Second Shave with a New Gillete Fusion ProGlide Flexball Razor

I am now wondering if maybe I have a bad batch of blades.  I mimicked the process of my last shave with totally different results.  I felt a lot of tugging, a lot of irritation.  I tried to go as easy as possible during my shave.  But regardless of how hard I tried to get that perfect shave, I just couldn't obtain it.  This time it looked like I ran a rusty 5 year old blade across my cheeks!

This was my most painful shave yet!  You can tell from the photo's that one side is much worse than the other. 

I still think that overall, Gillette puts out a great product.  After all, my last Fusion ProGlide blade was from a Christmas Gift Pack and it lasted from end of Christmas to almost the middle of February!  This has been my expectation from these higher end blades as my last experience with the regular Fusion blade was not a one time wonder.  I usually get the Fusion blades when I have a special occasion...interview for a new job, weddings, anniversary...type of events you want that extra confidence a good close smooth shave can provide. 

I refuse to believe that the quality of the blades are going downhill; especially with Gillette aggressively marketing this new FlexBall handle.  I am going to chalk this experience up to a "one-off".  I won't be rushing out to buy anymore of these blades for the heck of it, but I will not give up on the quality I have come to expect from Gillette.