This sugar scrub and lip balm combo is one of the little things you start using and immediately wonder how you managed without them. It's not that there aren't several lip scrubs already on the market or that a simple washcloth didn't do a fine enough job at sloughing off dry skin, but I find the Perfect Pout brown sugar scrub from Maiden Beauty to be highly addictive and it works amazingly well.
To test this properly, I didn't do the washcloth exfoliating for a few days and let some icky skin build up (I know you're all happy to know that). Then I tried the scrub and let it do the work. To my delight, it was just what I needed and then some. You rub a tiny amount all over your lips (you need very little) and enjoy the sugary, caramely taste (the smell is very candy-like, quite pleasant but might not be to everyone's taste). You can tissue it off, but since the product is completely edible, I find that giving it a quick lick to clean off the granules works best, as it leaves most of the balm part of the product on your lips until it sinks in and nourishes the skin without any heavy residue.
To test this properly, I didn't do the washcloth exfoliating for a few days and let some icky skin build up (I know you're all happy to know that). Then I tried the scrub and let it do the work. To my delight, it was just what I needed and then some. You rub a tiny amount all over your lips (you need very little) and enjoy the sugary, caramely taste (the smell is very candy-like, quite pleasant but might not be to everyone's taste). You can tissue it off, but since the product is completely edible, I find that giving it a quick lick to clean off the granules works best, as it leaves most of the balm part of the product on your lips until it sinks in and nourishes the skin without any heavy residue.
It tastes good and can become addictive, especially since the results are great. It's become part of my twice-a-day routine and my lips haven't been this happy in ages.
The balm has a similar scent though it doesn't actually taste as sweet. The texture is different than other popular products (Smith Rosebud Salve or Burt's Bees): It's more solid in the tin but wears much thinner. It feels a bit oily for the first 30 seconds before it starts sinking in and giving the lips a plump, healthy look, without stickiness or extra weight. The balm would probably not protect the skin from blistering winds as well as petroleum-based products would, but it does a better job in actually nourishing them.
The balm is tinted, but very sheer. I'm using the one in the darkest color, Lady, a supposedly cherry red that's actually more rosy. In any case, unless I'm applying a huge amount (totally unnecessary, as a little goes a very long way), the color doesn't even show. If you're pale you'd probably get more color.
The scrub and balm are sold together as a gift set (a stocking stuffer idea?), so you can't get them separately.
The balm is tinted, but very sheer. I'm using the one in the darkest color, Lady, a supposedly cherry red that's actually more rosy. In any case, unless I'm applying a huge amount (totally unnecessary, as a little goes a very long way), the color doesn't even show. If you're pale you'd probably get more color.
The scrub and balm are sold together as a gift set (a stocking stuffer idea?), so you can't get them separately.
I'll have to get some of this- it's so dry here that even with salverings of shea butter I still have a problem with exfoliating my lips.
ReplyDeleteI suppose it's better than having the opposite problem, though...
if you lick it off, doesn't that mean you're eating the icky skin? eek! those sound great though.
ReplyDeleteTom- Now I have this mental image of a man with plump, oily lips. Too funny.
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely worth trying. My lips tend to get very dry (all the advice about drinking lots of water? it makes my skin laugh), but since using this there's no sign of dryness and the tiny scar I have on my bottom lip is back to being invisible.
Katie- Now, that's something I've successfully avoided thinking about. Until now, that is ;).
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