Dona body polish - scrub discontinued by System JO - review by K101

System Jo's Dona line has several different scents to choose from. As you've seen in all the other reviews, just because it's listed as Acai does not mean it's actually that scent. This is something I find confusing and also something that has potential to turn possible customers off from even bothering with the product.

That aside, this polish is obviously Acai. Each body polish has an "aphrodisiac" and a scent. Your scent will vary depending on which one you choose.

The body polish is something that can be used by most people with the exception of those with allergies to any of the ingredients of course. However, this is probably not a product the bath and beauty princess will add to their must-haves. If you're used to a drugstore brand, this will probably be something new and fancy to you and will more than likely be something you find enjoyable to use. It will not be something that will drastically help your skin.

As for the Aphrodisiac factor, take that claim with a grain of salt (or however that saying goes) as this is not going to have an aphrodisiac effect. That was just something the manufacturer used to plump the product up and make it more appealing to the consumer.

Ingredients:
Sodium Chloride, Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Oil, Glycine Soja Wax, Isopropyl Myristate, Modified Corn Starch, Sodium Lauryl Sarcosinate, Cetyl Palmitate, Sorbitan Palmitate, Sorbitan Olivate, Cetearyl Olivate, Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E), Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed, Laminaria Digitata (Algae), Passiflora Edulis (Passion Fruit ), Oriza Sativa, (Rice), , Orbignya Oleifera (Babassu), Euterpe Oleracea (Açaí) oils, Luffa Cylindrica, Garcinia Mangostana (Mangosteen) Fruit , Fragrance.

Notice the last ingredient says "fragrance." That could be anything so be careful if you've had bad luck with the ingredient "fragrance" in the past.

Another thing to keep in mind is the ingredient Laminaria Digitata can possibly be an irritant and is often used in cellulite treatments. While I have used cellulite treatments that contiain the ingredient Laminaria Digitata, I can't say whether or not it's actually effective in reducing cellulite.

The ingredient Acai is something I've grown to be fond of in the past couple of years. When it comes to skincare and body products though, it's hard to tell if there are enough of the beneficial ingredients such as Acai to actually benefit your skin. I like Acai in my skincare products because it has some amazing benefits such as anti-aging; it contains a whopping amount of Omega essential fatty acids. Acai contains Omega 6 and 9. Acai is known most for the huge amount of antioxidants. The berry actually contains more antioxidants than blueberries, and contains phytosterals, vitamins, minerals and anthocyanins. It works to reduce inflammation as well, but I'm unsure if the body polish contains enough of the ingredient to benefit so intensively.

Another ingredient that stood out to me in the body polish was the Babassu. I'm fond of it because it has similar benefits to coconut oil, which I'm a huge fan. Babassu softens the skin and leaves it extremely smooth and free of cracks that you often see with dry skin on the legs and feet.



While there are some things that I hate about this product, there are some very great things as well. These include the product being Petrochemicals, Phthalates, Sulfates, Triclosan and finally Paraben free. However, just because it's safer than most does not justify the pricing.

Were you the kid who *had* to plunge your fingers into the leftover bacon grease after your grandmother cooked? If so, remember those warm moments of your fingers sinking into the grease and that's very close to how the body polish feels. Yes, I was that kid and I enjoy finger-sticking the polish even more than I do bacon grease! The texture of the body polish, besides some of the ingredients, is what makes it unique.

Unlike bacon grease, the body polish won't leave you as greasy. To me it feels like a mix between bacon grease and coconut oil (when left at room temperature). It sort of melts against your body heat like coconut oil does. It's thicker than bacon grease and about the same consistency as coconut oil.

Since it's somewhat clumpy and thick like coconut oil, it will stay where you put it, but if you're in a hot bath and you scoop a clump onto your body, the heat will cause it to sort of melt. After massaging the polish over your body and dipping into the water, some tiny bubbles will appear for a second. The body polish makes the bath water milky and if enough is used, it'll leave a slick grime on in your bath. Break out the Scrubbin' Bubbles! It's really not that bad. It won't leave your tub slick as an oil by far, but you may experience some slipperyness at the bottom of your bath tub.

