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It can be difficult to manage all the elements of life, balancing work and pleasure can be impossible. Lily Hewitson gives her verdict on a Radox product that claims to de-stress your mind.  

 

Stress can be a horrible thing. Right when you need to be your most productive, it creeps up and ruins your plans. Pressure can be a pain in the arse. But, it can also give you a kick up the behind. Some people thrive on stress, others crumble at the thought of it.  

 

With exam season quickly approaching, stress levels in the UK are sure to be high. It’s daunting. The new A level examinations have pushed even more teenagers to seek counselling because of the mounting exam anxiety. But, there are all sorts of reasons for feeling the burden. 

 

Whatever the cause, it can be suffocating. Even if you try to go to sleep, your brain pulsates with the thoughts of the things you need to do. You grab your phone, squint at the blinding screen and jot down a to-do list for the next day. You tell yourself, a list is going to lift this feeling out of your body, sending you to dreamland for an uninterrupted sleep.  

 

Wishful thinking.  

 

This week was one of those weeks. I’d had enough. Feeling sorry for myself, I went to the supermarket, hoping that something sweet would heal my terrible mood. A tub of dairy-free chocolate fudge brownie ice cream later I find myself in the ‘washing’ section and see a turquoise Radox bottle with “STRESS RELIEF” in capitals. 

 

“It’s capitalised, that means it’s bound to work.” I thought.  

 

Into the basket it goes.  

 

In the shower, it’s just a lovely bottle-of positive-thinking-goodness and I. Taking a closer look at the bottle through the stream of boiling water, I realise that the Radox gel isn’t actually for the shower, it’s a “bath soak”. As a student in rented accommodation, a bubble bath is impossible. If there’s more than a litre of water in the tub it goes straight through the ceiling.  

 

A waterfall in my kitchen probably wouldn’t have gone down well with my housemates having dinner, so I made it work.  

 

The bottle is practical, sleek and doesn’t take up too much room, however, there are evident design flaws. Pouring the enchanting bluey green magic into my hands was frustrating. It went everywhere but my cupped palm. It all came out at once. The lid is so smooth it was impossible to screw back on with slippery, soapy hands. Actually, quite a stressful and irritating situation to be in. It was like a game of air hockey on the floor of the bathtub as the lid knocked itself about the base.  

 

I would’ve preferred a pump dispenser, avoiding a green bubbly swamp and allowing the dispense of the perfect amount. Even though the product is made for pouring into a bath, you’d still use an unnecessary amount as the gel surges out of the top at such a rapid pace.  

 

The biggest issue I had was the scent. A calming aroma was the least I expected. Lathering the green stuff over my body until I replicated Shrek, all I could smell was my dad. It was the same scent that hits you when walking into the bathroom after a male family member and they’ve blasted the vicinity with their deodorant. You’re brushing your teeth coughing from the smell of the alcoholic aerosol can.  

 

Very relaxing indeed. 

 

Closing my eyes, I could vaguely make out some sort of menthol scent. It’s possible that if it was stronger, the menthol aroma could have helped with the battle-of-anxiety going on in my brain. Like healing the flu, a stronger, fresher, almost medical fragrance could have cleared my head.  

 

The consistency of the Radox gel was faultless. Concentrated enough to be moisturising, but not too thick that it left a film on my skin, so ‘thumbs up’ for that. When lathered up with warm water the foam it created is satisfying. It also washes off with very little effort, which made up for the trauma of getting it out of the bottle.  

 

Drying myself, I was hit with ‘dad’s deodorant’ yet again, it had completely annihilated the lavender scent of my freshly washed white towel. Radox have certainly done a good job in their perfumery department, it was almost impossible to remove.  

 

Lovely, I’m a 20-year-old woman and I smell like my dad. 

 

A few body butters, moisturisers and a face mask later, I had left the identity of a middle-aged man in the bathroom. Finally, I had reached the level of zen that I had been after. 

 

Radox say: “Breathe in the fresh forest air, and feel the relaxing scent of rosemary and eucalyptus work wonders on a restless mind” 

 

Now, that all sounds lovely, but that wasn’t my experience. I love my dad, but I certainly don’t want to smell like him. If you feel that stress levels are rocketing, do the things that calm you, make you feel good and give you pleasure. It could be reading, cooking or walking- or perhaps smelling like a can of men’s deodorant? 

 

Radox Stress Relief Bath Soak is available for £1.40 from Tesco’s