Bring me Sunshine (Olay Total Effects Touch of Sunshine)

Member Name: bondgirlk8

Product:	Olay Total Effects Touch of Sunshine
Date:	04/01/09 (343 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Moisturises well, reduces 'ageing', 'tan' looks natural

Disadvantages: Bit expensive; over-packaged

I am massively paranoid about ageing and do everything I can to preserve my looks. As a result, I started on the anti-wrinkle products at around the age of 21. I must be doing something right as I will be 30 tomorrow and still frequently get ID'ed.

Anyhoo, this means I'm always on the look out for some good moisturiser to ensure I'm still digging out the driving license as I work through my forth decade. Though I tend to stick to products that I know work, I do like to mix it up now again for fear my skin will 'get used to it' , the product will stop working and I will wake up one morning to find I've gone haggard and my ID'ed days gone forever.

I am also one of those people that will make the most of any freebies they can get and apply for all the free samples the internet can provide.

My latest corker of a free sample was a little bottle of Olay Total Effects Touch of Sunshine which promises to fight the 7 signs of ageing. In my mind, an excellent freebie - and the second anti-ageing miracle cream I have found in this way. The other, I might review soon.

As you can tell, I liked it and have since treated myself to a whole bottle of the stuff. I guess free samples work for both of us!


WHAT IS IT?

Total Effects Touch of Sunshine is a moisturising cream intended for daily use which promises to fight the 7 signs of ageing as well as build a light tan. This is described on the bottle as a 'light sun-kissed glow' (dark sun-kissed glow is also available in the range). The product also contains SPF 15 protection from the sun.

This cream is intended to be used in the morning, and there is also a complimenting night cream in the range- I do not use both as don't wish my 'tan' to be anything more than very subtle! I use a non-tanning night cream that I discovered via free sample instead!

So what are the 7 signs of ageing? Despite the adverts (which I think do tell you very quickly), I could never quite work out what exactly the 7 signs were. I tried to count them but always failed, and so include them here (direct from the Olay website) so that you know what we are dealing with:

1. Line minimization: Visibly reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles
2. Nourishing Moisturisation: Intensively hydrates the skin
3. Tone Enhancement: Balances colour and visibly evens skin tone
4. Gentle Exfoliation: Smoothes and evens skin texture
5. Pore Refinement: Minimises the appearance of pores
6. Brightening: For radiant, healthy glow.
7. Spot minimisation: Reduces appearance of age spots

Basically, 'ageing' manifests itself by making you wrinkly, dry, blotchy, rough and dull with open pores and age spots. Oh what fun the future holds. Hopefully this product will indeed help me to fight that nightmare.


PRICE

As I mentioned above Olay, like any good dealer, gave me my first hit for free. It successfully hooked me and I went out to try to score some more. It is pretty expensive, and the RRP for a 50ml bottle is £16.99 so I held out and used my other samples until locating it on offer. I picked it up in Sainsbury's last weekend for £11.00

Most anti-wrinkle cream is on the pricey side, and I'm not quite sure any of it is worth the amounts they charge, so as I general rule I only ever buy it on offer. This product, however, is one of the better ones...for me at any rate, and is worth paying (at least the on-offer rates) for.


PACKAGING

The bottle (like most things in this over-packaged world) comes in a box which is itself wrapped in cellophane. Personally, I would prefer the bar code be printed straight on the bottle, but that is how I feel about most things if I am honest.

The box is black and glossy, with bright yellow colours to represent the sunshine. The Olay name and the product name are clear and the box, on the shelf, looks appealing.

Inside is a bottle which is mainly a very pale yellow colour, with a black top which is pressed down to dispense the moisturiser. There is a clear lid which is placed over this section when the bottle is not in use. The brand name Olay is written in black with the product name in gold, and again some bright yellow colours on the label represent the fact that there is sunshine within.

The pressing down method of dispensing the moisturiser works very well for me and I find it to be a relatively successful way of ensuring most of the product is reached and therefore used. It does not entirely empty the bottle, but by the stage where there is nothing else coming out, I will dismantle the bottle and locate the elusive bit of cream providing me with an extra day or two of use. The dispenser does, however, deliver a good amount of cream (a generous finger-tip amount) and I will need only 2 or 3 squishes to provide suitable coverage to my face and neck (TIP to people new to moisturisers - always make sure you moisturise your neck as well as your face - last thing you want as you age is a premature turkey neck!!). I've never had the problem of it dispensing too much and not being able to put it back in the tube.


SCENT

The scent of this product really took me by surprise....it's nice! I've only ever owned one 'tan building' product before that works in the same way as this one (i.e. white cream, goes on clear, builds up a tan). Of that other product (which I won't name right now) I had both the body cream and the facial moisturiser. They both reeked.

This product, however, smells lovely. There is none of the icky chemical whiff that accompanied the other (and left lingering about my person all day after use), and instead it smells...'fresh' I think is the best word. It reminds me a little bit of sun-cream, in a nice way that just smells like holidays. I haven't noticed it leave a smell on my skin either, which I think on the whole is a good thing for a moisturiser.


TEXTURE AND APPLICATION

The cream is silky and feels smooth. It is a good level of thickness being neither too runny nor so thick it is difficult to apply well. I would, ideally, like it to be a tiny, tiny tad thicker - but that is just me being picky.

It rubs in very well and does not feel greasy to apply or sit on top of your skin, struggling to be absorbed.

The press dispenser, mentioned above, aids the application process and means that you do not get covered in the stuff.

It is wise to have a good hand wash after application to ensure that you do not end up with tanned fingertips - never a good look!


IMMEDIATE RESULTS

As soon as I applied this product to my face, I knew I liked it. I made my face feel soft, smooth and moisturised. It did not feel too greasy and felt like it was going to be a good base for my make-up. It was indeed a good base, and my make up went smoothly on top of it.


LONGER TERM EFFECTS

I don't know about the 7 signs, but my big paranoia areas (unsurprisingly) are around my eyes and mouth. I've definitely not noticed anything get worse and I think they do actually look better.

Sadly, I don't think anything will stop me from having open pores on my face - I do think though that this is a fact of my skin as I don't remember a time not having a problem with open pores.

My skin is not too dry which, given the time of year, I think is a good indication that this product is working for me.

The colour and tone of my skin does seem to have a bit more of a glow about it than usual and I love the way this actually looks pretty natural. The other product I tried made me look a little bit plastic and I also had problems with darker patches where I had applied more cream or not rubbed it in so well. I've not noticed that with this and I am, overall, pretty happy with the results.

I'd say this is my overall 2nd favourite anti-ageing day moisturiser (I might review my first favourite soon), but it is my 1st favourite for the winter due to the sunshine it brings to my face.

Thanks for reading

© BondgirlK8 - January 2009

Summary: Sunshine in the winter, and less wrinkles - give it a try.