Review: Simple Smoothing Facial Scrub

I ran out of my Olay Skin Smoothing Cream Scrub--which I love--and thought that now would be a good time to try out this Simple Smoothing Facial Scrub that I keep seeing everywhere. I've been using the Simple wipes for months and really like them, and my Mom's been raving about their undereye roller. Ulta sent me a $5 off coupon, so really, there was no time like the present. I snapped up one of the last bottles in the store, and excitedly went home to wash my face.

Um...I don't like it. At all. Not. A. Fan.

Let's break this down:

The Good
I like the packaging. The product comes in an inverted Spring green squeeze tube. The tube is also translucent, so you can see how much product you have left and not be caught off guard by an empty tube. The print work on the tube is attractive and...well, simple. I'm also impressed by Simple's promise to never use dyes, fragrances, or irritants, as well as their low price point. This tube was $7.99 before coupon.

The Bad
This stuff smells awful. I'm all for not using perfumes, but this product doesn't smell "natural"; in fact, it smells downright chemical. That's actually the word Thomas used to describe it when I asked him to sniff the tube. To me, the scrub reeks of bug spray. It's just not pleasant.

Another thing that's not pleasant is the exfoliator. Simple uses rice granules, but they're so large that they don't so much smooth your skin as assault it. If I wanted to scrape my skin, I could just use my fingernails, thank you. Also, the granules do not dissolve, so if you use this in the bath (and I do), the granules stay in the bath water. Granted, this does mean that they, in effect, scrub your entire body, but not well, not comfortably, and not on purpose. It's just kind of gross.

The Ugly
In in a fancy circle on the front of the tube, you'll see the word "moisturizing". Ignore that. My skin has felt tight and dry after each washing. I've also experienced some breakouts, but I can't definitively point to this as the culprit. I'm pretty sure, but can't say for a fact.

I'm stuck with this stuff for the moment, so I'll keep you posted if anything new develops. The wipes are great. I've really enjoyed the toner. This is not up to par with those. If you're looking for an inexpensive scrub, go with the Olay. I know I will be.

Final Verdict: 3.6 out of 10. Try the line, but skip this.

The Ballad of the Third-Life Crisis: Olay Total Effects 7 Cleansing Cloth Review

Photo Credit: Drugstore.com

You know how I said, last week, that I was switching to Olay Total Effects 7 Cleansing Cloths? Yeah...well, forget about that. I'm going back to my beloved Neutrogena, and apologizing for ever doubting it.

Let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up: They kinda suck.

My skin, here lately, has been looking a little rough. I have moisturized. I have exfoliated. I have used retinol and vitamin C, and pretty much any other sh--um, crud you could think of. In retrospect, it's probably just this diet I've been on, and the fact that I have lost some weight in my face (yay!), coupled with gas heat and Winter dryness. However, at the time I noticed my skin's dullness, I was in the throws of, well, what you might call a "third-life crisis". I'll be 32 in a few months, my baby brother starts high school in the Fall, and what have I done with my life? (Actually, way more than I've had any right to, and I'm grateful for all of it. Unfortunately, in the midst of a third-life crisis, temporary amnesia sets in. Who knew?) Why, I'm gonna be forty! Someday! Yes, I was being completely stupid, but at the time, all I could think was, "I'm so old! I must have anti-aging products...STAT!"

So, out with the Neutrogena wipes, in with the Olay.

The first night I used the Olay, I had barely any makeup on. I'd done an at-home facial, and wanted to let my skin breathe, so I used a light mineral foundation and not much else. When I looked down at the used wipe, there wasn't much in the way of removed makeup on it, but why would there be? I slathered on some moisturizer and eye cream and went to bed.

The next morning, my skin looked gorgeous. Everything was even and glowing, and I looked like I was wearing makeup! I just brushed on a little mineral foundation and hopped out the door. These wipes were the bomb!