It melts and disappears in the water almost as quickly as you put it on. It doesn't leave hardly any residue behind, but compared to my more expensive and natural polish, there's more residue left after using this one.

Surprisingly, it doesn't feel greasy on the skin which is one reason why it reminds me so much of coconut oil. It looks greasy and may feel that way to your fingers, but when applied and rinsed, you won't feel very greasy. After bathing, it feels like it's rinsed away for the most part and leaves me smooth and slightly moisturized. If you have dry skin, don't expect to have the liberty of skipping your moisturizer though! In super dry areas, you may still need to moisturize.

The scent of this body polish is most strange. When I open the container it smells extremely plasticy with a hint of a berry. I am not fond of the overly synthetic scent until it's on my legs in the bath. I really expected a better scent. I'm not picky as long as it doesn't cause me a migraine and this does not, but like I said, it's very unusual. Once I'm in the hot water and I apply it, it's just a somewhat subtle sweet scent. Still very much synthetic, but it loses the plasticy scent. I actually thought this was due to the container, but I scooped half of the polish out and stored it without the container and it's indeed the polish that produces the odor.

After I've applied the body polish and dried off I can smell it just a little as I'm getting dressed. After I've dried, dressed and began my day I never smell it again. When I stick my nose directly to the area I previously applied the polish, I am unable to smell anything after about one hour.

There's really nothing that compares to this smell. It doesn't smell like a particular fruit or berry, but it seems as if it was meant to smell like a fruit. That was a major fail. If you're picky about scents that are chemicaly or plasticy, you might consider skipping this one.

This is the hard part. I'll discuss in detail how this performs on my skin and in my experience section I will compare it to my two favorite body polishes and scrubs.

I like the ingredients (assuming there is enough of each of them to actually benefit) and I like the texture and consistency of the body polish. It's pretty. It's chunky white with tiny purple flecks.

It's lightweight and I can hardly feel it on my skin after bathing. The body polish does leave a subtle glow like the manufacturer claims. This glow only lasts for a few short hours though. It leaves my skin smooth after using a medium to large amount. My skin is left with a very matte, smooth look and a hint of a glow. These nice things do not last very long and I need to use a lot of product to get them. They are so nice while they last and if this product were cheaper, I'd be a lot more enthusiastic about it! However, it's absolutely over priced for what it does. If I had been using a drug store bought body polish before this, I would probably be ecstatic about this one!

I have very dry skin and therefore I have to moisturize and be picky about what I use. I also have to exfoliate and have a need for actually getting clean. This product absolutely lacks in those areas. Without using an exfoliant or washing off well before using this, you'll only be sealing in the day's dirt! This product does not clean or exfoliate like other products do. It contains those cute purple flecks, but they are not abrasive enough for someone who requires a good exfoliant. Keep these things in mind if you expect this out of a body polish! I didn't know what to expect at all so I went into this experience without a clue, but with an open mind.

Instead of leaving you with a thick film, you'll only notice a light film or nothing at all. The water washes it away well and with a touch of soap, you'll be free of the product. If you need a body polish that's also moisturizing, you probably won't get that. If you have oily skin, this could make you look a little more greasy than normal. If you have slightly dry skin, you may have get just enough moisturization from this.

Besides using this in the shower, I also tried it as a body oil/moisturizer. I say oil because it feels more like an oil than a moisturizer, but isn't too oily on the skin. For dry, cracked feet, this is really nice to use overnight! If you can stand wearing socks to bed, slather on a thick layer of the body polish and cover your piggies with socks over night and they'll be smooth in the morning. This works nicely for dry patches.

