Of Wasted Thoughts and Drafts Plus My Affordable Drugstore / Supermarket Cologne and Fragrance Mist Collection

I find it hard to write about things I like as I fear that I might not do them justice or I might not get in everything I want to say about them.

Things I have experienced, places visited, food.

Lost opportunities, wasted reviews that stayed as drafts. Some no longer relevant, the products already discontinued. 

I used to join giveaways of brands whose products I use or am interested in. There have been stuff I have won from past brand/blog contests and giveaways which I never got to post.

Most of the time I'm too busy or too tired to record anything. Sometimes I would rather live the moment. 

But then this blog was meant to record those moments too. Or what I've been using mostly as the mundane is easier to document. 

Since it's the start of the year, I'm cleaning my room. Kinda mind-numbing except when I go through my stuff that bring me joy.  Like my cologne collection here.  All boxed up to be re-arranged. Basically almost every single P1 a milliliter or cheaper Philippine drugstore / supermarket cologne and fragrance mist currently available in Bulacan and the NCR. Excluding the ones only found online, that would be a lot. They're either bought or gifted. I have posted some of these last year on my tiktok page. 

I already wrote about Bench Daily Scent, Baby Bench Colognes and Lewis and Pearl Scentshop. I hope to talk about the others in the future.  When I have the time.

Palmolive Dry Shampoo Fresh and Volume in Mixed Berries Review

After our aunt had a stroke, caring for her became a challenge. She was bedridden and could only sit for a few minutes while leaning on something or someone. She also had a feeding tube on. 

She was heavy and we weren't strong enough to bring her to the bathroom let alone keep her upright for so long. We had to make do with sponge baths.  My sister bought a canister of Palmolive Dry Shampoo Fresh and Volume in Mixed Berries in the hopes of keeping her hair and scalp fresh and clean. 

Dry shampoos come in spray cans. Their key ingredients for addressing oiliness are usually alcohol or starch. Palmolive Dry Shampoo Fresh and Volume in Mixed Berries has both. They are sprayed on hair sections a couple of inches from the roots and then massaged through hair and scalp.

We used this every other day and stopped after over a week when we noticed she had more hair fall than previous. Her hair also felt weighed down and greasier. 

It's been five months since and my aunt is doing relatively okay now, no longer bedridden.

I decided to break out the Palmolive Dry Shampoo Fresh and Volume in Mixed Berries one cold morning recently as I didn't have time to wash and dry my hair. I thought maybe the hair fall was due to my aunt being sick. Girls, was I wrong. 

My hair felt heavy and a lot stickier after using this. I couldn't wait to wash it off when I got home. Which I did, and there were lots of strands on my bathroom floor. The berry smell is not that long-lasting.

Note that my aunt and I both have thick hair. My sister has thin hair and it works for her. I think this would work too for rebonded hair.

I heard somewhere that baby powders are a good alternative to dry shampoos. Haven't tried that, maybe I will in the future.

Soffell Mosquito Repellent Lotion Review

With Green Cross no longer in existence, Soffell is now the most effective mosquito repellant I have tried in recent years. It's also better in terms of how long it can keep mosquitoes off than Off, Moskieshield, Human Nature, and Biteblock. It's on par with Guard in terms of performance. If any of these would be in the family stock, I would, hands down, get (with my teeth, kidding) Soffell. And maybe Guard.

Soffell Mosquito Repellent Lotions keep their promise of repelling mosquitoes for five hours, sometimes more. Their active ingredient is diethyltoluamide at 13%. I guess the contact number for the PGH National Poison Management and Control Center on its label should have clued us on how potent these are.

Soffell Mosquito Repellent Lotions are not thick, not liquid-y. They're light, easy to apply but still a tad sticky and warm on the skin, sensations I could do without but would rather endure than get bitten by mosquitoes.

