Hong Kong may have a lot of things, but space isn’t one of them. What I wouldn’t give to have a long, hot soaking in the bathtub after a tiresome day at the office. But that doesn’t mean I can’t still get a bit of luxe treatment in the shower. Enter Lush on my way home, where I stopped by and picked up a little Scrubee. This cutey is a 2-in-1 exfoliator and body butter bar, and we all know how much I love multitasking products!

While there’s heavy humidity outdoors in Hong Kong, I’m always walking in and out of aircon, which can be quite drying on the skin. I felt like I needed a good scrub to slough off the layer of dead skin built-up.

At first I wasn’t suite if Scrubee would be exfoliating enough, since it was mixed in with body butter. The exfoliates were initially sealed under a layer of butter and comprised of ground coconut shells and ground almonds, layered to look like the stripes of a bee.

On first application to wet skin, the top layer melted fairly quickly and exposed the grounded coconut/almond mixture. The Lush website actually warns Scrubee could melt in hot temperatures, so body heat is enough to activate for use.

Scrubee does contain synthetic fragrances, which I found quite strong. I had the beginnings of a headache on my first day of using it, so I felt especially sensitive to the warm vanillary/coconut/honey scent. Not sure whether it was due to Scrubee being brand new or if my headache made the smell seemed especially overpowering. I tried it again the next day and felt much better, although I still wouldn’t describe the scent as subtle.

I was told to use Scrubee after soaping off as it did not contain any cleansers. Given the butter was also meant as a stand-in for body lotion, it’s probably best used as the final showering step. You can see in the above picture there’s plenty of ground coconuts left behind as I scrubbed (although I couldn’t quite see the ground almonds). The butter consistency was rich and did feel a little greasy. I do wonder how many sessions Scrubee would last through. I felt the body butter melted almost too fast, and I would definitely recommend not using it with the water running.

While exfoliating, I had to hold Scrubee upside down, but this meant the bottom layer was in constant contact with my hot hands. It also lead to especially greasy palms, which I had to use a bit of soap to clean off and bring it back to a tolerable level. Seemed a bit wasteful… After washing it off, there was some transfer of the body butter on to the bathroom floor, which made it a bit slippery, so do be careful not to slip!

When exfoliating was all done, I just rinsed off the ground coconut and almonds and patted dry with a towel. Try not to scrub using the towel or you’ll end up taking off the body butter and moisturising the towel. Speaking of which, the scent did linger on my towels…and bedsheets….and clothes. By the time I woke up, there was no greasiness and I did notice my skin stayed soft and smooth throughout the day.

If Scrubee can last the distance, I would definitely purchase again. Otherwise, at $130 HKD (or $25 AUD), the product is too indulgent for daily use. I do love how much it multitasks, not only being a scrub and lotion, but also perfuming the body. Lazy-girl approved!

[EDIT 6 Oct 2019] Scrubee lasted barely a month. I did love it and used it about 4 or 5 times a week, so in all, I got about 20 uses out of the little bug. I was honestly expecting more, so this will have to be one of those indulgent purchases.

Have you trued Scrubee?
What other Lush scrubs have you tested?
Recommend me more Lush goodies to try!