Call me a kid but I love things with punny names and when I first came across the Kate Somerville ExfoliKate a while ago, I couldn’t stifle a giggle. Ah punny product names – gotta love them! 😀
It turns out that what I didn’t realise, punny names aside, the Kate Somerville ExfoliKate Intensive Exfoliating Treatment is quite a popular product!
I recently got a sample of it, and I thought it would be good to give a go and see what the hype was about. This being a sample, and one of my “Just Sampling” review series, I won’t do into much depth – just some quick thoughts and views on the product and how I felt about it.
What ExfoliKate is, is as the name says, an Intensive Exfoliating Treatment so this isn’t a product you will use daily at risk of exfoliating all your skin off your face. Well, it could happen right? 😛
The product surprised me when I squeezed it out because it’s a green goo.
Now that’s a surprise!
It isn’t a scrub in a true sense, because although there are some rough bits, it also serves as a quick mask. So think of it as a cleanser-mask-scrub all in one that you can do in the shower, as I do. The instructions tell you to apply a thin layer on your skin and they warn you that you may experience some tingling of the skin.
Hmm… I decided to be a little cautious and applied a thin layer of green goo to my skin while in the shower and waited for the tingling. I didn’t experience any which could be because my skin isn’t very sensitive, or it is desensitized thanks to the regular use of glycolic acids and AHAs. But be warned that you might experience tingling.
After a few minutes (don’t leave it on too long – anything that will cause tingling can be a bit harsh for skin, especially sensitive skin) I wash it off and I can feel the little grainy bits in the product, which act like a scrub. Not surprisingly therefore, once I wash it off, my skin feels lovely and smooth and clean.
You don’t have to use a lot of product so I can forsee this sample tube lasting me quite a while. If you get the full size tube, I think it’ll last you a lot longer. I’ve used this about twice a week for the past 3 weeks and while it does make my skin feel lovely and smooth and baby soft after use, I can’t at the same time say that I absolutely love it primarily because I don’t really use physical scrubs anymore as I use chemical exfoliators. So this is more of a personal choice than a slur on the product.
If you are the sort who prefers a physical scrub and derive satisfaction from the feeling of “scrubbing” your skin then I think you will like this 🙂 Oh and as a side note, don’t be too vigorous and combine this product with something like the Clarisonic or chemical exfoliators on the same day. Your skin will keel over and die and then you’ll spend more time and money rectifying the problem. Remember, less is more so be sure to stagger your skincare accordingly.
In a nutshell
The Kate Somerville ExfoliKate Intensive Exfoliating Treatment is a popular product that helps exfoliate skin both chemically and physically. You can leave it on for a little while like a mask before washing off and there are little grains in it so you can scrub your skin. They advise that you may experience some tingling which I did not but those with more sensitive skin might. If you like using a face scrub you may like this because it leaves skin feeling baby soft and smooth and clean. But I do have to add that I did not personally derive long term benefits so I guess mileage will vary.
Pros: Leaves skin feeling soft and smooth and clean, Very little goes a long way
Cons: Pricey, May tingle on sensitive skin
Who will like this: Anyone who likes using a physical scrub and does not have very sensitive skin
Ingredients: Water/Aqua/Eau, Lactic Acid, Polyethylene, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Oil, Cetearyl Alcohol, Pectin, Carica Papaya (Papaya) Fruit, Lactobacillus Pumpkin Ferment Extract, Ceteareth-20, Cetyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, Dehydroxanthan Gum, PEG-100 Stearate, Salicylic Acid, SD Alcohol 40-B, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot) Fruit Oil, Sorbic Acid, Cinnamomum Cassia Leaf Oil, Honey (Mel), Acetic Acid, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Oil, Potassium Sorbate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Retinyl Palmitate, Bromelain, Papain, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Phenoxyethanol, Geranium Maculatum Oil, Aniba Rosaeodora (Rosewood) Wood Oil, Pogostemon Cablin Oil, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Oil, Linalool, Limonene, Cinnamal, Beta-Carotene (CI 75130), Chlorophyllin-Copper Complex (CI 75810)
Have you tried ExfoliKate? Have you used any other items by Kate Somerville that you like?
I haven’t really used anything by Kate Somerville so I’m not able to say if I like anything else but I’m always open to suggestions if you have! So hit me up with some recs of what works for you (or what doesn’t!) 😀
Paris B
Kate Somerville ExfoliKate Intensive Exfoliating Treatment Price: RM290/60ml Availability: Sephora stores
the price! *gasp*
When I found out the price, I gasped too! 😛
Is this suitable for dry skin? And that is quick a surprise that it is green.
They don’t say as such, but I have dry skin and a once or twice a week use is fine for me. I didn’t find it particularly drying but then I do follow up with a mostly hydrating skincare routine and oils.
That price. No. Lol!
LOL! It is very pricey, I’d agree. I was at Sephora just yesterday and was quite surprised at how pricey the whole range is considering I’m not familiar with the brand. But from the other comments, people do seem to like her products so maybe there’s something there… 😉
The Pros are very tempting, especially when you said leave your skin smooth but when I see the price, I almost fainted, that’s the most expensive price for a scrub that I’ve ever seen! But I guess it depends on how long the bottle/tube can last (isn’t there’s an article by you about dividing the price with the amount time you use?) and need to weight in the pros and cons before decide to buy it. Honestly, for me, if it’s something so pricey, better get a sample first before do the commitment, especially someone with sensitive skin like me 😀
Haha true, Fathin. To be honest, the smoothness and softness is what I’ve come to expect from any scrub or exfoliating mask so I wouldn’t say that it’s outstanding in that sense. I do believe a tub/tube will last a long time because you don’t need very much each time and yes, cost per wear does come into play. That said however, with sensitive skin, you absolutely need to test it first (and it comes in a Gentle formula too for very sensitive skin) because you don’t want a product making your skin worse! 🙂
I’ve always been curious about Kate Somerville products because one of my favourite Youtubers uses primarily Kate Somerville in her daily skincare routine and she has beautiful skin. Little did I know that it is quite the luxurious skincare brand and when I went to Sephora the other day and saw the price, I went YIKES!
