Retrodiva's Beauty Bar: soap and glory

It's wintertime, and that means my lips can be a flaky mess if I don't take care of them. Because it's been so cold, our heater has run just about nonstop, and I've noticed that my lips are exceptionally dried out this year, so while I was browsing in Target the other day, I stumbled across this cute little set.

The Soap & Glory Mighty Mouth Kit comes with a two-sided exfoliator and balm as well as a nude gloss that helps plump the lips while giving a great shine. The exfoliator works like a dream. It is a solid that you just rub over your lips no more than twice a day and it exfoliates with natural ingredients (I am not certain, but it feels like dried oatmeal), then follow it up with the other side, a softening balm that smells pleasantly like coconut.

The tube of glossy goodness that comes with it is supposed to be a lip plumper, but I never put much stock in those things. I do, however, appreciate that it is a lovely color with lots of shimmer and shine. It tingles for a bit after applying it, but it lasts a decent time.

The Soap & Glory Mighty Mouth Kit is available at Target, Amazon, and Boots if you're in the U.K.

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We all know I am obsessed with exfoliation, specifically body scrubs. There are so many reasons for a good scrub, especially if you use self-tanners on any sort of regular basis. It also keeps your skin super soft, and keeps that ashy look away. But it can be hard finding a good scrub that isn't too rough on skin or that actually exfoliates anything at all - I'm always searching for that middle ground.

I picked up Soap and Glory's Flake Away Spa Body Polish at Target a while back, remembering some of the excellent reviews that I have seen on this company's product line. The founder of Soap and Glory is Marcia Kilgore, who also founded Bliss, a beauty line that I bet you might have heard about. Originally, Soap and Glory was to be a mass market line in the UK, but has found it's way to our shoes, fortunately for us.

This scrub is nice and thick, with salt as the underlying exfoliant. Unlike other scrubs I have used before, the salt isn't overly large or coarse, making it easy to apply and rub in. It has a base of excellent oils, which linger long after you have toweled off without being overly greasy. I think the scent will be the main point of contention for many, as it's the type of scent that you will either love or hate, with not much of a middle ground. According to Boots.com (which is the only place online I was able to find Flake Away), the listed notes are leafy greens, bergamot and mandarin, with floral and fruity middle notes, and a soft, sexy, musk, oakmoss, amber and woody drydown. Regardless if this is up your alley or not, you might be relieved to know that the scent doesn't linger overlong after the shower. And if you follow the advice on the back of the jar that encourages you to apply another layer of body oil after your shower, you may not notice it at all. (I used Bobbi Brown's Beach body oil, and found that the two scents complimented each other perfectly.)

Overall, I found this scrub to be excellent, especially given it's price point, which was less than $12. I have rarely found a drugstore type scrub that works this well for this kind of price. I will certainly be interested in trying out more of this brand after having such a good experience with Flake Away.

Unfortunately, as I mentioned, I was unable to find Flake Away online anywhere, with the exception of Boots online. Because the dollar is so weak, you may find that paying 6 pounds for this item not to your liking. Try popping over to your local Target and seeing if they have it in the cosmetics section. While it wasn't at Target online, there were quite a few in stock at my Target. Good luck! It's worth it!