There are three Soffell Mosquito Repellent Lotion variants. I have only tried Pinky and Orangee since they're the ones available at the drugstore I visited. They only differ in terms of scent. Pinky is a warm white floral (jasmine is quite pronounced) with similarities to Gucci Bloom. Even my sister who's not so much into floral scents likes it. Orangee, like it's name, smells of orange bubblegum. Fragrance becomes powdery as time pass. I'm eager to try Appely which more likely smells like green apples given the picture on the label. 

Soffell is manufactured in Indonesia and is sold everywhere else in the world in different formats. At some Mercury Drugstores, a 60ml bottle retails for P110.

Of Online Stores and Hyped Products: Let's Face It Tropifruit Might Be a Decade Early

I think it was a decade or more ago that Let's Face It Facial Salon came out with Tropifruit, a body care line consisting of a shower gel, a hand and body lotion and a body mist. 

It didn't fly. It was only available at their salon, most likely limiting buyers to just salon customers. Online shops have yet to boom. It was competing with products that had more exposure. I only learned of their existence after I was gifted a set.

It didn't help that scents were, like this line, short-lived. I remember the body spray smelling fruity,  the distinct smell of ripe balimbing / star fruit / carambola coming through. The hand and body lotion in a tube was kinda sticky, the sweet scent fruity with a hint of rose. The shower gel was in a clear plastic bottle with a tin cap. It smelled of jellyace and tiny bit floral. Sudsiness was okay and it wasn't slippery. The products are actually better used independent of each other. 

So maybe they were not cut out yet to offer body care products. Still, Bioessence and Lay Bare are some salons now selling products online and  doing relatively well. Lazada, Shoppee and tiktok sure changed the retail landscape. 

Current beauty companies are lucky they have social media to promote their products. One only needs to trend or go viral on Facebook or tiktok to make a killing. Never mind sucking. That is until someone calls out that the emperor has no clothes. But then that someone still needs a ton of followers. 

I don't think I have ever succumbed to tiktok trends though. If I ever have purchased a hyped product, I would have had learned about it from Reddit, Facebook groups and certain accounts on Facebook and blogs. Kinda gives away my age, huh?

Ellips Hair Mask Hair Repair Review

I had high hopes for Ellips Vitamin Hair Mask Hair Repair variant since Ellips Hair Vitamin Hair Treatment variant did wonders for my hair. 

I bought a tube hoping it will combat frizzy, dry hair brought on by hot temp and humidity. While work from home has become an acceptable set-up for some companies following the pandemic, almost everyone now is out and about. So it's back to trying to looking presentable when environmental factors and stress want you to look haggard.

Apart from hair treatments in tubs and jars, I don't think I've tried other hair masks before aside from the no longer available Human Nature Avocado and Gugo Hair Mask. I remember it not being  potent enough for my hair.

So, Ellips Hair Mask is applied to hair pretty much how you would conditioners. Just leave it on far longer before washing it off. It is why I use it only on weekends, when I have time to spare.

After a month of use, Ellips Hair Mask seems to be only at par with most conditioners. It's better to get those hair treatment products instead. HBC's Color Hair Spa is one of best I've tried, too bad it's been discontinued. They have other hair treatment products though. Or maybe I'll just stick with the Ellips Hair Vitamins.

Brilliant Skin Rejuvinating Facial Set Review

I finally gave in and used the Brilliant Skin Rejuv Set I was gifted with. I didn't want to use this during summer because that would only result in darker skin. 

Frankly, I am not thrilled with rejuv sets when they started flooding the market. For me, they are nothing but repackaged, remarketed facial toners and creams loaded with hydroquinone and tretinoin (The packaging in the photo do not list these two as ingredients but I can smell them there. It's a smell you never forget.) which were the rage a decade or two ago. Dr Alvin and Brilliant Skin are today's Maxipeel and Extraderm. They position themselves as a cure-all and promise smooth, whiter skin, no more blemishes, acne, dark spots, pigmentation, blackheads, whiteheads, a happily ever after and a new car! 

