A tale of two (Ren) scrubs

For several months now I've been using Ren's 'body scrubs' once or twice weekly (though they aren't technically called body scrubs they are essentially both designed to exfoliate). I first tried (and then repurchased) the Guerande Salt Exfoliating Body Balm, and for the past couple of months I've been using the  Moroccan Rose Otto Sugar Body Polish, so I thought I'd share my thoughts on both.

Ren Guerande Salt Exfoliating Body Balm - £20, 330mml

I love this scrub - it's one of the best I've tried. It smells fresh, it has a lovely consistency - like a thick textured paste - and most importantly, it's super effective! My skin feels amazingly soft after this and the feeling seems to last for a few days. It's not cheap but as the effects are so lasting it does go a fairly long way. 

Ren Moroccan Rose Otto Sugar Body Polish - £33, 330ml

I'm actually less keen on this one. The consistency is divine - very thick again but bound together with a luscious thick rose-scented oil. It feels amazing when you apply it, and I like the smell too, but for me that's where the love ends. It doesn't seem to exfoliate my skin as well as the salt scrub (the immediate and long-term effects are both much less marked) and - pet hate and a characteristic of other sugar scrubs I've tried - it leaves an oily film on my skin that actually feels a bit uncomfortable and not at all moisturising. In fact, I sometimes think my skin feels a bit drier after I've used this. People who like sugar scrubs (and roses) might like this a lot more and indeed it does get quite a lot of love but I'm just not sure how effective it is for my skin. Also, it's significantly more expensive than the salt balm. 

As these are quite expensive I tend to wait for special offers before purchasing and I will definitely repurchase the salt scrub - it's better than my go-to L'Oreal Exfotonic (and I like the fact that it's contains more natural ingredients). It's definitely up there with my other favourite Clarins Smoothing Body Scrub. I also love the packaging of both.

You can purchase Ren from beautyexpert.co.uk or from renskincare.co.uk.

Ren Guerande Salt Exfoliating Body Balm

I first mentioned this scrub a few months ago on Amina's Bazaar, but was waiting to use up my considerable arsenal of other scrubs before I tried it. It was certainly worth the wait. Whilst perhaps not the most economical scrub I've ever bought, it's one of the most effective.

Although described as a body balm this is essentially a scrub, a thick, pasty, luxurious scrub with a lovely clean, fresh scent (it contains basil, peppermint and rosemary extracts).

I find you do have to use quite a lot of this to cover the whole body, hence my comment about it being less than economical. For example, I think I got about six or seven full body scrubs out of this (I like to do a thorough job!) plus a few touch ups here and there.

That said, the effects are definitely more long lasting than some other scrubs, like my Amina's Essentials listed L'Oreal Exfotonic. The Guerande scrub left my skin feeling equally smooth, but for longer - it's about three times the price of the L'Oreal, but about three times more long lasting. And the Ren is certainly more pleasurable to use.

In summary, a lovely, luxe scrub that gives great results. Would definitely repurchase, though perhaps when there's a special offer.

£22 / 300ml. Available from renskincare.com

Ren - Lipovector Smoothing Eye Contour Cream (and other nice things)

I purchased this eye cream recently when my previous eye cream, Kiehl's Abysinne (decent but not exactly earth shattering) was running out. I hadn't tried anything in the Ren line previously, despite having hankered after the Moroccan Rose Bath Oil for about the last decade, so thought I'd give this a try despite the lack of reviews online.

And I really like it! Whereas the Kiehl's felt nice but I didn't really notice any improvements to the eye area, I actually feel my undereye area looks better with this cream, which I've been using for about a month now.

Active ingredients are yeast collagen, which apparently increases moisture retention, vitamin A from rosehip oil, which apparently encourages collagen to fill wrinkles (well this is what the Ren website says anyway!) and wheat peptides which reduce the depth of expression lines and wrinkles. Although I don't normally pay much attention to these sorts of product claims, I have to say that I have definitely noticed effects in these areas. I don't have a lot of lines around my eyes yet but I do get dry looking creases under my eyes particularly when smiling and laughing, and I notice these are visibly lessened after i apply the cream.

It has a good consistency (not too runny or too thick), feels nice to apply and make up goes smoothly on top. The only thing I don't like is the packaging - the pump tends to squirt out more than you need unless you happen to have extreme control of your index finger, which I do not. It also tends to squirt anywhere except on to your finger tip, so I now pump it into the cupped palm of my hand where it can't do any damage to fabrics!

Packaging quibble aside, I'd definitely recommend giving this a go if you're on the search for a new eye cream, particularly one with natural ingredients.

If you place an order on the Ren website at the moment you will currently receive two winter skincare trial size products, and delivery is a reasonable £3. This week I also purchased (not from the Ren website but from the North Wood Clinic in South London) this gorgeous mini skincare set as a Christmas present for my friend, which contains four Moroccan Rose and Grapefruit and Neroli shower gels and moisturisers, and which cost a reasonable £15.


















(pic: Ren website)


Quite some time ago, I also purchased the Ren Guerande Salt Scrub from Beauty Expert. It looks amazing and gets great reviews, and I am super excited about using it but before I try it I first have to use up my old standby L'Oreal Exfotonic. Couldn't resist opening the lid to have a quick look though!

Ren Lipovector Smoothing Eye Contour Cream costs £25 for 15ml, and the Guerande Salt Scrub costs £19.50 for 330ml. Ren is available from Renskincare.com, Beauty Expert and some department stores including Liberty of London.