The exfoliant de jour today is Kate Somerville’s ExfoliKate Gentle Exfoliating Treatment (cute, huh?). At $65 for 2 ounces, it’s not exactly a bargain. However, value always plays into my equation for what constitutes a bargain for me; if it does the job and makes my skin look great, I’m willing to pay the price (up to a point, which is why I pass on Creme de Mer products).
The sales pitch states that “Microbeads lift dead skin cells from surface while papaya, pumpkin, and pineapple enzymes reduce pore size, stimulate circulation, and improve oxygen flow.” Sounds good.
Unlike the other two products, this one is a seaweed green, and smells like–fruitcake? Something spicy and natural. It goes on easily, and tingles while I’m scrubbing gently, gently, gently. One down side is that it is supposed to stay on the skin for two minutes after I’m finished scrubbing. I always wonder what I’m supposed to do while the product is on my face. Today, I did a sun salutation, so some good came of the two-minute wait! Otherwise, I’m so impatient I can’t see myself doing this too often, especially when I try to keep my facial care to 5 minutes.
Back to ExfoliKate! It washed off cleanly, but my skin felt tighter than I would have liked, and I noticed I had to use a bit more moisturizer afterwards. Perhaps ExfoliKate might work better for women and men with oilier skin. But I’ll give it a pass.