Lemon Sugar Facial Scrub by Andalou Naturals

Disclaimer: I purchased this.

Andalou Naturals is fast becoming one of my favorite skincare companies. I've already talked about my love for their DIY Booster SPF30 Facial Serum, and now I'm adding the Lemon Sugar Facial Scrub to the greatest hits list. I love this stuff.

Targeted towards oily and overactive skin (hello, me), this organic cane sugar, manuka honey and meyer lemon based exfoliating scrub smells and feels divine. Andalou's products all contain something known as ''fruit stem cell science", which as far as I can tell means apple, grape, argan oil, or alpine rose stem cells plus other bioactive ingredients included in the mix.  Looks like the sugar scrub has apple and grape stem cells.

You may be familiar with some of the other companies that the founders of Andalou Naturals have started, such as Avalon Organics, Alba Botanica, Sonoma Soap Company, or Unpetroleum. Andalou Naturals is their most recent venture, and is the first non-GMO verified beauty company. Plus, the products are reasonably priced. Seriously, I'm smitten.

I like using the sugar scrub about twice a week in the mornings.  I'll put about a nickels worth in the palm of my hand with just a few drops of water, rub my hands together and then massage my face.  Less water means more scrubbing action, but the sugar granules are fairly fine in nature so it does not feel overly abrasive. After a minute or so the sugar scrub has become a rich cream that smells divine and tastes great, should you get any in your mouth. Afterwards, my skin feels soft, smooth, hydrated, and happy. That's right, happy. I just got an email letting me know that Andalou Naturals is having a 30% off sale through February 20th, so now is the time to dip your toe in (Code: VDAY). They've got some nice sampler sets to get you started. I've tried several and liked most of them thus far (packaging recently changed, just as a FYI).

One Fine Day Flawless Face Polish by Farmhouse Fresh

I've got another facial sugar cleanser/exfoliator to show you, this time one that is supposed to the good for those with dry or sensitive skin as well as those with rosacea.  Now, I've got oily skin, but I still love the One Fine Day Flawless Face Polish, as it's mild enough to use daily if desired.  I'll probably be using this more in the winter, when my skin gets a tad less oily.  I do break it out for once a week use right now, when I want to nourish my face with a bit of extra moisture.

Farmhouse Fresh products are paraben and sulfate free and are composed of 90-99% natural or naturally derived ingredients.  One Fine Day is 96.5% natural and features shea butter, sugar, castor and sunflower oils.  It is lightly scented with a variet of citrus oils, and I see vanilla in the mix as well.  I personally love the scent and find it really adds to the experience.

To apply, I wash my hands, and then put a nickel size dab of the scrub in my still wet hands and apply to my dry face.  I find that this gives enough moisture to emulsify the scrub but not so much that the sugar crystals dissolve too quickly.   After rinsing, my skin is super soft without a hint of greasiness, so the water seems to do a good job of rinsing away the oils in the scrub. 

One Fine Day is $25, and I think it will be my winter time sugar scrub with Suki being my summer time sugar scrub (you can see a review of Suki here).  Both smell delicious, are naturally based, and cleanse as well as exfoliate. Apropo of nothing other than they are also white and smell delicious, below are some ginger lilies that are blooming in my yard. 

Ginger Lilies

Disclaimer:  I purchased this.

Pure Fiji Sugar Scrub

Pineapple, Coconut, Coconut Milk and Honey, Mango Sugar Scrubs

Pure Fiji is one of my favorite body care brands, and their sugar scrubs are my holy grail sugar scrub.  From the scents to the richness of the oils to the size of the sugar granules - they just do it for me. To the point where I've been stockpiling them.
These scrubs feature an oil  mixture of coconut, dilo nut, macadamia nut, sikeci nut, and vitamin e along with large granules of sugar.  The size of the sugar granules provide a vigorous scrub and the richness of the oils leave me soft and exceedingly well moisturized.  Be warned, these do leave oil on your skin, although I suppose that could be lessened by rinsing really well.  I don't have to use any other moisturizers after these  scrubs and the softness lasts all day.

The scent lingers all day as well, and I get more compliments when I wear these than any other scented product.  Pure Fiji has 10 different scents, and out of the ones I've sampled, the above are my favorites.  They do have one I really did not like called Starfruit, but scent preference is such an individual thing.  The newest scent offering is Orange Blossom, which to my nose is one of the softer scents in the line.

Each container is supposed to be good for 16-18 uses, but these last me much longer than that.  I'm guessing they base 16-18 uses on an overly generous estimate of scoops per use. I generally use these only on my legs due to their oiliness and the corresponding body lotion on my upper body, so one scoop is more than enough for me.

The oils will solidify in cooler temperatures, so in the winter mine look like this.





When not solidified, they are a lovely honey color.

I've talked about Pure Fiji's company philosophy and green practices when I reviewed their body butters, so I won't go into it here, but suffice it to say I view them as a quality company that makes exceptional products.  The sugar scrubs vary in price from $44-48, and can be purchased at spas that carry them (which is where I get mine), or online at Pure Fiji, Dermstore, Amazon, or other online retailers.  Amazon seems to have the best prices from what I can tell.