little white truths

Hello and welcome to another Ethique review.

As you may know, I've been cycling through a lot of Ethique products this year because I've wanted to bring less plastic into the house and also work out which items from this brand I want to keep purchasing, and which ones I wouldn't use again.

Unfortunately this face scrub isn't for me: it's too scratchy for my face and I prefer to use it on my body. More on that below.

Ethique claims/product details:

• Gingersnap comes in four ovals, which are perfect for exfoliating the face
• Made with brown sugar, ginger and a hint of cinnamon, this bar gently buffs away old skin cells and leaves a light layer of moisture behind
• Leaves your skin glowing and invigorated
• A delicious blend of jojoba oil, ginger, vanilla, cinnamon and brown sugar, this exfoliator smells divine
• Your pores will feel relaxed and rejuvenated after use
• Perfect for all skin types and a great cleanser on its own, so you don’t need to use two products
• Keep dry between uses
• Made in NZ; certified carbon neutral company; 100% biodegradable; compostable packaging; certified palm oil free; gluten-free; certified cruelty free and vegan
• RRP $24.95 AUD for 100g

I think it's worth noting now that, while I love the idea of Ethique as a brand and enjoy many of its products, I haven't had any luck with the facial products or moisturisers so far, so I personally would stick with the body soaps and scrubs.

Also note I've just seen that this product hasn't had great reviews (see eg nourishedlife.com.au), so I wouldn't start with this if you're new to the brand: I would go with a body product first because they tend to work better and they have better reviews.

Verdict

This product is fine for the body but I don't like it on the face because I find it to be too harsh and abrasive, so if you're someone who avoids manual exfoliants for that reason, then I wouldn't buy this.

It's a soap product that comes in four little ovals and it's meant to smell delicious, but unfortunately mine doesn't smell at all. And that's an issue I've had with Ethique: if you're lucky and receive a new bar, it will smell great - but anything that's more than say six months old won't be smelling much, and anything older may not smell at all. Disappointing.

From the moment I first used this, I knew it would be too scratchy and rough for the face so I've only used it a couple of times that way, and I now only use it on the body. Skincare lovers will know that manual exfoliants aren't good for the skin (you're better off using the chemical ones), and this is one of the harsher manual exfoliants I've tried so I wouldn't put it near my face again.

As a body scrub, this is fine - although the dedicated body scrubs from Ethique cost five dollars less and contain 10g more of product, so I wouldn't buy this for that purpose because you're better off going for a dedicated body scrub.

I use this on my body around twice a week, and after use my skin feels polished, soft and smooth. If you're wondering why I can use something like this on my body and not my face, that's because my body skin is tougher and I'm also not worried about overdoing things with my body (by the time I'm older, I won't be showing body skin anyway - but your face is your face).

Overall, I don't like this product and I can't recommend it. It's harsh and rough so I can't use it on my face, mine doesn't smell at all, and while it's fine to use as a body scrub, I didn't buy it for that so I can't give it a good review.

Not for me.