Bath & Body Works Haul.... and Complaints

It’s almost a month since Bath & Body Works (BBW) arrived in Malaysia and the long-awaited trip has finally materialized for me. By the way, here’s a little update on what’s happening in my life. If you are here only to read about BBW, you can skip the next paragraph that’s in italic.

I’ve moved to Negeri Sembilan and currently working in Melaka. I’m living out of luggage in my uncle’s house. When I’m not working I keep myself occupied by tutoring my cousin as part of my rental there. This is why I hardly blog these days. The house that I am supposed to move into is not safe. The entire area has zero occupancy. I guess these days people very rich and buy houses for the sake of buying it with no intention to move in. I do hope I can move in by next month because I am planning to keep one room as my blogging office. So excited! Now back to BBW, here’s my little haul:

French Lavender & Honey Body Scrub (Signature Collection), RM62

French lavende, nectarine de Provence and sunkissed honey. With exfoliating sugar crystals, this Provencal recipe smooths and softens skin as it lavishes the senses with the fragrance of springtime in the south of France.

My main reason for the trip to BBW was to get a body scrub. It is disappointing to find that there are very limited options of body scrub at BBW here. If I’m not mistaken there were only 3 types to choose from and the other two had vanilla scent in it. I don’t fancy vanilla at all, so I left with no option but to get this one. Although the name suggest a soothing scent, but the scrub smells more like sweet berry instead of lavender. I don’t mind it. It still smells great.

Sweet Pea Scented Candle, RM45

BBW is famous of its scented candle and its various choices of scent. Unfortunately, the Malaysia BBW don’t carry much of it. I can’t find my favourite honey suckle scent which was another disappointment. Most of the signature scents are not available, instead they overload the shelf with the Christmas collection which isn’t suitable for the weather here. I picked up Sweet Pea (the best-seller scent at BBW in US), a scent that leans towards cotton candy scent. The smell reminds me a lot of childhood memories, but I can’t figure out how to describe it. Certainly there’s something familiar with the scent.

True Blue Spa Super Softening Hand Lotion with Parafin, RM75

Paraffin locks in essential moisture to keep skin soft, smooth and super protected. But spa-savvy you already know that, didn’t you? This softening hand lotion also includes moisturizing Olive, Avocado and Apricot Oils plus antioxidant Vitamin E.

I’ve been looking for a paraffin hand cream for a long time and I think BBW is the only brand that has it (besides other nail salon brand). If you have dry and wrinkly hand, use this hand cream every night, you’ll feel the difference after a week. You’re not advised to use this as your day hand cream (unless you don’t have a lot to do with your hands) because it might be a waste. This would be on the top of my list on what-to-buy at BBW because the product is good, effective, not easily available and useful to have. But I must say, I felt a little cheated with it. They didn’t put up the price for this hand cream, so I asked the sales assistant how much it cost. She told me it’s RM65. When I check the bill when I came home, I found out it’s actually RM75.

Sleep Sommeil Lavender Chamomile Pillow Mist, RM38

Use this sleep enhancing pillow mist each night before bed. Spray a light mist over pillow or sheets for an authentic aromatherapy experience. Allow fabric to dry prior to contact.

Remember my blog about The Body Shop pillow mist? Since I’ve tested out the effectiveness of pillow mist, I think this is a good purchase. The BBW pillow mist cost cheaper than The Body Shop and it has more content too. This is definitely another good buy. I think I prefer The Body Shop scent better. Let me try out another experiment with my SleepBot app to see which pillow mist gives me better sleep.

Sweet Pea Shea & Vitamin E Shower Gel, RM20

I didn’t intend to buy this. While I was bored waiting in line at the cash registry, I pop it into my bag. I love the Sweet Pea scent and wouldn’t mind trying out the shower gel. This is a travel-size shower gel and I think it’s pretty expensive for the price. Feeling a little regret with this purchase, but oh well…

That’s all that I got from BBW. I might go back another trip after I move into my new house. I was eyeing on the hand wash and spa range.

My trip wasn’t a pleasant trip because I’ve been to other BBW before and had wonderful shopping experience there. Writing bad comment about the brand I love isn’t what I plan for this blog post but I want to talk abuot some of the bad experiences I had at BBW here:

1.       Sales assistants weren’t helpful. The give me a cocky aura the whole time I was there (except for Nita). When I wanted to ask for something, one of the SA told me the product is not under her department and she just walked off without assisting me. It hurts my feeling as a shopper because I was so eager to look for it. If you would like to know, I was asking for the Honey Suckle candle.

2.       A lot of products aren’t properly priced. I went to the back of the shop where they display all the candles. There were some body wash at the display as well. I asked the SA how much it was, he told me the price is written at the front of the shop. He didn’t help me find out the price either, because clearly he was only told to take care of the candle department. I couldn’t be bothered to walk to the front again, so I ditched the shower gel.

3.       The candle selections are pathetic. I remember going to BBW in Dubai Mall and I was like a kid in candy store. I spent almost one hour deciding which candle to get and I got dizzy trying out all the scent. All the scent I love (watermelon, strawberry margarita, honey suckle, lavender .., …) are not available. When I walked in to check out the candles, I had this little voice in me “that’s all they have?” This is why I only manage to get one candle. Initially I planned to get 6, but meh…

I do hope that they will improve. Despite the bad shopping experience, I will still go back because as a newbie, I think they deserve a second chance. As for the product, I will review it separately. Hopefully I have the time to do so. Now, I'll go enjoy my bath. Can't wait to use all the products.