The Philips Satinelle Advanced gives you most of what a flagship epilator does for a good deal less money. A wide ceramic head, wet use and reliable results make it our best value pick. Here's exactly what you get, and what you give up.
Not everyone wants to pay flagship money to get smooth legs, and the Philips Satinelle Advanced BRE740 exists for exactly those people. It takes the essentials of a good epilator, a generous ceramic head and wet and dry use, and packages them at a price that undercuts the top units while losing very little in everyday performance. That is what makes it our best value choice.
| Model | Price | Tweezers | Head | Wet and dry | Rating | Link | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ★ Top pick Philips Satinelle Advanced Wet & Dry Epilator BRE740 | £94.99 | 32 (ceramic, dual-disc) | Wide epilation head, adjustable cap | Yes, cordless and washable | ★ 4.4 | View → |
£94.99 £99.99
32 (ceramic, dual-disc) · Wide epilation head, adjustable cap · Yes, cordless and washable
The verdict from Hannah Whitfield, hair-removal and skincare tester
Our best value choice. The Philips Satinelle Advanced gives you most of what the flagship Braun does for a good deal less. The wide ceramic head clears a leg in fewer passes, it works wet to ease the pull, and the results are clean and long-lasting. It is a touch less surgical on the very shortest hairs and a little chunkier to hold, but for anyone who mainly wants smooth legs without paying flagship money, this is the sensible buy.
Covers ground quickly and feels reassuringly solid; the wide head means fewer repeat passes.
The Satinelle Advanced is the right epilator if your main aim is smooth legs and underarms, you want long-lasting results, and you would rather not overpay for the last few percent of flagship refinement. It suits people who epilate fairly regularly, value a quick session over surgical precision, and want a trusted brand with proper UK support behind it. Because it works wet, it is comfortable enough for most sensitive skin once you ease in.
It is a slightly less natural fit if you specifically need to catch the very shortest, finest stubble or want a fully flexible head for tricky contours. There, the Braun Silk-epil 9 still has the edge. For the large majority of buyers who simply want clean, long-lasting results without the flagship price, though, the Satinelle is the sensible pick.
The wide ceramic head is the Satinelle's headline strength. It covers a lot of skin in each pass, so a full leg goes quickly and you make fewer repeat strokes than with a narrower unit. The 32 ceramic discs grip well on standard leg and underarm hair, and the results are clean and last the usual two to four weeks. On very short stubble it is a touch less thorough than the highest-tweezer-count units, but for everyday regrowth it does a tidy job.
The BRE740 is cordless and fully washable, so you can use it in the bath or shower. As with every wet and dry epilator, using it wet makes a real difference to comfort: the warm water relaxes the skin and dulls the pull, which makes the Satinelle approachable even for people who found dry epilation too sharp. The ceramic discs are gentle, and the adjustable cap lets you start softer before moving to full strength.
This is the one area where the value shows. The Satinelle is a little chunkier in the hand than the slimmest flagships, which takes a session or two to get used to, especially around the knee and ankle. It is far from unwieldy, though, and the build is solid and reassuringly Philips. The head detaches for rinsing, and you get caps and a brush in the box, so it is ready to use out of the box without extra spending.
The Satinelle's two real compromises are that it is slightly less effective on the very shortest hairs than the flagship Braun, and that it is a touch bulkier to hold. Neither is a deal-breaker for most people. The wide head that makes it bulkier is the same one that makes it fast, and the small gap in short-hair precision matters far more in theory than in a normal once-a-fortnight routine. If absolute thoroughness on fine stubble is your priority, step up to the Silk-epil 9; if value is, the Satinelle is hard to beat.
It is close, and it costs a good deal less. The wide ceramic head clears legs quickly and the results last just as long. It is slightly less effective on the very shortest hairs than the Braun Silk-epil 9, but for most people who mainly want smooth legs it is the smarter spend.
Yes. The BRE740 is cordless and fully washable, so you can use it in the bath or shower. Warm water makes the pull noticeably easier and lets you rinse the head clean afterwards.
Used wet, with light pressure and on exfoliated skin, it suits most sensitive skin well. The ceramic discs are gentle, and the adjustable cap lets you start with a softer setting before moving to full strength.
The Satinelle Advanced is our best value pick because it delivers the results that matter, clean, long-lasting smoothness on legs and underarms, for noticeably less than the flagships. The wide ceramic head makes sessions quick, the wet use keeps it comfortable, and the Philips build and support give you confidence it will last. You give up a little short-hair precision and a slimmer body, but for most buyers that is a trade worth making. If you want maximum thoroughness, look at the Braun Silk-epil 9; if you want to spend even less to start, the Remington EP7035 is the budget route. Read our buying guide before you decide, and our how we test page to see how we score.