| Product: |
Listerine Pocket Packs |
| Date: |
28/07/05 (1158 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Effective at freshening breath, effect lasts a reasonable amount of time
Disadvantages: Expensive, an initial sticky mouth feel, aftertaste
I used to smoke. I used to smoke a lot. Perhaps this had something to do with my job - I worked in a smoking warehouse in the armpit of London, and I was on the phone most of the day. This is a bad combination.
Smoking has many consequences - many dire, others simply irritating to either myself or those around me. For example, my voice has dropped at least an octave in the last year - I'm certain that could I sing, I'd be a tenor by now. Smoking, especially heavy smoking, also results in ashtray breath. Ashtray breath leaves a nasty taste in my mouth, and a nasty odour for those around me. (I'm soooo glad, re-reading this, that I stopped smoking)
So what I shall I do about it? I don't like extra strong mints - I find them chalky. I think gum chewing is a nasty habit. (Hark at the woman - GUM chewing is nasty - as if smoking isn't!) So what's a gal to do?
Whilst buying my lunch in Asda a while back, I spotted something I'd only seen once before - LISTERINE Cool Mint Actives. Asda were selling these at the cigarette counter (ironic or practical, that) in three packs for £2.68, if I recall. Feeling impulsive, I picked it up, and bought my sandwich, 200 cigarettes and these little 'oral care strips.' "Ah," I thought, "not only will these possibly freshen my breath, but they will also give me op fodder."
So, what did I see before me, sitting innocently on my desk? Well...read on.
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Appearan ce - inner and outer packaging
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Out er
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As I mentioned, I bought a three pack of Listerine Cool Mint Actives. Like (seemingly) everything else these days, they come in a blister pack (oh, I DO hate those) - encased in plastic mounted on a bit of cardboard. The Listerine brand name is in black capitals, flanked on its top by Cool Mint, and below by a yellow "ACTIVES". Ah, so that's what they are. Perhaps, however, the hapless consumer is still none the wiser.
Now we get to the clear plastic window, through which you can see the three little containers of the product.
Below that, you get what I assume is the same text as above. I have to assume, because I cannot speak nor read Greek. Finally, it tells me that the three pack contains 72 'dissolvable strips' (don't you just love marketing speak?!).
Turning the pack over, I find something that REALLY makes me giggle - instructions for use, complete with diagrams. Oh - and the instructions are bilingual too - English and Greek. Much to my relief, it tells me I can 'use Listerine Actives Strips throughout the day as desired'. Guess I won't overdose, then.
These are, apparently, made by Pfizer Consumer Healthcare - does this mean it's a sweet or a medicine? Answers on a postcard. I can also learn, if my eyesight is good, what the expiry date is. So they'll keep a while - though I do wonder - what happens when they go 'off'?
The main colour is that kind of turquoise green-blue.
Inner
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Oooh, these are tiny. Shorter than my thumb in length (and I have very little hands), and maybe half that in width, these would be very easy to lose in a pocket or bag. They are a translucent greenish plastic 'vial'.
On the back, we are told how to store these (in a lead sealed protective germ free atmosphere. I jest). You're supposed to keep them between 15° and 25°C, and keep them dry. The dry bit I get (they'd melt if they were wet - after all, that's what happens when you eat them), but I don't know what terrible events would befall if they were too hot or too cold. The last piece of reasonably important information contained is that the product contains phenylalanine - there is a medical condition that makes suffers sensitive to that ingredient. Finally, it repeats all that information in Greek.
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Appea rance - product
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I pop open the lid (usefully arranged so that a wafer can be slid out) and slide out a wafer. Like the vial itself, the wafers are a translucent greenish colour. They are rectangular, perhaps an inch on the long side. They are very thin - they bring new meaning to the term 'wafer thin mint'. And...well...that's what they look like.
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Taste and Texture
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OK, the moment of truth - the bit you've all waited so patiently for. I pop one into my mouth. The first sensation is that of a slight stickiness - they stick slightly, yet briefly to the roof of my mouth.
