "flashing" areas that are darker (such as scars) is a bit painful. As you cannot expose your treated skin to the sun for seven days after use, starting the treatment in the winter is perfect. By the time Memorial Day rolls around, I will hopefully be hair-free and ready for the beach.

So far, so good on the intense pulse light. I thought that the install was easy and the directions were complete and easy to read and understand. I do wish that it gave an exact usage time. The directions say weekly. I wish I knew that for it to really work you need to use it 1x or 2x, etc a week. The first time I used it I realized that your skin needs to be COMPLETLY dry, mine wasn't and I got a little zap. The user also needs to make sure the area of free of hair. The glide motion for your legs is great. The life span to see if it works is 3 months, which is a little long but I am excited to see if it works. The act of doing the pulsing to prevent hair regrowth is about the same time as shaving.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] Literally... :( I'm so disappointed with my skin right now. I have come to the conclusion that my skin is reacting to the treatment after about 5 weeks in. The first time it happened I thought maybe they were bug bites. It wasn't immediately after the treatment. They popped up within a day or two. Second time it happened I thought I was having maybe an allergicle reaction to something. Started narrowing down things and narrowed it down to possibly the treatment. So the third week after this was happening, I decided to test a small strip on my leg to confirm whether or not it was the treatment. Unfortunately it was. I had the same reaction very itchy bumps. Then I started thinking why now? The first 4 weeks this did not happen. Could it be the razor? I had noticed the last two or three times that I shaved, the razor felt a little dull. So I'm thinking maybe it wasn't getting the hair short enough before treatment??? I'm not ready to give up on this thing just yet because it does work. I noticed a pretty significant change in the hair growth on my legs. Some were gone, some were softer, it took longer to grow back, etc. I had all the right signs. But I knew I had to write this review before it expired... So I'm going to continue using to see if maybe it had to do with a dull razor. But those out there considering purchasing this... Don't let this review deter you. It could be just my skin personally, I don't know. But like I said earlier I'm not ready to give up on this thing yet. I do want to thank Braun for allowing me to try this product absolutely free. And I also want to thank BzzAgent for making that happen!

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I have never been this excited to write a review . I was apprehensive before using it, and thought there was NO WAY that it would reduce my hair growth . I woukd normally shave daily, otherwise the stubble was noticeable not only to the touch but to the sight . I've been using this product now approximately 5 weeks , going on to six , and the results are AMAZING !! I've been able to easily go all week without having to shave. The hair has diminished greatly in such a short amount of time. Even the hair under my arms is starting to show less . I have raved to all my friends and coworkers to run out and by one . Definitely more convinient and affordable than going in to a salon to get it done . While I understand everyone's results will vary , I can honestly say that mine have been fantastic . Will continue to use it !! Thank you #Braun for making me one of the lucky individuals to have received it for free. I only have good things to say about this product . Love it !

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I have used this unit for several weeks now as directed and the results have been amazing. I have used this specifically for my legs but will be using it for other areas after my leg treatments are finished. This product is so easy to use and you can't mess up. I have noticed less and less hair growth over the last few weeks and have found that instead of shaving my legs every 2 days, I have now begun to only shave my legs once a week, the day I use this machine. And when I do shave on the one day a week, I am not even sure I need to do it then, but you are supposed to shave before using so I just do. It is going to be a great summer with low maintenance hair-free legs. Next up....armpits!