Enchante

A friend introduced me to Enchante and I’m glad for it! Charles is the best and he really knows how to help you out. Not only is his shaving expertise spot on, he can help you pick out a great perfume, either for a gift or yourself. Also, it’s in a great downtown spot that’s super easy to find. It’s no problem to grab some lunch and then visit the local place for high-​quality products and spectacular service.

This is my first review on Unilocal (and hopefully not the last). I found Enchante through Unilocal and I also happened to read the reviews so it was like a spoiler. Let me confirm this — Enchante is not just any other shop or business. It’s like a consultant’s office and you should set aside at least 30 minutes and probably get an appointment. Like some other reviewers, I also got some of Charles’ wide range of shaving products for free which would have probably put him at a loss. He has his own shaving system but he just recommended only a basic set of items to get me started. The razor you buy here (a Merkur) is going to be a family heirloom and you don’t have to be guilty about spending so much on it.
5 stars because it’s just an experience no clean-​shaver should miss out on. At the risk of sounding too dramatic, Enchante is the mount Everest for Shavers.

The business owner was very engaging and full of information. Save yourself more time than you think you’ll need there because if you’re lucky, the owner will entertain you and walk you through his collection.

Extraordinary customer service! Charles makes you feel (and smell) like a million bucks, and he’s incredibly knowledgeable! Amazing par fumes! Now, which one to pick? Enchante is a «don’t miss»!!!

This is how doing business with someone locally should be. Made my first trip into Enchante on a recommendation from a shaving forum online. And as good or better than described.
There are few times when you can claim a really excellent customer service experience. What we have begun calling «excellent» is usually just par — set against a backdrop of really sad Wal-​Mart culture. However, walking into Enchante this afternoon was the beginning of an excellent experience.
First, Charles was in the back, whipping up something in his «apothecary» bench. He is almost aggressively in your face with his knowledge about wet shaving. Which I can appreciate. Because beneath all his more advanced terminology (I’m novice with a straight razor), Charles is bubbling with passion. And THAT makes for something very extraordinary.
I explained to him my problem — he clarified with some questions and ascertained my level of experience/​expertise. Then he picked out a solution (amusingly showing me empty bottles). He walked me through nearly every possible thing that could be going wrong, then explained a solution. The angle of my passes, the hone of my blade, the consistency of the primer or balm, etc. Each is a variable in the equation — and he showed me how to isolate and mitigate.
If you are comfortable coming to a professional and getting instruction, opinion, and ping some questions off a very respectable resource, you will love shopping here. If you are timid, it might be a little overwhelming. As far as I’m concerned, I won’t buy shaving supplies from anyone else — and I’m lucky to be in Austin to take advantage.
How can you not love a place where the owner takes time to get to know you, introduces himself, and then tells you he expects to hear back from you with the results of the solution he sold you… so he can continue to help you tweak and improve it.
This place isn’t cheap, but if you are willing to pay for quality and excellent service — I’ll probably see you in there sometime.

Charles is the man to see for all your shaving needs. Ladies, go see him for a special gift for your man. He is so passionate and knowledgeable about shaving, and has invented products and techniques to get a nice clean shave.
My husband is hairy like Yetti but soft and smooth after using these products.
We bought a shave cloth today. No more badger brushes if he likes it.
Go. See Charles and Get your SMOOTH on!

My experience with Charles starts with my wonderful wife and kids wanting to get me a new badger hair shaving brush for Christmas. This was an incredibly thoughtful gift, and quality badger brushes are not cheap, and are also somewhat difficult to find. They searched high and low — really low, in some cases, as often, men’s wet shaving supplies are in Pipe, Smoke and Cigar shops… places we do not usually support or visit. They were unsuccessful in their quest for a fine badger brush, until my eldest son came to the realization that Charles Roberts’ shop, Enchante, was actually here in Austin where we live. They decided to take me down there — a sort of pilgrimage to meet the man behind the Method…
My wife called the store one Saturday to see if it was open, as Weekend hours were off-​and-​on. There was no answer. She was going to try again, when a few minutes after her initial call, the phone rang. I didn’t know it at the time, but that was Charles calling back to let her know they were open, and there. How’s that for personal service?
I was still in the dark, but the family told me to load up and they were going to take me somewhere. We ended up in downtown Austin on Congress and 6^th at One American Center, behind the statue of Angelina Eberly firing a cannon. We ended up at Enchante and it clicked for me. My wife told me I could go in and pick any badger brush I wanted. I had realized where we were and that I could likely get a Shavemaster — the brush of brushes, the apex of badger shaving brushes old and new… OK, suffice it to say I was excited.
Upon meeting Charles, he promptly told us I couldn’t buy anything. «I could sell you a $ 150 brush and a bunch of other stuff but I’d rather you learn this and decide for yourself if you really need them.» His honesty was surprising and disarming.
What? Wait… Christmas… I want a cool brush… huh?
Charles then began a dialogue about the history of shaving, the philosophy of shaving, the *science* of shaving… we talked for over an hour. His passion, knowledge and experience with something as simple as shaving is contagious. So instead of running in and buying a brush and jamming, we were there while Charles told us of the philosophy of the RMWS old and new, and how it has evolved in to what he uses today, and that it can be done in six minutes… The man is completely engulfed in shaving.
He still wouldn’t sell us anything.
Charles insisted that I watch a video, the one linked above, before I buy anything, and that I come in for a clinic where he would teach me his technique of Method Shaving 11 and with real beards and blades. I agreed to come in…
As we were about to leave, Charles just up and gave me a cube of his soap, a little tub of shaving paste and some cutting balm, and told me how to use them… He basically gave me a starter kit of his Hydrolast products and told me to try them before the clinic, and to be sure to come with at least 24 hours of beard and questions.
Service? I went in to spend my money, and he ended up giving me samples of all of his core products, an offer for a free class, and lots to think about. He knew that if I were serious, I’d be back. He wasn’t after my money, he wanted me to enjoy his wares and his process first. THAT is SERVICE.

Enchante is not a regular boutique retailer. Charles Roberts has devoted many years to studying everything shaving and has a true passion for the subject. At Enchante you will never be pressured to buy high priced products you don’t need. Instead, Charles works hard to educate his clients and spend however long it takes to help men achieve the ultimate close and comfortable shave.
Whether you are interested in the finest traditional British shaving goods from houses such as Geo. F. Trumper or D.R. Harris or want to take the plunge into modern wet shaving with Enchante’s own Hydrolast system, Charles has everything you need. The store also stocks a variety of the world’s finest luxury fragrances, soaps, and toiletries, all available for you to browse and sample comfortably. A little time at Enchante can certainly improve your quality of life!

Now, I’ll be honest and tell you that I don’t normally expect to feel comfortable in a store that sells soaps, lotions, etc and has a fancy French name. Tjat aside, when I walked in to Enchante, Jean was very friendly and helpful. I told her that I was not very knowledgeable about wetshaving products, and she was able to help me figure out what I needed, explained what was in it and what it special.
Granted, it is a little bit weird for a guy (or maybe it’s just me) to get shaving advice from a woman, she was great and recommended that I come back to meet Charles, her wetshaving guru.
Kudos go to them as well, for not pushing expensive/​unnecessary stuff that I did not need or want — I walked out of there with exactly what I needed and an invitation to return.