Julep End of The Year Sale Haul

End of The Year Sale Haul

For once I jumped on the chance to order something from Julep besides my monthly box since the sale they were having was great. So check out what I got!

November Julep Maven

So this month I was faced with a huge dilemma when it came to choosing which box to go with. I have been waiting patiently for the suedes to be released in the monthly box and since there were only 5 different colors I wanted them all! I was debating for days during the selection period and the last option I had chosen was the Fall Warmth upgrade. Which meant I paid $50 to get the entire collection.

So What exactly was in the box?

Organic Hydrating Sugar Scrub by Moody Sisters

I was excited to try out this scrub to see how it compares to the scrubs that I make for myself but I found that I both love and hate this one. It is that time of year again where I have to start keeping my skin moisturized because it gets really dry in the fall/winter. One thing that I liked/disliked was that it was from an Esty shop, I like supporting people who make handmade items but I don't like ordering beauty products on Etsy. I would prefer to go to a farmers market or local boutique where I know that the people selling don't have to pay to have their items there or pay a fee for every item sold. So with that out of the way I'll move on to how it actually worked for me. So I was expecting one thing from description on the product listing and kind of got the other. 

"Our Hydrating Sugar Scrub EXFOLIATES and SOFTENS your skin leaving you with a feeling of renewal. For use on normal to dry skin (Exfoliating is not meant for sensitive skin). Scrub daily to see TIGHTER PORES, softer skin and a more even skin tone. This is naturally age-fighting and an essential step for a healthy-glowing look."

So after reading that little bit of information I quickly hopped into the shower and started using the scrub on my legs and arms. One thing that shocked me was the scrub was peppermint scented which was not listed on the sample or on the website at all. I have no problem with peppermint but I don't usually like using it all over my body just on my feet. The scrub worked good at exfoliating the problem came when I went to rinse it off, it left a lot of oily film behind and I instantly felt like I wasn't clean. Normally scrubs like this do leave some oil behind but my skin will quickly absorb it so long as I rinse off and pat my skin dry with a towel. So I did what I normally do with a scrub and towel dried my skin but I still felt icky. I figured I would see if my skin felt differently in the morning. 

Next morning I get up I felt gross and promptly took another shower and washed away the remnants of this scrub. At this point I need to figure out why the scrub left me feeling icky so I turned to the website again and read the ingredients:

"KEY INGREDIENTS
Fair-Trade Evaporated Cane Juice (Sugar), Shea Butter and Coconut Oil

For a full ingredient list, please scroll down and click on the "Show Item Details" link."

Okay so I am used to those ingredients they listed as "key ingredients" so I looked for the other ingredients under Show Item Details and found these ingredients:

"peppermint, mint, Shea butter, coconut oil, cocoa butter, beeswax, castile soap, fair trade evaporate cane juice, sunflower oil, apricot kernel oil"

I found several ingredients that must have been the reason it felt gross, the combination of cocoa butter, Shea butter, and beeswax. This are great products but shouldn't be used in a scrub that should just be rinsed off, they would be great in a lotion but not a scrub.

Now that the mystery was over I still had some scrub let so I went ahead and used it on my hands. I worked great on my hands until I noticed within an hour my hands started to dry out again. Now I don't know why I didn't realize it but the castile soap is the one soap I never use on my skin because it is one of the most drying soaps I have ever used. Why would you pair castile soap with moisturizing ingredients? It is a contradiction! 

If you remove all the unnecessary ingredients you would be left with sugar, coconut oil, sunflower oil, apricot oil and peppermint. Those ingredients alone would make a great hydrating scrub but I think I'll stick to my homemade sugar, olive oil, and grapeseed oil and glycerin scrubs. I now hope that the other scrubs I have to try out will be better than this one.