St Ives Blemish Fighting Apricot Scrub

RRP: £3.99/150ml

--What does the promo say?--

"Goodbye Blemishes. Fight blemishes and breakouts with the power of nature. St. Ives Blemish Fighting scrub gently helps prevent and treat breakouts with ingredients from nature – and give you the confidence that comes along with having naturally clear skin."

--Packaging--

While St Ives has always capitalised on its image of apricots, this has typically been accompanied by very pale colours (apricot, baby blue...) in the past. Not anymore: this squeezy plastic flip-top tube is now decorated with a bright orange strapline and a hot pink tab ringing in the changes. Orange and black text keeps things short and sweet and the St Ives logo is still recognisable and unchanged. The tube itself is very easy to use and doesn't leak at all.

--Application--

Rub a 5p-10p sized amount between wet hands and massage gently onto damp skin. Wipe off using a damp flannel. Use 3-4 times a week.

--Appearance--

A pale brown-peach coloured cream with dark brown flecks in it (that's the walnut shell and corn kernels that help exfoliate). Some of the exfoliating grains are left on the skin even after rinsing, which is a bit annoying.

--Scent--

Does smell like apricot, but I have the impression from the ingredients list that this is a synthetic scent (or at least the natural smell is pimped using synthetic products) due to the presence of the eternally vague 'Parfum (Fragrance)' that appears there. Smells nice nonetheless!

--Texture and consistency--

Satisfyingly scrubby without being at all irritating. You really feel like it's working as the walnut shell and corn kernels get to work.

--Effects on the skin--

Skin definitely feels smoother immediately after use, and longer term, blackheads and whiteheads cleared up. Blackheads that did reappear were much easier to extract and I definitely noticed a difference in the stubbornness of spots, redness of skin and general recurrence of acne when I stopped using the product. No going back for me now!

--Value for money--

This is an excellent product which manages to be simultaneously functional and luxurious. At £3.99 it's also bargainous, and while it's always been a classic, I can now see why. Without having tried any products from St Ives before, I now wonder where on earth I've been. Definitely a top quality product.

perfect partner

Deep Cleansing Body Scrub, £3.50/300ml