Olay Daily Facials Clarify Renewing Scrub

...my usual Neutrogena product. This Olay product was thrown up though and as it was a good name and the price wasn't too high (it was on special offer at the time), I bought it.

The packaging
The product comes in a very generous 150ml tube that is very easy to use in the shower when your hands are slippy. The colours on the tube are purple, not something that I would usually identify with Olay, but it is attractive enough. Unfortunately, ...
...it doesn't really work all that well, I certainly won't be buying it again. If you are interested though and spend £20 plus on Olay products from boots.com, you can get an extra 1000 Advantage card points, which equates to £10 - this does make it a bit more palatable.  ... more

I am a big fan of facial scrubs. I find they keep my skin looking soft, fresh and healthy. A couple of months ago, I ordered some toiletries from Boots.com, but thanks to the rather dodgy search facility, couldn't find my usual Neutrogena product. This Olay product was thrown up though and as it was a good name and the price wasn't too high (it was on special offer at the time), I bought it.

The packaging
The product comes in a very generous 150ml tube that is very easy to use in the shower when your hands are slippy. The colours on the tube are purple, not something that I would usually identify with Olay, but it is attractive enough. Unfortunately, that is about the only plus side to this product.

The claim
The product claims 'to gently lift off impurities and dead skin cells to reveal newer looking skin.' The inclusion of sage, green tea and aloe vera is supposed to care and purify skin. I can't find anywhere that says what sort of skin it is for, but as it is Olay, I presume that it is for more mature skin and therefore a little gentler than the average scrub.

The ingredients
Although the ingredients of sage, green tea and aloe vera are highlighted, they make up a very small part of what is in the product. There is a huge list of unpronouncable chemicals, most of which I have never heard of. The usual glycerin is there, but that is about the only one I have heard of.

There is a very slight smell to the product - a very pleasant clean smell is about the only way I can describe it.

The product
When I first used it, squeezing out about a fifty pence piece-worth, I was a bit taken aback to see that the product is pale purple, with tiny blue beads - I expected something a little more natural looking than that! My second impression was how cold and slimy it was, much colder and slimier than any other facial scrub I have ever used. However, I didn't let this put me off, but massaged it over my face in circular movements, then rinsed off with warm water, finishing with a splash of cold water to tighten the pores.

I had noticed that the scrub was much less harsh than other scrubs I have used and was interested to see how well it would react on my skin. When I looked at the results in the mirror, I wasn't that impressed. Frankly, it didn't have much of an effect - I may as well have used a foaming facial wash for all the 'scrub' properties that it had. I appreciate that older skins perhaps don't need as much exfoliating as younger ones, but at 38 with slightly oily skin, this just didn't cut it.

On the plus side, it didn't dry out my skin in any way - I find most facial scrubs do. However, as I apply moisturiser afterwards anyway, this isn't a particular advantage for me.

Conclusion
I was quite disappointed by this product. I bought it over two months ago and will use it all up, but I am not in any hurry and have already bought another, much better product that I use most of the time - a Cyclax facial scrub with apricot kernels, which is miles better and much cheaper. I can't remember exactly what I paid for this, because it was on offer at the time, but the current price is £4.49 for 150 ml. For the size, it isn't too bad, but considering that it doesn't really work all that well, I certainly won't be buying it again. If you are interested though and spend £20 plus on Olay products from boots.com, you can get an extra 1000 Advantage card points, which equates to £10 - this does make it a bit more palatable. 

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