Back when I was young(er), I could party all the way till 6am with the girls and checking out the Bs – the boys. This New Year’s eve, I spent it in bed as well with the Bs – the blanket and bolster (and the pillow too). What can I say – age is really catching up with me. Besides the fact that my battery pack is now equivalent to that of the iPhone 4 (vs the iPhone 6), I find that the gray pallour of the aged skin requires more makeup (fine, so I’m a drama queen). One part of my face that requires more work these days is the lips – the nasty peeling chapped lips courtesy of the flu meds. Bah humbug.
Aritaum Ginger Sugar Lip Scrub – KRW8,000
Aritaum Ginger Sugar Lip Scrub – KRW8,000
I say…
The Packaging: It comes in a convenient little tub with a screw-open cap. It measures about 4cm in diameter and about 2.4cm in height (cap inclusive).
The Scent: I’m surprised that there’s no scent whatsoever. If you sniff realllllyyyy intently, you’ll get a whiff of lemongrass or something similar.
The Texture: Again, another surprise. I was kind of expecting a tub of semi-liquid scrub (kinda like the GlamGlow TingleXfoliate mask), but instead, it came as an almost solid form. You’ll actually need to move your fingers around to “dig” into the product – I’m guessing that body heat also helps loosen up the texture – and it’ll slowly become more viscous and semi liquidfied. The thick melted-gel texture holds within it miniscule specks of what I assume to be sugar and ginger bits (I did stick out my tongue to tentatively taste it, and the sugar bits are somewhat sweet. The gel portion isn’t tasty at all ick.).
The Application: Clean your fingers, dip it into the pot and move it in gentle circular motions to “warm up” the scrub. You will probably have enough to apply onto your lips after 30 seconds or so. Just rub the scrub over your lips (because of the thickness of the encasing gel, the sugar and ginger bits don’t come across as too rough). I usually scrub for a minute before wiping it off with a tissue gentle / rinsing off with water. Surprisingly, the sugar bits did not dissolve during the scrubbing (that was what I was expecting anyway).
The Aftermath: Well, as you can see from the pictures above, the effects aren’t spectacularly fantastic, but it did remove most of the flaky chapped bits without a ] sandpaper feel. I also noticed that it left a slight emollient film over the lips – it’s not greasy nor oily, but there was a slight sheen of moisture. The lips were definitely softer (you may not see the difference but you can certainly feel it when you run your tongue over it) and felt less dry.
Overall: I’d classify this as a scrub-cum-balm product that’s great for those who don’t like the abrasive sort of lip scrubs (or those who are lucky enough to not require the heavy-duty types). It’s useful for conveniently eradicating the nasty flakes and moisturising your lips before you apply a lipstick (2-in-1s are always good!) – particular for those matte finishing lipsticks that tend to emphasize the lip flakes. Of course, it’s a boon that it comes with an affordable price tag too.
