Saturday 7 November 2009

You need a good scrub

I was reading Dreamville the other day and remembered the discount card from Glamour's latest issue. To be honest, 30% off some fab brands is not easily forgotten, but I had a tough week so allow it. Tired as I was, I couldn't go much further than the borders of the city I live in and here, the only brand on the list was MAC.

I went for a lip gloss and what I left with was, well, half the counter. Half the counter, and... a sample of MAC's 'Volcanic Ash' exfoliator. It's actually as black as it looks, kinda gothic and/but smells very nice. Anyways, does a great job - just tried it. My skin is mixed to oily and a good, gentle scrub is essential.

I realised this very early and by now I have a selection of the best (for my skin speaking always). You see, in contrast to people saying it's a myth, my skin does get used to products and after a while I have to switch to maintain the good results. So, apart from MAC's sample, (soon to be substituted by the actual tube!) here's the rest of my wonder-scrubs:

Gommage Argile by Cattier. Neutral smell. Given to me by a friend in Paris and ever since I've stashed on it. To be used on clean, dry skin for maximum exfoliation. Add water and keep scrubbing, follow with a face mask to calm skin down.

Cinnamon and Natural Clay Mask by Korres. Smells of cinnamon. It may say it's a mask, but I use it as a scrub. Leave on clean, dry skin for 10 minutes, then start scrubbing. Rinse to completely remove in the end. No cream necessary.

The Microdelivery Peel by Philosophy. Smells like orange. Tried it at a friend's house in London and liked it so much, she had to give it to me. Apply on clean, dry skin and scrab gently. A heat sensation develops as you go. This is a powerful product so follow with face cream, preferably do it at night. Works wonders! Do not use too often.

Lisseur Exfoliant by Thalgo. Smells like menthol. Was forced to buy it by a sales assistant. She was right, it's great. Apply on clean, wet skin. Gives you a fresh, cool, tingly sensation upon contact. It is very gentle but works well. Leaves you with a cooling sensation for a few minutes after rinsing.

A scrub gets rid of dead cells and encourages regeneration, corrects imperfections, cleans pores, etc. It's magic. Can be used on a daily basis, but you may have to try a few to decide what's best for you. It's not meant to leave your skin dry and irritated so if that's the case, ditch it (pass it on I mean) and keep looking!

8 comments:

meraldia said...

Very interesting post! You are so right. My skin also gets used to creams!

lucia said...

αυτό της Cattier το έχω δοκιμάσει κ ιεγώ (επίσης από μια φίλη που σπούδαζε στο Παρίσι και μου στελνε σωληνάρια με το ταχυδρομείο).

του Κορρέ δεν με ικανοποιεί ιδιαίτερα (όπως και τα περισσότερα προιόντα του, τα οποία νομίζω τείνουν αν γίνουν περισσότερο εμπορικά). τα υπόλοιπα ούτε που τα γνώριζα, θα τα αναζητήσω όμως μιας και παρότι δεν χρησιμοποιώ ποτέ μακιγιαζ, είμαι φανατική με τον καθαρισμό προσώπου σε οποιαδήποτε μορφή.

-πολύ καλό είναι και της Apivita (εταιρεία που εμπιστεύομαι αρκετά). μου το είχε προτείνει η Στέλλα και είχε δίκιο.

ShoppingTherapy said...

:) ναι κι εγω αυτο της απιβιτα συνεχιζω να εμπιστευομαι, με το βερυκοκο. το κανω μετα απο μασκα καθαρισμου και μου αρεσει!
αυτο το φιλοσοφυ θελω να δοκιμασω τωρα γιατι εχει πολυ καλες κριτικες κ βλεπω το εγκρινεις

Alecca Rox said...

@stella - by all means do try, it's more than a scrub, it's a secret weapon.

@lucia, stella - I trust you, my next addition will be Apivita's, will let you know how it went, thx!

Marietta said...

There are so many Philosophy products I want to try, and orange smell from this scrub sounds promising!
I love Korres and Apivita, but for scrubbing lately I use 2 things.
Sugar with olive oil(or milk if your skin is oily) and aspirin melted with some drops of water and a bit of honey! Give it a try, go back to natural and tell me what you think! :)

Lopi said...

For many years I have been big on the traditional scrubs, meaning the ones that are like creams with particles inside them. I used many tubes of Korres Olive Stone scrub and the same one by Apivita, as well as the St.Ives Apricot Scrub.
But, these last few years, I've discovered foaming scrubs and my whole world has changed! Now I use Vichy Normaderm Exfoliating Gel Scrub or The Body Shop Seaweed Foaming Facial Scrub every morning and evening. And no, they're not to harsh to use twice daily. Anyway, I don't rub them in too hard and I'm fine. Totally recommended for acne-prone oily skins.

efi said...

κι εγώ έκανα ένα παρόμοιο με αυτό της μαριέττας : μέλι με καστανή ζάχαρη μέσα. έχει καλά αποτελέσματα.
τώρα δοκίμασα από δείγμα ένα της occitane με μήλο. μυρίζει ωραία και αφήνει το δέρμα απαλό, αλλά θέλω να το δοκιμάσω μερικές φορές ακόμα για να βγάλω σίγουρο συμπέρασμα.

προϊόντα της philosophy που βρίσκουμε στην ελλάδα?

Alecca Rox said...

@efi - not sure:( their website is www.philosophy.com but they do not list locations outside the U.S. Try buying it online.

*if anyone knows stores in Greece, plz enlighten us!!