little white truths

I received this travel-sized scrub as a bonus with an order ages ago and I'd completely forgotten about it. I've been going through my beauty products (the stores are happily looking rather empty!) and came across this last week, and I've been using it since then.

It's one of those products that I was expecting to love - it sounds like something I would like and I do love my exfoliants, plus it has awesome reviews - but it just hasn't grabbed me. Maybe this is partly because I have a few face scrubs on hand that I much prefer, and this one feels a bit meh.

• Scientifically formulated to promote cell renewal and stimulate collagen, improving the appearance and texture of the skin
• Smooth round beads and AHAs gently remove dead skin cells and exfoliate the skin 
• Encourages maximum penetration of subsequently applied active ingredients
• Gentle enough for everyday use
• Contains glycolic acid (AHAs) and smooth round beads to exfoliate the skin, thereby promoting cell renewal and revealing fresher, younger looking skin
• Suitable for all skin types
• To use: apply to wet skin after cleansing; massage gently for 30 seconds; rinse thoroughly
• RRP $29 for 50ml, but do shop around

Verdict

As mentioned above, I was expecting to love this but really didn't.

It doesn't 'feel' like a special product: it doesn't smell wonderful or feel lovely on the skin, and I don't like the round beads because they don't feel as though they're doing a good job of exfoliation.

The product has a faint scent (like lotion) and is a white cream that feels lightweight. It's certainly not the best product I own in terms of its exfoliating powers and I also don't think it's that gentle: my skin has dried out over the past week and while I can't say for sure that this product had anything to do with that, I can say that my skin feels dry after using this and it's started to look red and flaky in patches.

In terms of product claims, I don't think this has improved my skin's appearance and texture (as mentioned, if anything it has dried it out) and I don't think it's that gentle. Maybe the glycolic acid is the problem: very few products containing this ingredient work for my skin because it does tend towards dryness - especially in the colder months - and products containing glycolic acid can exacerbate that.

Do note that I'm in the minority with my views on this product (if the reviews on eg beautyheaven are anything to go by), so perhaps I'm just discovering that my skin is more sensitive to AHAs than I first thought. So far the only product I've found containing these that I can use is my HG product Alpha-H Liquid Gold (reviewed here), which might be telling me something because I've used a few products containing AHAs now.

Low marks from me I'm afraid. Has anyone else found that this product is drying?