Can I just start by saying how excited I am that more brands are starting to make lip scrubs? I’ve always been into exfoliating my lips, but especially since becoming a beauty blogger and doing lip swatch-fests, the fact that more and more brands are joining the lip scrub train makes me super happy. Gotta take care of that pout!
Up until now, the only brand that carried a lip scrub, that I had access too was e.l.f. But now MAC is joining the lip scrub game with their ‘Lip Scrubtious’.
“Pucker up to totally smooth lips with MAC Lip Scrubtious. This new sugar-based exfoliator gently buffs away dry and flaky skin with a formula enhanced by hydrating and nourishing conditioners, leaving lips soft and oh-so-smoochable.”
MAC Lip Scrubtious ($16 USD/$19 CAD) comes in 5 varieties: Sweet Vanilla, Candied Nectar, Fruit of Passion, Summer Berry, and Sweet Brown Sugar. It comes in a snazzy iridescent white box, covered in raised MAC logos. Each little tub contains 14 ml of product. Size-wise, it’s about the same diameter of a MAC Pro Longwear Paint Pot (the cap of a Paint Pot actually screws perfectly onto the Lip Scrubtious container), but the scrub holds more volume.
As mentioned before, previous to trying the MAC scrub I had been a loyal follower of the e.l.f. Lip Exfoliator, which comes in a tube (in lipstick form). What I liked about the e.l.f. one was the fact that it had a gritter sugar, so it gave my lips a slightly harsher exfoliation, which I prefer. However, it always had to be applied with slightly wet lips, to break down the lipstick format, which meant adding then extra step of wetting your lips, before exfoliating. The MAC scrub, on the other hand, isn’t a solid product. It contains sugar, in a light liquid containing nourishing conditioners like grape seed oil, jojoba, and shea butter – almost like a marmalade.
‘Summer Berry’ has a semi-sweet scent, but it doesn’t scream “fruity berry mix” to me (although that bright purple colour does). And you can apply it dry! Just take a small half-pea-sized amount, and rub it onto your lips with your fingertips. I applied it with a mix of back-and-forth motions, as well as small circular motions. When I finished exfoliating, I would use water to wash it off, then wipe my lips dry (and wipe away any excess dry skin) with a tissue, then apply lip balm (Burt’s Bees – My faaaaave!).
I would say that MAC Lip Scrubtious gives a slightly less intense exfoliation than the e.l.f. Lip Exfoliator, although I have read other blogs that feel the exact opposite (perhaps they don’t beat up their lips with the e.l.f. one as much as I do?).
The biggest downside to using MAC’s Lip Scrubtious (and it’s not a BIG downside) is that it’s kind of messy – during application it can spread out and go beyond your lips, and can leave a stain. So if the product goes outside of my lip lines, I have to finish the job pretty quickly, and wipe off my lips, before it stains my face (It did briefly stain my scrubbing finger).
But the MAC Lip Scrub is super easy to use, so it could easily fit into my nightly skincare routine. I think I’ll use the MAC one on a weekly basis, and only pull in the e.l.f. one on days where my lips really need some tough love.
Press samples featured