Boots Time Delay Massaging Cleansing Balm

A couple of years ago Boots introduced a new skincare range called Time Delay.

I purchased the Time Delay Massaging Cleansing Balm after reading a review in a paper that rated it as similar to the very expensive Eve Lom cleanser. I had never tried the Eve Lom cleanser as it was way beyond my price range, but as the Time Delay cleanser was listed as costing only £8.50 for 150 ml I decided to seek it out.

I rushed down ...
...stand offering extra Boots points on every purchase. Not needing anymore encouragement I grabbed a pot of the Massaging Cleansing Balm and made for the till.

The Cleansing Balm comes packaged in a very stylish silver box, inside the box is a large silver tub and two very small muslin cloths. On opening the tub I discovered a substance similar in appearance to vaseline but with a rather nice, aromotherapy type smell.

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A couple of years ago Boots introduced a new skincare range called Time Delay.

I purchased the Time Delay Massaging Cleansing Balm after reading a review in a paper that rated it as similar to the very expensive Eve Lom cleanser. I had never tried the Eve Lom cleanser as it was way beyond my price range, but as the Time Delay cleanser was listed as costing only £8.50 for 150 ml I decided to seek it out.

I rushed down to my local Boots store and found the Time Delay stand offering extra Boots points on every purchase. Not needing anymore encouragement I grabbed a pot of the Massaging Cleansing Balm and made for the till.

The Cleansing Balm comes packaged in a very stylish silver box, inside the box is a large silver tub and two very small muslin cloths. On opening the tub I discovered a substance similar in appearance to vaseline but with a rather nice, aromotherapy type smell.

The instructions for the Cleansing Balm say to massage the cleanser over the face and neck using gentle upward strokes. You should then hold a muslin cloth soaked in warm water over your face for a few seconds to help draw out impurities. After rinsing the cloth in warm water then use small circular movements to remove all the cleanser. Finally rinse the cloth in cool water and hold over face for another few seconds to close the pores.

This sounded like an awful lot of bother to just cleanse my face, but I followed the instructions to the letter. The balm is very similar in consistency to vaseline and therefore only a small amount is needed to cover the entire face. Too much could easily result in a very greasy face.

I spent a couple of minutes massaging the balm into my face which due to the lovely smell was quite pleasant. I then held a warm muslin cloth over my face supposedly to draw out impurities, although it really didn't feel like it was doing very much. Finally I removed all traces of the cleanser and held a cold cloth over my face to close the pores.

My skin did feel very soft afterwards and all make up including mascara was removed very easily by the balm. I think that massaging with the balm probably did improve circulation and appearance of the skin (as claimed) and did find this part of the routine very relaxing. I didn't really feel that dead skin cells had been removed but maybe I was not firm enough with the muslin cloth.

Overall, I found this to be an effective cleanser, but felt that most of the noticeable effects to the skin were due to the massaging effect rather than anything else. I have combination skin with an oily t-zone and had to be careful to remove all of the balm from this area, otherwise I would have felt too greasy. I think that this would be more ideal for people with dry or older skin.

However, I did find the whole process of cleansing to be much too time consuming and messy. I also couldnt get away from the feeling that I would have got a similar effect by massaging vaseline onto my face (though admittedly not as pleasant). The muslin cloths that are provided with the balm are much too small for effective use and I ended up buying some larger cloths from the baby section.

As a much cheaper alternative to the Eve Lom cleanser then the Time Delay really is great value for money as a tub lasts an awfully long time.

Unforunately this wasn't for me on a day-to-day basis, but I still use it on an evening when I want to spend some time pampering myself.

 

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