The taste hits a second later. These do not taste like extra strong mints; rather, they more resemble minty mouthwash in flavour (not surprising, as Listerine is a brand of mouthwash - and a very popular brand in the States indeed).
That initial stickiness is a bit unpleasant, but the wafer quickly dissolves, leaving just a clean, fresh feeling in the mouth. I do feel as if I've gargled with mouthwash. Furthermore, my mouth now feels moister - again, as if I've just gargled and spit out a capful of mouthwash.
As my boss would have been a wee bit annoyed should I walk up to her and breathe in her face, I will just have to assume for the moment that my breath is indeed fresher. In fact, I can indeed vouch for that, as my daughter keeps nicking them from me, and she has absolutely no qualms about breathing in my face. From the receiving end, as it were, the breath does smell quite minty.
As always, a flavour is very hard to describe. Yes, they are clearly artificially sweetened - but I would expect this in a product that claims that it provides 'oral care' and that it 'kills germs.' It would be slightly counter productive, I feel, if they contained sugar! Sure enough, on the back of the main blister pack, the ingredients do indeed include Aspartame. The product also contains menthol - again, this is quite apparent from the taste. It is the menthol, I suspect, that causes the brief 'burn' - that hot/cold sensation that products that claim to clear your nose generally have. So all in all, yes, it does taste slightly medicinal, but not unpleasantly so - no more so than most mint-flavoured mouthwashes.
It had now been a couple of minutes since I 'ate' (odd term, for something that just dissolves in your mouth, but I can't think of a better one) the wafer. There is a slight aftertaste, no doubt due to the artificial sweetener. The aftertaste is a bit unpleasant, and as soon as I've finished this paragraph, I shall be taking a swig of Coke.
Having said that, though, I've 'eaten' these before when liquid refreshment has not been immediately to hand, and have not noticed the aftertaste quite so strongly. I may be noticing it now because I am looking for it (all in the interests of completeness, you understand).
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FINALLY (you all sigh) - Matty's Verdict
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Think of these not as a sweet or mint, but rather as a mouthwash or 'oral care strip.' On that basis, they succeed admirably. They do make my mouth feel and taste fresher, and they do make (at least my daughter's mouth) smell fresher to outsiders. Yes, they did cut that cigarette taste from my mouth (usually for about ten minutes tops - because another cigarette was bound to swiftly follow).
They are not as sweet as gum or standard mints. They are not really as pleasurable, as sweets go. But they do seem to be more effective. Even after the swig of Coke, my mouth still feels minty and fresh. Now, I can't vouch for the germ killing properties, as I am not prepared to start taking swabs of my mouth and culturing what's in there, but for the moment, I'm happy to take their word for it.
On the down side, the initial stickiness is disconcerting and somewhat unpleasant, though that doesn't' last long. There is a noticeable aftertaste, which may well put some people off. And boy, they are expensive. Checking out the Asda website, one little vial of 24 of these little beauties will set you back 98p - that's 4p a wafer! Just as well you wouldn't want to eat too many of these in one go.
So, in summary:
+-+-+GOOD+-+-+
Effective at freshening breath
No gum to chew nor mints to suck - instant effectiveness
Small, handy container
Long lasting
Supposedly germ killing
+-+-+BAD+-+-+
Expensive!
Initial sticky mouth-feel
Strong mouthwash taste
Artificial sweetener aftertaste
So all in all, would I recommend them? Well...yes, providing you are aware what you are buying. These are not a sweet. They are a breath freshener - an 'oral care strip.' They will, to a point, hide your smoky breath. They may even disguise your 'night on the town' breath.
They will not provide the oral satisfaction substitute that many quitting smokers use to replace cigarettes. They are not suitable as sweets for children (because many young children just wouldn't like them).
So...as long as you buy these with your eyes open (and ideally on special offer), yes I would recommend them.
Three stars - I've taken one off for the price, a half off for the sticky mouth-feel, and another half off for the aftertaste.
My breath was fresh - but then I ate a cheese and onion sandwich. Ah well, nothing lasts forever.
Summary: Listerine Oral Care Strips - an expensive, though effective way of temporarily freshening breath
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