Truth and lies (Revlon Lady Mitchum Lady's Roll On Powder Fresh)

Member Name: ms_memory

Product:	Revlon Lady Mitchum Lady's Roll On Powder Fresh
Date:	15/02/09 (110 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: This DOES provide 48-hour protection and never lets me down

Disadvantages: The claim to 'minimise white marks' is completely untrue

I've been using Mitchum deodorant for several years now, so feel suitably qualified to review this roll-on. However; in the course of considering what to write, I've started to wonder why on Earth I use it!

Mitchum's seductive claim is that it will keep you dry and fresh-smelling for a amazing 48 hours; it even promises 48-hour protection on the packaging - this is its main selling-point, it seems. I remember the bottle's slogan used to scream out, "for problem perspiration" and "so effective you can skip a day" and I was slightly embarrassed for people to see it on my bathroom shelf - I didn't want them thinking I was overly sweaty or that I used it just so I could go 2 days without getting a wash! The 48-hour motto is therefore a lot better, I think, as it's less obvious. This product seems to have moved out of its 'specialist' niche and into the mainstream over the past few years and is now avaliable in supermarkets as well as chemists.

I started to use the Mitchum roll-on when I was a student and doing a lot of early-morning sports practice. Sometimes I had to cycle to lectures straight from training and there wasn't any time to have a shower first. I have to say this product has never let me down. I'm completely confident that I can rely on it to stop me smelling sweaty. It doesn't always keep me 100% dry, but it prevents the level of sweating that marks your clothes. On the odd occasion I've tested the 48-hours claim (e.g. long-haul flights) it has worked. I now find it particularly useful when cycling to work in the summer - we don't have a shower, but with this deodorant I don't need one.

The packaging is an average roll-on bottle shape with a screw-top, though at 100ml it's a little taller than most. It's a clean, sporty green colour and made of very tough plastic which can withstand being dropped on a tiled floor or thrown about in a kit-bag. I've never known the bottles to leak.

The smell, 'Shower Fresh', is subtle - it won't overpower your perfume. It smells a bit too much like washing powder for my liking, but the fragrance is so faint that it doesn't really matter. There's another variety called 'Powder Fresh', which I find overpowering, and a fragrance-free one, which I quite like.

The deodorant is fantastic value. It lasts me absolutely ages - about a year on average, even though I apply a good few strokes every morning. At the time of writing (Feb 2009) it costs around £2.50 in Sainsbury's, but is often on offer in both Boots and the major supermarkets.

So if this product is reliable, well-packaged and great value, what's my problem? Well there are two major drawbacks:

1) Drying time. I do apply 3 strokes of this rather than one, but it's not an excessive amount (as I said, the bottle lasts me around one year). It can take up to 15 minutes to dry, which is ok if I'm lounging around and having breakfast wearing my bathrobe before dressing, but not if I'm in a hurry. I tend to blast my underarm area with a hairdryer on the hottest setting if I've not got much time, which brings the drying time down to about 30 seconds, but this isn't ideal and is the last thing you want to do on a very hot summer's day! Also, when it does dry, it can be very powdery (see point 2) and sometimes the hairdryer method makes it overly dry, which means the skin under the deodrant contracts slightly, which can be uncomfortable. I also find it stings if used straight after shaving or waxing.

2) The dreaded white marks. The bottle I currently have claims that Mitchum 'minimises white marks', but I find this to be completely untrue. In fact, they seem to have got worse since I bought my last few bottles. I used to get around the problem by waiting till the deodorant had dried then skimming over my armpits with a towel to remove any loose powder before dressing. That used to work, but on using my newest bottle with the 'minimising' promise I managed to ruin a beautiful black silky top despite my precautions. I took it off again straight away and washed it but the stains just wouldn't shift.

In conclusion, this is a really well-performing product but the hassle of drying and the white residue it leaves behind make it more trouble than it's worth - I've just got used to it, which is why I've accepted it for so long. I think it's time to start trying out some alternatives, though.

Summary: It works - but it's not a very nice product to use