I used both Maxipeel and Extraderm during my teenage years. I didn't think my already problematic skin could get worse. I got more pimples, more blemishes. My skin never lightened. It became oilier. They were very harsh on my face.  I sought the help of a dermatologist after dabbling with both.

On to Brilliant Skin Rejuvinating Facial Set. I'm using this because, eh, you're supposed to get glass skin (clap, clap to the marketman who coined this) with this said several influencers and youtubers.  Curious cat wants to know what's that. Also, it's a gift. 

Anyways, the sting comes from the kojic acid soap, especially if you don't wash it off immediately, and the brilliant rejuv topical solution or toner. Never ever have the toner touch broken skin. It's gonna hurt. That's my issue with this and Extraderm and Maxipeel. How the hell are you supposed to use them to address your acne when chances are, if you have acne, you are bound to have broken skin?! Most people who use these are those that have really bad breakouts. Just look at the pics and youTube videos of those supposedly using these.

When I wake up in the morning, my face is very oily, the pores very large. A week of usage and there's peeling. I remember these all too well. If it was promising what was drawn at the back of the box, then it gave me three of six. Except it was supposed to address those six. 

Frankly, those who claimed that this gave them great skin then posted before and then edited after pictures, or after pictures with different lighting, or blurred pics, are not doing the product any good. 

I didn't like how my face is starting to look and feel so I'm changing sets next week, after my third week. Maybe the lightening one is better. Sister says it does not sting. I may even try the Tomato. Walang kadala-dala.

Here's the thing, after using 2 rejuv sets sporadically, my sister's coworkers noticed that the tone of her face lightened. A lot told her so. When she stopped using the sets altogether, her skin tone went back to how it was. So, what does not work for me, still has a chance of working for you. 

If still getting this, cut kojic soap into smaller pieces to prevent its entirety from melting when wet. The accompanying spf cream won't  last for a month. Buy and use more sunscreen. 

Designer Collection Perfume Oil - Ocean Fresh

From its website, here are descriptions of the Designer Collection Perfume Oils by Cosway. 

1. Ocean Fresh - A marine-inspired blend of fruity florals, enhanced by woody, musky notes and hints of amber. 

2. Green Pastelle - A floral, green fragrance with delicate soft notes of white lilies, jasmine and orange blossom harmoniously blended with a warm base of wood and musk. 

3. Floral Musk - A fresh ozonic fragrance with fruity floral top noted beautifully rounded with jasmine, red rose, cyclamen and enriched by a musky, woody and powdery base.

4. Musk Blossom - A soft, sensuous scent harmoniously balanced with woody and musky undertones. 

5. Dewberry - A heady fragrance with prominent notes of dewberry with a sweet floral and woody base. 

6. Oriental Bouquet - A romantic fragrance with a fresh floral top note built on a smooth warm base of vanilla and woody notes. 

7. Juba - A sensuous fragrance with a ripe base of sandalwood, white plum and amber complete this classic, spirited creation. 

More Great Smelling Hand Disinfectants: Pure Protect, Green Cross, Hygienix Alcohol and Hand Sanitizer Review

And because it's campaign season (in a pandemic), here are more fragrant rubbing alcohols and hand sanitizers you can get your hands on. More, as I posted about three rubbing alcohols that smell like colognes and a body mist last year.

Creamsilk Rich Organic Powerfusion Ultra Conditioners and Hydra Fresh Light Conditioners

These Creamsilk Conditioners are part of the stash from a previous trip to Thirdy's.

Creamsilk Rich Organic Powerfusion Ultra Conditioners (made in the Philippines) claim to have no sulfates, parabens nor phtalates. Sulfate-free hair care products are said to be good for dry and/or color-treated hair. Sulfates remove dirt and oil. Too much can be drying or irritating to sensitive scalp. However, I have checked the ingredients of all the conditions we currently have (Palmolive, Syoss, Dove, other Cream Silk conditioners) and I haven't come across one that has sls/sles. Methosulfates in Syoss and Palmolive Expertique are actually antistatic ingredients.

