“There’s A Sucker Born Every Minute…..
….And two to take 'em." That quote is widely - and probably wrongly - attributed to PT Barnum. But whoever said it tapped a real truth. The British retailer Boots appears to be in the latter group. It's selling a very classy, upscale and expensive "face spritz" that has exactly one ingredient:
The packaging for the Boots 'specially formulated' facial spray promised it would 'refresh and hydrate'.
The contents were 'hypoallergenic' and 'fragrance free', making them particularly suitable for people with sensitive skin.
While even the name - Boots Expert Sensitive Refreshing Facial Spritz - screamed science, safety and comfort.
Consequently, while the price tag of £3.99 seemed a little high for the small can, it was worth the money for the pick-me-up promised by the wonder potion.
Until, that is, it became clear that this 'specially formulated' spray was in fact was WATER - 100 per cent water and nothing else.
A look at the ingredients offers a rather brave, if naive, attempt to disguise its humble origins, by using the word 'aqua'.
Aqua, the latin for water, is commonly used in the beauty industry to describe what is a staple ingredient of most potions and lotions.
The product is part of the Boots Expert Range, described as 'the definitive answer to those everyday health and beauty problems we all suffer from, but keep putting off'.
If they'd been really smart they would have labeled the ingredient as dihydrogen monoxide. It would have baffled the reporter for ages. Meanwhile, we're brining out a line of 100% organic, vanilla-flavored pies. Hey, why should Boots make all the money?
Uncategorized | Gaius Friday, 5 October , 2007
By feeblemind, Friday, 5 October , 2007 @ 2:23 pm
Dihydrogen monoxide? Bad idea. Sounds like a dangerous CHEMICAL. Might even kill you in large doses. Have to hand it to Boots though. Perhaps BCB should hand off the squirrel marketing problem to them? If they are this successful with water, imagine what they can do with squirrel meat? Maybe there is a health an beauty application for squirrel meat we are overlooking….. or maybe as an aphrodisiac?