little white truths

This little deluxe sample of Pūrearth's facial exfoliant came in our Maslow & Co Asian Edits back in August (unboxed here) and I've been using it since then so it's high time I reviewed it.

Long story short, it's a nice product that smells good and feels special, but it's expensive for what it is and it's not perfect so it's not something I would buy.

The product comes in this sweet little apothecary jar, and apparently each one is hand-filled and bottled in French Violetglass to preserve the bio-active energy of the ingredients.

According to Pūrearth's website, most of the brand's ingredients are gathered at high altitudes of the Himalayas by micro-credit and women's self-help groups. Through these partnerships, marginalised producers apparently engage with urban markets on fair terms.

If you'd like to learn more about the brand, see here.

Pūrearth claims/product details:

• An ancient Ayurvedic recipe handed down over generations, this hand-blended treat is a union of organic, biodynamic turmeric, Kashmiri saffron, Persian walnuts, bitter apricot kernels and neem 
• Gentle and effective, it lifts dead skin cells and draws out impurities, clearing acne, congestion and blemishes, and encouraging blood flow
• Polishes, leaves skin soft and smooth
• Works well for thicker, oily skin
• Fullers earth and walnut help reduce pores, gently exfoliating blackheads and clearing blemishes and acne; Fuller’s earth also absorbs excess oil, leaving skin balanced and fresh
• Turmeric comprises a group of compounds that are antiseptic, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory, with the ability to reduce acne and scarring; they also fend off free radicals, and help normalise and brighten an uneven skintone
• Rare Kashmir saffron has natural skin lightening qualities; its antifungal content makes it effective for the treatment of acne, blemishes and blackheads, and for refining skin texture
• To use (exfoliant): activate one spoonful with water, milk, honey or yoghurt to create a wet paste; gently layer onto the face, avoiding the eyes and mouth; massage upward in circular strokes to infuse your skin with active enzymes and brighten and even skintone
• To use (mask): for acne prone skin, allow to penetrate as a mask for up to 15 minutes as desired; rinse off with cool water
• RRP $76 AUD for 100g

Above and below you'll see what the product looks like.

It's one of those powdered products that you mix with some kind of carrier before use (eg water) and then apply to your face, so it's a little messy and it won't be for those who don't like products that involve an extra step or two.

Verdict

This is a nice product but it's not without its issues and although I'll enjoy it while I have it, it's not one I would buy.

It's a powder exfoliant that smells like turmeric and has a similar colour to that spice. You mix it with a carrier (I use water) and apply it to your face, before massaging it in or leaving it on for a while as a mask.

The first three times I used it, I left it on as a mask before massaging it in for the exfoliation aspect: even though the directions say that the mask-use is for acne-prone skin, I wanted to try it on my dry skin - just to get a double purpose from the product.

Unfortunately it's too drying to use as a mask on me, but the product doesn't lose points for that because it does specify that the mask-use is for acne-prone, oily skin. So it's not meant for me and I can confirm that it definitely isn't because my skin felt dry for a day or so after using it as a mask. I guess that means it's effective at absorbing oil!

As an exfoliant, the product offers a gentle polish that isn't too scratchy and it leaves my skin feeling soft and lightly resurfaced after use. For this reason I prefer to use the product in the morning before makeup application, because it helps my base go on a little more easily so I use less of it and get a more natural finish.

While I do like the result, I don't like how fiddly the product is. It's one of those powders that doesn't mix as well with water as I would like - so I need to work it into the water for a while, to get it to a consistency where I can apply it well - and I also need to play around with the amount of water I add to really get it right. If I don't use enough, the product forms little lumps and it won't adhere to my face properly (so I lose a lot); and if I use too much, it swims out of my hands and I lose some that way too. And of course, when you lose product, you also create mess in the bathroom sink and/or on the floor.

Also, every time I use this, I wind up with little bits of powder in my eyes - no matter how much I try to avoid it. Perhaps I'm just a big spanner, but this is a battle I always have with the product. Indeed, I used it again this morning and I can still feel the grains in there as I type this. Yes I keep the product away from my eyes as directed, but some of the lighter/finer bits of powder always travel there when I rinse my face.

Also also, every time I use this, it dyes my skin the colour of turmeric. The situation was worse when I used it as a mask, but it still does that if I just use it as an exfoliant. This doesn't matter too much for me because I use a toner afterwards and the colour comes off on my makeup pad, but that's something to keep in mind.

On the claims, there's a lot of those so I won't repeat them here, but I will say that the main effects I've noticed from using this are that it leaves my skin feeling smooth and soft, and it also brightens my face a little and makes it look a bit healthier and fresher after use. So I haven't noticed whether it has any effect on acne etc, but perhaps that's because I have dry skin so acne isn't a huge concern for me anyway.

Overall I think this is a nice product and I'm enjoying using it, but it's expensive for what it is and I'm also sick of winding up with powder in my eyes! Worth noting, though, is that even though it costs a lot, even this little sample is lasting me forever so at least the full size will make up for its cost on a price-per-use basis.

Nice but not perfect.