The other day, while shopping at Shoppers Drug Mart along Hastings Street, I met with a dilemma – to choose between 2 discounted items.
On one hand, there’s L’Oreal shower foam, 400ml with Original Price at $11.99 discounted to $4.99 vs Nivea shower foam, 500ml, with Original Price at $8.99 discounted to $3.99. Which one should I choose?
Back in the Good Old Days…
Back in Singapore, I only swear by Shokubutsu Men’s shower foam (any “flavour” but mint will do). Since discovering its properties, from fresh scent to being the only one (back then) that does not leave a “layer of oil” that makes me feel like I’ve not washed off the soap, I have been using Shokubutsu from my army days.
I was so reliant on Shokubutsu that I never checked its price all these years. It could have inflated 100% since then for all I know. There were other brands that subsequently came out with no-oily-feeling shower foam. But I only looked for Shokubutsu when I need to stock up on shower foam.
Bangkok Big C? Oh yeah! I packed my suitcase to the brim with deeply discounted Shokubutsu!
No More Shokubutsu for Sing in Can
So, one of my biggest headache upon arriving in Vancouver was to find a substitute for Shokubutsu. After one month and even looking for it at Asian-focused supermarkets, I’ve not found dear Shokubutsu.
I have made do with Method branded shower foam, which smelled alright. But since there’s no stopping me from buying other brands, I now have an “open tender” mentality:
Which shower foam is the cheapest and feels closest to using Shokubutsu?
Unfortunately, the 2nd specification can only be tested only after I buy the shower foam. This means I have to rely on the first criteria to avoid going on a round goose chase.
L’Oreal vs Nivea – Comparing Discounts
I first saw the discount from L’Oreal, which was a deep one at 60%. My first instinct was to compare the price with all the other shower foams at 400ml. L’Oreal was the cheapest then.
Before I left, I thought I should do another round of check. An open check. This time around, I saw that there were discounted shower foam at $3.99. Among them, Nivea’s was going at 500ml. However, compared to the original price, it meant that it was only a 55% discount.
Usually, during a sale, we do not just compare discounted price, but also the amount of discount. A set of bedsheets may be cheapest, but it could be the cheapest to begin with, because it has the lowest thread count. On the other hand, a high quality bedsheets may still be expensive after discount, but that discount might have been deeper than the cheap one.
That usually meant an opportunity to buy something good at a cheaper price.
L’Oreal, with its big brand (at least back in Singapore), was the “high thread count” bedsheets.
And the Winner is…
Following recommendations from my followers on Sing in Can and Instagram, I decided to try Nivea Men Active Clean Shower Foam out. After all, I’m no longer bringing in income, prudence is my mantra now.
I’ve been using Nivea facial cleanser for donkey years and I haven’t shrinkled into a stick of cinnamon. Who knows, Nivea might feel the closest to Shokubutsu?
Follow my blog if you are curious what my verdict of Nivea’s shower foam is. Till then, sing while you can!
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