| Product: |
Boots Natural Collection Ice Musk Body Spray |
| Date: |
21/07/04 (182 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Great value, I know of nothing better for the price, The packaging is not tacky and can quite easily be tucked away tactfully on a desk
Disadvantages: Packaging is quite cheap and therefore doesn't look the strongest.
One morning a couple of months ago I trundled along a country lane in my little car to pick up my friend on the way to college. Narrowly avoiding splashing her with a muddy puddle as I pulled over outside her house, I leant over and unlocked the door. As per usual she collapsed into the passenger seat dropping a small mountain of bags, textiles samples, sketchbooks and other art-studenty things around my car before pausing and saying ?ooh, you smell nice!?.
This meant I had a big relieved grin on my face for the rest of the journey to college, as that morning had not started well. Having been up late working on coursework the night before, I was knackered ? a problem not helped when my alarm clock didn?t come back on after I hit Snooze (probably my fault as I did whack it quite soundly). Things were made worse when, still half-deranged with sleep, I tried to figure out what was wrong with it and no matter how many times I flicked the switch to ?Off?, the wretched thing wouldn?t stop beeping after that. It was as I hit it again that I caught sight of the display and realised how late I was.
How does this link back to the products of the Boots Natural Collection, you ask? Well, let me explain. You know how on an average day, when you?re a bit rushed, you expect the odd small thing to go wrong? Maybe you forget to put a certain shirt in the wash, or you can?t find a matching pair of socks so you walk around shouldering the dirty secret that you?ve got Snoopy on one foot and Garfield on the other all day? Well this day came at the end of a week packed with these little mistakes ? I?d left all my washing until the last minute, I couldn?t find any matching socks, I was running late and because I?d been working so late the night before ? yes, you?ve guessed it ? I?d forgotten to put a clean shirt out to dry.
Therefore, this incredibly late student was running around in scruffy old jeans trying to pull on mismatched socks having only had time fo
r a quick wash rather than a long, gentle shower to start my day. I had to gulp my tea just to get enough caffeine to fuel my leaving the house, rather than savouring my morning mug full like normal. And, of course, my shirt was soaking wet in the bottom of the washing machine. So were almost all of my other tops, with the exception of one which makes me look like I have the figure of Pauline from Eastenders (so no chance of wearing that one) and the one I?d worn the day before. This one turned out to be languishing on the floor of my bedroom, with a cat sleeping on it, but there was no other option. Sending the cat flying, I grabbed the shirt, tried to dust off as much hair as possible, and pulled it on, feeling every bit as naff and grubby as possible in the situation. Some form of perfume would definitely be needed, but the only one I could find was a Boots Natural Collection Ice Musk spray that I?d bought the week before. Given the low price I paid for it (about £2.50 I think) and the watery appearance, I really didn?t think it would do the trick and keep me smelling as fresh as possible given the circumstances for the rest of the college day.
So my friend?s compliment came as a huge relief. I did confess to her the shirt situation and she laughed and told me that she was wearing the same skirt as the day before for the exact same reason (minus the cat), so it?s just as well I didn?t get her with that puddle after all.
Anyway, that explains how I came to be a fan of this body spray, so if you?re intrigued as to why it?s so great, I?ll get to the more technical stuff.
The Product
Natural Collection Body Spray in Ice Musk comes in a quite narrow, clear plastic bottle with a frosted white plastic lid and cloudy-white spray mechanism ? this part is just a standard, quite cheap-looking spray pump that you usually find on this kind of products. Whilst it has not happened to be yet, I would not be surprised if they broke quite eas
ily.
The lid is also quite rigid with very little give or bend, so it probably wouldn?t take much to crack or shatter. The spray mechanism is just a screw-on lid, so it is easily removable. Therefore if you wanted you could refill the bottle with water or something after you?ve used all the spray, maybe to cool down on hot summer days ? but make sure you wash it out thoroughly beforehand though.
The clear bottle is slightly bendier than the lid but I still wouldn?t be surprised if it broke quite easily as, when you?re only paying £2.50 for a product, you can?t expect great packaging. I?d just say be careful you don?t put it in a bag and throw it down in case a leak did spring somewhere and it went everywhere!
The bottle has two mostly-clear labels on it, one on the front with the name of the product and a funky little design involving cartoon snowflakes. The back label includes all the ingredients, product description, ingredients etc.
The bottle contains 150ml of Body Spray.
The tube part of the spray mechanism reaches right down to the bottom of the bottle so you can use virtually all of the product if you tilt the bottle the right way, and there is no settling residue from the product at the bottom of the bottle. In terms of looks, there is nothing to fault this ? it is an almost completely clear liquid, it is only very, very slightly cloudy.
The Smell
Well you probably won?t thank me for telling you this but I may as well state the obvious ? it smells musky. This is both a good and a bad thing. It?s a classic scent, musk, easily recognisable and not too overpowering. However, this is where the cheap product syndrome kicks in slightly ? it isn?t a very soft scent, there is quite a tang and a kick to it, but it?s not at all what I would call unpleasant.
When you first spray this on, say a patch onto your wrist, the smell is quite strong, possibly too much so, but it dries very quickly and yo
u are lef
t with a very tactful scent ? also by this time it does not seem to sharp and tangy.
I do find that this product wears off quite quickly compared to more expensive perfumes, but after all it is just a body spray so I?d say for the price it?s good value as it lasts about an hour, maybe more. Also in hot summer conditions it?s very refreshing on your skin and the light, refreshing scent is quite energising when you?re fed up of feeling sticky and hot.
The Science Part
The ingredients on this and similar products are a mystery to me but for the record they are:
Alcohol denant
Aqua
Parfum
Triclosan
The back label describes the product as a ?Kaleidoscope scent to revive body and mind. Spray lightly over body to refresh skin. Avoid contact with face, eyes and broken or irritated skin. Avoid contact with polished, painted and plastic surfaces?. This is followed by, in capital letters ?Keep out of reach of children. Caution: Flammable?. The product is Dermatologically tested. Well done to Boots for shoe-horning in the word ?Kaleidoscope? there, no matter what it is meant to mean!
It is worth bearing in mind the Flammable warning as, being a cheap and cheerful spray that is in the budget of kid?s pocket money, this appears deceptively watery and harmless. The bit about contact with eyes etc is why I said you should wash the bottle thoroughly if you want to reuse it. Some products do say not to reuse the packaging, I cannot find a similar warning on this one.
The above warnings are also printed in French, Italian and German on the label, but the writing?s quite small and sometimes hard to make out.
The Overall Opinion
For the money, this is a great version of a classic, versatile scent that is very refreshing on hot skin and also strong enough to mask the smell of cat (and bedroom floor) on shirts! The bottles also last quite a long time ? I do use this a lot, three
applications a
day maybe, and they usually last about a month. For going out I?d rather wear something more tactful and expensive, but day-to-day I find it hard to beat this product. I also find that, although it only lasts really an hour or so, it still beats most similar products in terms of longevity. The packaging is simple and not too tacky so all in all, there is very little wrong with this product. There is also the added benefit that Boots often have 3-for-2 offers or sales on their own ranges, so it is possible to pick this up even cheaper.
I do not have a knowledge of all the range of Sprays but I have also tried Poppy which is very tactful and light, and other scents available include Ginger and Lemon, which is not to everyone?s liking, it?s very overpowering but at the same time very sharp and distinctive. For what it?s worth, it makes good fly repellent when you?re trying to keep midges away from your drinks on an evening in a pub garden!
Summary:
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