As many of you who are regular readers of my reviews will know, I am always on the lookout for a bargain or two and try and save pennies on products where possible. This often means I buy cheaper products and have often done this with oral care products. I realise now this was a mistake as to me, oral care is really important so I now buy products which are best for my mouth, rather than the cheapest versions.

I often swap products when I run out of something as you don't know how good a product is until you try it. One of the best mouthwash's I have used thus far is probably the most expensive you can get, but it does do a fantastic job. This is Listerine's Total Care mouthwash.

When I first scoured the shelves in Boots for a new mouthwash, I realised I had never tried a Listerine mouthwash even though they are a leading brand so I decided to go for this brand. I never realised how many different types of mouthwash one company could have as there were quite a few but for no particular reason, I went for the Total Care one.

The colour of the wash is a nice purple/pinky colour which is quite a refreshing change from the normal sea blue colour of a mouthwash. This mouthwash claims to help you in 6 different ways, giving you 'Total Care'.

Apparently it kills up to 97% germs, reduces plaque by up to 56%, provides up to 24hour fresh breath protection, maintains healthy gums, keeps teeth whiter and strengthens your teeth. If it did all this I would be very impressed.

I can't obviously comment on the actual statistics of reducing plaque, germs etc, but what I can say is that this mouthwash was better than any other I have tried before. My teeth felt so clean and white after using this stuff and my mouth just felt generally so fresh and clean. This gives you the confidence that you have nice, fresh breath too. After using this for a few weeks, although I can't prove it, I do believe that the statistics could well be true as I could really feel a noticeable difference in the health and feel of my mouth after using this mouthwash over my cheaper mouthwash and it really does prove that you get what you pay for.

This one wasn't as strong as others I had tried in terms of taste, yet the mintiness seemed to last longer. Some mouthwashes can be so strong in terms of taste that it hits you quite dramatically when you consume it, but you just don't get that sharpness with this one. I wouldn't say it gave me 24 hour fresh breath, but it was longer lasting than any other I had tried before and it really makes you confident that all germs and nasty things in your mouth have been eliminated.
The consistency of the mouthwash is very water like as most are but I do know a couple have a slightly thicker more gel like consistency but this is a standard watery mouthwash which I prefer as I find it easier to gargle.

I personally tend to try and keep this in my mouth, swilling it around all areas of my mouth for about 30 seconds or so and this is quite easy compared to others I have tried due to it not being quite as strong tasting. Some are a little overpowering and quite nasty but this one isn't too bad at all.

The only gripe with this mouthwash is the cost really. You can purchase it in 500ml or 1lr bottles with the costs being £4.20 and £7.65 respectively which is quite expensive considering you can get a cheap bottle of mouthwash for just £1.00 from stores such as Wilkinsons and Tescos, but now having tried Listerine, I don't think I could go back to using these ones again as although they are ok, compared to this one they just don't seem to provide the same protection. The main thing I seem to get from cheaper ones is fresh breath, but as you can tell from the above list, you get far more from this mouthwash and this is about providing complete protection for your mouth as well as giving you fresh breath.

Overall, aside from the cost, this is the best mouthwash I have tried. It really does seem to give complete protection to all aspects of your mouth and not only did I have lovely fresh breath, my teeth and gums looked and felt healthier and I really do have confidence in this product. All in all, I highly recommend this mouthwash if you can afford the price tag as it does everything you need a mouthwash too and more.