it's about the size of a deodorant so that's convenient. nice minty scent like most hot-and-cold products but not so strong that people around will be able to tell (i did ask coworkers). as for the efficiency it does work in relieving some of the pain (in my case back pain). obviously it won't work at the source of your problem (muscle, joint, etc) but it's a quick fix if you can't do anything else about your pain or if you know it's temporary. it did make a huge difference for me, going from crying in pain to being able to work almost normally