St Ives products are now available in my country, Indonesia. It can be easily found in drugstores such as Watson, although the variants are still limited. I’ve been wanting to get them since I saw them at Watson but because I’m quite stingy toward myself, I hesitated. I tried to convince myself that I didn’t really need it and that I was pretty happy with my homemade coffee scrub, which worked… but only for several months, lol. My skin conspired with my laziness, demanding a convenient product that can instantly be applied on the skin without me having to mix things first in the kitchen or bathroom, and they ultimately won – I gave in to the temptation and bought this yummy product: St Ives Nourished & Smooth Oatmeal Scrub+Mask.
Packaging
The scrub+mask comes in tube containing 170 gr of the product. I got it at Watson for IDR 76,900. It’s quite affordable, considering the amount of the product. They actually have the smaller size for around IDR 29,000, I think, but I just couldn’t find it.
I hate the packaging. Not how it looks (although I checked the St Ives US website and I found that they have new look packaging and I do like it better than this one) but the functionality of it. Because the product consistency is quite runny (you can see it in the Appearance section below), I think a tube packaging with flip cap at the bottom of it is a wrong, wrong, choice. The product easily leaks to the cap because the cap is positioned at the bottom. When I bought this, I found that all of the tubes in the store have some product leaks to the cap – I mean, when I buy something new, I want all of my product safely contained inside of the packaging. Although so far I’ve never find the product leaks out of the cap, I’d still say that this packaging is not travel-friendly. I imagine that if somehow the tube got squeezed, then the products could easily leak and smear all over. So when I travel with this, I just use a jar. It’s much safer and more convenient. I personally have no problem with dipping my finger into some product, but I know some people don’t like it, so I’d recommend using pump bottle or silicone bottle (so you can squeeze it if you need to). If the packaging have screw cap instead of flip cap, then maybe it’s going to be a lot safer. Of even better, lose the tube packaging and use pump bottle, since the scrub particle is not too big to pass the pump anyway. At least, I hope that one day St Ives will consider putting an aluminium seal (like Nature Republic does with its Aloe Vera Soothing Gel) to keep the product protected inside the tube before getting purchased.
Because of the packaging, every time I want to use this product, I always turn the tube upside-down before opening the cap, so the cap-side is up when I open it, and the product won’t spill uncontrollably onto the cap.
Ingredients
Here’s the CosDNA analysis to the ingredients.
Appearance
Pardon my dry hands 😦 I actually didn’t realize how flaky the skin on my palms until I took these pictures. Oh but this is where the scrub+mask comes to the rescue. After putting it on my face, I like to use the remaining product on my finger to scrub my hands. My hands will feel seriously smooth afterwards.
As you can see, the texture looks creamy but it’s very, very runny. It’s milky white with brown scrub. The smell is super yummy. It smells just like the key ingredients: oatmeal and honey, with a hint of nut (the scrub is made out of walnut shell). It makes you want to just lick it. But don’t.
Performance
I’ve never used this solely as mask, I feel like it’s a waste of the scrub, lol. So usually what I do is use it as scrub, then leave it on my face for 5-7 minutes as the instruction says. The product will then dries up, creating a thin, transparent film, with the scrub particle sits on the top of my skin.
I really, really try to find any visible result or the after feeling difference between when I only use the product as scrub and when I use it as scrub and mask – I thought that maybe using it as a mask will make my skin feel more supple or moisturized, but I seriously can’t feel any difference. If I have time, I still use it as scrub+mask, though, just because it makes me feel like I reap all the benefit it can offer, I mean, I use the scrub to exfoliate my skin and my skin gets to absorb the creamy liquid.
This scrub+mask makes my skin feels smooth – it does scrubs away dead skin cell and dry patches. It cleans the pore, too, so after using it, my pore looks much, much smaller. It does makes my skin looks more glowing but it’s just the exfoliation effect. The product itself isn’t purposely aimed to make skin glows. As for the effect on acne, while I don’t think this product helps to cure acne, I do think regular exfoliation is important to prevent acne, and this product is a good exfoliator.
Although based on the exfoliation factor information at the back of the packaging this scrub+mask gives gentle exfoliation, if you have sensitive skin, I think you should still go easy with the scrub; meaning, don’t rub it too hard to your skin, just massage it gently. I personally just move my hands in circular motion without putting actual pressure, letting the scrub to do the work by themselves. The scrub is effective on its own, so putting more pressure on it will only damage your skin.
The website says “use 3 to 4 times a week (depending on skin) for best results” but me and my sensitive skin has decided that two times top is enough. My skin just can’t handle more than that. I tried using it 3 and 4 times a week, and my skin felt hurt and turned red, even though like I said before, I use this gentle scrub very, very gently. So, I’d put more emphasize on the “depending on skin” part. I’d print it bold and with bigger font. Just use it the way your skin like it.
Lastly, and this is important: immediately follow with moisturizer. After using this scrub+mask, I usually apply Nature Republic Aloe Soothing Gel on my face, or better than that, Bioderma Hydrabio Serum. Any moisturizer you normally use will be fine, though.
Conclusion
Bad packaging, good product. Smells yummy, exfoliates gently and effectively, smooths skin out and cleanses pore. Definitely worth to have. Just go easy with the scrub and don’t forget to moisturize afterwards.
thenudelipstick.wordpress.com 
One Comment Add yours