Scrubs and coffee – two of my favourite things and when combined together I’m deliriously happy. My first experience with a coffee body scrub was from Bath & Body Works and when they decided (without consulting me first) to discontinue it I was very annoyed. My lovely mom even rounded up about 30 tubs of the stuff in the sale but they have long since finished. So having moved on from the ‘Kona Coffee Scrub Incident’ as I like to call it, I’ve happened upon two others that have brought me much joy.
First up we’ve got Kit + Sensory Lab Coffee Body Scrub. I was kindly sent this by Madam M of the The Beauty Dispensary for an international beauty exchange. I’ve had my eye on this limited edition Australian scrub for a long time and I’ve been wondering how the heck I was going to get a hold of it so I was thrilled when Madam M offered her help!
I was surprised when I cracked it open as I expected a brown ‘coffee’ coloured sugar scrub but found a thick white salt scrub instead. This smells just like a pot of freshly brewed coffee – like the kind you get at American diners. The scrub is extremely thick and doesn’t contain any obvious oils so will appeal to those who like scrubs that rinse off but leave your skin soft with no residue. To use it, I palm some of it in my hand and apply to wet skin to get my much desired friction. It makes that beautiful crunching sound as it glides across the body and doesn’t foam so it can be the last thing that you do in the shower. This also makes the least amount of mess that I’ve ever had with a scrub so you don’t have to worry about tub grub. I love using this on my arms, elbows, neck and chest and I believe you can still purchase this from Kit and retails for $AUS 32.95.
Next up is the Cocoa Kona Coffee Body Scrub from 100% Pure. Now this is an entirely different animal to the Kit scrub; it’s runnier, nearly black in colour, and more grainy. This scrub is also 100% natural and suitable for Vegans.
The scent of the 100% Pure has a darker, rich aroma due to the cocoa/coffee combo. I should warn you now, this will make a huge mess in the shower. It will look like you’ve had a passionate love affair with an espresso machine so this isn’t for you if you hate messy scrubs. That aside, this takes away all the flakes, lump and bumps you have, and leaves you smelling like a Mocha from Costa. I use this on dry skin to minimise the mess and maximise the friction. It works best for me on the lower part of my body like my tum, bum, and legs. This is available from 100% Pure and retails for £16.50.
So tell me what other coffee body scrubs should be on Skin Scrubs radar!
Following on from my love affair with the 100% Pure body scrubs, I thought I should invest in some of their shower gels. Except dumb dumb over here didn’t read the full description of said product, I just got carried away by the thought of washing myself with Raspberry, Blood Orange, and Kona Coffee!
So what’s the problem I hear you ask? Well they are foaming body washes not shower gels. You’d think from looking at the picture above I would have realised this when I bought them but I wasn’t paying attention. Imagine my dismay when I opened my box only to find that these super size (502ml) bottles of Vegan friendly shower pals were just giant towers of fluff! Cue two very dull pictures of a pump and the foam…
What I will say in defence of this white mound of little bubbles is that that all the body washes smell divine. 100% Pure have really nailed it with the scents but foam is doesn’t really do anything for me. Yes I get clean and it doesn’t dry my skin but it isn’t the same experience you get with a shower gel. I guess these remind too much of a cheap hand wash. I should also mention that 100% Pure don’t use any fillers, emulsifiers, or thickeners so if this is important to you then this will be right up your street!
These are available at www.100percentpure.co.uk in loads of other ‘flavours’ and retail for £12 each.
I have to say I’m not a big fan of creamy face scrubs but in the interests of science and my lovely readers I thought I might review a few. See how nice I am? Ahem anyway I chose two brands that have similar claims and ethics but they have very different price points.
100% Pure Pineapple Juice Face Scrub £18.00
This is an American brand that specialises in skincare, cosmetics and bath and body products that are as the name suggests 100% pure (no chemicals, no synthetic chemicals, chemical preservatives, artificial fragrances, artificial colors), Vegan/Vegetarian and organic. Their products also have a ‘thinner’ consistency as they don’t use thickeners and emulsifiers which are commonly used in skincare/body care products.
If I may say so myself this smells flipping amazing – just like real fresh squeezed pineapple juice which makes sense as it is the first ingredient. This contains jojoba beads which aren’t at all scratchy so this will provide you with a gentle desquamating experience. There is also an entire host of other organic fruit extracts inside including Blueberry, Blackberry, Strawberry, Pomegranate and Goji Berry. It’s like dipping your face in a big anti-oxidant fruit salad which can only be a good thing right?
Left 100% Pure /Right Dr. Organic
Dr. Organic Organic Manuka Honey Face Scrub £5.99
This brand which appears to only be sold exclusively at Holland & Barrett is all about organic ‘bi-active’ ingredients which means using ingredients that actually have benefits to the end user. Their ranges are suitable for vegetarians although some include animal by-products like honey, royal jelly and milk proteins. Preservatives are used where necessary to guarantee product safety and the shelf life.
As you may have guessed this has a really strong scent of honey which smells nice but can be overpowering at times. This is quite gritty for a creamy scrub because it contains volcanic lava, corn cob powder and ground fruit seeds. I don’t know if it’s suitable for those with sensitive skin or cystic acne because I can imagine this would irritate it. You can get a lot of manual friction with this so you can really go to town (if you so wish).
The winner
This is a difficult one, I love the scent of the 100% Pure face scrub but the consistency and exfoliation of Dr. Organic suits my skin type more. In an ideal world I would put my favourite bits of both together but that might be a franken too far! I asked James what he thought and he prefers the 100% Pure due to the scent and the fact that it’s easier to rinse and I would have to agree. So 100% Pure gets the vote but only by a narrow margin.
