Replenix Fortified Exfoliation Scrub, $40/4oz @ skinstore.com, dermstore.com, skincarerx.com, skin-one.com, lovelyskin.com. Also available in 12-10gm individual packets at the same sites. Great for travel! 

I used and loved ARCONA's Cranberry Gommage - it smelled amazing, and left my skin super soft and NOT dry. And though not every time, occasionally it didn't exfoliate quite enough and I could still feel oil and flakey skin in some areas. Then I would have to go a second round. Oh, wait...and sometimes a third!! Eeesh. To be completely honest, I think it was more the yummy smell that kept me hanging on. Ha ha :-)

Not to despair! To the rescue came Replenix Fortified Exfoliation Scrub, also known as one of my favorite discoveries this year! 

This is not a fancy looking product by any means - appears rather clinical, especially given it's just the tube with no outside packaging. I have yet to run across a Replenix product that arrives in any outside packaging, but strangely enough some of their samples do. But don't judge this scrub by its cover!!

The Fortified Exfoliation Scrub is tough on oil, flakes and other buildup. It uses microsifted bamboo, aided by green and white teas to deep cleanse and thoroughly exfoliate. You will notice a heating sensation as you move the scrub around your face. It lasts around ten seconds for me, which is enough to feel as though the heat is helping product penetrate rather than thinking for a split moment "hey - what was that". This heating element is due to the clay base. 

The consistency is like that of a really thick syrup - goopy if you will, though the scrub is not dense. See how it tends to spread in the picture above instead of holding its shape? For comparison sake, see below for a picture of ARCONA Cranberry Gommage and note how it is not the same thick, syrupy texture - it does hold its shape. 

Back to Replenix!!

The texture feels somewhat gritty, but I don't feel as though it is rough on the skin at all. Oh, that probably sounds like such an opposite statement!! I'll try to rephrase! While rubbing the product on my skin, it feels a little gritty. So while the scrub may feel one way, I believe the bamboo granules are gentler on the skin than it may seem. This scrub has never irritated or made any broken capillaries worse, unlike Exfolikate. All that said, I wouldn't recommend using this on any open acne lesions, or other spots trying to heal. 

What I generally do is apply this in the shower and rub the Fortified Exfoliation Scrub on my face and neck until the heat dissipates. Then I leave it on my face without rubbing for at least 30 seconds if not longer to help everything loosen up. Be sure to keep your eyes closed!! Lastly I rub the scrub around again to slough everything off and then rinse. 

After I rinsing my skin feels wonderfully refreshed, soft and as though it can breathe again. This does contain ingredients to hydrate so my face never feels dry in the least. I feel like I've shed a snake skin every time I use this! It really is a little powerhouse of a scrub, and has been a staple in my routine for a few months now. Though I'm not finished with my second tube yet, I did buy a third so I don't run out :-) 

One note though...

It seems the first quarter or so of the tube has way more bamboo scrubbies than the rest of the container - I'm guessing because of the syrupy consistency they have a tendency to settle to the bottom. If desired, you might try squishing the product in the tube before use in order to make the bamboo more evenly distributed. 

Replenix Fortified Exfoliation Scrub ingredients:

Butylene Glycol, Sodium Silicoaluminate, Bambusa Arundinacia (Bamboo) Stem Extract, PEG-8, Camellia Sinensis (Green Tea), White Tea, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Retinyl Palmitate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Dimethicone, Methyl Gluceth-20, Hydroxypropylcellulose, Hydroxypropylmethylcellulose, Petrolatum, Titanium Dioxide