No girl wants to admit to upper lip hair but let's be honest, we all have it! Fortunately I am fair haired so I don't have to deal with a thick dark moustache, but I do get bothered when I spot pesky little hairs sprouting up on my face and this is why I first began using hair removal products a few years ago.

I'm not a big fan of tweezers as I find it takes a long time to get the job done, plus it's an extended length of pain. I wouldn't ever shave my face either - it would just come back twice as ghastly! I usually use facial wax strips which work wonders but really hurt. On a recent trip to Boots I decided to go for a less painful option - Boots Smooth Care Facial Hair Removing Cream...

**About Boots Smooth Care Facial Hair Removing Cream**

The cream is described as 'Fuss-free and easy to use' and claims to 'remove hair effectively and easily in just 3 minutes without causing irritation'.

The key points on the front of the box are 'quick and easy to use', 'with moisturising shea butter' and 'minimal odour'. It is suitable for those with 'normal skin'.

**Contents**

The cream comes in a smallish pink box. Inside is a 25ml tube of facial hair removal cream, 15ml tube of finishing cream and 1 plastic spatula. Instructions are on the back of the box.

**How to use**

The cream is fairly simple to use. Just apply the product evenly in vertical strips over the skin and use the back of the spatula to spread the product so that all of the hair is covered in a thick even layer (but do not rub it in). The cream should be left for 3 minutes and then a small patch tested with the spatula - if the hair comes away easily then the treatment is complete, if it doesn't come away easily then you should leave for a further 2 minutes (but no longer than 5 minutes). All of the cream should be removed and the area should be rinsed clean with water (no soap). The area should be pat dried with a towel and a thin layer of moisturising finishing cream should be rubbed in gently until absorbed.

**Price & Availability**

Boots Smooth Care Facial Hair Removing Cream is only available at Boots (and Boots.com) and costs just £3.39 (not a bad price for something which seems to last for ages).

**Personal Experience**

I have used this cream on several occasions.

The first time I used the cream I applied a thick amount of cream to my upper lip and spread it across the 'affected' area. It was a really easy process that took a matter of seconds. I left the cream on for 3 minutes and tested a small area. No hair came away so I left it for another 2 minutes. The instructions warn you not to leave on for more than 5 minutes and advise that you use a timer, so I made sure I knew the exact time. I removed the cream with the spatula and to my disappointment I couldn't really see much difference. The amount of hair on the spatula was very minimal, so minimal infact that I could barely see it. By this point my upper lip was really starting to sting so I washed the cream off and noticed the area was red and quite puffy. I applied the finishing cream which seemed to cool down the area. The redness went down within about 10 minutes. I noticed afterwards that the very small amount of hair that was removed had turned quite 'stubbly' to touch - you couldn't see it but it wasn't a very nice sensation, very manly! (This doesn't happen when waxing or using tweezers...)

On the next couple of occasions I applied as before and left for 3 minutes and an extra 3 minutes in hope that an extra minute would make some difference, but it didn't really. I had to use tweezers to finish the job off instead. Thankfully my upper lip wasn't as red or puffy on these occasions but I still felt slight irritation. The stubbly effect was quite obvious again afterwards.

My last experience was slightly better. I left the cream on for a total of around 6 minutes and it seemed to remove slightly more hair than usual, with very little irritation. There was visible hair on the spatula and less visible hair on my upper lip. Although again the tweezers were still required to remove the few remaining hairs unfortunately. Surprisingly the stubbly effect wasn't as obvious on this occasion, but was still there to touch.

The cream is described as 'minimal odour' but when applied under my nose it doesn't smell too minimal! It has quite a strong chemically odour, not eye-wateringly strong but still very obvious. The finishing cream is quite nice - it cools down the area, moisturises and smells pleasant (a little coconutty - similar to sun cream in my opinion).

Overall, the good points of this cream are that it's quick and easy to apply/use, the finishing cream isn't bad and it's an almost painless way of removing hair. The bad points of this cream are that it's not hugely effective at removing hair, it has an odd stubbly effect and can irritate skin. Looks like it may be back to painful waxing for me!