Blot Away (Marks & Spencer Beauty Care Blotting Papers)

Member Name: blonde_girl774

Product:	Marks & Spencer Beauty Care Blotting Papers
Date:	04/03/09 (362 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cute Packaging, Easy to Store & Handy if Oily Skin Appears.

Disadvantages: Not the Best Way to Spend £3.

I seem to be unexplainably drawn towards the body care and make up area every time I visit Marks and Spencer as if by an invisible force. I can be browsing the clothing or food quite happily when I suddenly find myself walking towards the beauty area, eager to see what new products they've had in. I'm quite a fan of the range here and have found most of the products I've used to be good value for money and of a high quality.

Marks and Spencer was founded in a market in Leeds back in the 1880s when a Polish refugee named Michael Marks began to sell a variety of items including nails, screws and soap. In 1894 he formed a partnership with Thomas Spencer and so the Marks and Spencer empire was formed. The brand has simply grown from this day and now boasts a range of beauty products, clothing, food and home ware items too.

The body care and make up range was launched in stores in the latter half of the twentieth century and has grown considerably in size from its original launch date. The company now offers four make up ranges, various skin care products including an economy range, hair care products and self tan ranges too. It would be quite easy to get your entire skin care and make up regime from Marks and Spencer alone now.

The Product

The Beauty Care Blotting Papers caught my eye on a recent visit to Marks and Spencer. They were located near the make up accessories counter which houses things like cotton wool and make up brushes. Their packaging seems to be quite standard of the other products on this counter; it consists of a white cardboard box with large blue writing on giving the product name and grey writing stating they are "for shine control."

The back of the box has a little more detail regarding the product included how you should use them and what they are for. You can open the cardboard box quite easily and you'll be presented with a frosted plastic container which is about three and a half inches by two inches. The plastic container has the same words as the cardboard box imprinted on the front of it, overall it's quite classy looking in a minimalistic way.

To open the plastic container you simply click the little clip at the side to release the top cover, this will then reveal the actual blotting papers to you. The blotting papers are slightly smaller in size than the container in which they are housed in and look to me to be very similar to greaseproof paper in a sense. They are translucent meaning you can see light through them but they're not see through like glass is.

The purpose of blotting paper is to remove excess oil from the skin, especially the facial area as oil here can make the skin appear both greasy and shiny, especially in the warmer months of the year. They also help to provide an all over matt complexion effect on the face by reducing any areas that are particularly oily or shiny. Overall the effect is very much like greaseproof paper on a much smaller scale than in the kitchen!

To use the blotting papers simply select one from the plastic container and gently blot it over any areas showing signs of oil. I always find I'm particularly susceptible to oil on my forehead and nose, especially during the summer months. You simply need to press the paper onto these areas for a quick second and you'll find that when you remove them you can see where the grease or oil has been absorbed into the paper.

The overall effect of these papers isn't really that noticeable, it's more about what they remove from your skin rather than what they add to it. If you use them on areas of grease then you'll find that these areas automatically appear less oily and less shiny instantly. They do have a positive effect and when I lent one to my friend she was amazed that they soaked in all the oil from her forehead, making her much less shiny!

My Opinion

I think that these blotting papers to work really well and are a great investment if you suffer from a lot of grease or shine on your face. They do remind me of my older relatives who always used to carry blotting paper around in their handbags, I think it is quite an old fashioned tradition really! I've certainly not seen them in any other shops recently so they do seem to be quite unique to Marks and Spencer indeed.

The box itself contains one hundred blotting papers in total and will set you back a mere £3.00. As to whether or not they are worth it well I don't regret my purchase as I have found them quite handy to carry around although I don't imagine I'll be buying them again, purely because I think the money could be put towards some other beauty item that I need more or is considered more vital, I can deal with a bit of shine!

Thanks for reading.

Summary: Blotting papers to relieve oily skin from Marks & Spencer.