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​There’s A £2.25 Moisturiser That Works As Insect Repellent And Royal Marines Swear By It

​There’s A £2.25 Moisturiser That Works As Insect Repellent And Royal Marines Swear By It

Troopers have ditched their army issue repellent in favour of the Avon bottle.

James Dawson

James Dawson

Avon's original Skin So Soft dry oil spray is meant to be good for the skin but it also has an additional use as an insect repellent.

Not only does it cost just £2.25 and smell great, it has also been used by soldiers for years to fend off the midges at the Faslane military base in Scotland.

It's second use was discovered back in 2005, when the troopers were plagued by midges at the camp. It was so effective that they ditched their army issue repellent in favour of the Avon beauty product.

Credit: Avon

Neil Smith, a Royal Navy spokesman at HMS Clyde, told The Scotsman at the time: "It's not official kit but nothing works better and the Marines are buying it themselves because the midges are so bad up there.

"There has been a lot of group buying because you can only get the stuff from Avon. Some buy it online and others are ordering it through local Avon ladies."

Credit: PA Images

The second use for the spray has also been reported by users leaving review on Avon's website.

One wrote: "I've used it, it is AWESOME. I get savaged by midges and mozzies and this is the only thing that keeps them at bay - however you have to put it everywhere, any gaps will be nibbled on."

Another said: "We used to live in Australia and used it all the time for the mozzies much better than anything else we tried and nicer smelling too."

Credit: Avom

Urban Dictionary currently described somebody's da' selling Avon as: "The peak, the maximum, the be-all and end-all of humiliation. The ultimate insult of one's self, one's family and one's dignity. Consider all hope lost in your life if this is said to you and use sparingly against enemies."

But given that so many soldiers are buying it's products, maybe it's time we reevaluated the social stigma around it.

Featured Image Credit: Avon

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