Kate Somerville has a good range of products, most of them are super great but only if you have the cash or the lack of conscience. Kate Somerville, to me, is like the US version of SK-II. It works magic but it’s hefty!
I heard the oxygen treatment is really good! Thought you might want to give it a try?
I just saw the prices yesterday Hani and I went Yikes too! I didn’t realise how expensive they were and you could say I’m not that easily shocked 😛 At this point, I’m not certain about wanting to try the range mostly because I’m not quite sold on it (and the prohibitive price tag) but if I manage to get more samples, I’ll give them a go 🙂
Oooh that green goo looks so interesting! But that price tag, yikes! I have been curious about Kate Sommerville products but have always stayed away thanks to price tags ( one does not need more temptation now do we? ). I might give the tinted sunscreen a go one of these days though 🙂
I personally dislike any kind of scrub with grainy bits, I feel like it scratches my skin off, adn I”ve read that they actually leave micro tears in the skin. Gosh.. Might as well stick to the cream based exfoliaters or the chemical ones.
I didn’t realise how high the price tag for the brand was until I checked out the price for this product and took a look at the counter at Sephora. I used to be all about using scrubs with grainy bits in them. It was so satisfying, you know 😀 But I’ve since stopped because like you, I too read about these beads tearing your skin and I just don’t need more damage to skin that’s already taking its time to heal thanks to age 😛 I’m all about chemical exfoliating now so if this had been sans beads I think it might actually be better.
I’ve been a fan of this product for years now and it really works.
Put it on spread all over your face lightly scrub it a little over your face then leave for 2 mins.
After that rinse off. This is the best exfoliator Ive used thus far and believe me Ive used many from various brands and nothing shields this result.
You get smooth baby skin after that and your skin looks brighter and feels cleaner too.
But just limit yourself to twice per week. The enzymes in it really does wonder.
One day I had a paper cut on one of my fingers and as I was applying this to my face it really sting my finger. That really proves that the enzymes are really working.
Plus I have recently purchased her new CC cream with SPF 50+++ have yet to try it but heard a lot of good reviews on the various blogs.
I’m really happy with Kate’s products, albeit a lil pricey but they really work. She rarely fails.
Hi Yvette, thanks for sharing your experience with Kate Somerville products! This was my first time trying it and although I didn’t quite experience exceptionally brighter or cleaner skin it does feel nice 🙂 Good luck with the CC Cream!
They got the best moisturizer ! But they are so darn expensive ! I prefer chemical exfoliator, I enjoy using physical scrubs(Clarins Gentle Exfoliating Refiner) but I don’t think they do the job as thoroughly.
Ooh which moisturiser would that be? You have me curious! I do agree that they’re pricey though. I used to use a physical scrub from all sorts of brands (Feels so nice to scrub the face right?) but I read that no matter how gentle, it can leave micro tears on skin so I stopped.
Temptation temptation! I’ve heard their goat’s milk moisturiser is good for anyone with dry skin, so it might be worth a shot. This will have to go on the to-try-once-stash-is-cleared list.
Ooh yes, that’s the moisturiser I’ve heard of too and it comes highly raved as well. I’m not sure I’m ready to splurge on it since it is quite pricey and I’m not sure how well it’d work (and because I have my eyes set on other stuff 😉 ) but it’s one of those things I keep at the back of my mind just in case 😉
I tried this product a year ago when I was on an extended work stay in Houston and purposely did not bring my own kit from home. I picked up a small tube at Sephora. Loved it. And then I discovered the Aveeno Positively Radiant Brightening everyday scrub and had not looked back since. Too bad Sephora Malaysia do not carry the Aveeno range, so I stock up whenever i am in the USA.
Haha wow from Kate Somerville to Aveeno! 😀 I’ve heard a lot about Aveeno but mostly about their body care, never face care. Still, I’ll take your word for it Ishi! 😀
Hi Paris, you mentioned you had replaced physical scrub with chemical exfoliator. May I know which chemical exfoliator you’re using now? Thanks 🙂
Hi Celine, I use various types of products. I use an exfoliating lotion daily (currently REN which I reviewed here) and Alpha H Liquid Gold on alternate nights. As I use both of these so regularly, I don’t necessarily use an exfoliating mask or scrub very often so as not to overdo things. When I do use a mask, I use the REN Glycolactic mask mostly because I”m finishing it up.
i just purchased this today too at Sephora sale. it’s really pricey for such a small tube..hope it works well for oily skin 😉
I hope it works Anne! Although to be fair, I do think it will work for oily skin because it’s a mask and scrub after all 😀
I recently looked into this, apparently there’s 3 versions??
Too bad we can’t get it here and shipping is insane.. unless I order bulk. Hmmm
Yes, there’s a gentle version too and this one’s the regular one. While it’s terribly popular, I’m not sure it’s worth your effort importing the stuff, well unless there’s a market for it 😉