A Late Unboxing Of Glossybox UK - September 2020 - Glossy Spa Edition*

Greetings from LouLouLand, or as I'm currently calling it Fibromyalgia hell! Again this post is super late but I'm in the middle of a pretty full on Fibromyalgia flare, pain, exhaustion, insomnia, jaw spasms, and headaches, you name a fibro symptom and in the last month I've probably experienced it with bells on! Thankfully I'm starting to see a tiny chink of light at the end of the tunnel, I'm controlling my pain a bit better, and I'm sleeping better (more on how to come x), so I'm trying to do a bit of work when I can - I really am the obligatory tortoise, it may take me a while but I'll get there in the end x 

So think back a month or two to September and enjoy my thoughts on the September 2020 edition of Glossybox UK. 

After all of the bows and excitement and bows of the August birthday edition, at least packaging wise, the September edition felt a little flat with a return to the traditional pink and black colour way, both inside and outside the box.
 

The first thing that you normally see when you open up your Glossybox is the information leaflet, but myself and many other subscribers didn't actually receive one in September's box. Thankfully though it was available on the Glossybox website, so we could find out more about the theme of the box and the products in September's box. The theme was of course 'Glossy Spa' and the box contained 5 indulgent products to give you that spa experience in your own home.

MineTan Body. Skin Exfoliating Coffee Scrub - 30g - Deluxe Mini - Est. RRP £11

The first product in the box was a body product, and it was a product from Australian owned self tanning brand. MineTan Body Skin. I'm not big on self tanning anymore so I was really pleased to receive a product that I would actually use, a sachet of their Exfoliating Coffee Scrub.

Like all of their products in their range, this scrub is 100% vegan and cruelty free, and it is also paraben, palm oil, mineral oil, and sulphate free. It contains ground coffee, sweet almond oil, walnut shell powder, brown sugar, salt, olive oil, macadamia oil, shea butter, vitamin E, pumice and oatmeal extract.

Designed to smooth and hydrate the skin and target imperfections such as dry and flaky, and uneven skin, and stretch marks, this scrub looks and smells exactly how you would expect it to.

    

Think slightly, damp coffee grounds, combined with smaller grains of salt, brown sugar, and pumice, that smells exactly like your morning cup of coffee.

All you do it massage it over damp skin, and then you rinse if off. Like all of these types of scrub it's pretty messy, and it produces a bitty coffee, coloured liquid in the bottom of the shower, but if you can get past that though it really does work, my skin felt super soft, and smooth, and after a couple of uses my skin looked more even and smooth.

Whilst the particles are quite small, this scrub was scrubby enough, to pass my 'I can feel it working' test but alas it didn't pass Mummy Lou's clean, no mess, shower test :(

Glossybox quote an estimated retail price of £11 for this 30g deluxe mini size, but based on my research that seems to be a mistake. From what I can gather the full 200ml size retails between £9.95 and £9.99 direct from both MineTan and from Look Fantastic, so a better estimation of the price was probably be around a couple of pounds.

Imperial Leather Foamburst Luxury Gel To Foam Body Wash - Lychee & Lotus Flower - 75ml - Deluxe Mini - Est. RRP £2

I've said it before but I really miss my bath, especially when I'm having an aches and pains day. Showers are brilliant for getting clean but when it comes to a luxurious and pampering experience, baths will always win out, or will they?

In the four or so years that have passed since I lost my bath, there has been a huge improvement in shower products - from just the humble shower gel, we now have shower steamers, shower creams, shower butters and shower foams, all designed to make the normal shower experience just a little bit more special.

When it comes to shower products one of my favourite type of products has to be shower foams, and one of my brands of choice has to be Imperial Leather.

I've talked about Imperial Leather's Foamburst before (read my thoughts here) but the September edition of Glossybox gave me the chance to try one of their newest editions, Lychee and Lotus Flower.

With a beautiful exotic, fruity, floral scent, this this pink gel transforms instantly into a lovely, creamy shower foam. A tiny bit goes a long way and leaves the skin soft and clean, and you can also use it shaving foam. I love these foams and they really do make the whole showering experience just a little bit more luxurious.

Glossybox put a price of £2 on this 75ml deluxe mini size. The full 200ml size retails at around £3 - £3.15 from various retailers including Superdrug, Boots, and Tesco.

Avant Skincare Supreme Hyaluronic Acid Antioxidising DUO Moisturiser - 50ml - Full Size - Est. RRP £89

The next item in the box was another product from high end skincare brand, Avant. I've tried quite a few of their products now and I've usually been pretty impressed with both the quality and the results.

Now I'm going to hold my hands up and say that I haven't actually opened this one yet. I currently have a couple of day creams on the go so I thought that I would leave this one sealed up until I was ready to use it. 

Fear not though my dear readers, I have actually already reviewed this particular moisturiser before. I received a mini 10ml size in the September 2019 edition of Pink Parcel, and you can read my review here.

Glossybox put an estimated value of £89 on this full 50ml size but again based on my research the same size also in a tube actually seems to have a retail price of £100 on the official Avant website, and it's also available in slightly different packaging also for around £100 from Look Fantastic and Beauty Expert. Either way it's a pretty expensive so I'm really pleased to have received it in September's box.

Ameliorate Intensive Skin Therapy With Alpha Hydroxy Therapy - 30ml - Full Size - RRP £15

The next item in the box was a product from a new brand to me, Ameliorate. Ameliorate produce a range of products specifically for those people with dry, sensitive or problematic skin, catering for every concern from psoriasis, to ingrown hairs.

The September 2020 edition of Glossybox UK, contained a full 30ml sized tube of the Ameliorate Intensive Skin Therapy, which is a petroleum free balm, which is designed to rejuvenate protect and deeply moisturise the skin.

Containing lactic acid, sweet almond oil, shea butter, beeswax, barley seed extract, and lanolin, it is slightly yellow in colour and it has a rich, creamy texture, and a fresh cream scent.

Despite its creaminess and thickness, it's easy to massage in, it doesn't feel overly greasy or oily and it sinks in quite quickly.

I don't have a lot of problems with dry skin, so I've mainly been using it on my hands, feet and my elbows, and I have to say that I am seriously impressed. I could see a difference in the hydration of my skin, and that look and feeling lasted for a good 24 hours or so.

If you have patches of dry skin, I would definitely recommend that you give this product a try. I'm definitely going to be taking a closer look at the entire Ameliorate range in the future. This balm retails at around £15 from various retailers including Look Fantastic, Feel Unique, Cult Beauty, and Space NK. 

Wishful Yo Glow Enzyme Scrub - 20ml - Deluxe Mini - Est. RRP £9

Although this wasn't the most expensive product in the box, according to most of the subscribers commenting on Glossybox's social media channels, it was the most wanted product in the September box. From Huda Kattan's Wishful skincare range this is a cruelty free, facial exfoliator with a twist.

Containing papaya and pineapple extracts, cellulose, alpha hydroxy acids, and beta hydroxy acids, this paraben free scrub is designed to remove dead skin, and impurities, to help leave the skin smooth, soft and glowing.

Now when you think of facial exfoliators, you immediately think of something rough and grainy - a more physical scrub, but nowadays that isn't necessarily the case. A new generation of facial exfoliators like Ginvera Green Tea Marvel Gel, The Body Shop Drops Of Youth Liquid Peel, and of course this Wishful scrub, are basically enzymatic exfoliators, that don't contain exfoliating particles and instead contain various acids and plant extracts to help smooth and tone the skin.

Containing both pineapple, and papaya, this Wishful exfoliator has a fresh and fruity but slightly astringent scent. 

The product itself us a thin, cloudy / milky white gel. All you do is apply it clean, dry skin and then massage it onto the skin in circular motion. As you begin to massage it onto the skin, the texture starts to change, and it begins to form little balls as it picks up all of the dirt and dead skin. It sounds disgusting but it's actually really satisfying to do!

Then using a muslin cloth or a flannel, and warm water, you just wash the residue away and your skin is left feeling super soft and clean.

Before 

Massaged In 

After Rinsing 

I'm not sure how well you can see it in these pictures, but my skin did look a little bit pink after using this product, probably down to the acids, but thankfully it didn't last, and I didn't experience any tingling or discomfort. If you have sensitive skin you can use it like I did once or twice a week, or if your skin is a bit more hardy, you can use it every day.

I'm a huge fan of enzyme scrubs like this, in fact I think I prefer them to more manual, bitty exfoliators. I've just recently bought The Body Shop Drops Of Youth Liquid Peel, but when I've finished I will definitely consider buying this one, well done Huda, this was definitely worth the hype.

This particular size doesn't appear to be a regular retail size but Glossybox quote a recommended retail price of £9. It usually comes in 2 sizes, a 40ml size that retails at anywhere between £15 and £18, and a 100ml size that retails anywhere between £28 and £34. The Wishful Yo Glow Enzyme Scrub is available from various retailers including Cult Beauty, Feel Unique, Boots, and of course direct from HUDA Beauty.

Since the box was all about pampering and treating yourself, the majority of subscribers also received an extra treat from the lovely people at Glossybox, and it was the best kind of treat, Chocolate!

Lindt Lindor Milk Chocolate Bar - 38g - Est. RRP 75 - 85p

When you think about Swiss chocolate brand, Lindt, probably the first things that comes to mind is probably those fabulously spherical Lindor truffles, but did you know that you can now get that same Lindor taste but in a bar?

Well you can, and in my box I was lucky enough to receive a 38g bar of Lindor Milk Chocolate. Instead of the spheres that we are all used to, the bar contains 6 squares of delicious high quality milk chocolate, with the beautiful smooth, creamy melting chocolate centre, that we've come to expect from Lindor - a yummy and gorgeous treat!

The Lindt Lindor Milk Chocolate 38g Bar retails at around 75p - 85p each from various retailers including Asda, Tesco, and Sainsbury's.

So that was a super late unboxing of the September 2020 edition of Glossybox UK. On the surface it wasn't the most exciting of boxes but the value was insane, and I loved all of the products inside, including the little chocolate surprise. It was a definite winner from Glossybox and I can definitely see myself repurchasing a few of the products again.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments and don't forget to use my link to find out more about Glossybox UK, and course to subscribe for yourself. Thanks for reading and I will see over the weekend with a little self care post x 

*This Post Contains Automatic Affiliate, Added Affiliate And Non Affiliate Links

A Late Unboxing Of Glossybox UK - April 2020 Edition - Blossom, And A Nails Of The Day*

Hi guys, I hope you've all had a good weekend x I've got another unboxing post for you today, and today I'm unboxing the April 2020 edition of Glossybox UK.

I have to admit that I was a little bit disappointed when the traditional pink and black box turned up on my doorstep. I really love getting my Glossybox every month but to coincide with the Blossom theme of April's box I was hoping to receive a lovely floral designed box but alas it was just the traditional pink and black box with pink tissue paper, and black paper shred, all tied together with a black ribbon. 

Ah well, at least the information leaflet in its gorgeous, pastel floral design, lived up to my flowery expectations. The purpose of the information booklet as per usual was to tell you just exactly what's in the box (more on that later), and it's also there to tell you a little bit more about the box theme.

The theme of April's box was obviously Blossom, and the box contained 5 products designed to help you "bloom into a beautiful flower" including floral scented skincare, lip care that's full of botanical extracts, and perfectly seasonal pastel coloured cosmetics.

Nails Inc Nail Polish  - Blossom Kisses - 14ml - Full Size - Est. RRP £11 

Speaking of pastel coloured cosmetics, the first item in the box was a full sized Nails Inc nail polish in the shade Blossom Kisses.

Pink is one of the classic nail polish shades and Blossom Kisses is a gorgeous slightly dusky, cool toned pink shade. There is no shimmer, and no sparkle it's just a classic cream polish.

As per usual with full sized Nails Inc polishes, Blossom Kisses, has a lovely, wide, slightly curved brush. Perfect designed to fit to the contours of the cuticle, depending on the width of your nails, you can paint most nails in just one swipe. I have chunky fingers but quite slim nails, so the brush is actually slightly wider than my pinkie finger, so I did need to be a little bit careful with my application technique on that one.

I own a lot of Nails Inc polishes, and I did actually find this polish a little thicker and gloopier than normal. The coverage even after 1 coat was pretty decent, you could still see the odd brush stroke but it was pretty self levelling. With careful application I probably could have got away with just one coat on most nails but in these pictures I'm wearing two coats.

From a distance I think it looks pretty good and very glossy but look more closely and you can see a little bit of bubbling. I know that bubbles can sometimes occur when you don't give your polish enough time to dry between coats but I don't really know what wrong here it did seem to dry quite quickly, and I left nearly 10 minutes between coats, so who knows. 

The wear time to be honest wasn't amazing either, it had started to chip in less than 2 days, and after 3 days I was missing 4 whole nails worth. As per usual when testing or reviewing a polish I didn't use a top coat which more than likely would have improved the wear time.

I really loved the colour, it's a perfect Spring / Summer colour but for some reason I just don't think that the formulation was up to Nails Inc's usual standard, it seemed thicker and it didn't seem to wear that well. I can't find this particular shade online bar on eBay so I think it was exclusive to the April edition of Glossybox which may explain the difference in quality, so I can only give an estimated value of around £11 which is the usual retail price for a basic full sized Nails Inc polishes.

Avant Skincare Gentle Rose Beautifying Face Exfoliant - 50ml - Est. £92

Next up the product that was teased in the March edition of Glossybox UK, and it's another product from high end skincare brand Avant.

Thanks to various subscription boxes I've managed to try quite a few products from Avant now (have a look at my Beauty Product Directory above to read some reviews), and so far so good, I've liked pretty much everything that I've tried so far.

Under their tagline 'combining nature with science', this is a product from their Age Nutri Revive range. It is a facial exfoliant which is designed for all skin types, it's designed to nourish the skin from within, and to combat imperfections, including large pores, uneven skin tone, fine lines and dryness. Designed to gently slough away dead skin, according to Avant it leaves the skin smoother, healthier looking and with an improved texture.

As well as being cruelty free, it's also paraben free, and carbomer free, it contains rose extract, which is an anti oxidant to help calm the skin, and minimise redness, as well as softening and smoothing, and Vitamin B5 which helps the skin to retail moisture.

It has a gel like texture, and it's white in colour with a slight iridescence and shimmer, and it contains lots of tiny, fine white particles.

It quite simple to use all you do is massage it in to damp, cleansed skin. The first thing you actually notice is the smell, it has a gorgeous real rose scent, and then you notice just how well those tiny little particles do their thing. After adding a little bit of water and massaging your face in circular motions, it produces a gentle foam, it isn't scratchy or uncomfortable but you can feel a the exfoliating action.

Before

On Application

After

You could just splash your face with warm water to remove it, but I used a muslin cloth or a flannel, and warm water. The exfoliating particles as I say are quite small so they do tend to hang around a bit even after rinsing, so you probably see a few stray ones in the after picture.

My skin is quite easily sensitised and it does go pink quite easily no matter what the product, and this one was no different. There was no soreness, dryness or irritation, my skin just felt really clean, soft and smooth, and it almost felt as though I'd used a moisturiser or a serum.

So my Avant love in continues, this was another lovely product from them, it smells beautiful, and it leave the skin super soft and smooth. I've been using this about 3 times a week but it's definitely gentle enough for even me to use once a day. The only drawback as per usual with Avant is the price, Glossybox quote a pretty spendy £92 for this size. I can't actually find this 50ml tube anywhere online, I can only find a slightly larger 60ml size but it's actually packaged in a jar rather than a tube, for the same RRP of £92. If you fancy trying this one for yourself it's available from various retailers including direct from Avant, Look Fantastic, and Beauty Expert.

SPORTFX Raspberry And Rhubarb Recovery Lip Balm SPF 15 - 8g - Full Size - RRP £4.99

When you think about beauty must haves, lip balm has to be pretty high up there on most people's lists. I own loads of them but the weird thing is I very rarely seem to finish them, so either I don't use them as often as I think I do, or I just use so many at once that I just have a load of half finished ones that ultimately end up in the bin.

