Tropic Skincare Body Polish

Hi guys hope you're all well! I'm nearly back at uni for my fourth year so have been working loads and blogging when I can, sorry for being a rubbish blogger! Anyway I have a review today of a new HG of mine, a beautiful Body Polish from Tropic Skincare. I was contacted on Twitter to ask if I wanted a free facial from a Tropic Skincare representative near to me. Unsurprisingly I said yes! I had heard of the brand before but didn't know too much about it. Their range is derived only from plants and has a very natural ethos. Check out their website here. Their products are vegan also, which is great.

At the moment the range is on the small side but each product has been carefully tested and I'd rather it was that way than having a large range which was ineffective. Various facial products were used on me during my facial and I have to say they all smelled amazing and my skin was left feeling very soft. But the thing that really struck me when I tried it was their Body Polish, and I just had to buy some before I left!

You can buy this product in two sizes, 100ml and 200ml. I have to say up front that for a body polish/scrub, there are cheaper ones out there, but I don't think you will find any that are nearly as good as this one. The 100ml is £14.95 and the 200ml is £19.95 so I went for the larger tub. Two months on and I'm still working my way through it!

These images were taken on a cloudy day and don't do the packaging justice so here is one from the Tropic Skincare site (I did NOT take this picture haha)

Ah much better! Anyway. When you open up the pot, all the sea salt has sunk to the bottom, with all the natural oils sitting on the top. I was given a spatula with this to mix it all up before using it. Once mixed, it becomes a moist yellow scrub with a fairly thick consistency. The oils are great as it means the scrub holds together well, and because they are plant oils they don't feel too, well, oily!

Pre-mixing

After mixing

You take a small amount of the mixed polish into your hand and smooth onto DRY skin, rub in circular motions then wash off. All of the salt but not all of the oils are washed off, leaving you with a very light layer of the smoothest, most stunningly scented oil on your skin. I used this just on my hands to try it out when I was there for my facial and could not stop running my hands over each other throughout my facial, that's how I knew I had to have it! The representative also told me that you can use this before shaving your legs and you don't have to use shaving foam/cream. I've tried this once and it works like a dream but you need to clean your razor after as the oil clogged it up a little.

all you need for silky soft hands!

They also do a face polish using rice instead of sea salt, it smelled just as divine so might get that next time as I'm so blown away by this product. The scent is luxurious, as though you are on an exotic island in a five star spa. It smells mostly of citrus fruits, patchouli, bergamot and a little bit of mint. That might not sound too appetizing but the effect is glorious.

I've ranted on enough now I reckon. You get the gist, I love love love this product. I wish it was a tad cheaper as I know I will end up buying multiple pots of this, but it is worth every penny and I'd still buy it if it was double the price. Sigh.

10/10 and a gold star :)

Betty Buff Banoffee Sugar Scrub!

Morning all, happy Sunday etc! Another body scrub review of one of the items sent to me kindly by Betty Buff, this time the Banoffee Sugar Scrub. This is a little different from the Besty Zesty Scrub I reviewed here, which I sadly finished the other day. I was in love with that scrub and was a bit worried I wouldnt like this one as much.

The formulation of these sort of scrubs are very different from the likes of the Besty Zesty, which had a lot of liquid to mix in with the sugar and visible bits of fruit through it. This is a much drier formula, which made me feel like it scrubbed a bit deeper but was a bit harder to use as it was crumbly and tended to fall on the floor when I was using it in the shower.

As you can see the sugar all molds together in the pot, it's very sticky and smells delicious! There is brown sugar and freeze dried banana in this, it makes for a rich, warming smell. Very comforting, it reminds me of gingerbread men and banana bread, there is something very sensual about this smell too, like rich coffee.

It is a little too crumbly for my liking, but when it is on your skin and wet, the scent wafts up to you and there is a brownish residue on your skin around the sugar which reminds me of some luxury body treatments I've had abroad. Your skin is left very soft and smooth afterwards.

