Review - Soap & Glory The Fab Pore

I'm am so excited to do this review (grab some coffee, it's a long one)!! This is the first product I've purchased and really tried out from the brand Soap & Glory, a super cute brand originally from the UK. But, lucky for us Americans, Target has spoiled us once more and has started to carry its products in stores (and online, too!!!).

Recently, a wave of newer products have hit the shelves, and I decided to try my hand (or, er, face) at this nifty little pot of skincare called The Fab Pore. Now, if you are not familiar with Soap & Glory at all- they are FABULOUS at play-on words. This is the company that came up with Sexy Mother Pucker Lip Plumper ;) So, "The Fab Pore" sounds mighty tame, but cute nonetheless. Oh, and if you are having trouble of where this products name got its inspiration from, let me help you:

...The Fab Four....heh...


Dig the kitsch packaging!!

I know what you're asking, what the hell does this do (other than look totally cute in the box)? Well, The Fab Pore is a lovely little mask/peel. It's supposed to suck up nasty things in your pores, and, eventually, make them less noticeable. It highlights ingredients like mushroom extract, salicylic acid (great for battling acne), kaolin clay (to sop up oil), and vitamins A & E. Put it all together and what do you get? The Fab Pore!

The tub weighs in at 1.7 oz. Seems small, but believe me, you don't need a lot. Putting it on my skin, it goes on pretty smooth, but not to overly thick. Again, you don't need a lot, a little spreads a long way. The box suggests you take a grape-sized amount for your face, but I think that may even be too much. I just dab my finger in the tub and use what I need (which might add up to the size of a grape). The scent is pleasant, not medicinal and not perfume-ish. It's just...fresh. Kind of minty too.

See those little green beads? I don't know what they are, exactly, but instructions say to rub the mask into the skin until the beads have disappeared. All you need to do is leave the mask on for 15 minutes. The box says you can also leave it on for 5 minutes, sort of like a "quickie" facial. The mask stays pretty "wet" when on the skin, as opposed to something like the Queen Helene Mint Julep Mask that dries and crumbles. I don't feel any effects when the mask is on, for instance the mask doesn't make my skin tingle or anything. It comes off pretty easily (I use warm water), and after a few minutes I apply my usual moisturizer.

It's only been a week since I've been using it, so I don't know I'm ready to give out fair results. Besides, with skin, you can't rush things. But what I can say is that my skin has been feeling very Ooh La La smooth! Texture has improved a bit, my skin looks a little brighter, and as far as pores go, I can see my cheeks look a bit smoother. My nose has seen little improvement, but, my pores there are rather beastly so I'm not going to ding points off for that or anything. I'll definitely have to give it some more time and report back.

So far, everything looks good! I love the packaging, the price is right ($12), it's readily available at Target, and I've seen some progress in a week. I would definitely recommend this to anyone wanting to smooth out their pores. Definitely a go for gals with oily skin, and since the mask stays pretty moist, I think it could work for dry skin as well.

Oh, and have I mentioned the packaging? You have to love a company that has a good sense of humor:

Have you spotted Soap & Glory at your local Target? Have you tried something that you loved? Hated? Or, have your eye on something you want to try?

There's some method to my madness.

This past weekend I went on my normal drugstore run. Rite Aid. Walgreens. Big Lots (I know it's not particularly a drugstore- but they do carry plenty of drugstore items). Longs. The usual.

Over the past few entries I've mentioned that Longs Drugstores are being converted into CVS stores. For a while I was very excited to see that after a long period of whining and griping of the lack of CVS stores in my area. But, then I realized one day after going into a Longs store that I frequent across the street from my college, I noticed the huge volumes of yellow clerance tags. Awesome, right? Sure, I snagged up some great deals (like some HIP balms for dirt cheap) but I noticed something very integral to my daily routine was missing...

BERT'S BEES!!!!!!!!!!

More specifically, the Tomato Complexion Soap and the Tomato Toner. I've been using these products for a few years already. Sometimes I stray and try some new products, but I always come back home to these. The toner is especially my favorite. It's very gentle, doesn't dry my skin out, and gets every speck of dirt or makeup that may be left on my skin. Usually if I was running low on something, I would hop on over to one of the two Longs stores that I'm closest to and pick some up. But with the new CVS empire moving in, I noticed at my normal haunts that these items were nowhere to be seen, but other BB items still stocked the shelves.

It was clear.

I was on a mission.

No lie, I probably went to about half a dozen Longs stores in search of at least ONE bottle of toner or ONE box of soap to hold me over. No. Nothing. That was until Saturday when I went to the Longs store closest to the mall and made a bee line (no pun intended) to the Burt's Bees shelves. I swear I would have dropped to my knees and thanked the heavens!!! There were three of each product still on the shelf.

And I was just in time, too. There on each of the labels was a little tag saying DISC. Oh, that dreaded word: discontinued. One time I overheard an employee tell a lady (who was looking for something specific) that they were getting rid of a lot of things for this conversion. So, I did the only thing I could do and threw the three bottles and three boxes into my cart, and clean them out. Sure, it cost a pretty penny, and I had never spent that much at a drugstore before, but it was so well worth it.

After I finish up this stash, the only place I'll be able to purchase these (other than online) is at Whole Foods. I'm not looking forward to that, not that I don't like WF or anything- but it is kind of out of my way for me. And, chances are I'll probably end up buying more than Burt's Bees and leave with vegan chocolate chip cookies and delicious cheeses :)

Is there any one product that you would drive all over town for? What would you do (or have you done) if the store stopped carrying it?