Review: Bath & Body Works Sheer Freesia Body Lotion

Okay. I'm too lazy to list all the ingredients, but the first are water, glycerin, petrolatum, cetyl alcohol, cetearyl alcohol, dimethicone and fragrance. This is probably where all the moisturizing and scent come from. However, they do list these as pampering ingredients:

Conditioning Aloe Vera
Protective Grape Seed Extract
Nourishing Vitamin E & C

While I don't think these ingredients do anything at the amounts they probably are in (note that they all come after fragrance), it might have an effect... I haven't felt anything other than the standard moisturizing I get from other lotions.

What I love about B&BW is that their lotions mostly smell really good.  As you can see, this one is nearly gone. It's a very feminine flowery scent and it lasts for quite a bit. You can actually go out without perfume on a date night with this product. On the other hand, I feel that the scent is not as strong as Victoria's Secret lotions - nor quite as sensual? (brand imaging works sometimes). Honestly though, I prefer this over VS because of the less "girly" packaging. It's also easier to hold because of the curved, textured top.

Another nice thing is that you can see how much product you have and the slit-cap makes dispensing easy. While it is less contaminated than a screw cap, it's not as good as a pump-top apparently (performing around a flip-cap's level). However, pump top products, if they don't have a cover, tend to spill as I tend to throw them on the bed, which is where the former two have an advantage. Yes, sometimes, packaging does matter.

The consistency is neither heavy nor light. It takes a couple of minutes to sink into the skin but does not leave a greasy feeling. Then again, don't expect this lotion to do anything other than keep you moisturized and smelling like a freesia.

Since this is not a local product, it could be considered expensive compared to some lotions or depending on your supplier. However, I have a lot of B&BW stuff thanks to my mom and my sis on their trips. B&BW tends to go on sale a lot. Out of the ones I've been rotating right now, the list of what I prefer from most to least and why:

1. Sheer Freesia - girly, good for going out
2. Country Apple - fruity, for feeling good coz I love apples! I like the pinkish red color the lotion.
3. Twilight Woods - a bit too strong for me, apply sparingly
4. Coconut Lime Verbena - not fond of coconut so I use this as a hand lotion

The sad thing is that they tend to discontinue scents, so if you fall in love with one, you might think of hoarding these products. I'm not really in love with any of them, luckily.

Frequent hand washing is one of the best things you can do to prevent spreading germs/illnesses/whatever. But hands tend to get dry easily if you do this. Use a (hand) lotion when you can to keep them soft and silky!

Internet At Last!

After 9 hours of following up, I finally have internet! So I'd like to just post some things that make me happy: Macarons, Coffee and Both. Note that my name isn't Carol. ^^

The Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappucino is really good! Starbucks has a BOGO promo for June 24, 2013. Check out their Philippine Facebook page for details.

Globe Rant

I am so frustrated with Globe right now. While they're all really nice, nothing seems to ever get done. I've just spend two hours to come to nothing regarding my problem.

5 Nice Things About Globe*... Not
*on broadband application

1. If you are on hold, then they will come back to you - Ok. This is not exactly a lie since they do eventually return, but it was taking a while. I asked someone inside the store if I was still on hold, and he said yes. Unfortunately, after another 30 minutes, he said that no- it got disconnected. I wasted around an hour holding a dead phone simply because I did not trust my instict that a phone with no music on hold was dead.

2. They will get back to you promptly - Nope. Not at all. Which has spewed a whole lot of follow ups that have all come to nothing. A word of advice, don't try their hotline. It's near useless. I just had many frustrating rounds of repeating everything about my case, only to get transferred again and again and again to end up with a - I'm sorry, this is all I can do. I will reply in 24 hours (which... hasn't happened).

3. You can use their customer service to get good service - if ever you get there. At the most convenient times for me, Globe is woefully packed and the line can take up to an hour. I tried using other measures given to me but the lines were perpetually busy.

4. You can follow-up in another globe store - apparently not. Globe can't cross communicate unless via email, so if you need something follow-ed up, you need to do it in the store you applied it or wait at least 24 hours for the other end to reply. Else your service is routed through the hotline (see above) which cannot communicate directly with another globe store anyway.

