This is probably a best seller…. Nivea Extra Whitening

On that day I popped into Sasa to buy an umbrella (which is already defunct), I had to buy a product–any product–and I wandered around for a few minutes trying to decide between two make-up products which was less useless to me. Then I spied the bowls of samples and a familiary-yet-exotic product recommended itself to me.

Nivea is a familiar name to me, apparently international, and you can presume they have some products geared for the Asian market. I picked up a 75-mL bottle of Nivea Extra Whitening Inner Cell Repair Body Milk for HKD$9.90 (approx. USD$1.27). It purports to “strengthen skin from within for extra fair and beautiful skin” after “frequent sun exposure”.

I really like its milk texture and protective feeling, especially on a day like today when my skin tingles from having strolled in the sun at the height of noon. Whitening? I don’t use it quite regularly enough and wouldn’t say that I purchased it for that effect. Given the horrific ingredients that have historically been used in skin whitening products, I wouldn’t touch a brand I do not know that is serious about whitening.

I hope I can find a larger bottle at an Asian store in Vancouver.

Apparently Nivea also has a Extra Whitening Pore Minimizer Antiperspirant Deodorant Roll-On. The Amazon page describes the product as “double pore minimizing power” and “reduces skin darkening”, funny wording.