The "Whats Up" with Facial Scrubs

Do you scrub? Its a bit of a marmite topic, some people swear by manual exfoliation such as the Clarasonic, others will wax lyrical about acid based exfoliators. Personally my skin can't tolerate either of those as exfoliation so I tend to opt for a simple facial scrub.

In times gone by I used to think that I couldn't exfoliate my skin because it was dry/sensitive. Recently however I have found that my skin needed a polish in order to properly absorb the great moisturisers I was using and heal.

My long time 'go to' face scrub has been the Clinique 7 Day Scrub Cream which is daily gentle but can be worked into the skin to increase radiance and give a super soft feel. As with all Clinique products the scrub is hypoallergenic and tested for sensitivities which is a bonus and as it foams up slightly could also be combined with a clarasonic or similar. Personally I like to lather it up on wet skin and work in with my fingers. I then use a hot face cloth to remove before toning my skin.

A new addition to the fold however is the Soap and Glory Scrubatomic Amazing Daily Face Polish which I picked up recently on a trip to Boots while on holiday having left my Clinique offering at home. This is another 'finely abrasive' facial scrub and I love the smell of it, it smells like the facial wipes and other items in the Soap and Glory Skincare line. 

The scrub states that it is for all skin types and I found that even during a flare up of sensitivity I could use this product although I did find I needed to rinse my skin well and moisturise straight away as my skin felt slightly tight.

All in all these two are very similar and to be honest you probably don't need both in your arsenal. The Soap and Glory scrub is only £9 for 100ml where as the Clinique scrub is £19 per 100ml, so from a financial point of view the choice is fairly straight forward.

How do you exfoliate?

The Must Have Miniatures

There are some products for which travel sized miniatures were invented. Personally whenever I travel I try to only take small sizes of my products so that I can either leave the empty bottle at the end of my stay or at least know that it won't take up too much valuable suitcase space.

I haven't included everything here, just the ones I think are the most convenient to have a travel size of. I would also include a shampoo and conditioner but I don't currently have a mini version so would be likely to just decant some of my regular products into small bottles like the ones available from Boots.

First off, a travel sized moisturiser. It doesn't matter if you are going on a sun holiday or a snow holiday, you will need moisturiser equally in both. I personally like to take a small tub of something very nourishing rather than a large bottle of something thinner. I find this size of Soap and Glory's The Righteous Butter will last me a week of post shower slathers and can even be tucked into the beach bag for a hand cream on the go.

Secondly, travel size Bioderma. Reviewed here, it goes without saying that you will want something that will rid you of makeup and temporarily make up the gap of a proper skincare routine. No one has room to be hoiking a 500ml bottle around in their luggage, this 100ml bottle will last a good couple of holiday/weekends away.

I also LOVE that Clinique give out miniatures in their Bonus Time promotions. I got this 15ml sample of my regular moisturiser last year and it is great for taking away without trying to squeeze in the 125ml bottle with pump (reviewed here). Glamour magazine is giving away a free gift with purchase of this for July, so worth a peruse of your local supermarket for either this, a mascara sample or a miniature chubby stick.

Deodorant....everyone needs it particularly on holiday. Sure and other Unilever brands have started producing smaller compressed versions of their products. Great for avoiding the large bottles without the fear of running out mid holiday.

Shower Gel is one of those things that normally come free in hotel rooms. With my sensitive skin however I always find it to be a good idea to take a small version of my current shower gel as no one wants an allergic reaction on holiday...it's not fun *voice of experience*

A small dry shampoo will be enough to get you through the week when you need to add some volume to lack lustre hair (too much chlorine/sun) or you just CBA to wash your hair before an early flight on the way home. 

And then finally, a body scrub. This one is the amazing smelling grapefruit one from The Bodyshop. If you have fake tanned in holiday preparation to avoid looking like a moo min by the pool on the first day (yes thats me) then this one is a must. Cholrine or sea water will wear this off quicker than usual and unfortunately not evenly. A scrub helps even everything up and *hopefully* ease you into a seamless transition from fake bake to sun kissed.

Where are you off on your travels this summer?