Review // Olay Total Effects Moisturiser

You may have seen a Twitter promotion recently in which Beauty at Tesco allowed you to nominate friends to receive a free gift. I was very kindly nominated by Emma and chose the Olay Total Effects Moisturiser as, despite having two slightly-past-their-expiration-date Lush moisturisers that I'm desperately trying to finish off, I just haven't got enough! 

Total Effects promises seven benefits: smoothing fine lines, maintaining moisture, evening skin tone, minimising pores, smoothing skin texture (this is the same as the first one, surely), enhancing brightness and hydrating skin (which is also the same as maintaining moisture). So really, this promises five benefits worded in seven different ways. Remember these because we'll come back to them later.

PACKAGING

When I first opened the box, I thought this was a bottle reserved for promotions and freebies as it's horrendous. A quick Google revealed that, unfortunately, this isn't the case. It's unnecessarily chunky- short and wide when a slightly taller, narrower bottle would be much more convenient and pleasing to look at. The plastic pump dispenser doesn't feel at all sturdy and, as it's so wide, it's difficult for me to actually pump (I have very small hands). Ultimately, it's just a big, clunky, flimsy mess of a bottle.


CONSISTENCY

Once I've eventually managed to get the product out of the bottle, it's apparent that it has a light, whipped consistency with a slight pink tone. The application isn't particularly even, so it needs quite a thick coverage in order to moisturise my whole face. However, the moisturiser has a very, very, very heavy floral scent which is really quite overpowering. Of course, the heavier the application, the stronger the scent, and it lingers on the skin for a long time. It doesn't absorb particularly well and leaves a tacky residue which feels horrible. 

INGREDIENTS

I'll only briefly mention the ingredients as I'm the first to admit that I don't know much about the ingredients of products and how they work. However, I do know that SPF=good. I'm fanatic about using SPF so it's really handy for me that this moisturiser is factor 15. Not quite as good as Lush British Nanny's SPF30 but 15 is better than 0! 

Olay also promises that this moisturiser is packed with VitaNiacin Complex. Don't you hate it when beauty brands use pseudoscientific jargon to sell their products? This seems to just be a made-up word that means "we have included vitamin B3, C and E" which help calm redness, promote firmness and increase moisture. I find just listing the vitamins much more effective than using ridiculous vocabulary that baffles consumers, but that's just me!

RESULTS

OK, remember those promised results? Some, such as the hydration of skin, were realised (but then you expect that from a moisturiser, surely?). However, after three weeks of gritting my teeth and powering through with this, other results are still yet to emerge. I don't have the patience to stick with something that doesn't make me feel amazing while I'm using it so it's not something I will ever repurchase, unfortunately.

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