ESSENTIAL: ST. IVES APRICOT SCRUB

Some background knowledge about my skin:

I have extremely oily & acne prone skin and I've always been insecure with how my skin looks. I had a lot of acne problems throughout high school that made me really ashamed of showing any parts of my skin. I had acne on my face, chest as well as on my back! I think this is mostly because back in high school I wasn't very aware of how to take care of my skin or was educated about my own skin type. I didn't have severe acne on my face. I would have 4-5 pimples at a time usually when mother nature calls or when I'm stressed out. My chest had minor break outs usually consisting of 2-3 active pimples. But it was the worst on my back... It was the painful, active breakouts on my back that were so embarrassing! They were always giant, red and they always had so much puss. If I leaned against a chair or was laying down and I was wearing a white shirt, my pimples would pop and stain my shirt red. This not only would ruin the shirt but they would hurt so much! It was upsetting cause I hardly ever got to wear white tops, beaters, halter tops or tank tops. And being a girl, I'd like to have my options opened. 

Later on I've learnt that having oily skin with acne you HAVE TO exfoliate! Exfoliating helps remove the dead skin cells in conjunction with softening your skin, brightening your complexion and reducing your breakout activity. It also controls your oil production. 

I've found the perfect product for my face & body thats super inexpensive and is very accessible to everyone! Its the St. Ives "Fresh Skin Apricot Scrub". 

My back up of St Ives Apricot Scrub - $3.89-$6.00 CAD

This has been my HOLY GRAIL for the past 3 years. For my face I use it every other day, once a day(usually at night). I have used it everyday as a cleanser/exfoliator for my face but I just found that over time my skin had adapted to producing less oils therefore I didn't need to exfoliate everyday. I use it in conjunction with my Clarisonic. I found this worked a lot better for my face making sure that every bit of dirt/make-up is removed. & With the Clarisonic it makes the scrub work about 60% better. But for those lazy days, I just skip the Clarisonic and use my hands. But I do use this scrub every day when I shower, scrubbing my whole body in it as a body cleanser/exfoliator. I love the smell of this product, it smells nice and fruity! It has a thick consistency which I find is great because if you were to lather your back in a very liquid-y product you would most likely miss and have all the product on the bottom of your bathtub. (big fail!) The scrubbing exfoliants in this scrub are awesome! It leaves your skin feeling so smooth and bright afterwards. Some exfoliators are too harsh on the skin and leave that "squeaky clean" feeling (which is SO BAD FOR YOUR SKIN! it strips all the natural oils out!)or they leave your skin feeling so dry and brittle afterwards. With this scrub I find it leaving your skin feeling fresh and clean to the point where you can feel that your skin is clean stripping off the dead skin cells and yucky oils & replacing all that with the apricot oil which leaves your skin hydrated and nourished.

What It Looks Like Inside

There are 3 key ingredients in this scrub which are; (from stives.com)

"1) APRICOTS; known to contain one of the highest levels of carotenoids (think vitamin A) and super-effective antioxidants. All of this natural power might seem. well. too powerful, but they are actually quite gentle and nourishing and they help make fresher, more nourished skin beautifully possible.

2) CORN KERNEL MEAL: is actually flour ground from dried corn. Its a soft, but gently powerful all-natural exfoliant that promotes skin cell turnover and regeneration. Cornmeal makes softer-feeling, fresher skin possible.

3) WALNUT: is known for its hard shell, but when its ground it becomes an amazingly effective, all-natural exfoliant ingredient in our scrubs. Not only are walnuts plentiful on the planet, they also allow newer, healthier skin come to the surface."

I constantly find myself repurchasing this scrub over and over again. I've tried other scrubs out there but nothing is as good as this. It's completely removed all the acne on my face & body. It also has removed the majority of the acne scarring that I had on my back and chest. This product has literally changed my life. I can now wear whatever tops that I choose to without ever being ashamed of showing my back and chest. And to mention that you get 300ml for around $3.89- $6.00 CAD (depending where you purchase it) which is a STEAL! I purchase mine mainly from The Real Canadian Superstore for around $3.89 when they're on sale and I usually stock up (as you can see from the 1st picture. I have 4 back-ups there, 1 in the shower and one by my sink). You can find the St.Ives Apricot Scrub at your local drugstore/supermarket.


TIP: When purchasing it make sure that no ones touched it! It doesn't come with a product seal.



<3 LOVE THIS PRODUCT 9/10 <3