With  Creamsilk Rich Organic Powerfusion Rich Lustre for Lifeless and Brittle Hair with almond nut balm and essences of aloe, bamboo and cassia leaves, I need less product to detangle my shoulder blade length rebonded hair than other conditioners. Matipid sya. However, I've noticed that after a day, it weighs my hair down. Another downside is when I use this for a month, every other day, I see a lot of strands on my drain. So I'd give this a rest and use other conditioners, particularly Creamsilk Hydra Fresh.

Creamsilk Rich Organic Powerfusion Rich Moisture Ultra Conditioner for Dry and Coarse Hair with Shea balm and essences of honeysuckle, hibiscus and gallica and damascene roses smells like Del Fabric Softener Forever Love which is jasmine-tempered non-gourmand vanilla. The effect is similar to when I use VCO on my hair, silky smooth strands. I use a tiny bit more of this than the other Creamsilk Ultra Conditioner. 

Both of the above have coconut oil (not surprised with Rich Moisture then) and even Rich Lustre has shea butter. They're my current favourite conditioners as they make my rebonded hair look really, really good. No strays or flyaways.

Creamsilk Hydra Fresh Light Conditioners are water-based, easy-rinse and non-greasy. The Fresh and Hydrated for Oily and Greasy Hair variant is like the  Creamsilk Ultimate Reborn Conditioners in terms of performance (hello soft, easily detangled hair) except it's very light that I feel like I need to use more for my hair, the opposite of the Rich Organic Power Fusion Ultra Conditioners. It has a sweet fruity fragrance.

All of these conditioners have dimethicone and sunflower seed oil.

Another Creamsilk conditioner that's really, really good is the Triple Keratin Rescue Conditioners. But that's for another post since this is already quite lengthy.

Nouve Body Mist in Dream Review

Recently, I got Nouve Body Mist in Dream because the scent's familiar. Then it hit me. Once home, I took my bottle of Aficionado F44 EDT, which is supposed to be inspired by Paris Hilton perfume. Nouve Body Mist in Dream is a less potent Aficionado F44. They are very similar, especially in the opening where apple is dominant among the fruity notes. However as time pass, Aficionado F44 has more depth, its floral notes heavier, more enveloping than Nouve Body Mist in Dream whose florals turn lighter, flighty. 

An online search lead me to this seller (I'm not affiliated with their shop) whose account described Nouve Body Mist in  Dream as an impression of Ralph Lauren. I guess they mean Ralph by Ralph Lauren which is often compared to Paris Hilton in Fragrantica.

Nouve Body Mist in Dream does not have much staying power. The smell of  alcohol is overpowering. Needless to say, 60 ml will not last long. 

I bought my Nouve Body Mist from a co-worker. That seems to be one of the effects of this pandemic, people started engaging in side hustles while some of  those who lost jobs started their own business. 

A lot went into online selling. Live selling on facebook, which is selling stuff, the most popular of which has been clothes, in real time while people watching place orders, became really popular. As did food delivery businesses. 

When this pandemic started, some went into bartering: there were people on Facebook who offered stuff like personal care items in exchange for milk for their kids. The first months of the lockdown, if not the first year, were very brutal.

Almost two years into the pandemic, life seems to be going back to normal except everyone still needs to observe social distancing (hard to do when public vehicles are now being filled to full capacity), masking and sanitizing. While this post is being written, there has been no new case in our city. Let's hope we are able to sustain this. 

Avon Skin So Soft Hand and Body Lotion Glutathione with SPF 15 Review

It's almost summer where I'm at, that time when mosquitoes swarm like those zombies from "All Of Us Are Dead." Except they are drawn to scent not sound.

One of the more enduring lotions in the market is Avon Skin So Soft which has been said to ward off mosquitoes. Avon Skin So Soft Hand and Body Lotion Glutathione with SPF 15 does not repel mosquitoes. It never claims to do that in the first place.