That night, I noticed two sides to the Olay wipe. One side was smooth, for removing makeup, and the other was textured for a deeper clean and mild exfoliation. Could these wipes get any better?! Again, there wasn't much on the used cloth, but I'd only worn a little makeup. There wasn't much to remove to begin with, and my skin looked utterly amazing...

...until the next morning, when I noticed some teeny tiny breakouts. Well, they were probably from the facial. That's to be expected when you draw out the bad stuff, right? I had to sing a couple of weddings that day, so I used a heavier foundation for extra camouflage. The thing was, that night, when I used the Olay wipe, I noticed that there still wasn't much on the wipe--not even on the textured side. Oh, Dear God...

That's when I realized that my skin hadn't been glowing from the anti-aging benefits of the cleansing cloths. Nope. I looked like I was wearing makeup because I was wearing makeup! By this time, the eensy-weensy breakouts were looking more and more like full-on blackheads and cystic acne. Not to gross you out, but my cheek had a blackhead so large and dark that it looked like I'd drawn it on with a felt-tip pen. I quickly grabbed a Neutrogena wipe and ran it over my face. To my horror, it became completely coated in makeup. Holy Hand Grenade, Batman!

The good news is that I figured out the problem quickly, and through thorough cleansing, exfoliation, and some awesome salicylic acid, my skin has almost completely recovered. Luckily, I only used the cloths at night, and scrubbed my face with a "real" face wash and brush during my morning showers. Otherwise, who knows how much damage would have been done.

Final Verdict: 0 out of 10. Don't even use these to clean your countertops.

So, a Sea Anemone and a Plastic Boar Walk Into a Shower...



Photo Credit: Sephora

 It's officially Summer, which means--down here in the Deep South, anyway--beach holidays, an explosion of azaleas, crawfish boils, pool-side barbeques, hundred-plus degree temperatures, a thousand percent humidity, sweat-soaked hair and clothes just from walking out to the mailbox, and, at least, two showers a day.

It's hot. It's sticky. It's gross, and my skin has been paying the price.

Honestly, my blackheads were getting so out of hand that I was doing face masks way more often than is recommended, giving my extractor a workout, slathering on acne gel, and using both a regular facewash and an exfoliating scrub. I even tried a pore strip (and that's another post). I was desperate, and desperate times call for desperate measures.

Obviously, changing what I washed my face with wasn't working, so maybe I should try changing how I washed my face. I was placing a Sephora order, anyway, so I figured I'd tack on this little gem of a brush. If nothing else, it would throw me into Free Shipping territory.

First, let's hear from Sephora:

This brush's ultra-soft brush head gently exfoliates dead skin cells. Its other side features a silicone pad with tiny bristles to deeply cleanse pores while invigorating the skin. Use daily to reveal glowing, radiant skin.

Now, let's hear from me:

The brush is dual-headed, with a soft-bristled brush on one side, and super-flexible silicone sea anemone on the other. To use, I apply my facewash to my face, wet the brush side of the tool and scrub my face in a circular motion. Then, I wet the silicone side and repeat the process. I've been using this puppy for four days, and I can tell a difference. When I wash my face, it feels clean and is smooth to the touch. That's not really the norm around here. I've been able to lay off the face masks and scrubs, too, though I am still using the acne medication, but to a lesser degree. In other words, this works.

The tool isn't perfect, though. There are a couple of flaws that, while not dealbreakers for me, might be for you. First of all, the head is not flexible. The bristles are, but the head, itself, is hard, flat plastic. This makes getting the shorter silicone side into the curves around your nose very difficult. I'm okay with just using the longer brush side to reach those areas, but that's personal preference. The other gripe is the lack of hanging apparatus. Yes, there is a little hole in the handle, but unless you have a spare piece of rope to loop through it, it's not really useful for hanging. Right now, I have mine propped upright in a shower organizer, but a little soap-on-a-rope loop or even a suction cup would have been nice. For eighteen bucks, I think they could have tossed something in to keep it from getting mildewy. $18, Sephora.

Final Verdict: 8 out of 10. It's a little pricey, but talk about saving face.