The body polishes come minimally and simply packaged in the little tub with a clear plastic over it. It's just a chunk of plastic with a bread tie around in. The little tub seems like plenty until you realize that you have to use so much to reap the rewards. The tub has a sticker that says Dona and mentions the Aphrodisiac and Acai. As far as discreet enough for my own life, this is just fine. The only thing that may worry you is the word "aprhodisiac." If that bugs you, store it under your sink. I found it to look decent enough for gift giving and I gladly gave it away to my mother. It doesn't look like a fancy, high quality gift. It's not something that would make most people think of sex either. The word aphrodisiac on a body polish mostly just gives the impression that you'll have a nice mood while in the shower. Don't expect this to actually alter your mood.

The tub has a black screw on lid like every body butter, body polish and scrub I've owned. It's simple, but be careful if you leave it in your shower as the water beating down can seep into the lid and eventually build up in there. This would only happen over a course of time if the tub is left in the shower.

To apply the body polish, simply screw off the lid and dip in your fingers. I would not take a bath product of this size on vacation with me. Instead I place only a small amount of my products in travel jars to take up less space. Since this is not liquidy it won't run out so if you do travel with it, leaking should not occur.

The jar comes with a tiny sticker seal. Mine was purple. The sticker runs from the middle of the jar to the lid. Just a seal to show it hasn't been broken. You can see a little bit of the tiny purple strip in my photo. If the polish comes without a seal or it is broken, you should not use it.

Small warning:
Be careful using this after shaving and do not use it as shaving cream! I'm usually oblivious to cuts and nicks, but after shaving I used the polish and it really irritated a cut! It burned like crazy. If you're extra sensitive to cuts and nicks, avoid using this directly after shaving.

For close to two years now I've been using a natural body polish and a natural body scrub. These were very beneficial to my skin and worked so well that I stuck with them. I guess that makes me a little biased when it comes to comparison, but considering this body polish is a bit higher priced than my favorite natural polish, I felt it was fair to be biased and compare. Dona Body Polish does not measure up to my old one. Not that I'm a huge prude about my body/skincare products, but it's hard not to feel negatively toward this polish in my situation. I order my natural body scrub and body polish and pay a few dollars less than this one by System Jo. Since my usual product is totally natural and has such incredible benefits to my skin, I feel that the Dona line is unfortunately priced.

My natural polish exfoliates. It cleanses. It's anti-aging. It's both soothing and healing and it even repairs broken skin. It smooths out dark spots and leaves my skin hydrated, glowy, clean and exfoliated. Not to mention each time I use it I'm anti-aging, I'm smoothing, glowing, hydrating, preventing and more. That is a lot of benefits for a small price whereas the Dona line doesn't do a fraction of those things. It may have nice benefits such as anti-aging, but I've not been able to find any real facts about these actual products.

So compared to something of such high quality and a bit of a price difference, the Dona polish doesn't stand a chance and maybe it's unfair. I will give credit to the very good things about this product though.

Those great things include the nice smooth skin I have after using it. The way it smooths out those lines from dry skin, tanning, etc. Those are fantastic things! System Jo did a good job with this product and had it been fairly priced, I wouldn't feel duped, I guess is the word. Paying the price for it put me under the impression that I'd receive at least equal benefits to what I get with my regular.

Compared to most drug store body product, this stands out! I like that they focused one some healthy ingredients and took the effort to stay away from harmful ones. There isn't many drug store body polishes that will look or feel like this one.

I wanted to give this the benefit of the doubt, but for 7 days straight, this polish was only another product to use. It didn't do much extra for me and I still had to moisturize. I would've been impressed if I hadn't already had such nice results from my natural polish though. Since I did want to find a way to still enjoy this polish, I mixed in some of my own ingredients so that it would give my skin what it needed.

After my 7 days of use, I gave the polish to my mother, but still had a medium sized clump left over. I added one of my old skincare remedies in. I use one crushed multi-vitamin and 2 teaspoons of sea salt, a squirt of lemon juice and a little plop of coconut oil. This was enough to turn this into an exfoliant and skin softener. If you find yourself needing a bit more than what this polish is providing, try adding sugar or sea salt if you do not have the other ingredients on hand. If you don't need to exfoliate, leave it as is, but it can't hurt to add some coconut oil!