CONFESSIONS: of a Scrubaholic (Part 1)...

Yes it's time to reveal one of several little personal secrets about myself - I am addicted to scrubs! They say that the first step along the road to recovery is admitting you have a problem, so this is my official "outing", not that I REALLY want to get over this though. There are far worse habits I need to break (like working ridiculously long hours) and at around $10 a pop, it's not really a serious issue...is it?

So here's what's currently in my shower stall - eight of 'em! Do I really need that many? Nope. Do I love having choices? Well that's a big fat YES, plus my skin seems to change with the seasons, or whatever else I'm using in my skin care routine, so it's essential to have a wide range of products on hand if my face is becoming either slightly more oily or dry. (Lol if I keep going, I might even convince myself ha ha...)

Exfoliation is an essential part of my daily shower routine - I find if I don't use a scrub every morning, my blackheads start to multiply, my complexion loses some of it's lustre and refinement, my pore clogging almost doubles, and I experience flaking of the skin around my nose and chin. Apart from preventing (or at the very least reducing) the aforementioned yucky developments, I love how fresh, clean and silky soft my skin feels afterwards.

Why do I have so many? I have to admit it's mainly so I don't get bored! Anything I do each and every day soon becomes a chore, most definitely dreary, and anyway, they say that variety is the spice of life - plus by using a different one each time, I never grow weary of any particular brand :-)

Important note: when I buy a new scrub, I make sure I use it exclusively for a week or two to see how it performs, and just in case there are any adverse reactions (like irritation or over-drying of my skin). If it passes my particular tests, then it joins the other members of my rotation collection...

I love all of the ones pictured above, for different reasons - potency or gentleness, fragrance or feel on my skin, each one of them has a quality that I don't want to miss out on. Here's a run down (in no particular order) of why I like them. Incidentally I've split this post into two parts so that YOU don't get bored before you've reached the bottom of the page ha ha...

Bioré Pore Unclogging Scrub

I use this probably once per week because it's quite a strong formula - the little blue beads are gentle, but the cream itself contains salicylic acid so I'm wary of using it too often on my old skin. I'm not so keen on the fragrance of this one (it's a bit chemical), but it's brilliant for a weekly deeeeeeep cleanse. The cream is nice and thick too so there's no chance of dispensing too much...

Clearasil Vitamins & Extracts Scrub

Love the smell of this one, and the fact that the cream contains two kinds of exfoliators - lots of gentle grainy bits in the thick cream base, plus a smattering of round blue ones. Not completely sure which of these is responsible for the reduction in my blackheads, but overall this little baby sure does the trick, and I will be buying this one again. My beautyheaven review of it is here...

Clean & Clear Morning Burst Skin Brightening Facial Scrub

This came in my Blogstar box and I'm so glad - I went through quite a dilemma when I bought the orange one as I was torn between the two. So now I have both, and they're equally effective, AND delicious smelling too. Super gentle, it contains lemon, caffeine and papaya, which all adds up to a zingy and refreshing start to my mornings. But be warned - this is quite runny (and the next one too) so go easy on the tube squeezing :-)

Clean & Clear Morning Burst Facial Scrub

Out of the two C&C scrubs, this one has the edge because of the fresh orangey scent - it's just a personal preference, and the colour makes me smile. Everything else about it seems to be identical to the lemon one - very gentle and it doesn't make my face feel tight or dry. Definitely a stayer in my collection...

Are you a scrub addict? Which one is your favourite?

Part 2 coming soon...

Take care of you,
kats xxx