Okay, so I scrubbed my face with Kylie’s rebooted walnut paste so you don’t have to. Spoiler: it’s not the gritty nightmare of 2019, but it’s also not a gentle facial.
This is the brand’s attempt to reclaim the exfoliation throne after St. Ives got dragged to hell for the same concept. The stakes are weirdly high for a face scrub.
It’s a $22 drugstore-style scrub with a luxury markup. The claim is “glass skin” via crushed walnuts—which is like saying you’ll polish a car with gravel if you do it gently enough.
Micro-Ground Walnut Shell
It’s finer than St. Ives, but you can still hear the crunch.
Squalane Infusion
The only thing saving your moisture barrier from total annihilation.
No Sulfates
At least it won’t foam like dish soap.
Photo: Alexandru Zdrobău / Unsplash
The hero is literally walnut shell powder—a physical exfoliant that dermatologists side-eye. But they added enough glycerin and squalane to make it feel less like sandpaper and more like a gritty lotion.
- Walnut Shell Powder: Physical exfoliant that can cause microtears if you press too hard
- Squalane: A lightweight moisturizer that stops your face from feeling like a desert
- Glycerin: Humectant that pulls water in so you don’t look flaky post-scrub
- Jojoba Oil: Mimics skin’s natural sebum; makes the grit glide instead of drag
Photo: Element5 Digital / Unsplash
First touch: it’s thick, like wet sand. You need to massage for a full 60 seconds to feel the “glow” effect, but your skin turns pink before the timer hits 45.
Week two update: I used it twice, not the three times suggested, and my chin still felt raw. The surprise? My nose actually looked less congested—but my cheeks screamed “please stop.”
Photo: Laura Chouette / Unsplash
Measurable result: my blackheads on my nose were visibly reduced by about 30%. The downside: I had to slather on heavy moisturizer for two days to calm the tightness. Net zero, honestly.
Photo: Curology / Unsplash
It works if your skin is a tank, but it’s a hard pass for anyone with normal-to-sensitive complexions. Kylie Skin made it gentler, but walnuts are still walnuts.