I was lucky enough to get this from French Beauty Blogger Pinkty of Pink Beauty Berry, yes the super fabulous blogger I met up with last weekend. She sent me this for our first beauty swap months and months ago and I’ve only just now had time to sit down and tell you all about it.
This is an unusual exfoliator, definitely different to ones I’ve used in the past as it’s ‘dual-action’ meaning there are two scrubs in separate chambers for combination skin. One is a gentle exfoliating gel and the other is clay-like paste for the T-zone.
Looks good enough to eat doesn’t it? Obviously the first thing about this that I really love is the rubbery airtight lid with a tab and a screw top outer lid which means no spillage. I carted this around with me to the US, Aruba, and back again to the UK and it didn’t leak once. This is has a fresh ‘oceany’ kind of scent that isn’t overpowering and it kind of matches with the colours of the product and the packaging.
Hubby was the first one to use this when we were away and he scooped out some product from both sides and slapped it all over his face before asking which one goes where. I on the other hand followed instructions and used the cool, creamy white gentle exfoliator on my cheeks and then used the blue goo on my T-zone as recommended. Because the blue stuff has a face mask texture I left it on my face for a few minutes to absorb any gunk on my face. As both exfoliators have a creamy texture I found it easier to take it off with a wet flannel/wash cloth.
I’ve used this both in the morning and evening and I prefer to use it before bed or before I apply a face mask. The exfoliation is gentle but effective, even for a hardcore ‘scrubber’ like me! This retails for €12.90 (approximately £11) which I think is a bargain. I would definitely purchase this, however on this occasion when I was in Paris I didn’t get another one as I have so many other facial products to review. This is only sold in Sephora so unless you are off to France/Spain/US/Canada then you can forget it!
I know there has been recent rumors about Sephora coming back to the UK after leaving in 2005 but nothing has been confirmed or reported as to why they left in the first place. It’s a shame the French stores don’t ship to the UK as I would be more than happy to buy my goodies online…hint hint…anyone in France listening???
As much as I love MAC Brush Cleaner I can’t always be bothered to visit MAC when I run out – clearly I don’t visit the counter as much as most beauty bloggers do. I bought the The Body Shop Tea Tree Skin Clearing Facial Wash to take with me on my trip to the US and honeymoon in Aruba as it’s something both James and I could use. Did I remember to pack it – no of course not because I officially suck at packing suitcases.
What I did discover when I got back home (which seems like months ago now) is that my makeup brushes and sponge were in a state from two weddings and all the travelling I did. Plus I’m sure my cousins borrowed them at some point too so they were in need of a good clean. Having finished my bottle of MAC cleaner ages ago I grabbed my unused and unloved TBS Tea Tree Facial Wash and went to town watching all the foundation, blusher, glitter and other makeup goo wash down the plughole. Now keep in mind my brushes are synthetic ones from Sonia Kashuk and Clinique, my makeup sponge is from Superdrug and my eyebrow brush is Ruby and Millie so none of these items were super expensive. I don’t know if this would work on brushes made of animal hair as it may dry them out. Over time I don’t know if it will dry mine out like a haystack but I’m willing to take that chance as they smell fresh and clean afterwards. If it’s a good enough for my face, it should be good enough for my brushes right?
This is my first foray into Japanese cosmetics (I know I’m behind with the times) and I was lucky enough to be sent this from my friend Momoko waaaay back in June. I’ve been a bit backlogged with some reviews thanks to all the weddings stuffs that have been going on but now I’m ready to depart my thoughts on this unusual and interesting product.
This little pink tube contains a peach scented jelly that exfoliates the skin but I didn’t know this when I got it. So the first time I used this was just before applying makeup as I thought it was a moisturising gel and I quickly found out it wasn’t! I rubbed it on my cheek only to watch little bits of it ball up and fall off my face. I asked Momoko how to use it (like I should have done in the first place) and she told me to use it after you remove your makeup but before using a cleanser.
This doesn’t have lots big obvious exfoliating beads in it but when you put it on your face and move it around it does something. I have to admit it’s taken me ages to get the hang of this, I find it works best on a completely dry face rather than damp skin. The other thing you need to be careful of is facial hair, now I’m not sporting a beard but I found it got caught in the downy hair on the sides of my face and was quite difficult to remove as it pilled up. The best thing about this is the scent it’s lovely and fresh.
While researching this I found a really good Canadian blog about Japanese cosmetics written in English called RatzillaCosme. It’s opened up an entire new world to me and gives good descriptions for each product and how to use it which is great for someone like me who wants to try more Asian brands!