What it does profess is "instant whitening" and to "help make skin look fairer in just 3 days." So is it instant or 3 days? Well, it actually took 2 months of daily  application in the morning and evening before someone told me, "pumuti ka." For me it's lightening more than whitening that happened and quite negligible.

For normal to dry skin, it is  moisturizing unlike most whitening products that are often drying. True to its name skin feels soft after I smooth it on. But, if you have papery, flaky skin, this won't help with that. Better get a lotion whose main purpose is heavy duty moisturization / hydration. 

Consistency-wise, it is thick yet easily soaked up by skin and does not leave a white cast. The low SPF (15) is okay if one is mostly staying indoors or for overcast skies but not for clear ones. So this is not really suitable as a sunscreen during summer.

Apparently, Skin So Soft's different lines have varying scents. It's a heavy floral. The smell of this is similar to Avon Skin So Soft Soft and White Radiant Glow Hand and Body Lotion which is no longer around. I mentioned before that Skin So Soft Lotions are very fragrant, with the scent perfuming the skin for hours. This is no different.

I'm pleased they changed bottles. A decade ago, design teams of a lot of hygiene products thought that dispensing liquid from a small hole on flat top is a good idea for bottles. The products tend to stick to said flat top. So messy! 

Now if only Avon would bring to the country its Skin So Soft bug repellents, I would even be more pleased.

Finds at Thirdy's Bocaue: Unilever Hair Care Products and Reviews of Clear and Dove Dermacare Scalp Anti-Dandruff Shampoos

Before the pandemic, my brother discovered Thirdy's, a store in Bocaue which offers imported And local chocolates for cheap. 

These are some of the chocolates and snacks they got in one of their runs.

Perfect for Valentine's Day!

There, they found out that the store also carries bath products and fragrances, also at super low prices. The items are legit, not fake. They work.

Sale items get snapped up pretty quickly. So what you gonna do when faced with shampoos and conditioners at about 50% less mall prices with the possibility that the next time you are there, they wouldn't be? 

You hoard several tubes and bottles.

Some we still haven't used up

For most of last year until now, because of this, me and my sister have been using Unilever hair care products like Dove, Clear and Creamsilk.

I don't really have terrible, large, flaky, crusty dandruff but I occasionally get tiny flakes and my scalp sometimes would become dry and itchy. Thus the dandruff shampoos. 

Clear Anti-Dandruff Shampoo in Ice Cool Menthol and Clear Men Anti-Dandruff Shampoo in Cool Sport Menthol are both able to rid me of those annoying tiny, oily, dandruff that tend to fly this way and that close to my scalp by drying them out. The former just has a minty floral but masculinish scent while latter has a minty orange one.

But the primary reason I got these particular Clear Anti-dandruff Shampoos is the minty feeling they impart. Scalp feels really refreshed and considering we live in the tropics where 30 degrees is not a summer but a normal daily temperature, having a cooling product is a need for me. And to think I get cold easily.

The thing with Dove Dermacare Scalp Anti-Dandruff Shampoo in Soothing Moisture is, I noticed that after using it for weeks,  my below shoulders rebonded hair started to lose its straightness.  But my hair feels much more softer when I use this than it does when I use Clear. Clear is better in addressing dandruff though. It has a vanilla fragrance. 

All these three products I have are made in the Philippines.

Before heading over, it's best to check Thirdy's Facebook page to see what's on sale. I think they also deliver. 

Aficionado's Version of Paris Hilton Perfume (F44)

A glass cube of a bottle found itself in my dresser more than a decade ago. It was a Joel Cruz inspired-by EDT, a birthday gift from friends. A check on the internet revealed that what I received was their version of Paris Hilton perfume. I am actually not a Paris Hilton fan nor was the fruity cocktail something I would have bought for myself at that time. Citrus and the occasional floral and gourmand fragrances were more my cup of tea then but hey, I like gifts and trying new things. 

