Stop the clock, I've found the key! (Boots Time Delay Repair Face & Neck Moisturiser)

Member Name: missbrowneyedgirl

Product:	Boots Time Delay Repair Face & Neck Moisturiser
Date:	23/01/02 (1420 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: applies well, feels great, has special 'magic' bits

Disadvantages: scary ingredients list

A familiar cry to those of us who remember the delightful Anneka 'rear of the year' Rice, running around the English Countryside, sometimes in a helicopter, trying to find treasure. Anyway, I'm showing my age, and rambling again but in this (rare) instance it's somewhat relevant.

Those of you who have been following my antics of late, which may not be many of you since the endless Ibiza stories, will know I've been cleaning my drawers after a moisturiser disaster. Not those drawers, cheeky! To cut a long story short (which I agree is most unlike me) I ran out of moisturiser, and found a collection of samples in my drawers. And here, I pay a homage, of sorts, to my latest sample:

Boots Time Delay Repair Face and Neck Moisturiser
A bit of a mouthful isn't it. I think we'll just call it time delay from now on...;)

As I recall, I plucked this sample from between the pages of Boots Health & Beauty magazine, which is delivered free to (some) Advantage Card holders. Please don't ask me why I get it and others don't. I really don't have a clue. All I can suggest is to contact Customer Services either through the wellbeing.com website or on 0845 845 4545 (8am to 6pm Monday - Friday).

Anyway, the sample was there to help promote the Time Delay range, which has been recently launched by Boots to fill the 'anti-aging' gap in their own brand products. Time Delay, as it's name suggests helps to protect against, repair and conceal the signs of aging. Which leads nicely into the three sub-ranges which, as you may have guessed, are called Protect, Repair and Conceal.

The range totals around 18 products including basics like cleanser, toner and moisturiser, and also more obscure products like feet, knees & elbows treatment! However, I only have one product to tell you about so I'll let you read about the rest on the Boots website: http://www.wellbeing.com/features/feature.jsp?art
icleId=1000844

So, getting back to *deep breath* Time Delay Repair Face and Neck Moisturiser... The sample I had is of the day cream but it is also available as a night cream too. As it's name now shows, it is part of the repair range, and therefore is aimed at those who are too old to simply Protect...;)

Actually, in the Boots magazine I fell into the following category: Women in their Twenties, with skin showing signs of ageing - especially if they drink, smoke, suffer stress or are not sleeping enough. Well that sounds just like me, apart from the sleeping bit which I'm quite good at...;)

The sachet kindly explained to me that the product 'helps skin look younger with repair & UV protect complex'. Also it has been dermatologically proved to be kind to skin and is non-pore blocking. I was impressed. It sounded quite special and on the reverse was a more detailed description of the 'magic' parts.

Apparently the cream not only combats UV rays but also pollution and stress! Now this seemed a little far fetched. Anti-pollution complex is fair enough but combat stress? Was this moisturiser going to make my job easier or something? Dismissing that as artistic licence, I read on to discover the active ingredients.

First up is the repair complex which apparently uses the repairing power of proretinol and prolift. Proretinol I have heard of, if only from the Roc adverts, and a quick search on the web not only confirmed to me that it's in every face cream on the planet (OK, I exaggerate) but also informed me that it is a betacarotene. See, you learn something new every day!

Prolift is a completely different story and was clarified further with 'white lupin extract and a skin firming ingredient'. Forgive me if I'm mistaken but isn't a white lupin a flower? And a mystery ingredient? This must be the magic bit, or at least the result Mr Boots conferring with Colonel KFC about secr
et recipes. We had best leave this well alone!

The next active part it the 'protect complex' which apparently is 'the protecting power of antioxidants (apple, ginseng and vitamin C) and calming oat extract'. I like the sound of this for several reasons. Firstly antioxidants are supposed to get rid of cellulite so they must be good for you, secondly I'm a vitamin C junkie, thirdly I'm always swayed toward the natural product and throwing some oats in has done it for me and finally I just LOVE product with crazy special ingredients. For the men among you, don't worry about this bit - that's just girl logic for you - you'll never understand it or be able to reason with it...;)

Next on the magic list is the important 'balanced UVA/UVB protection'. So important to prevent aging, even in the winter. The product also carries an SPF8 which I think is marvellous although it is not recommended for sunbathing. I have noticed that the majority of brands are starting to include the SPF so there's no excuse for not looking after our faces anymore! I get doubly protected as I apply my Clarins Smart Stick over the top. I'm sure you'll all be jealous when I look great at 40!

Now, before I drift completely into dreamland, I'll tell you about our last magic trick which is 'light diffusing particles'. These I have also heard of. It's a little trick really. You see these particles sit on your face (don't worry, they're too small to notice) and reflect light in all directions to give the illusion of brighter and smoother skin. Clever stuff!

Below the magic ingredients is the ordinary ingredients list and to be honest it's a little frightening! Staring off nicely with 'aqua', the list then frighteningly proceeds through 43 more items of varying chemical sounding names! Some of the names appear just to be Latin, and would therefore have been a lot less scary writ
ten in plain English. This list really does scare you!

But, I had come so far and I had to try the thing out now, so I gingerly opened the sachet. To my relief there was no steam, smoke, gunge or growing aliens inside. Just a nicely thick white cream. Probably about the consistency of a natural yoghurt.

It has a very light synthetic floral scent which smells particularly clean, kind of like fresh washing. The product applies really well and absorbs nicely, and more importantly it feels quite good! I wouldn't have ranked it quite as well as my beloved Clarins but it's certainly pretty close!

The sample I had lasted me for four days and although I didn't notice any spectacular difference in my skin, Boots never claimed that I should. It cured the dry skin caused by my previous tester (Olay Touch) and in general left my skin in very good condition. I suppose the only way to test for any 'magic' properties would be to do a long-term test on the product, possibly combining it with others from the Time Delay range.

The wellbeing.com website lists the results of this product as follows:
* skin is instantly smoother and more radiant
* skin is visibly younger looking day by day
* wrinkles and fine lines are reduced
* skin is firmer and more supple
* the complexion is more even

The products in the range aren't exactly cheap - prices start at £5.50 for the foaming face wash and climb ever upward throughout the range. I did notice that the Protect moisturiser is cheaper than the Repair one (Protect is £10.50 for 50ml compared to Repair's £12.50), but why I cannot say. However, the products all seem to be top range equivalents and are effectively at least half the price of their branded equivalents.

In conclusion I would recommend this moisturiser and I would certainly consider it if my two favourite Clarins moisturisers weren't available for some reason. Plus
, bonus, you can have it for free with Advantage Card points! Give it a go - you might be pleasantly surprised too!

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