Greetings from the washbasin, my fellow rogues!
I’ve spoken on this blog before about the importance of skincare for rogues, whether it be for face, hands or feet. Let’s be honest – being a rogue demands a lot of our skin, and nowhere is this more obvious than the face. Sure, feet can benefit from boots and hands from gloves, but the cruel irony of masks and other protective facegear is that all the marinating in your own oils tends to clog the pores something wicked. Then, if you take the masks away, your face gets exposed to chill night winds, fetid dungeon air and the wierd goo that comes off basilisks (no-one warns you about that part).
Seems like a rogue just can’t win, right? Well, that expensive skin-clearing enchanted bandana you’ve been eyeing up might still be an option, but I’m going to discuss a product today that might just save you some of that gold: Michael Todd True Organics Tropical Fruit Enzyme Exfoliant Scrub. *phew*
Trivial, but I feel I need to mention that I love the purple colour of this packaging, and the font that Todd’s name is written in!
This scrub has gotten a lot of love from the beauty blogging/vlogging media I read when I went to do my research. I first heard about the brand on Shannon’s beauty channel on YouTube, and went to investigate the Michael Todd website from there. There are many delicious sounding products and kits in the range, tailored for specific skin types/needs, but I opted for the Tropical Fruit Scrub as it seemed the most generally useful (and sounded tastiest).
Full disclosure: I have no idea why ‘everyone’ seems to think this smells ‘amazing’ and ‘good enough to eat’ – I mean, it smells fresh and all, but the overriding scent that I get is ‘orange’, and specifically that kind of orange represented by a chewable vitamin C tablet of my youth. I hasten to add that this isn’t a *bad* thing, unlike that one particular (probably cursed) childhood medicine that ruined everything cherry-flavoured for me forever. It’s just…not earth shatteringly, edibly delicious. But it’s facewash, so…
This ingredient list is druid-approved fruity. What can I say? I love me some fruit. No, really. Find me at the feast, and I’ll be hogging the plate of grapes, not the wild boar.
Now, the real question: does it, you know, do anything? If you look at the top of the tube in the picture above, the claims seem to suggest it will do ALL THE THINGS. It refreshes! It moisturises! It exfoliates without scrubbing! It firms! It improves elasticity and pliability! It unclogs pores! It facilitates movement of skin oils! (zuh?) It refines skin texture! It encourages skin renewal! It deters minotaurs and trolls! It subdues undead hordes! It…wait. I may be projecting there…
To hop off the mild sarcasm train (bad Syl!) – this is a very nice exfoliating facewash indeed. It holds up to its claims of exfoliating without scrubbing, and being gentle on sensitive skin. It also leaves my skin feeling moisturised, so there’s another point in its favour. A lot of the rest of the claims are basically multiple ways of saying ‘it removes dead skin cells’, which I suppose is supported by my agreement with the exfoliation claim, so I’ll let it have them. I just think it’s trying too hard for a product that is genuinely good! I tend to see red flags popping up when the marketing ettins start in on the ‘wonderproduct’ spiel, but this facewash lives up to its most important claims!
This facewash stands up to the intense scrutiny of a master druid! Either that or the druid is kind of wondering what he almost stepped in…
The scrub has quite a loose gel-like texture, with a variety of sizes of ‘particle’ and a mildly exfoliating texture. I find that a single tube lasts me quite a while, as you don’t need a huge amount to feel like you’re getting the desired effect. The packaging is totally appropriate (hard to go wrong with a tube, really) and adequately sturdy, and because of the texture of the product, it doesn’t seem like a lot of it stays stuck to the sides of the tube. That is, you’ll probably be able to extract maximum value from your scrub without much effort! Huzzah!
The Michael Todd line has lots of wonderful sounding products to try – I know I’d like to have a go at a few! – have you tried any?
The verdict: Michael Todd True Organics Tropical Fruit Enzyme Exfoliant Scrub is a pleasant smelling, effective and gentle facial exfoliant that will help your rogueish countenance to stay smooth and clean in the face of all eldritch horrors and windy rooftops. If you’re in the market for a new exfoliator, this might be just the thing to try!
The practicalities: Michael Todd True Organics Tropical Fruit Enzyme Exfoliant Scrub costs USD 18.00, is permanent, and may be acquired from the Michael Todd website. They ship internationally, too. Very occasionally, you’ll see Michael Todd stuff pop up on NZSale, as well.
Until next time, fellow adventurers, don’t forget to check for traps!
Syl
I am an adventuring rogue, not a mercenary for hire, and as such, all opinions expressed here are my own, based on a genuine fondness for/interest in this product. If you have any queries or suggestions, please do not hesitate to pin your parchment to the board (contact me) at thepaintedrogue [at] gmail [dot] com., or use the contact form provided!
The Painted Rogue 