I received The Body Shop Mango Body Scrub as a present. Although I'm not too fond of this product I used it regularly for a couple of weeks to give it a proper chance and to be able to review it fairly.
The body scrub is an orange colour and has tiny visible grains of salt and sugar in. It has quite a thick and gloopy consistency. It actually reminds me of icing or cake frosting and looks quite delicious! (although I'd advise against actually eating it!)
My one big problem with this body scrub is the smell. It does have a slight mango scent to it but overall I really dislike it. It smells quite 'off' and reminds me of the smell of fruit when it's turning. Some smells just take some getting used to but after a couple of weeks I'm still not fond of it. This is such a disappointment to me as I love mango and I love fruity smelling products (plus the fact I love The Body Shop and had high hopes).
The Body Shop states that the body scrub should be used in the bath or shower. I have tried both and have had the same effect with both (although if used in the bath the bottom of the bath will be all grainy by the time you've finished).
The Body Shop also state that the scrub should be used in circular motions all over your body. I tend to use my hands but exfoliating gloves and shower puffs are also an option.
The scrub is suitable for very dry skin, however I would describe my skin as just normal - not dry but not oily.
The scrub contains mango seed and soya oil which is supposed to 'leave the skin beautifully soft and supple'. It is quite oily and somewhat greasy when applied to the skin which might put some people off but I didn't mind as I was able to wash it straight off afterwards and my skin didn't appear to be oily or greasy after I was dry.
There were also lots of tiny grains of salt and sand which are supposed to help remove dead skin cells and boost circulation. I found the grains were actually quite hard and slightly abrasive which surprised me as the scrub is supposed to be for very dry skin. However the scrub didn't damage my skin and did actually appear to make my skin quite smooth afterwards.
I am informed by The Body Shop website that regular exfoliating and massaging with this product can help tone and firm the skin, but to be honest I haven't noticed any difference to the tone of my skin since using this scrub.
It wasn't a case of 'a little goes a long way' either - in fact most of my 50ml tub has now vanished. I was surprised at how much I had to use to cover relatively small areas.
The overall outcome wasn't bad (putting the the bad smell and harsh grains to one side). My skin seemed soft and smooth after using the body scrub but not particularly any better than most other body scrubs I have previously used in my honest opinion. I would describe the effects of The Body Shop Mango Body Scrub as a mix between quite good, okay and average.
One thing that is very apparent is that the smell lasts very long on your skin after you have used it. I can smell the scent of the body scrub on me for hours after I have used it. This would usually be a good thing but as I can't stand the smell it's not so good!
Like all Body Shop products, this body scrub is not tested on animals. It also uses community trade organic soya oil and organic sugar, which is good to know.
The scrub comes in a transparent pot and has an orange screw on lid. There is a waterproof sticker on top of the lid (with a picture of juicy mangos on) that you can peel back to expose a list of ingredients. It's a very attractive looking tub and looks very nice sitting on my bathroom shelf.
The Body Shop Mango Body Scrub is only available from Body Shop stores or from thebodyshop.co.uk. The scrub comes in a 50ml tub for £5.00 or a 200ml tub for £12.50. In my opinion this is abit too steep and I wouldn't be prepared to pay this sort of money (not for this product anyway). It is also available in the US and costs $20.00 for a 7.4 oz tub.
I would rate this product 2 out of 5 as I won't be buying this in future and can't really recommend it to anybody else.