My girl-cousin got a cash voucher for something she bought at a departmental store lately. The voucher worths only RM10, and she didn’t want it, so she gave it to my mom. My mom didn’t want it either, because she usually hangs out at seedy wet markets, departmental store is so not her thing. So she gave it to my wife Emily. Emily didn’t want it as well, so she gave it to me instead. RM10 voucher, being kicked around like an unwanted bastard. I happily obliged to take it.
Attached with that voucher, was the receipt for the purchase my cousin did, amounted at RM187. I initially thought it was for some expensive T-shirt or something, but hell, it wasn’t. It was for a small bottle of SK-II Facial Treatment Essence! *shocked*
If you do not know what that thing is, well, neither do I. All I know is, women put shits like this on their face to make them seemingly look more beautiful…
Looking at the receipt, I couldn’t help but wonder – how well spent was my cousin’s (and thousands of women’s) money? How much is RM187 to you? To me, that’s an awful lot to spend for some chemical product. The closest chemical to that amount that I can think of right now, is a bottle of 4 liter Castrol SLX 5W-30 engine oil, also known as the ‘Elixir of the Elves’ (probably discontinued, or changed to a new product name, I don’t know… but if I were to drive a high performance car, this is the kind of shit I’m gonna pour into the engine. Good stuff.). Let me spread the facts here, you be the judge whether it is worth spending RM187 for a bottle of SK-II…
VALUE FOR MONEY:
SK-II Facial Treatment Essence – RM187 for 75ml. That’s around RM2.50 per ml. That’s more expensive than a bottle of XO!
Castrol SLX 5W-30 – The last I quoted, it was retailed at RM175 for 4 liters at some spare parts shop. That was a couple years back. If it’s still selling now, it should be around RM200. Worst case scenario, it still works to only barely 20 cents per ml. That’s only 8% of what per ml of SK-II would cost.
INGREDIENTS:
SK-II Facial Treatment Essence – I went to the SK-II site to look for its material safety data sheet, but couldn’t find shit (hey it rhymes). It just states there that the ‘miracle water’ contains 90% Pitera (whatever that is). Probably an extract from the body parts of some small cute fluffy animals.
Castrol SLX 5W-30 – Being a premium grade engine oil, it has shitloads of awesome additives (antiwear, corrosion inhibitor, detergent, viscosity modifier, antioxidant, antifoamant, detergents, etc). It has a whole document on the internet about what it contains if you know where to look. It’s like, paying 20 cents per ml for a thousand more things.
IMPORTANCE:
SK-II Facial Treatment Essence – According to the site, this is what the product does – “this much loved miracle water is a must-have for healthy, radiant skin. It helps maintain the skin’s natural renewal cycle to its optimum condition to allow skin nourishment. It also works to balance the skin’s pH and sebum secretion, so oily and dry areas are properly moisturised.” In layman terms, it means if you don’t use the SK-II Facial Treatment Essence, you’re going to die immediately for being too ugly. Pfft.
Castrol SLX 5W-30 – One word – lube. If you do not put engine oil into your car, your car’s not going to run. Well, it’s probably going to run for a short while, but after that, you’ll notice that your engine’s going heat up like a bitch, and then your car’s going to gradually slow to a halt. Probably even see plenty of white smoke spewing out from the exhaust. And after that, if you’re lucky, you’ll just need to replace the crank shaft or some bearings. Otherwise, you’d probably need to change the whole engine. You can’t live without engine oil.
EASE OF USE:
SK-II Facial Treatment Essence – I don’t actually know how to use this thing, but here’s what I got from the website:”Use twice daily, morning and night. After cleansing, gently pat face and neck using a cotton pad soaked with Facial Treatment Essence. You can even use it on the eye area.” Sounds complicated.
Castrol SLX 5W-30 – You just pour the damn thing into the oil reservoir. You just need to do it every 10,000km or 6 months, whichever comes first. (used oil can be resold as recycled waste)
*****
I guess it’s pretty clear who’s the winner here…
you should get the sample from SKII counter.
it works like magic on your face *rolleyes*
for some who treat their car as their 1st/2nd wife ,whichever they prefer, then both the product would bear no differences as both are applied on objects that ultimately makes the men happy at the end of the day.
good performance car makes a men happy as men love speed!
good looking women makes a men happy too as egoistic men love to have pretty girl beside them.
in a nutshell both product are designed to please the men haha…
“Developed by SK2, Pitera is a yeast ferment filtrate of sake” ~ meaning it’s the waste product you get when u brew liquor. And they fucking sell it to you at a premium.
That over-priced pitera beauty juice works. That’s why it’s so expensive – supply and demand. But I say use rice-based water powder or the hokkiens called it “chooi hoon”, like the old nyonyas do to put on their face on hot summer’s day, will do the job too. One bottle of chooi hoon is like what at the sundry shop…RM5?
jen – I doubt that. (it ‘works like a charm’ because you pay RM187 for it. Hell, I’d feel bad if it doesn’t ‘work like a charm’).
cnigel – Except the fact that the motor oil doesn’t actually make the performance car any faster, and the SK-II holy water doesn’t actually make the girl any prettier…
Arkane – Is Sake considered a ‘liquor’? Sake is brewed. Liquor on the other hand, is distilled. So, it is actually worst than being a by product of liquor. It’s a by product of something even less expensive! (although some sake can be pretty fucking expensive…)
Elaine – I think it’s a placebo effect. You pay for something expensive and slap it on you face, you tend to believe it works. You want to look pretty? Move to somewhere cold. (less pigment on skin, less perspiration, etc)
Someone told me the stuff is not approved for sale in State, can someone from state comment, maybe find out why ?
I just googled, but this news from China in 2006, a bit of old news.
http://english.cri.cn/2946/2006/09/21/272@142138.htm
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I kind of like the last comment,placebo effect, when paid for it with hefty price, you tend to believe it works !!..
why are comments off for the recent posts?
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interesting. All ur comments are off.
oh well..agree on the old ppl thingy.
living apart is wayyy better.