A budget buy from Boots (Boots 24-Hour Antiperspirant Roll-On)

Member Name: Kukana

Product:	Boots 24-Hour Antiperspirant Roll-On
Date:	27/11/03 (78 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Inexpensive, Works well, Pleasant scent, but not over-powering

Disadvantages: Only sold in Boots

In our house we get through a fair amount of anti-perspirant/deodorant, with two adults and two teenage boys. So I like to keep a couple in the bathroom cupboard, and am always on the look-out for inexpensive ones. I'm not fussy about brand, but I won't buy the spray type. I know they're no longer harmful as aerosols used to be, but I find they're a bit wasteful (it's hard to spray accurately under the arm) and I always end up with a vile taste in my mouth, no matter how careful I am about keeping it closed. So I buy roll-ons. We've tried several brands, mostly shops' own or whatever is on special offer, and they all seem to work reasonably well.

A few months ao I was in Boots, and noticed that their 24-hour roll-ons, usually 99p each, were on a '3 for the price of 2' offer. They're not all that big (50 ml) and they didn't look terribly exciting - just white opaque plastic containers with brightly coloured lids and a matching label with the '24' in large white letters. But I really don't care what they look like, and this seemed too good a deal to resist, so I bought two labelled Polar (with royal blue lids) and one labelled Sport (with a turquoise lid).

* First impressions *

I first tried a Polar one. I was pleased to find that on opening it, the roller worked well. Some deodorants take a while to get going, as the roller seems to get stuck, but there were no problems with this one. It may be because it's rather larger than most deodorant roller-balls, or it may be that the whole container is plastic - I find that when the bottle part is glass they seem to be more prone to getting stuck.

The smell wasn't anything remarkable, but I found it pleasant. It was the kind of perfume I associate with freshness - cool with a hint of some kind of flowers; a little overpowering when close to the nostrils, but I only tried that once. It went on easily and dried
quickly, with no hint of any stinging or discomfort.

When that was finished, I tried the Sports one. The roller did take slightly longer to get started, but perhaps that's because it had been in the bathroom cupboard for a while. I found it had less of a scent than the Polar one, such that it was almost unnoticeable, but otherwise it was quite similar.

* How long does the 50ml last? *

The first Polar one lasted me nearly six weeks. I've been using the sports one for a couple of weeks, now. It feels as if it's about half full when I shake it, but it's impossible to tell accurately. A distinct advantage of glass bottled deodorants is being able to see how much is left, but it's not really a big deal. If it lasts another three weeks, I shall be quite content.

* Does it work? *

I'm not a particularly active person, and I shower every morning, so I tend to assume that a deodorant will do its job, and not worry about it. However, unquestionably there was sometimes been a bit of a whiff in the past at the end of a warm day in the summer, or after doing some heavy gardening, with the majority of deodorants I've used. Thus it was quite a surprise after one warm day in October, when I'd done a fair bit of walking and had felt quite sticky, to find that when I lay down on the sofa for a moment, and threw my arms back to stretch, I noticed a gentle, flowery aroma... further investigation revealed this to be coming from the region of my armpits. The rest of me might have perspired freely, but my under-arms were dry, and still smelling sweet, courtesy of Boots.

And the claim of 24-hour protection? Well.. I don't notice any smell of sweat first thing in the morning before I take my shower. The scent of deodorant was pretty faint when using the Polar, non-existent when using the Sport, but as it was going to be washed away and replenished, it didn't need to be strong. Sin
ce I need a regular 8 hours' sleep I can't imagine ever needing 24-hour deodorant protection, but - for what it's worth - it does seem to live up to its claims.

* Details *

There are the usual warnings - not to use on damaged skin, to keep away from children, and that it's extremely flammable. The list of ingredients is shorter than I've seen on other deodorants, but as I've no idea what most of them are I'm not sure if this if this is a positive thing, as it would be on processed food.

* Will I use this again? *

Yes, if I'm near a Boots. It's a pity that their own products aren't sold more widely, since I find some of them very good value, every bit as useful as higher priced branded goods. I chose it because of the special offer, but would happily pay the full 99p for this in future.

Summary: