{Review} St. Ives Warming Scrub

One thing that is essential for any time of the year is exfoliation. The rising trend of warming scrubs has really intrigued me because I can't seem to wrap my mind around getting heat on contact with water. I know, it's all in the chemicals, but it always boggles my mind haha! Although I don't really get much warming from this particular scrub, it does leave my face feeling very very smooth!


What separates this scrub from others is that it is not tested on animals or contain any animal ingredients, parabens, or phthalates. It is also made with natural exfoliates, but what the exfoliate actually is isn't listed on the packaging. Sucrose is listed as one of the ingredients, so it could be sugar, but that's just a guess.

I do like how Earth friendly St. Ives has become, but at the same time I've noticed that their products are getting more and more expensive as well. This scrub retails for $7.99. For a brand like St. Ives, that's a lot. I can get a scrub from Olay for around that much. They also have scrubs for around $10, which granted, isn't going to bankrupt me, but at the same time is a bit pricey for a drugstore brand.


Now onto the actual product. I like the dispenser, a simple squeeze tube with a generously sized opening. One thing I've noticed with warming scrubs is that they tend to be a bit thicker than regular scrubs, and they can be difficult to squeeze out. No such problem with this one.


The texture of the product is thicker than a normal scrub, but thinner than some of the other warming scrubs that I've tried. It is very densely packed with abrasives which are suspended in a foaming cleanser. I like that it's not a cream based scrub because those don't work well with my skin and I end up having to cleanse after as well. This scrub rinses clean without leaving any residue behind. This product does have a strong smell, for those with sensitive skin or noses. Oddly enough, it smells a bit like laundry detergent. Not bad, but strange in a facial product.

My only complaint about this product is that it doesn't really warm much. Getting the scrub to warm when I use it is very difficult. I have to apply it in just the right way, and even then the warmth lasts only a few seconds. I've tried warming scrubs from Olay and Aveeno and their warming scrubs give off at least 10 seconds of warmth. I know, that's not exactly a lot, but much better than this one. honestly, most times I just use this as a regular scrub because getting the warming action to work is just too much hassle.

The really good thing about this scrub, however, is that the abrasive is gentle. Although the cleanser is densely packed with little particles, they are not rough or scratchy like the particles in their Apricot Scrub are. If you're looking for a much gentler scrub, this one is a good choice. At around $8 it is a bit pricey for drugstore, but if you see it on sale definitely consider getting one!

Info:
Price: $7.99
Ingredients: PEG 8, Glycerin, Glycereth 18 Ethylhexanoate, Sucrose, Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate, Glycereth 18, Glyceryl Caprylate, Jojoba Esters, Fragrance (Parfum), Cetyl Alcohol, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Yellow 5 Lake (CI 19140), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Red 30 Lake (CI 73360)

Review: Clean & Clear Warming Daily Pore Scrub

I know I've been doing a lot of skincare reviews lately, but that's only because I don't have any other pics taken/edited. Bear with me and I'll get some makeup soon, haha! Today's review is for a warming scrub. I've been curious about these types of products for a while, about how they work and if they are really more effective than normal cleansers/scrubs. I couldn't find anything about how they work but I am assuming it has to do with a reaction to air/water because they are sold in vacuum containers (no air inside). I know the pic above makes it seem as though I've been using this scrub for months, but really its only been a couple of weeks. You'll notice the same with Olay's warming scrub. I have to say that while I am a fan of warming scrubs in general, this one fell short.


First off, it is impossible to get it out of the tube! This is true for most of the warming scrubs I've tried including the ones from Olay and St. Ives. I don't know why the product has to be so thick, but it makes it very difficult to use.


Immediately after you squeeze it out it looks like the pic above.

Spread out:


Add water:


And more water:

I don't know how well you can see, but the crystals are very small and square, almost like sugar. When I first got the product dry on my hand I thought that it'd be very scrubby, but really when you dilute it it ends up much gentler. The heat really does help it clean better. I was skeptical at first because come on, just how hot could it get? Apparently, very hot. You can feel it getting hot in you hands. Thea heat does leave fairly quickly, though, so I think using a regular scrub after steaming your face would be more effective. I did notice that my skin was smoother and my pores were cleaner, but I still wouldn't recommend this product. Why, you may ask? Well, it leaves my face with a sticky/greasy film that is almost impossible to wash off. I swear, my face feels like I spread glue around on it after I use this product, no joke! My face felt sticky, like really sticky. And it too me about 3 washes with a scrubby brush (a facial one) to get rid of the stuff. As well as it works, I cannot recommend it to anyone as it's a pain to use. If you don't mind having to clean the residue off your face, then by all means try this. Otherwise, stay away.

Info:

Price: $5.99

Ingredients: Zeolite, Sucrose, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, PEG-8, Ethylene Propylene Styrene Copolymer, Steareth 2, Ethylhexyl Isononanoate, Polysorbate-20, Phenoxyethanol, Methylparaben, Fragrance, Butylene Ethylene Styrene Copolymer, Benzotriazolyl Dodecyl P-Cresol, Titanium Dioxide.

Disclosure: The product featured in this post was bought by me for the purpose of my personal use. If you have any further questions about disclosure, don't hesitate to ask in the comments.