After using St. Ives Apricot Facial Scrub for many years I thought I might try something a little different. I expected this to be a peachy smelling foaming gel cleanser with bits but instead it’s peachy smelling cream cleanser with bits. This wouldn’t be a bad thing but cream cleansers aren’t my favourite to use when washing or scrubbing my face. Read on for the low down…..
Scent – The scent is summery and light like a peach sorbet. The fragrance that is used smells like a genuine peach scent rather than a manufactured one. It’s nice to smell the cleanser while you are putting it on your face.
Consistency – This has a thickish formulation when it comes out of the tube, but as soon as you start putting it on your face it will thin out. It’s a cream base with finely ground peach stones and the amount of stones per square inch is okay but I would have prefered more. When face scrubs don’t have a lot of scrubby bits in them I over compensate by using more product to get the exfoliation I want.
Performance – This has a strange sensation when you use it because it’s cream cleanser with grit. I used it over a period of several weeks and tried it at different times of the day. I found I enjoyed it more at night because the creamy cleanser felt soothing after walking home from work in colder weather. Using it in the morning made my face feel greasy and I reached for my toner afterwards to get the residue off.
The Burt’s Bees website doesn’t state what skin type this is for but if you have oily skin like mine you might have the same issues. With regards to it being a ‘deep pore scrub’ it didn’t feel like it did enough to clear them out. I don’t think my face felt the benefit of the Willowbark Extract which has Beta Hydroxy Acids to help with exfoliation. Also because it left a silky residue on my face afterwards it didn’t really feel clean either. If this is meant for drier skins it would make more sense.
This normally retails for £10.99 but you can get at Feelunique for £8.50 including delivery. Even though this didn’t work for me it I’m confident that it would work for someone else with a different skin type.
*James has since told me after I posted this review that he thinks this is a great scrub as his skin has been quite dry the last few weeks and this made his skin feel moisturised and soft.*
I first saw this reviewed by Karen on Makeup & Beauty Blog and thought I better get me some pronto. As you probably already know Burt’s Bees really go out of their way to make beauty products as close to 100% natural as they can. This is in fact made with 100% natural ingredients so top marks for that. Here’s a break down of the main points and what I thought:
Size – Mmm I’m not happy with amount you get in the 226.5g tub. I don’t mind paying for a bigger tub because when scrubs are around this size I can only get three uses out of them at most. The container itself is nice sturdy recyclable plastic although you may have to check if you can recycle it your own country.
Texture – This is an oily scrub but there are no pools of oil floating around that you would have to mix up. The soybean, coconut, and fruit oils are evenly mixed with the scrubby bits. It is on the thicker side and looks like raspberry sorbet.
Scrubbing grains – The grains are made up of sugar which is more gentle that using salt. There are also some lovely little red cranberry seeds floating around with the sugar and oils which gives this a festive twist. The mixture is easy to spread and you get that nice sugar crunching sound when you rub the scrub over your skin. There will be an oily residue left on your skin after you rinse off the scrub, so it’s a good idea to wash yourself first then use the scrub if you want the oils to act as a moisturiser. These absorb in the skin fairly quickly so you don’t need to worry about feeling like a chip pan for the rest of the day.
Scent – This is very strong – more pomegranate than cranberry. It’s refreshing and different and not sickly sweet. I just don’t know if I like the smell of pomegranate. It reminds me of honeydew melon and I’m not really keen on honeydew melon either to eat or the way it smells. I don’t think this should put anyone off because it doesn’t smell awful – it’s just my personal preference. I’m sure The Body Shop does pomegranate shower products at Christmas time that smell similar, so if you like those then you will like this.
Results – This does leave my skin feeling plump and moisturised. This is a fairly rough scrub but it doesn’t scratch as all the sugar grains are evenly sized and you could make it more gentle by not using as much. I would probably only use this in winter as the residue from the oils would make me feel hot and sticky in the Summer.
I was quite excited to find this at Feelunique for £11 including delivery when the recommended retail price is £12.99, but they don’t seem to sell it anymore. You can get this for £12.99 at Bath & Unwind. Fragrance aside I would buy this again when I’m feeling in a festive mood or when my skin gets really dry and needs a nourishing treat.
I need more lip balms like I need a hole in the head but when my friends at Super Smoocher revamped their website recently they added loads of new 100% natural lip stuff including some new Burt’s Bees and vegan Hurraw lip balms.
Acai Berry Lip Balm £2.85 – Burt’s Bees is an old favourite of mine and this new Acai Berry lip treat is full of natural ingredients including sunflower, coconut, and fruit oils, and beeswax. There is something quite autumnal about the berry scent and it goes on very smooth. With it being 100% natural Burt’s Bees is also suitable for children – they get dry lips too! Also available in Mango Butter and Pomegranate.
Green Tea Lip Balm £3.45 – New Hurraw Lip Balms come all the way from Whitefish, Montana and are all natural, vegan and made from premium raw ingredients. Hurraw have really gone all out to make a great lip balm and one of their criteria was that it had to withstand being in a back jeans pocket without melting! This Green Tea lip balm is perfect for the man in your life, the scent isn’t strong but will leave him with super soft kissable lips.
Cinnamon Tinted Lip Balm £3.45 – This is Super Smoocher’s currrent top seller. The cinnamon scent is very strong and is a bit tingly on your lips. This gives a nice flushed look to your lips without being full on lippie. This is my favourite as it reminds me of American Red Hots candies that I used get from the corner shop near my grandparents house. There are 16 of different Hurraw ‘flavours’ such as Licorice, Coffee Bean, and Root Beer to name a few.
Super Smoocher offers free shipping to the UK and lip balms make great stock stuffers!
