Sunday 27 June 2010

Wilko Sun Care range



You might have noticed, it's Wilko day on my blog today ! I've been reviewing several products from Wilkinson's own-brand baby range, including their baby wash, baby wipes and nursery surface wipes, and next up is their funky range of suncare products.

My biggest gripe so far with Wilko hasn't been the products themselves, it's been the packaging which looks cheap. Even if the products are really cheap, you don't necessarily want everyone to know this, especially if you're swanning around on a posh holiday ! Well, the whole suncare range looks very similar in style and colours to a lot of the more expensive suncare ranges on the market. This is actually a conscious decision on the part of Wilkinson's, who say : "Listening to customers, we have vastly improved the packaging to ensure the range looks just as attractive as the branded offers and stands out confidently on shelf." It's great to see retailers listening to their customers and actually acting on what they hear.

We were sent two SPF50 moisturising sun lotions to test, one for children and one for adults. The labels on both products give exactly the same information : both lotions are five star-rated, provide broadspectrum UVA and UVB protection, are enriched with Vitamin E, are water resistant and dermatologically approved and are light, non-greasy and easily absorbed.

As even the bottles look almost identical, I couldn't really see the point of having two separate products for adults and kids when either would be ideal for the whole family. Well, there is one big difference - the kids' version is purple when you apply it ! The kids loved the funky colour and it made it really easy to see where you had applied the product, which is brilliant news. The purple colour does come off on anything it touches (clothes, sheets, ...) so warn your kids in advance to try not to touch anything for a while after you've applied it, but the purple colour on the swimsuits washed off easily in the pool so hopefully should come out in the wash too.

As for the product itself, I couldn't see any difference between the Wilko lotion and some of the more expensive brands we've used in the past. They smelt just as good, gave equally good coverage and - most importantly - nobody got burnt. The only real difference is the price - you'd be hard pressed to find many products this cheap (from £2.98) that work as well.

Even though nobody had sunburn, we also tried out the Wilko Suncare Moisturising Aftersun Lotion. It contains aloe vera and vitamin E to help soothe and revitalise skin that has been exposed to the sun and the label says it helps to prolong your tan and prevent peeling. It smells nice and fresh, more like a body moisturiser than a sun product, and is easy to apply. It soaks into the skin easily, leaving a cooling sensation and nice smell. It does feel a little sticky afterwards (which could be from the suncream, as both were used), but this is something I've found with all brands of sun products, whatever the price.

Yet again, I am really impressed with the high quality of the products at such a low price. Wilkinson's say that their products "not only match the performance of the brand leaders, but are at a significantly lower price with a no nonsense money back guarantee if you're not satisfied" and I have to say, I now believe every word of that statement. I've often found the prices of top brand sun care products to be exorbitant, especially knowing that they have a captive audience - particularly for children's protection - where worried parents won't dare to buy the cheaper and possibly inferior-quality products. Well, I can vouch for the fact that the Wilko Suncare range is just as good as the more expensive brands I've tried - and nobody else has purple suncream on offer, to the best of my knowledge !

star rating : 5/5

RRP : sun lotion from £2.98 for 200ml, aftersun lotion £1.99 for 200ml

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