I have to say that the reason I originally bought Ariel washing powder is because my boyfriend was using it (this is before we moved in together) and the smell reminded me of him. He would only use Ariel Colour powder and that was because he loved the smell. Before meeting my current beau, I simply bought whatever was on special offer, or, if there were no special offers, I bought the shop's own brand washing powder. Nowadays, I almost always buy Ariel, not just because it smells like my fella, but because it really is a superior product.

The Ariel Colour box is a lovely purple shade, so you can easily identify the Colour powder on the shelf as the Non-Bio powder is blue and the regular powder is green. It has Ariel written across the front of the box is big red letters, with Colour written underneath in multi-coloured letters and the Ariel swirly logo above. On the side of the box you will find the instructions for use and dosing guide. You can get up to 15 washes per box if you are washing lightly soiled garments in a soft water area.

The powder itself is soft and white in colour, with little blue flecks. To use the powder, you simply pour the desired amount straight into your washing machine drawer. Never use this product directly on fabric. It is a good idea to get yourself a dosing device or use something else to measure how much powder you use so that you don't use too much, which is bad for the environment and bad for your purse! I tend to find that I need about 100-150ml of product as I live in a very hard water area so I don't get as many washes per box as someone living in a soft water area. The powder dissolves completely and there is never anything left lurking in the drawer - with other brands I have found that sometimes there is a residue that can build up and be a nightmare to remove.

On a 40 degree wash, I have found that I am able to mix an array of different coloured clothing together and they come out of the wash clean and bright, and none of the colours have run. I even use Ariel Colour powder on my whites as it is so effective, including on those make-up smeared towels! I have bought regular Ariel in the past for my whites, but one day I had run out and needed to do a white wash so I used the Colour powder and found it to be just as good. On occasion I do buy regular powder if it happens to be on offer, but most of the time I stick to the Colour powder. This is because my clothes are never seriously soiled, but for those of you who have school children with dirty white shirt collars or partners who play cricket, I recommend you use the regular Ariel powder.

My coloured items never fade and my white stay super bright. Clothes retain their shape for longer after being washed in Ariel powder. I have tried some cheaper brands, namely shop brands, and have found they produce cardboard-like clothes! Not with Ariel.

Ariel laundry products can be found in most major supermarkets, such as Sainsbury's, Tesco and Asda, and you will probably find it in your local convenience store too.