The Body Shop Strawberry Body Polish $20 Review

Joke of the day:

Why was the strawberry so upset?

Cause he was in a jam! Hahaha!
(yes I'm easily amused)

"Best if you want to: Cleanse and exfoliate with a foaming, gel-based scrub that has crushed walnut shells and kiwi seeds and a light strawberry scent.

Best for: normal skin, suitable for everyday use

How it works:
■Strawberry juice is rich in vitamin C and antioxidants to protect and nourish skin, as well as pore-cleansing salicylic acid; provides natural strawberry fragrance and red color.
■Community Trade organic honey moisturizes and conditions skin.
■Sunflower oil and sweet almond oil moisturize and soften skin." ~from The Body Shop website

Swatches
This body polish has the consistency of a gel that's not too thick or too runny. It also contains bits of walnut shell and kiwi seeds throughout that never fully dissolve but it's ok because they're really gentle.

I wish there was smellapost (maybe it'll be available when smellavision comes around) because this stuff smells so delicious! It smells just like strawberry jam and I'm soooo tempted to eat it!

Product Packaging
The body polish is in a plastic squeeze tube with a pop-tab cap which makes it very easy to dispense the gel in the shower.

The Verdict: A-
Using this body polish has so many benefits! You get squeaky clean, it gives you a good scrub down to slough off dry skin, and it triples as an aromatherapy wash!

This scrubbing bodywash is really gentle and it doesn't dry out skin - even with daily use. Also the sweet strawberry smell lingers on the skin even after it's rinsed off. I end up walking around smelling my arm all day long.

The Body Shop Cyber Monday 2009 Parcel

Another Cyber Monday deal I succumbed to. This was more of a re-stock opprotunity than anything else.

I had to re-stock on the Vitamin C Boost (which I use as an unconventional primer) and the Strawberry Body Polish.

I did get 2 new items: A Detangling Comb that I wanted to use with conditioners and a Midnight Stars Oil Burner (Drats! I forgot to include the oil burner in the pic. I promise to have pics with the review - so no worries).

I also picked up a Vitamin E Eye Cream for my granny. I've used it in the past but I wasn't consistent(plus I was ridicously young about 17 and obviously paranoid) so I can't give any honest feedback on this. Granny likes it though and what Granny wants Granny gets because she feeds me :)

Shipping Experience: A
No complaints with The Body Shop's shipping process. All the items arrived in one shipment and everything was well-wrapped and shipped securely. O I should also mention - they use ziploc baggies for everything! I'm a ziploc packer myself so I feel The Body Shop and I are kindred spirits :)

MAC Volcanic Ash Exfoliator $19.50 Review

I totally missed out the when Volcanic Ash Exfoliator first debuted so I had to see what all the hype was about this time around. I didn't want to miss out again on this Limited Edition item.


"A highly effective, dual-purpose foaming, cleansing and exfoliating scrub blending natural Volcanic Ash with fine sugar crystals. Refines and unclogs the skin, adds instant moisture: leaves skin feeling soft and comfortably clean. Mineral-rich. May be used effectively on any part of face or body. Rinses off with warm water." ~from MAC's website.

The directions say to smooth this over the skin and then rinse off with warm water 1-3x a week. I tried it that way and I didn't like it because the second this stuff touches water, it's GONE. Instead I spread it all over my skin and then with moisten hands I "scrubbed" it around. See the next set of pictures below to see how it transforms.

Swatches

Here's some of the exfoliator right out of the tube. It's jet black with large flaky grains.


When the water is added, it gets a bit foamy and a bit thinner. See the grains? It looks a lot like kosher salt but I'm not brave enough to find out. If I were to keel over I would just hate to go like that.


Working it in a bit more... you can see it's starting to turn grey as it dissolves.


Ok at this point the "salt" grains have completely dissolved and this is when I finally rinse it all off with warm water. I use this for my face about 1-2x a week and on patchy dry areas of my body whenever.

Product Packaging

I love when MAC takes a departure from their usual black boxes. The outer packaging of the Volcanic Ash Exfoliator is a white box with a raised MAC monogram all over.

I've no issues with the packaging of the actual product. They improved it this time and put it in a plastic squeezy tube. It makes it easy and mess-free to get the product out.

The Verdict: A+
This stuff really rocks! It leaves skin so clean and soft. What really sets it apart from other exfoliators is the foaming action. Even though it only foams a little bit, I think foaming makes the exfoliating process feel bubbly. It's a really nice unique feeling. Most other exfoliators just feel like I'm sandpapering my skin.

There is a strong smoky smell to this and it seems it's either a love it or hate it type of scent. I personally do not mind the smell, but I'm really super sensitive to smoke - I blame my weak nasal passages. When I use this on my face I have to work fast or else I get a tickle in my throat and feel like coughing.

Shipping Experience - Macy's: A+
I bought just 1 bottle of Volvanic Ash at MAC's boutique because I wanted to be sure I really liked this exfoliator before stocking up. Since I ended up loving it, I turned to Macy's to stock up. They were the only store I could find that would allow me to purchase 6 items of these at once.


So here's the stash of my precious Volcanic Ash until MAC re-releases it or better yet makes it part of their permanent collection!