I do love this scrub and I would definitely recommend it to others, especially for winter time due to the scent, but my heart still lies with Besty Zesty unfortunately! Partly due to the oils and fruit pieces and partly due to the scent. I'm a grapefruit girl at heart!

8/10 for this
*this item was gifted to me for reviewing purposes

Kokeshi in the buff!

Well that got your attention, didn't it? This morning the postman turned up with a very exciting package for me, I had been speaking to Ellie from Betty Buff, scrub maker extraordinaire, on Twitter. She offered to send me some goodies to review, and I obviously accepted ecstatically! I had heard of Betty Buff on another blog, and was really drawn to how so much care is put into the products. I have sensitive skin but like a good scrub, and I need to be so careful with what I use on my body. I'm a massive Lush fan as I like fresh products made with wholesome ingredients, and I would say Betty Buff's products are even more wholesome than Lush! This is what I got (spoiled or what?)

So on the left we have the Peppermint sugar scrub from the Gunky Monkey range (it's for boys), Candy Floss sugar scrub, Besty Zesty sugar scrub and Banoffee sugar scrub. I've not touched the Peppermint one as I'm leaving it for Richard to open and try it and I love how it's packaged! All the packaging is quirky and cute, I love the 50's pinup in the bath style and general retro feel. You also get a lot for your money, which is a big deal for a bargain hunter like me. The smaller pots are £6.00, the larger pot is £8.00, as is the Gunky Monkey scrub.

I sniffed all three of my scrubs and they each smell AMAZING. The Candy Floss has freeze dried strawberries in it and smells like a strawberry daquiri, I was salivating just sniffing it, I'll review that in full later. Same with the Banoffee scrub, I don't like fake banana scents but luckily this wasn't like that at all! It has soft brown sugar in it so is a thicker consistency, it reminds me of an expensive mud scrub I had done in Egypt. It smells luxurious and rich, and it reminds me of when we used to put bananas on the barbeque with rum on. It also reminds me of gingerbread men! Maybe this scrub should be one to share in the bath with someone you love as it's quite a sexy smell :) But onto the star of the bunch, Besty Zesty.

 Isn't that gorgeous? It smells really fresh and citrussy, a bit like Tropicana to be honest! The texture is not too grainy, quite light and easy to mix. But my favourite thing about this is the lack of oiliness after using it. I have used so many scrubs, Body Shop, Lush, Boots, Sanctuary Spa, Clinique, Arran Aromatics, the list goes on. But a lot of them have a moisturising cream or oil added to them, which leaves me feeling oily or makes my skin react. This does have vegetable oil in it but there is hardly any, and there is glycerine, honey and fresh grapefruit which keep the liquid element of the scrub light.

Can you see the grapefruit bits and pips? I love that! I like being able to see the ingredients in products, it somehow makes me feel as though they are more likely to work? Weird haha. Anyway I just scoop up some of the product, making sure its a mixture of the scrubby bit and the liquid, and work in circles on my skin, not too hard, until I feel as though its had a good going over. Then rinse off with warm water. I usually jump in the bath and start with my legs.

Results? Pretty darn great! No redness on my legs, which is the usual reaction if the scrub is too harsh, no tingling or itching, as it's natural and fresh so doesn't irritate with nasty chemicals. My skin feels smooth and clean, I have beach-ready legs for once! Now I just need Scotland to get the sun out and I'll reveal my baby-soft, gleaming skin. I'm really very impressed with this product and I like the fact that it has to be used by August due to the fresh ingredients. It worries me when a beauty product could last a nuclear attack and still be used. Fresh all the way! Obviously this was given to me, but as I'm sure you know I'm honest about everything I review (you can read my scathing review of an Nfu Oh nail varnish here if you doubt this).

Betty Buff's website is about to be updated so the current one is a little plain (sorry Ellie I know the new one will be shiny and gorgeous), but don't let that put you off for now. Betty Buff products are great value for money, high quality and fun to use. You can find them at www.bettybuff.co.uk

10/10 from me, I'll be happy to buy from the rest of the range once I've used these up!!