January 11, 2011

I'm Obsessed With L'Occitane's Shea Butter Line!



About a month ago, Beauty Crazed held a L'Occitane contest and of course, having never tried any of their products, I entered myself. Well, as you've deduced from the photos... I won :D.

I was so excited when I received Lisamarie's email, but I was even more excited when I saw how huge some of the products were! I mean, I knew they were going to be full-size but I was still surprised. It definitely felt like Christmas came early when I opened the package.

I love them all to pieces, though I do love one of them a little less... We'll get to that later. On to the review!




Out of all 6 products, this is tied for first place as my number one love. It's the absolute most perfect hand cream! I've tried many drugstore hand creams (Glysomed, Vaseline, St. Ives, Lubriderm) and even some from other bath & body stores but none compare

Some moisturized well but left an oily film on my hands which meant I couldn't touch anything until my they dried. Sometimes I would get so tired of waiting I would eventually just wipe them on something, which pretty much defeats the purpose of applying hand cream. I even took to using the back of my hands to apply the cream just so I could keep my palms and fingers oil-slick free. 

But I don't need to do any of that with L'Occitane's product. It's the perfect formula for me: so creamy, so moisturizing, but still fast absorbing. There really isn't anything negative I can say about this product except maybe the $30 CAD price tag; but with a 150 mL product, I don't see that as a negative at all because a little bit goes a long way. And if the size bothers you (if you're a small purse type of gal), don't worry because L'Occitane also sells a mini hand cream for $12 CAD (you can get a pack of 3 mini's as well).



(Yes, that's the actual top of my foot. Please don't hate me for posting a photo of it)

I don't bother much with foot creams (for shame!) but I've vowed that this year I will start to take better care of my hands and feet. So when this package arrived, I incorporated it into my nightly routine. Needless to say, my neglected tootsies were thanking me for it!

I've only ever tried one other foot cream before, if I'm remembering it correctly. It was some pink lotion that smelled like peppermint that my mom got in the drugstore. Did I mention this was also probably around a decade ago? Imagine the state of my feet! Actually, don't...

This product is really quite lovely. It doesn't absorb as quickly as the hand cream does and is a bit oilier as well, which means you can't be walking around right after you apply it (I usually will put on socks). But it's kept my feet feeling so smooth and soft that it's really such a joy to apply it at night and not the usual hassle I thought it to be. The application of this product as well as the hand cream (and some cuticle butter, too) is a routine I look forward to at night.




Now this here is the other half of my "number one love tie." It's 200 mL of shea buttery gloriousness. The moment I put it on, I was in heaven!

Again, it's pretty pricey ($48 CAD), but like the hand cream, a little bit goes a long way and I see this lasting me a while. And unless you're over 6 feet tall and have a larger surface area to cover, I don't see you needing to purchase this more than once a year either.

It's absorbs quickly without compromising any of the moisturizing properties. It keeps my skin feeling silky, smooth, and supple. Also, like the hand & foot creams, it smells lovely; you definitely smell the shea butter in these products and it's a smell I particularly like. Speaking of the scent, another thing I love about this product is that the scent lingers. Catching a whiff of it when you're out and about is always a pleasure.




I could not believe how big this soap was. In fact, it can kind of be a challenge holding it when wet, especially if you have smallish hands like me. But don't let that stop you, because a) it's so good, and b) you can always cut it into two smaller, more manageable pieces.

Like the name suggests, it's a gentle soap that feels super creamy but also lathers well. Not sure what Verbena is but I'm guessing it has something to with citrus because it smells very much like lemon. I don't normally go for citrusy scents, but this one is rather pleasant because it's pretty mild. It's a pleasure to use in the mornings too because the lemony scent really wakes you up!

It's creamy consistency keeps the skin feeling like it hasn't been stripped of moisture. I don't suffer too much from dry skin on my body and I'm sure this soap will be enough to keep my skin feeling a bit moisturized. The verbena soap has been a surprise & a revelation and I'm really enjoying using it at the moment.



This little 8mL tin is genius! It's great to put in your purse for those times when you need a bit of extra moisture. Especially now that it's winter and we're going to be experiencing some below 0 weather and snow soon, this will really come in handy when my skin is feeling a bit raw.

It's pure shea butter so you really don't need a lot and you can apply it anywhere it needs to go. So far I've been applying it to my elbows and it's done a fabulous job! 



And now we've come to the product that hasn't completely won my heart over. Don't get me wrong, it does its job keeping my lips moisturized, not to mention it smells delicious (like cotton candy), but the waxy texture makes it a bit difficult to apply and I'm not fond of feeling the waxiness on my lips. I can't stop using it, though; it really smells that good!


The Verdict

I can honestly say, that I can recommend every single item from this gift set enthusiastically (the lip balm less so). They all smell gorgeous and work so incredibly well, I wonder how I've gone so long without using them before! And now I can't imagine living my life without them (wow, so melodramatic).

But if you find the prices a bit too steep and want to budget yourself to only a few products, then I highly recommend the Ultra Rich Body Cream and the Hand Cream. They are my absolute favourites and I'm sure you will love them, too!






Have you tried L'Occitane products before?






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