Anyways in case you haven't already realised the next item in April's box was a lip balm from a brand called SPORTFX.

SPORTFX is a make up, skincare, activewear and lifestyle brand that is specifically designed for the active woman, be that in the gym, the office or on the dance floor. All of the beauty products in the range are paraben free, and contain vitamins and SPF.

This lip balm is also dermatologically tested, it contains SPF 15, natural oils including almond oil, as well as shea butter, aloe vera, and vitamins C, E, and F.

The balm comes boxed, and it comes in slightly odd looking, almost a chunky T shape, style container. It features a clear, twist off lid, and inside is a large round dome shaped, deep pink sold balm.

It has a lovely slightly perfume based, fruity scent and taste. It feels hydrating and softening on the lips but it isn't greasy, sticky, or slimy. 

As well as adding moisture to the lips it also add a lovely, subtle rose pink tint, that you could easily wear as a more subtle alternative to lipstick or gloss.

I did find it a little bit awkward to apply, the dome was quite chunky, so you do need to be a bit careful especially if you have thinner lips, it wouldn't be as bad if it was a clear balm but being slightly tinted you are in danger of getting it onto the skin. I actually found the easiest way to apply it was to apply it with my mouth open - not a good look but it works.

If your lips are super dry and flakey, this particular balm probably won't be quite enough for you, but if you are after a lovely, moisturising non greasy, balm with a slight tint, that's perfect for everyday wear then this could be one to try. Like most lip balms I can't guarantee that I'll end up finishing this one but I'm definitely going to try and do my level best to try and use this one on a more regular basis. If you don't like the idea of the Rhubarb and Raspberry scent, this particular balm is also available in two other varieties Peach Bellini, and White Coconut for around £4.99 from various retailers including House Of Fraser, USC, Sports Direct and of course directly from SPORTFX.

Rituals The Ritual Of Sakura Softening Rice Scrub - Organic Rice Milk & Cherry Blossom - 70ml - Deluxe Mini - Est. RRP £4.60

Now, if you are a regular reader of LouLouLand, then you should know by now that I'm a bit of a body scrub junkie, I love a good scrub, so for that reason I was really pleased to receive a shower scrub from Rituals in April's box.

I'm a huge, huge fan of Rituals entire range of Far Eastern inspired body care range but far my favourite range from them is without a doubt, The Ritual Of Sakura..

I've tried quite a few products from the line now, including the Magic Touch Body Cream, and the Shower Foam, and I've fallen in love with the heady, almost sexy fruity, floral scent. There are actually 2 different body exfoliators in the Sakura range, and this one is officially described by Rituals as a shower scrub.

Containing cherry flower, and rice extracts, and volcanic pumice, this product has a clear gel base, with tiny white and black particles suspended within it. This is product is really a 2 in 1 shower gel, and exfoliator. When you massage it into damp skin, it produces a light foam crammed full of tiny exfoliating particles. 

It isn't the roughest of scrubs but the inclusion of the natural pumice gives it a nice scrubby feel. The foam rinses away fairly easily but like with the Avant scrub, because the particles are so small, they have a tendency to hang around a bit, but it's nothing that a good blast of the shower won't fix.

Despite my own personal preference for chunkier sugar and salt scrubs, this one actually really surprised me. The scrub particles are quite small but I did actually feel as though I'd used a grittier scrub, my skin felt smoother, and softer. The smell might be a little bit too strong for some people (you could smell it the minute you opened the box) but I personally love it, and I've been using it alongside my other Sakura products for a full immersive, scented experience.

As I say there are two scrubs in the Sakura range, the other one which has a slightly different texture and comes in a tub is a little bit more widely available than this particular one. The only place that I can find this shower scrub is direct from Rituals where the full 150ml size retails at £9.90. Glossybox quote a price of £4.60 for this 70ml size.