Almost Done: San San Creamy Matte Lip Stain, Hydrating Color Dew, Cheek Blusher Review

During the early months of this pandemic, salons, theaters, dining establishments, and physical stores that sell non-essential goods were closed. Make-up and beauty products were being sold at really low prices online. I bet a lot didn't see any reason to wear make up/put on perfume considering only essential travel was allowed. Plus the uncertain economic climate made people want to curb spending.

Even when restrictions began slowly easing, masks were still in place. The only times that felt reasonable to wear lip products (aside from a lip balm) were during gmeets/zoom/vid calls when we are required to turn on the screens.  

So it's only now that I'm almost through with these products. 

Hand Cream Battle: Marks and Spencer Peach and Almond Hand Cream vs The Face Shop Olive Moisture Shine Hand Butter

Especially now that we're in a pandemic and everyone needs to keep washing their hands, hand creams, because of their scent and hydrating ability, have become common office gifts during Christmas. Along with hand sanitizers. Although really, if it's just moisturization/hydration we want to impart, then we'd do away with the fancy and just gift Nivea blue tins.  But we like the fancy right? Packaging, scent, consistency and all that.

Palmolive Body Washes (Philippine Market)

Palmolive Body Washes smell like and offer benefits similar to their soap counterparts, if they have one.

Three Gloriously Fragrant Rubbing Alcohols - Cleene, Alcoplus, Wise Choice

Before the pandemic, I associated the smell of rubbing alcohol with hospitals and caring for the sick. But now, with a lot of companies in the Philippines getting into the rubbing alcohol business (and no more shortages, at least for now), we are spoiled for choice. We don't need to smell antiseptic anymore. 

These three are among the best smelling scented rubbing alcohol I have gotten my hands on. 

Sampling Bench Daily Scent Colognes

An article from the Philippine Star listed the notes for the pack of 6 Bench Daily Scent minis, and each has a lot! (Couldn't find any note listings for Eye Candy, Beach Bum and Bubble Pop which are not in the trial pack )

• Lazy Afternoon (orange bottle) mandarin and bergamot top notes; rose and white floral middle notes; warm musk and woods base notes. 

• Sunday Morning (blue bottle'):  tangelo and spices top notes; exotic spices and soft cotton musk middle notes; vanilla and woods base notes.

• Indian Summer (yellow bottle): apricot, dewberry and cassis top notes; rose, freesia,  lily and jasmine middle notes; amber, musk and woods base notes. 

• Spring Break (yellow green bottle) lemon, magnolia and pear top notes; freesia, white lily, strawberry and lily of the valley middle notes; tonka bean, vanilla and musk base notes. 

• Nine to Mine (violet bottle): tamarind, pineapple and melon top notes; rose,  freesia and carnation middle notes; musk and sandalwood base notes.

• Happy Hour (the pink bottle included in the package of six as there are other Bench Daily Scent pink bottles; not in the pic): melon and pineapple top notes; jasmine and muguet flowers middle notes; vetiver and sandalwood base notes. 

A Cool Product For Summer: Sea Breeze Natural + Aid Body Shampoo Review

The craziest thing I have ever done to relieve myself of that hot, sticky, muggy feeling brought on by humid weather was to douse my body with mouthwash. I was thinking of the minty fresh sensation it imparts when your gargle. Did not work. I just felt stickier. In my defense, the heat was messing with my head.

Just as I was thinking of doing something less crazy, the tube of Caronia Renewing Scrub in my bathroom beginning to look like my salvation since it does provide a slight cooling effect after use, my aunt who resides in Japan sent us a bottle of Sea Breeze Natural + Aid Body Shampoo in Super Cool.

Nivea Sun: Protection for Face and Body

We have been Nivea Sun users for years already.  Anyone who has been using sunscreen / sunblock for that long would know that there were only a handful of them available in the early 2000. Often they were super pricey, sticky, or the smell was not school / office-friendly.