Venus body scrub by Venus - review by Cookie Monster Mike

Venus Aromatic Body Scrub's are intended for one primary use, to be used as an exfoliating scrub that removes dead skin. If your skin is generally very sensitive, these types of products might not be best suited for you. I'd recommend something more natural without any harsh ingredients; this particular scrub contains paraben's. You will generally want to use this while taking a shower; obviously you do not want the water spraying on your skin as you are applying the scrub. I personally just use my hands to rub it into my arms and shoulders, I suppose using a wash cloth or loofa will suffice but not as effective in my opinion.

Ingredients:

This particular scrub seems more reminiscent of a thick body wash more than anything else. It is very sticky if you rub a little between your fingers and dab them together at the tips. It almost reminds me of when maple syrup is left on a plate after pancakes for breakfast; it becomes very thick and sticky. In this case the scrub feels the same but accompanied with the gritty grains of Dead Sea salt and pumice. I guess in using this scrub it didn't feel uncomfortable or unpleasant, you have to be gentle in using it. If you scrub hard and fast it will most likely hurt and/or irritate your skin.

It seems to pour fairly well, a light squeeze on the bottle speeds things up, I fear for when the bottle is near empty. The bottle may need to be stored upside down when there is little scrub left in the bottle. Upon applying it to my wet skin in the shower, it spreads easily and thinly where ever I move my hand. The Dead Sea salt and pumice inside reminds me of grains of sand, however gliding somewhat effortlessly over my skin. It lathers up fairly nicely, almost like a bar of soap but with light streaks of a white foaminess but not overkill with the suds. The scrub rinses off very easily in the water and does not leave any slick or oily feel to the skin.

The image below gives you a close up view of the salt and pumice grains inside.

This aroma is quite disappointing; I am a person that loves the smell of citrus like fruits. So I was really excited in trying this body scrub out but suffice to say, I was incredibly unsatisfied. When I first opened the bottle there was an overpowering smell that was unpleasant. Waiting about a minute, I slowly put the bottle near my nose to get a light smell of the aroma. Sadly all I can smell is salt with this product, maybe a sweet salty smell. Whatever fragrance that is added in is not enough to overcome enough of the strong salty smell for me to even begin to notice it. This was a huge let down and was one of the main reasons why I wanted this scrub, was for a nice fruity smell of mandarin and mango.

Regardless, I still have been using this scrub in the shower; the aroma mixes well in the shower with all the moisture and steam. The fragrance is reduced significantly as the scrub is being applied, making it more subtle. After a good scrub and rinse off, I decided to get out of the shower, dry off and smell my skin where I scrubbed. Again to my disappointment there was no lingering smell on my skin, I suppose this is good because I wouldn't want to smell like salt. But that also means there was no smell of mango or mandarin on my skin.

This product could easily be so much better, but it seems to fall flat at first with its fragrance, then finally its overall performance. While it was nice to use this in the shower to scrub away my dead skin, I have not noticed any benefits from using it yet. After each use, my skin is incredibly dry and I have to apply lots of body lotion. The first time I used this scrub I had a light burning and stinging sensation. At first I thought this was a reaction but in turn it was a mixture of having the water too hot and not having used a salt scrub to exfoliate in quite some time. After repeated use my skin no longer stings or burns, but is still left dry.

I guess for $14.99 this seems more steered towards someone on a budget but still looking for a somewhat decent product. Many premium salt scrubs out there don't even have Dead Sea salt in them but run at 3 times the price for the same size container. I think I might have to try some other salt scrubs to find one best suited for my skin type and preferences. I really wanted to like this scrub more but cannot bring myself to rate it higher than 3 stars.

In a perfect world, I would prefer this bottle to be shrink wrapped in leak proof packaging. However mine came wrapped in a small baggy that was tied at the top. There are no instructions or anything included with the bottle, an ingredient listing is on the backside. I wish there was a little booklet that came with this product, further explaining its ingredients and the purpose of them. It would have also been nice to know the ratio of salt and pumice in this bottle. But judging from what I can see, it seems like a lot is added in. The bottle design is somewhat awkward and annoying. A screw cap does ensure in most cases that the bottle is sealed, but can be difficult to open with one hand. Once I had opened the bottle and poured what I needed out, to use both hands the close the bottle can result in the scrub running off my hand. I just wish there was an easier way to dispense this scrub, I would prefer a pump myself.

Personally I just don't see what the huge wow factor is about this product. While it has been nice using it, it is very far from "wow" or "amazing" in my opinion. In all my time of using it, my skin does not have any noticeable benefits. Maybe it is somewhat smoother with the removal of all that dead skin, but a regular exfoliating glove will do that exact same thing. My skin does not seem to look any different or healthier in any way. The bottle does seem to be lasting awhile though which is good, so it seems a little scrub goes far. Maybe, just maybe later down the road I will try a different scent that has more reviews on it. In the end I feel this is very far from a luxurious salt scrub and seems more at the level of a generic version of a name brand.