5. They can deal with your concerns - I've just spent two hours of my life with no one able to help me. I was told to go to the branch I originally applied in, when during my application process and my first follow-up (at the branch I did apply in) I asked and was explicitly told that I could use the hotline or the globe closest to me to follow up. Liars.

It's come to nothing. Nice people, but absolute shite when it comes to actual problem solving. It's very funny how my requests were met promptly when I was inquiring but it seems I have been dropped as soon as I have made a commitment.

Life, huh.

Edit: Saturday: June 15, 2013

Still another two hours in globe. Still nothing. All the regrets.

This is already four times worse than the last Sun trouble. Gah!!!!

End:

I now have Internet. I have given around 9 hours of my life to Globe. While I wouldn't recommend their service, I am now enjoying their product. Let's hope I'd have nothing to complain about in that aspect.

The Forehead Diaries 1

My skin is terrible. For a week, it looked decent - then when I decided to sleep at 5 am - subsisting on tea, coffee, cola and biscuits - it dies on me again. So I've decided to try to monitor what I put on my face by creating The Forehead Diaries. Just like a journal, it might not be 100% accurate - I can't promise to write down what I've put on my face everyday, but I'll do my best, so I can see what's going on with my skin. It might also motivate me to put all the stuff I'm supposed to.

All pictures taken with the webcam of a mac. No flash but at different locations so the lighting can be very different..

Let's start with a picture of right now, Day 0.

That was a picture before my nightly/early am (it's 4 am) routine. Sorry for the bad pictures!

So, yeah.

Evening

1. Neutrogena Deep Clean Facial Cleanser
2. L'oreal White Perfect Whitening Toner
3. It's Skin Facial Therapy Essence Skin
4. Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion
5. Stieva-A 0.05% Tretinoin
6. Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque - not used regularly, only when there's a really big zit.

Yes, I know I have oily skin and am supposed to be using the DDM Gel instead of the DDM Lotion. Unfortunately, this is the only moisturizer I have on hand right now. I'd also like to finish it since I'm sort of hoping to finish some of my stuff before I buy anything.

Morning

1. XX Sulfur Soap (I've forgotten the brand since it was there for a while, but it was very cheap)
2. VMV Superskin 3 Toner - once every 2 days
3. It's Skin Facial Therapy Essence Skin
4. VMV ID Lotion - once every 3 days
5. Neutrogena Ultrasheer Dry-Touch Sunblock 45 SPF

I didn't take a picture after Day 1. For Day 2, my skin was feeling sensitive so I replaced Morning 4 with Evening 5.

Urgh. Skin - why you so bad? The lighting is diffrent, since I took it in different places. You can see new zits on the right side of the picture and the middle. Since I was very busy for a week, my next picture is on Day 9:

I still have new zits popping out and up, most notably right between my eyebrows. I've noticed that zits don't tend to stay as long, though still pop up as often. Healing time is also quicker. There's less hyperpigmentation once the zit is gone. I have a feeling my sleeping habits are the zit producing factor.

After Day 9, my schedule went to EFF again. Some nights, I'd live with 1.5 - 3 hours of sleep. Sometimes I got so tired I just washed my face and left it at that. I've also had to use heavy foundation and removed it with the last of the old Elianto - it's gone now. I don't know how I feel about that. My skin got worse. Since I haven't been following the regime, I wouldn't call it a day exactly (more like a crossover study), but I feel that I should show how my skin looks like right now before officially closing TFD 1.

Moral of the story: Stick to a regimen! Also, sleep and relaxation are just as, if not more important than a good skin care routine. I found this round's morning and evening routine more effective than a wash alone. Unfortunately, less stress (or at least 6 hours sleep) is necessary for me not to turn into a pizza-face: I believe the TFD1 regimen might be effective if done religiously (and if I increase the VMV dosage). I do like VMV. Since the toner is a year old, I think this is the one I should be focusing on finishing (and reviewing), but I don't know what I'd buy afterwards: I'd rather not use an antibiotic on my face all the time.

Since I will be transferring to a new location with much less space, I'm going to have to revise my regimen to something simpler (or at least something that will take up less space). Once I've settled down, I'll see if I can make something else. I might post a review or two of some of these products once I've used them again.