Hask Orchid & White Truffle Moisture Rich Deep Conditioner - 50g - Full Size - Est. RRP £3

As I said earlier in this post, one of the main purposes of the information leaflet is to give you a little bit more information about the products in the box. Apart from a few odd price estimates I've always found the leaflet to be really useful and fairly accurate, April's though did contain a bit of an error. According to the leaflet I should have received a Sanctuary Spa Nourishing Rose Petal Hydrogel Face Mask, but I didn't, instead I got a Hask hair mask. These things happen and I know I'm not the only one to have received something different over the last few months, I can imagine it's been very difficult for Glossybox containing to pack and deliver boxes during the pandemic so even though I'm a bit miffed because I'm loving hydrogel masks at the minute, I'll let them off this time.

I've had a few Hask products from various subscription boxes over the years, but I haven't actually managed to use that many of them, but since I thought that my poor hair deserved a little bit of a treat, I thought I'd try it out.

I think that Hask are a US based hair brand, all of their products are 100% cruelty free (although not vegan) and they are also free from sulfates, parabens, phthalates, gluten, aluminium starch, drying alcohol, artificial colours, and silicones.

This particular mask is from their Orchid & White Truffle range for dry, and damaged hair. It contains amino acids, orchid extract, white truffle extract, lanolin, and pea proteins, and is designed to soften, and replenish extremely dry hair, and to control frizz.

The sachet contains a fairly thick but not dense or heavy, white cream, with a strong warm, sweet, almost musky floral scent.

You apply it to clean, wet hair, so I used it after shampooing. It was easy to apply to spread and work  through the hair even with fingers, but you can also comb it through for more precise application and even distribution. The instructions advise to leave it for around 10 minutes before rinsing it away with warm water. It was pretty easy to rinse it away under the shower, and my hair immediately felt smoother, and almost slick to the touch.

After towel drying it seemed easier to comb, there were less tangles and it felt smoother. I left my hair to dry naturally as I do 90% of the time, and when it was dry it definitely felt softer, and less tangled, but because it was so soft it did look a touch fluffier and frizzier.

It was actually a really nice treatment it felt luxurious, and the scent lingered on the hair for a good few hours afterwards. It was also surprisingly economical, the tendency with a sachet is always to use it all but even on my well below shoulder length hair, I managed to get 3 generous uses out of one 50g sachet.

I've had a little look online at usual Hask stockists including Superdrug, Waitrose, and Cloud 10, and none of them seem to stock this product. The only place that I can find it online is on eBay and on a website called British Online Supermarket, where it retails for £4.75 which is a little bit steep, when you consider that Hask hair masks usually sell at around £3.

So what did I think about April's box? Well compared to March's and February's boxes, I've got to say that at first glance it didn't look that exciting but personally for me it was one of the best all round boxes that I've had in a long time. I pretty much liked everything in it - I loved the scrubs, the lip balm smelled and tasted lovely, I loved the colour of the nail polish, and even though I didn't get the face mask that should have been in my box, I really liked the Hask hair mask. I'll definitely use all of the products again and everything in the box also fitted in perfectly with the fruity, floral blossom theme.

Let me know your thoughts on this box in the comments, and don't forget to click my link to find out more about Glossybox UK. Thanks for reading, don't forget to enter my giveaway, and I'll see you soon with my May empties post x

*This Post Contains Both Affiliate And Non Affiliate Links

Sample Saturday - Pulpe De Vie Sweet Frappe Mask And Face Scrub*

If you've ever subscribed to a beauty box or you've ever bought a glossy magazine then you're bound to have a drawer full of sample sachets and mini bottles. Don't get me wrong they're fabulous for holidays and weekends away but more often than not they sit in the drawer unloved. A few days ago I found another bagful of sachets and it gave me an idea. In an attempt to use up some of my numerous sachets, and mini bottles I've decided to introduce a series called Sample Saturday.

I'm not saying it's going to be every Saturday but from now on, as regularly as possible I'm going to be doing a review of a sample from my collection. Depending on the size or the number of samples that I have, it will either be an initial impressions post or a full review. Believe me I have all different sorts of minis and samples in my drawers, so there should be a post to suit everyone.

