I was invited to try out a new product Olay Total Effects via an Indian bloggers’ forum called blogadda.com.
I am not an instinctive sucker for creams that promise the earth, truly I am not (though I do have 2 eye-wateringly expensive bottles of something bought overseas that virtually promised me no wrinkles…)
But anyway, moving right along.
So, I am not an impulsive buyer nor do I believe every promise a product makes, but I am getting on in years and I do so hate the wrinkles I see staring back at me every morning, so yes, this cream interested me. I know and like the brand, and have used their products over the years.
So yes, delighted to try Olay Total Effects.
It is a cream and serum duo with an inbuilt SPF 15, which already makes complete sense, even before trying it out. For people in a rush in the mornings, a one shop product is the answer – serum, cream and sunblock in one go. Great idea.
The blurb on the box says that Olay Total Effects “fights 7 stages of ageing”. Now, sad to say, I fear that the fighting-the-signs-of-ageing ship might well have sailed in my own case, but here goes.
These are the 7 stages this cream will combat :
1. Fine lines & wrinkles : reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles
2. Uneven tone : balances and evens out skin tone
3. Age spots : reduces appearance of age spots
4. Uneven texture : smooths and evens out skin texture
5. Dryness : provides nourishing moisurisation
6. Dullness : gives skin radiance
7. Pores : minimizes the appearance of pores
Day 1 Thursday 30 May 2013
First things first – nice packaging, and I like the look of the tube.
The cream is very smooth, instantly absorbed, not sticky, not perfume-y, felt nice to apply. So all good there.
I used it on my face, neck and hands where I have quite a lot of freckles. Freckles I keep telling myself. Freckles. Not liver spots.
Let’s see if theses freckles reduce at all.
Day 2 Friday 31 May 2013
I could’ve sworn that one of the freckles on my left hand looked a little less pronounced this morning, but that can’t be so after just one application. Can it ?
Day 3 Saturday 1 June 2013
Falling into a routine here, using the Olay Total Effects automatically each morning. In this extreme pre-monsoon dry heat here in Delhi, the cream is rapidly absorbed, and is totally unsticky and gooey, which is a huge plus. So point 5 is accurate.
Day 4 Sunday 2 June 2013
I was up at 4.30 am to go on a 12 km training hike (don’t ask, it was tough getting up so ridiculously early) but knowing I would be out in the harsh sun for several hours, I automatically applied Olay Total Effects, even in my groggy 4.30am state. The fact this cream contains sunblock is a big plus for me.
Day 8 Thursday 6 June 2013
I have been using the cream everyday. I keep telling myself that that pesky large freckle on my left hand is not as noticeable as before I started. (Note to self. Next time, take picture of freckle every day, so you can track whether it is indeed slowly fading)
Day 10 Saturday 8 June 2102
Used the cream in a more organised way today, rather than the usual quick slapdash application of most weekday mornings. Hands, arms, neck, face (of course) and once again, its ease of application and absorption are impressive.
Day 11 Sunday 9 June 2013
Another training hike. Another pre-dawn start. And it suddenly occurred to me that this Olay Total Effects would be the perfect cream to take on my trek and climbing trip to Ladakh next month. Cream + sunblock in one, with an easy pump action applicator + a plastic bottle. Yes, this might well be the answer. I know it is easy to apply and the bottle I am testing is light enough to be carried in my daypack so I can re-apply during the day, and up there in that harsh dry heat, this might well be the solution.
Day 15 Thursday 13 June 2013
I think 2 weeks is a fair enough trial time, so today is decision time.
I have been using the Olay Total Effects religiously for the last 2 weeks, and like it, and shall continue using it. Today, just for the heck of it, I first applied one of my eye-wateringly expensive foreign creams. It felt gooey, and it was in a glass bottle, which instantly rules it out for Ladakh.
After about half an hour, my skin still felt dry, and so I applied Olay Total Effects, and definitely felt hydrated.
Sadly, I don’t honestly think, in my heart of hearts, that I look noticeably younger or less wrinkly after 2 weeks – that would’ve been too much to expect from any cream, at my ripe old age… But I am definitely a convert to this Olay Total Effects, because of its practical 3 in 1 combo of serum, cream and sunblock.
Will I buy it ?
Definitely.
“I am trying out Olay Total Effects as a part of the product review program at BlogAdda.com”