DIY vs Fresh Sugar Lip Polish

They say the secret to a bold lip is smooth/ exfoliated lips, but in my opinion the secret to any lip color is a polished base. When lips are exfoliated color not only goes on smoother but they will absorb moisture better, allowing for your lips to look and feel healthier.

A little over a month ago I purchased the Fresh Cosmetics "Sugar Lip Polish" from Sephora because my lips were in desperate need- I was really hesitant at first because of the steep price tag but I eventually went for it anyway because who doesn't love to try new things?

"What it is:

A sweet treatment that that leaves lips incredibly soft and smooth.

What it is formulated to do:

This unique formula is enriched with real brown sugar crystals to gently buff away dry flakes. It nourishes the lips with the oils of meadowfoam seed, jojoba seed, and grapeseed while shea butter provides long-lasting moisture."

This being said I still wasn't sold on the $26 price tag! However- I did decide that it would be a good opportunity to compare it to a (much more affordable) DIY lip scrub you can make at home using ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen. If you're considering splurging on the Fresh Cosmetics Polish but sitting on the fence my experience may encourage you to try an at home remedy before opening your wallet.

After some quick research on the Pinterest machine and found tons of at-home scrub recipes which were all very similar (people are so crafty).  The one I chose to try seemed simple and called for 1 part olive oil, 1 part honey, and 1 part brown sugar.

After mixing it all together I wasn't completely happy with the texture so I decided to tweak it a bit and ended up using around double the amount of brown sugar than in the original "recipe".  Therefore all together I used 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, 1 tablespoon of honey, and 1 table spoon of olive oil.

So why do these ingredients work??

Sugar acts as a natural exfoliant- which is why it is the common ingredient in both scrubs.
Olive oil is rich in vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids which allow it to nourish and rejuvenate and protect skin.
And honey acts as a glue, holding all the ingredients together and also has moisturising qualities of its own.

To use either of these products simply rub a small amount into your lips for a few minutes then rinse away any excess sugar with a warm wash cloth.  Apply lip chap as needed and only use once every 2 or 3 days.

Direct Comparisons:

	DIY	Fresh Cosmetics
Scent/ Taste:	Sweet	Citrus-y (contains "Citral")
Texture:	More gentle exfoliant	Coarser
Shelf Life:	About a week	Unknown (similar  Lush scrubs have a 14 month shelf life)

The bottom line: While I hate to say it...considering I spent almost $30... I think I actually preferred my DIY version (biggest facepalm) because it was more gentle on my lips.  If you're interested in a more "intense" exfoliant you can simply replace brown sugar with raw sugar and get a coarser texture.  I found both do a great job and left my lips moisturized and smooth- therefore I can't justify the price difference when the results were ultimately the same. I guess I was hoping there would have been some magical ingredient or blatant different in my Fresh polish that would have made it obvious I didn't waste my money. For my own purposes it would have been wise to compare them earlier, before it was too late to return my purchase to Sephora.

This being said is the Fresh Sugar Lip Exfoliant a good product? Yes
but is it worth $30 when you can make one in your kitchen for a fraction of the cause? Absolutely not.

While I am suffering from a small dose of buyers remorse I will continue to use and enjoy my lip scrub from Fresh, although it will not be a re-purchase.  I learned that there are so many other natural scrubs you can make at home! I'm considering using the remainder of my home made sugar scrub on my legs, although I think body scrub recipes call for a different ratio of sugar to oil and honey.  We'll see how it turns out.

Have you ever made a scrub at home? What are you favorite recipes?