Today's post is going to be all about something that I was sent. Sometimes as bloggers we're lucky enough to be sent full sized products, but on a lot of occasions we're sent sample sachets or minis. I'm grateful for everything that I'm sent so I was excited to be sent some samples from a new brand to me Pulpe de Vie.

Pulpe de Vie are a small French company based in the beautiful region of Provence, they produce a certified organic line of skin and body care. Their products are predominantly fruit and vegetable based and their ingredients are all purchased from local suppliers and growers. They are an all French company and all of their ingredients and packaging and products are grown and manufactured in France.

They offer a small range of skincare and body care products, ranging from body moisturisers, to facial self tanners, facial moisturisers and masks. The product I received was the yummy sounding Sucre Frappe, or in English the Sweet Frappe Face Mask and Scrub.

Designed for all skin types, this two in one product is designed to deep cleanse and exfoliate the skin. The manufacturers claim that this product will improve the skin tone and appearance of the pores, whilst at the same time leaving the skin moisturised and radiant.

This product contains 99.8% natural ingredients, 94% of which, are organic. Did you know for something to be classified as organic, only 10% of the product needs to be organic? That seems like such a small amount for me and it's definitely made me think a bit more about the concept when I'm looking at cosmetic labelling. I guess in this case though, with such a high percentage, it really shows Pulpe de Vie's commitment to using organic ingredients.

All of the ingredients in this product are easy to find both on the full sized packaging and online. This scrub and mask contains organic grapefruit oil, cucumber extract, apricot kernels, and acacia honey. It also contains vegetable glycerin, organic and fair trade sunflower oil, and emulsifiers which come from sugar.

Source 

Sounds pretty natural to me but what is it and what does it do? Well the product itself is a sort of sticky amber coloured gel, with is crammed full of tiny pieces of apricot kernel. Appearance wise it reminds me a little bit of Origins Never A Dull Moment, only slightly less scented and a bit less gritty. It has a very subtle, sweet, fruity scent and thankfully for me it doesn't smell of honey. All you do is massage the product into clean, dry skin, avoiding the delicate eye and lip areas, and your hairline unless you want your hair to be full of apricot kernels!  Despite the stickiness it is pretty easy to massage into the skin - scary pictures time!

You then leave it for about 5 minutes to let the majority of the ingredients do their thing. The mask doesn't really set but some of the gel does seem to thicken slightly. Then using a small amount of warm water, you just rub your face gently in circular motions. The consistency then turns from a gel into a creamy, milky particle packed exfoliator. The scent of the grapefruit oil also appear to be intensified with the addition of the water.

Then using a face cloth, soaked in warm water, you just wash away the remnants of the product. The apricot kernels are numerous, as you can probably see from this picture so it can take a little while to get it off, just persevere, and be gentle.

After rinsing my skin looked a little bit pink but it did actually feel really clean and smooth, as if I'd had a nice facial :)

I actually really liked the two samples that I tried but I have to say I'm not the hugest fan of using things like apricot kernels on my face. Try as manufactures might they still tend to feel a bit scratchy on the skin. Pulpe de Vie suggest that you apply a little bit of water to the skin when your first applying it if you have a sensitive skin, but if you have skin that's easily sensitised I would probably avoid this product and pretty much any other kernel containing. manual exfoliator on the market.

It's really hard to review a skin care product in just two uses though and whilst this left my skin feeling nice and soft, it didn't have the wow factor which would make me spend £19.50 on the full sized tube. That said the two sachets that I had contained 5ml of products each so a 75ml tube would go a long way, so if your a fan of this type of product and your after something natural and predominately organic, this could be a worthwhile investment. Unfortunately I dont think that this is an investment I will be making, but I will definitely consider trying some of the other products from Pulpe de Vie in the future.

Pulpe De Vie "Sucre Frappe" Sweet Frappe Mask And Face Scrub retails at £19.50 for a 75ml tube and ia available from Absolutely Divine in the UK. They also have a very nice, website of their own which alas for me is in French. Some browsers have a translate feature on them though which I would highly recommend using because the website gives you a lot of additional information both on the brand and on the product line.

Are you a fan of facial scrubs? Leave me a comment and let me know your favourite x

(*PR Sample)