Not as good as I remember (Cussons Carex)

Member Name: Donnabroom

Product:	Cussons Carex
Date:	26/08/09 (28 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Makes hands soft, smells nice

Disadvantages: Doesn't lather much, hands fon't feel really clean

Carex Original Handwash:

My first memories of Carex Original are from my school days, the school nurse had some in her little room where I often went to take my painkillers, (I had a hiking accident at age 10 which caused me to have a displaced knee cap for nearly six years). I loved the smell of Carex right from the start and when I saw it on offer in the supermarket the other day, (having not used it for a few years), I decided to try it again.

Carex original comes in a square-ish bottle with a dark aqua/blue pump dispenser on the top. The bottle is tinted white but clear enough so you can see the aqua coloured Handwash inside. I guess it's reasonably attractive but it's also plain enough to go in most bathrooms and kitchens without looking out of place. The labels are simple and understated, (which is something I like), but convey all the information you need.

Now I am sure I can remember Carex being more expensive, (it can widely be purchased for around £1.00 in supermarkets and often is even cheaper on special offer), and I am sure I can remember it being better too. Maybe they have cut the price to be competitive, (there are so many handwashes to choose from these days after all), but as a result had to cut the quality too or maybe I am just remembering it wrong.

Carex is an anti-bacterial Handwash made by Cussons, (one of those claims you'd need to be a chemist to check), and it certainly looks anti-bacterial, it just looks clean and fresh. If we just assume that it is anti-bacterial then that's a good thing what with all the 'bugs' going around oh and swine flu but part of me can't help wonder if all these anti-bacterial products don't just make things worse.

I really love the smell of Carex too; it doesn't smell of anything in particular just clean and surprisingly sweet. It smells a bit like some of the stuff that is marketed as "sea-breeze" or "ocean fresh" which smells nothing like either, (i.e. sewerage, rotting sea-weed, fish and chips and salty sea water- yuk), or else you would never buy it! The smell lasts on my hands until the next time I wash them, (unless I am cooking), and my hands normally smell of Carex when I wake up too so it lasts well.

Now I am sure this used to lather up more; you only get a measly amount of lather, (more than a lot of soap bars these days but not as much as most other liquid handwashes), which doesn't manage to shift smells like onion or garlic. My hands don't feel as clean and fresh as I remember them feeling and not as clean as most other handwashes I have used either. For me this is a big letdown as I like my hands to feel REALLY clean after I wash them.

For something that I remember being so good I was totally let down by Carex Original. It is merely just another average Handwash in an endless sea of handwashes rather than the stand0out product it used to be. On the positive side though there are loads of moisturisers added now so your hands don't get dry at all using this and in fact, after a few day my hands were noticeably softer than before.

Summary: Just another handwash