Caudalie Divine Scrub Review and New Year Chat

Well, it’s been a while… I can’t believe how quickly 2016 has gone by. The main reason things have been so quiet here for the past months is because I recently moved to the U.K. to do my master’s degree. Being back in school has been great but it has kept me quite busy. Hopefully I’ll be able to balance things better and 2017 should see the return of more regular posting. So here’s to a wonderful new year, I hope it’ll be filled with health and happiness for you all.

To kick things off nicely, I thought I’d talk to you about a great New Year’s treat to pamper yourself and start 2017 on the right foot.  Say hello to the Caudalie Divine Scrub!

I am a huge fan of Caudalie’s body care products in general and this scrub is incredible. This is a sugar based scrub so it’s very gentle on the skin and it has a light hydrating effect. I find that some scrubs can leave my skin feeling tight after use, but the Divine Scrub always leaves me with soft and smooth skin. It is also scented with Caudalie’s Divine fragrance so it smells amazing! This has such a unique luxurious scent, it’s sophisticated and comforting. The scent turns using the product into a relaxing pamper session instantly. Exfoliating is my favorite skin treat and it seems appropriate to start the new year with soft fresh skin.

As I have mentioned, this scrub is very gentle so if you are looking for a more intense scrub the Caudalie Crushed Cabernet Scrub might be more suitable for you (it’s one of my favorites) but the scent of the Divine Scrub cannot be beaten.

The Caudalie Divine Scrub is available from the Caudalie website as well as from many Caudalie retailers including Sephora. 

Innisfree Sea Salt Perfect Cleanser

Scrubs and exfoliators are some of my favorite skin treatments because they instantly give you results. My skin actually needs quite frequent exfoliation so I love finding exfoliating cleansers that are efficient, yet gentle enough so I can use them multiple times a week. This is why I was really excited when Innisfree launched their Sea Salt Perfect Cleanser and simply had to get my hands on it.

This cleanser comes in 3 different versions, each with a different concentration of sea salt: 20%, 30% and 40%. I went for the 40% to get the most exfoliation possible. Apart from the mineral salt, the foaming cleanser contains many fruit and plant extracts and, from what I could tell off the ingredients list, it is free of SLS. I am not a fan of foaming cleansers because they can really dry out your face and upset its balance. That being said, this is one of the better ones on the market and I did not find it drying (though it is not moisturizing either). I particularly enjoyed using it at night as a second cleanse or in the morning because the foam is very light and airy. It is hard to explain but once you really lather it up in your hands it doesn’t feel like a foaming cleanser (it’s not as creamy and thick) and it was much easier to rinse off.

So far so good, but the exfoliating part took me by surprise. See, the sea salt particles are actually quite big and while they are not rough on the skin (which is great because they aren’t irritating) they don’t really do much in terms of exfoliating dead skin cells. I assume it must offer some sort of extremely gentle scrubbing effect but I couldn’t really see a difference when using it. I doubt the 20% and the 30% would perform much better either. So on the exfoliating front I can’t say I was impressed.

Over all, I think the Sea Salt Perfect Cleanser is a decent foaming cleanser but it didn’t blow me away. I don’t see myself repurchasing it since I much prefer the Green Barley Cleansing Cream and I would rather try cleansers from their olive or green tea line next.

The Innisfree Sea Salt Perfect Cleanser is available on the Innisfree website.

Innisfree Jeju Volcanic Pore Scrub Foam

The Innisfree Jeju Volcanic Pore Scrub Foam is one of my best workout buddies. I love using this cleanser after a good workout or in the morning if my skin feels particularly oily. The formula is a thick creamy foaming cleanser that contains tiny bits of scoria to exfoliate the skin without causing irritation. Scoria are volcanic rocks made from cooled down lava, the one from Jeju contains red clay and is great at absorbing sebum and removing dry skin cells. It leaves your face feeling super clean and refreshed.

Nonetheless, you should follow this cleanser with a nice moisturizer as the foaming formula can be a bit stripping depending on your skin type. I have not experienced any dryness from using it, but this is something you should be aware of.

One of the reason I love it so much is also the fact that the brand uses great natural ingredients and is free of mineral oil, parabens, silicone oil and other controversial ingredients. Plus this cleanser also has the ECOCERT certification.

You can find the Innisfree Jeju Volcanic Pore Scrub Foam on the new global Innisfree website for 10$ (they also offer great international shipping!). 

Laneige Multi Cleanser

The Laneige Multi Cleanser was all the rage a few years ago and it is also the first Korean skincare product I ever used. In all honesty I do not use this cleanser as much anymore, I prefer cleansing oils, but I know many still enjoy foaming cleanser and this one really impressed me.

Unlike a lot of cleansers, the Multi Cleanser is actually designed to remove makeup, sunscreen and exfoliate lightly all whilst cleaning your skin. I went through several tubes of it and I can say that it removes all makeup really well and easily. After use the skin feels clean, but because it is a foaming cleanser it can be a bit stripping so should always follow with some sort of moisturizer (which you should do no matter what cleanser you use anyways). However, it never dried my skin out like some other cleansing foams do. Another thing to note is that I cannot use this to remove eye makeup because it stings my eyes, but it is not market as something you can use on your eye area.   

As for the exfoliating function you cannot really feel it on your face, the creamy formula does not contain actual beads, but rather Papain enzymes that work very gently. After using it, my skin looked bright and refreshed.

You can visit the Laneige website for more information on the Multi Cleanser and their other products.

I got Laneige Multi Cleanser from Ebay for about 25$ but you can find it at a Laneige counter if you live in Asia. You can also purchase it in an Amore Pacific store in Canada and from Target in the United States.