Nude Detox Brightening Fizzy Powder Wash Versus Indeed Labs Exfoliator: Does Pricier Mean Better?

I was terribly excited last April when one of my favourite skincare brands of them all, Indeed Labs (of Hydraluron fame) brought out their first physical exfoliator. I'm not a big fan of physical exfoliators in general - you'll know them as anything gritty which sloughs away dead skin.

I prefer to use a chemical exfoliator as there's not risk of breaking capillaries, but sometimes skin just feels a bit thick and cruddy (yeah, I said it - cruddy) and you feel the need to use something a little bit abrasive to scrub away the crud.

I love the Indeed Labs Exfoliator (check out my review here) because it's so, so gentle. It has a consistency a little bit like bread soda - so it exfoliates very gently without irritating or damaging the skin.

I only discovered NUDE skincare last July when I had a chance to meet the lovely Caroline Hirons and she declared Nude's treatment oil to be among her favourites. It's also recently been mentioned by Lisa Eldridge as one of her favourites. And that's some endorsement.

Nude have recently brought out a similar product to Indeed Labs powder exfoliator, their Detox Brightening Fizzy Powder Wash. I set about trialling it to see whether it was gimmicky or not. The fact that the child in me is charmed by the way it fizzes means I'm trying extra hard not to be biased in its favour!

At 46 quid, there's no messin' with this one. It would want to deliver serious results. Like the Indeed Labs version, it contains enzymes which help to chemically exfoliate. It also contains rose hip seeds and vanilla orchid seeds to manually exfoliate the face. It's very slightly grittier than the Indeed Labs version, but in a good way. It works just a little bit harder without being gritty enough to damage the skin in any way.

And as is the usual way with NUDE products, it is jammed to the hilt with Omega oils, which do absolute wonders for skin. Even though the powder is a formula, once you add water, massage it in and then rinse away, your skin has that soft, nourished sensation it gets after an effective oil cleanse. It doesn't leave oily traces on the skin - it emulsifies and washes away, but you can feel that it has been there! It does contain coconut, acai berry and inca gold oil. Added vitamin C, which is an effective skin brightener, helps to keep skin glowy.

The high quality of the ingredients in Nude products goes part of the way to explain why the prices are so high. But then, part of it is packaging and paying for a luxury product, which is the case with all high-end skincare. If you take your exfoliating very seriously, then using this once or twice weekly in conjunction with the odd enzyme peel will keep skin in tip top condition and at optimal turnover. Also, a little goes a very long way.

At that price, though, it might be best put on the Christmas list. I'd certainly be delighted to receive it! Nude's Detox Brightening Fizzy Powder Wash is available from Space NK and online at 46 euro.

What do you think? Is the price just too high to justify the spend? Or do you think that products which work are worth spending more on? To the comments!