Stuff I Rarely Use (But Still Use!)

Sounds weird to be blogging about stuff that I rarely use, but this is not to say that they are not good, just that some of these things are not meant to be used everyday. As for the other stuff, it's stuff that I don't like, but I refuse to throw a full bottle of product, so I just use it slowwwwwly. Let's discuss!

1. Schwarzkopf Extra Care Hair Repair Hair Butter - I always recommend a deep hair mask treatment once a week, just to treat yourself to something special. However, I find it hard to follow my own advice, especially if it's with a product like the Hair Butter from Schwarzkopf. I actually prefer leave-in treatments, but usually those aren't so intense. You should really use those amazing deep-conditioning type of hair treatments, then you'll really see a difference!

For the Schwarzkopf Extra Care Hair Repair Hair Butter, after shampoo & conditioning as normal, I will proceed to slather it all over my wet locks. I have to say, despite such a large tub, it seems like it's only good for about 6x uses! Or maybe I'm a little heavy handed. Or maybe I have too much hair. Hmm..

Then I proceed to towel dry my body, and then sit in front of the PC with dripping hair (roughly put up with a plastic butterfly clip) while I wait for the magic to work. I surf the 'net for about 30 minutes while waiting (although they only ask you to wait for 10-15 minutes... the longer it takes, the better, right?), and I find it sooooo weird and inconvenient, how do other people do it? My friend Pauline will wrap her deep-conditioned hair in a shower cap and then sit in the sauna at the gym. That sounds very luxurious, but to be honest, I don't like saunas very much. Anyone care to share their own experience?

Anyway, after 30 minutes, just proceed to wash off as normal... and you will find that your hair is sooooo smooth, kink-free and when you've dried it, it has a certain "weight" to it that makes it more manageable and less frizzy. So the results are rather worth the wait... but the other thing I don't like about this product is the smell! It attempts to smell floral / sweet, but it comes off rather sickly. Can you imagine, withstanding that smell + wet hair for 30 minutes? Maybe I'm using this product wrongly, but the outcome is good!

I *might* consider buying hair butters from Schwarzkopf in the future if I don't find anything better. =p I don't know if you can get this in Malaysia... I remember buying it in Thailand for about RM25- RM28. Well, even if I can't get it... I've got a sample of Dove Intense treatment that I'm itching to use now!

2. L'Occitone Apple Cleansing Oil for the Face ... is one of those weird little things that I bought from a Parisian pharmacy. It was weird for me to see L'Occitone being sold in a pharmacy instead of in its own store like in Malaysia. That's cos they consider it as cheap there! Well, it was only slightly cheaper. I remember Ben was being very against me being so random and purchasing stuff left and right, but I told him, "It's L'Occitone.. it must be good, right?"

Well, I did end up regretting this purchase. As mentioned, I really like my facial washes to make me feel really clean and fresh. So oil-like cleansers are REALLY not my thing. I was also expecting a crisp and fresh apple scent... this doesn't smell AWFUL, but it's not what I expected either, so I was unhappy.

It's also a very gentle cleaser, so please remove your make-up with something else before using this cleanser. (In other words : don't use my lazy technique... :p) I find it funny that some people say that they use this as a make-up remover because it's oil based. What??? If I use it to remove my make-up, I'll have to wash my face 2-3 times! Anyway, I use it when I wake up in the morning (make-up free), and even then I prefer to use whatever else is on my bathroom counter. Only squirt this out when I feel guilty that I spent so much $$ and not using it at all.

One plus point about this is that it does leave your skin feeling very soft... baby soft. =) But for me I have to wipe my face vigorously after I wash my face cos I hate the icky oily residue feeling on it. I call it the "I-Feel-Like-I-Just-Ate-McDonalds" feeling. =p

The item on the far right... I'm too lazy to take a photo of it now... this was in my photo archives!

3. Boots Cuba Massage Body Scrub from their Caribbean Collection. Doesn't this sound absolutely delicious? I love shopping in Thailand because of Boots! <3 <3 But sadly, this was another failure kind of product, and I'm just dying to finish this ASAP.

Firstly - no way that it can compare with the other body scrubs that I have from Soap & Glory.
Secondly - hate the texture! It's gooey and like some cheap chewing gum that you have been munching on a little bit TOO long. Kinda slimey, sticky and just generally something you don't feel like rubbing all over your body!
Thirdly - exfoliation beads are REALLY big and rough, and not small and plentiful. So it feels like you're scratching yourself all over when you scrub. Macro management, but no micro management... fail.
Lastly - supposed to be lime + sugarcane, but doesn't even smell like that lor! Ok, maybe a WEE bit of lime, but WHAT sugarcane... ~_~

I'm just glad that I didn't go nuts when I was in Thailand and buy the whole Caribbean range from Boots. I promise you, everything sounded SO delish, and I just loved the colorful packaging. And I hate to waste stuff, but I'm so tempted to throw this out because it does nothing for me as a shower gel (don't feel like I even washed) and it's too rough as a body scrub. Perhaps I'll just use it on my knees, elbows and feet, but that is so nitpicky, hahaha.