Apothecary

Most likely my first and last straight razor shave… Thought David Mancuso was gonna be great, certainly looked the part and throughout my Royal Shave I felt the experience was cool. I explained how my neck area was irritated easily and had to watch carefully in which direction I would shave. David pointed out that I have a neck cow lick and the hairs grow outward instead of towards the center, no big deal as far as the shave but nice to know.
The second time he went over, against the grain, it felt like he was taking a layer of skin off. I sat there wondering, is this because he only did shave oil once, was he supposed to do shave oil again before the second lather… anyway, being the neophyte I am I enjoyed the smells and figured this is a straight razor shave, it isn’t always going to feel wonderful. Then he pulled and pushed my neck skin trying to get every last hair against the grain… he mentioned I had a lot of blonde hairs and I am not sure if he meant white or gray and was just trying to be nice. Apparently this added to the level of difficulty the way he said it a couple of times.
I couldn’t wait for that darn cold towel! That thing felt amazing. Afterwards he slathered on the aftershave balm and voila! Well, my face was smooth but you could see the neck beginning to look angry and irritated. He said due to the dry Vegas air I had better keep applying the balm. I did of course as my face felt like it had just been tattooed. Just like the new tattoo on my arm a few months ago it begin to swell a bit. I chalked it up to a straight razor shave and decided it may not be for me lol.
There was a deal where if I purchased an The Art of Shaving kit the shave price was knocked down a bit. Plus I needed a holder for my new badger brush and David swore my mach 3 would fit fine hanging on the other side. It did not, keeps falling out unfortunately. So $ 180 later (incl tip) I headed to my room. By the time I got back to my room I could see more red spots, dried blood dotting my jaw line and neck. The only thing that quenched the building fire was the lavender essential oil balm.
The next morning my neck and face were a wreck. My jawline was riddled with scrapes and dotted with blood. It was so bad that I had to go back and ask him was this normal before I checked out of the Palazzo… to confirm my thoughts the gal talking with him who worked in the Apothecary looked up, saw me and said «Oh my gosh, you must have super sensitive skin!»
I said yep, so this isn’t normal? David quickly mumbled something about me having those darn blonde hairs and slathered on the lavender essential oil balm and that was that. No apologies, no refunds, no see me when you are back and I will make this right, etc. Anyhoo, that was my experience. My shave kit and stand is on craigslist north san diego county for $ 75, half off, only used once.
Lessoned learned. I really was expecting a brilliant facial treatment from an awesome barber. I will blame my face and not David lol. Next time take it easy on my baby face and no going against the grain apparently. In my picture you can see my neck beginning to look angry lol.

Love, love, love this store. The staff are amazing. Love to show you new products… how to wear them. Prices are so reasonable and they have such fun unique make up to buy. I had a great hour in there. Ask to have your make up done. I looked amazing!

The people here are very knowledgeable. Dave the barber always does a great job and is defiantly worth the prices. Gloria and Heather are also amazing, they know so much about everything at the store that they were able to help my wife pick the right makeup for her. Check this place out if you wanna get your lady or yourself something nice while staying at the Palazzo.

It has been about been about a month since I visited the Barber at Apothecary. I was in Vegas to hang out with some friends and play a bit of poker. I did really well my first night at the tables and decided to spoil myself with a haircut and a shave.
I went with the full package that included what can only be described as a facial, yeah, I don’t like the sound of it either but I sure did like the feel of it. Wait that just made it sound worse. Anyways, a haircut, facial and shave for 80.00.
OK lets start with the Barber, a very stylish gentleman with a nice personality and pleasantly conversational. He proceeded to give me a very professional hair cut and complimented my hair just enough to stroke my ego but not come off as too obsequious (I heard this word on NPR and thought I have to use it on Unilocal).
The haircut was very nice and then we moved on to the facial and the shave. I will apologize for not remembering all of the terms he used to explain the process and the types of creams and scrubs used but I will say that it was such a great feeling to be scrubbed and rubbed, lathered and shaved by a true professional.
If you have never experienced this I highly recommend that you spoil yourself at least one time to know what it feels like. I would add that if you choose to do it, you might as well do it the next time you visit Vegas. You will not be disappointed.

Gorge did a outstanding job.

If you’re in Vegas and need a barber, this is the place to do it, hands down. David took me in as a bedraggled, overgrown mess and spit me out ready for a night on the town — it was worth every reasonably-​priced (OK, for Vegas) penny. Thanks! I only wish we had had time for a straight-​edge shave to go along with the cut.

Just had most amazing shave/​facial with barber David M. A real pro with amazing «Art of Shaving» products. An amazing bargain compared to local spa prices! Go for it!