Billie Razors and the cost of being a woman

Several years ago, news publications and periodicals, heralded by the New York Times, started calling out the infamous “pink tax”. Of course you know all about the pink tax, don’t you?

Money.com nailed it: “Women pay a premium every time they shop—often without realizing it. From personal care to clothes to dry cleaning services, products targeted at women tend to cost more than similar ones for men, even when the items in question are made from identical materials.”

What makes this particularly fun is the underscore of the pay gap. CNBC delivered the 2019 statistics from the 2019 Payscale report: “Women earn just 79 cents for every dollar men make in 2019. That's the 'raw' gender pay gap, which looks at the median salary for all men and women regardless of job type or worker seniority.”

By-and-large, we make less and pay more. So, that’s cute.

It’s important to know that I’m a marketer. It’s my day job – consumer product marketing, advertising analysis, audience research. That’s my gig, so I’m not a total rube when it comes to recognizing advertising for what it is: a ploy to trade you this thing for your money.

Obviously, some products are targeted toward women because only women would (typically) use them: menstrual products, bras, pantyhose, etc. I get why those have a gender bias in their marketing. I don’t understand the pricing (as much as $4 per tampon?!), but I understand the marketing approach.

So, those types of products aside, why am I paying more for deodorant? Laundry detergent? Even pens? PENS?! (The comment section on this product is my favorite thing about women.)

As a complete and unabashed beauty-product junkie, I’ve spent hundreds of hours over the course of the last ten years scouring magazines, watching YouTube, falling victim to horrible skincare commercials and mascara ads, gobbling up twofer deals and ignoring blatant sponsorships. I love, and buy into, all the hype. Some people like golf. I enjoy shopping for, organizing, and applying beauty products to my body.

All this to say, I tried the Billie razor. Can an argument be made that razors require unique specifications for genders? No. 

I do, however, think an argument could be made that razors require unique specifications for different applications. To shave one’s face, you might require a different blade or angle or whathaveyou versus shaving the leg. No idea if that’s true – haven’t done the leg work (cymbal crash to signify thoughtful pun). Point being, I understand that the slippery slope of application led to gender-based marketing. It’s stupid, but I get it.

Now, I’m a woman who grew up in a very conservative household. We didn’t talk about money, politics, and certainly didn’t publicly discuss any bodily (mal)functions. My mother is a nurturer, but she was really not very open with me about my period or what my options were. We didn’t discuss shaving or skincare or hygiene. You were just expected to smell good and not itch anywhere suspicious.

Perhaps this explains my voracious appetite for beauty products now. I want to try them! I want to see for myself if they’re worth the time or cost. I didn’t know enough before, and I’m a lady who likes to be in-the-know. My husband would call it excess. I call it research.

So, again, the Billie razor. I like that it’s a subscription service, because thoughts about buying a new razor tend to only occur to me mid-shower. I like that they show actual body hair being removed in their ads (an industry first!). I like that it has a nice little magnetic shower holder that works really well (6 months and she hasn’t fallen down yet). I like that it’s actually far cheaper than the retail razor I bought previously. But most of all: I like that it works really, really well.

The charcoal surround, the cut-free, razor-burn free, super-silky results, the effortless approach to getting all the hair out of the blade (just quickly flash underwater), the fact that I can get nearly 10 (all-over the body) shaves out of one razor head before I need to replace it, the cost, the color, the fuss-free design… I-am-into-it! 

I also really like their shaving cream.

Everything works differently for everyone. Take something as benign and flavorless as water – there are literally hundreds of brands peddling the stuff. I don’t imagine we’ll ever be reduced to one razor brand either.

But as for me and my house, we believe in Billie; the product and her mission.

This is not at all sponsored. Billie has no idea who I am outside of my account number.