Not So Lucky - Secret Ingredient

The Beauty Department at Lucky Magazine, run by Jean Godfrey-June, is my favorite for checking out new products (Allure - you might do the best articles, but Lucky beats you on products). Two of my favorite columns are Jean's Beauty Closet - her personal picks, and Secret Ingredient - you get an intro to a cool ingredient, what it does, and a slew of products to find it in. For November its the Kukai Nut aka Candlenut - a super-duty moisturizer. The product that really got me was the Lauren Hutton Green Coffee Body Scrub (part of a trio). Lucky said "The scrub in this exfoliating treatment kit is phenomenal: spiked with coffee and brown sugar, it's wildly invigorating." I bought the $35 kit(scrub, massaging soap bar, and body serum) from HSN.com.

So Thursday night when I got home from the gym, I hopped in the shower to scrub up. There were some pretty specific instructions, and I did them as follows:
1. Use the scrub ankle to shoulders - rinse.
2. Use the flat side of the soap to lather (it exfoliates, too) ankle to shoulders.
3. Turn the bar and use the massaging nubby side knees to hips (more exfoliation)
4. Turn the bar again and use the contoured side on torso and arms (exfoliation again)
5. Rinse.
6. Out of shower - apply body serum to calves, thighs, buttocks, hips, abdomen, and upper arms.

The kit is supposed to be a firming treatment, and my skin definitely felt super smooth after I ex foliated it three times, but the products weren't great, and you can get the same results from more enjoyable products.

My thoughts:
Scrub - what a waste!!! The 4oz. jar is all but gone after one full body use. I have enough left to do one area of my body, and then it's totally gone. The scent reminded me of the Origins Modern Friction face scrub that made me gag. And the "wildly invigorating" claim from Lucky - I don't know what they were talking about. This is the product that made me want to try this kit and it is the worst of the bunch.
Try Instead: Caudalie Merlot Friction Scrub - feels awesome, smooths sooo good, and the light mint essential oils are the perfect amount of tingle. The 3oz mini in the trio will last you 3-5 uses depending on how big of an area you scrub. The full size jar is 8.8oz so you can definitely get your money's worth.

Soap - There was nothing bad about this bar, but it isn't available on it's own.
Try Instead: Bliss Serious Seaweed Cellulite Soap - I haven't tried this yet, but bliss usually does not disappoint. L'Occitane also makes a Grape Exfoliating Body Soap - it doesn't have massage nubbies, but it is awesome none the less.

Serum - OOOeeee. This stuff is so mentholated that skin felt like it was going to tingle right off. I like some tingle, but this was too intense. Maybe I used too much? Unlike the scrub, I do have enough of this left to try it again and see if I like it better.
Try Instead: This is the first body treatment product I have tried so I don't have any alternatives. The three brands listed above all have their own alternatives, so check those out.