I love a good meat tenderizer as much as the next gal, but I didn’t expect to find one — make that two in my new body scrub!
No, indie skin care line Veronica Malibu does not have quality control issues at their manufacturing plant. The meat tenderizers I found in this jar of Seaweed & Pineapple Body Scrub ($28 for a 2-oz. jar) were added deliberately, and they make the product stand out in the crowded field of skin scrubs.
Lately, I haven’t been in the mood for abrasive or painful scrubs; I want something kinder and gentler, so when I found out that water, aloe vera gel and seaweed were the top three ingredients in Veronica Malibu’s new scrub, it piqued my interest.
I love aloe and always have. I had a plant once, but I left it in my dad’s care when I moved away to college. Bad move… Let’s just say, his thumbs weren’t vera green at that time. 🙂
This scrub’s a gel, so it has that slimy feel to it (which you’ll probably either love or hate), but I find it strangely refreshing. Among other things, the gel contains jojoba beads, papain (from papaya) and bromelain enzymes (compounds derived from pineapples); along with papain, bromelain is one of the most popular substances to use for meat tenderizing.
CULINARY/BEAUTY FUN FACT: Chefs will sprinkle bromelain powder directly on uncooked meat, where it penetrates it through a process called forking, which makes the meat tender and palatable when cooked. 😉
As a scrub, the gel feels surprisingly gentle and has a light pineapple scent, yum! But it’s not so gentle that I don’t feel like it’s working. After rinsing it off, it leaves behind a layer of moisture that leaves my skin feeling almost like it does when I use an oil-based body exfoliator, except that this stuff doesn’t make the bathtub slippery after I’ve used it!
Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: Expensive? Yes, a little ($28 for a small 2-oz. jar, OUCH!), and it’s not the prettiest packaging I’ve ever seen, but Veronica Malibu has an interesting scrub on its hands with a pleasing scent and a list of intriguing ingredients. Ladies who love mega moisturizing scrubs but don’t want to deal with a slippery bathtub after using an oil-based one might really appreciate this. Available online. Grade: B
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
P.S. For all you bargain hunters, I did some searching for a cheaper alternative and found that Jason, a natural skincare line found at health food stores, makes a similar aloe-based scrub called Jason Natural Aloe Vera Soothing Body Scrub for about $6. Its scrubbies come in the form of rice bran instead of jojoba, and it contains quite a few other ingredients as well (23 of them in all), many of them synthetic, but if you’ve given it a try, please let me know if you liked it.
That sounds scrummy! Shame about the price!x
Yeah, I’m not crazy about the price either. I wish it was more affordable!
hmmm… this reminds me of a old Lush fresh face mask with pinepple and papaya… it worked like a charm, and was discontinued a few years ago, sigh!! it was named something like Enzynamite.
I want it baaack!!!
Don’t you hate it when brands discontinue stuff you love? If Philosophy ever stopped making Purity Made Simple face wash I’d frickin’ stockpile it!
Sounds Yumm!! I have never tried scrubs with Pineapple 🙂
It smells so NOM!
This looks like it smells really amazing. Like, eat-it-out-of-the-jar amazing. Can it be used on the face?
Hi Trisha,
I think this is primarily a body scrub!
Hello there Veronica Malibu — I hope you smell as awesome as you seem !!! 😀
It smells like fresh cut pineapple! You’ll be tempted to eat it. 🙂
Yumm I love pineapple!! 🙂 The packaging doesn’t look very classy though! :/
I love pineapple too! 🙂
There have been lots of translucent, neon gels on this blog lately. I am definitely into it.
True! And most of them also look good enough to eat.
Somehow the idea of using meat tenderizing products on my skin makes me think of sitting in a pot of boiling water while little men with spears dance around me, chanting. 🙂 I do like the idea that it won’t grease up the tub, though!
HA HA! Want to know something weird? I’ve actually had that dream once or twice.
That’s too funny. I think it goes back to our childhood cartoons. I remember it being a fairly common theme (which is a bit disturbing)! 🙂
I’m off to Boston tomorrow for the Naturals show – and I may have to do some Sephora “research” while I’m there, if I can fit it in. 😉 I’ll let you know if I come across anything new and cool in the natural/organic beauty arena!
Oh, have fun! And yes, if you end up doing “research” at Sephora (LOL!) please let me know if you see anything cool.
Safe travels!
Thanks! I’m going to have to devote my Monday AM to catching up on your posts! Have a fun weekend!! 🙂
I may have to give this a try because of your rec Karen.
I think you’ll like it! It smells really good and leaves your skin really soft. 🙂
oh man, I heart jojoba beads. I had them in this face scrub that was *awesome* – I really need to get more of it, because it’s only $16.00 and lasts forever.
I’m thinking jojoba beads might be my new BFF!
Do you remember the name of the face scrub? It sounds like good stuff.
Sounds yummy! The packaging’s not very pretty though.
Totally agree! For $28 it should look a lot cuter.
Natural fruit enzymes….likey. This sounds like the type of scrubs that I like, moisturizing.
And pineapples in the bath…..yummy too!
Hi Vonvon,
It’s *very* moisturizing! If only it were more affordable, sigh!
Pineapple sounds sooooo yummy!
It smells really good… like fresh cut pineapple, yum!
Stop finding stuff for me to buy!
LOL… I actually thought of you when I tried this. I think you’d really, REALLY like it!
A meat tenderizer in the scrub? Interesting!
I know, right?
Karen, have you tried Soap & Glory Flake Away? I use it during the harsh Scandinavian winters. It’s really nice. You don’t even have to moisturize after exfoliating as it has oils in it so it leaves smooth skin behind.
Hi Fieran,
No, I haven’t. They carry the line at the Target near my house. When I pop by next I’ll see if I can find it!
Oh another nice exfoliator is Clinique Sparkle Skin but I stopped using it when I discovered Soap & Glory. Sparkle Skin is not very gentle and I definitely had to moisturize afterwards. All this talk about exfoliators is making me feel guilty for not exfoliating frequently enough.
this option again not available in India.. so no point.. anyways i use body shop scrub…
Hi guys! I’m the rep for Veronica Malibu. Thanks so much for the review! We have recently lowered the price to $18 and since this is being covered here, we want to let you guys know that we will be giving it away for our upcoming giveaway contest on our facebook. Our facebook is http://www.facebook.com/pages/Malibu-CA/Veronica-Spa-and-Skin-Care-Center-Malibu/6436154356
If anyone has any questions about this particular product, let me know!
Thanks Karen for reviewing our product. hope you enjoyed it!