Without a doubt, one of the things I always hope to find wrapped up for me at Chanukah and Christmas (my family celebrates the former, my husband’s the latter), is a set from L’Occitane, preferably one involving shea butter. I’ve been obsessed with their shea butter hand and body creams since my mother bought me my first set from QVC many years ago, before I ever dreamed I’d work here. Last Christmas, I gave my grandmother-in-law a set of assorted scented hand creams, and I literally had to talk myself into not keeping them and buying an alternate gift at the last minute. I recently chatted with Michele Sansone, L’Occitane’s on-air guest and, not surprisingly, she shares my love of shea: “Not only does it have amazing benefits, it’s hydrating, nourishing protection for the skin, because shea butter is rich in vitamin E.” A very cool bonus: L’Occitane gets all of their shea butter from a women’s cooperative in Burkina Faso, West Africa, where only women are allowed to harvest shea nuts. It’s still done by traditional methods and made by hand, so you know you’re getting a very high-quality product.
But there’s so much more to L’Occitane than shea. For one, they make the most elegant fragrances. I wore the brand’s Pivoine Flora eau de toilette all summer. Fresh, floral, and romantic, it blends delicate peony with magnolia atop a warm vanilla, cedar, and musk base (other notes include bergamot, grapefruit, magnolia, and violet). During the fall and winter months, I’m trading up to the more potent Pivoine Flora Eau de Parfum. It allows me to spritz on the same beautiful fragrance I enjoyed all summer in a stronger concentration that stands up to wool, tweed, and other frost-friendly gear. I’ve also been indulging in their oh-so-luxurious Almond Shower Oil as of late. As an almond fan, the aroma isn’t exactly what I imagined, but it smells heavenly nonetheless. I was mistakenly expecting an amaretto scent, but as Michele explained (this happens to be her all-time fave from L’Occitane), what you’re smelling here is the almond oil and almond proteins in the product. And I never stop getting a kick out of how the oil transforms into a nourishing cream the moment it mixes with water. My skin feels so smooth afterwards, it’s practically ruined me for ordinary shower gels. Michele tells me it makes a great shave cream as well. L’Occitane doesn’t just knock it out of the park when it comes to skin care from the neck down. Their bath and body products may steal a lot of the limelight, but every face cream and serum I’ve sampled has been a winner.
Exhibit A: Angelica Radiance Cream. Infused with angelica essential oil, it has a fresh, “green” aroma, and definitely delivers on imparting an illuminated look while leaving skin feeling hydrated and baby soft. It’s great if you’re searching for a lightweight formula to layer under sunscreen (try L’Occitane’s Angelica UV Shield) or a nighttime moisturizer that’s not overly heavy. Angelica specifically targets dullness from dehydration, a universal concern since all skin types suffer from dehydration at one point or another. Whereas Angelica is basically for anybody, the Immortelle line is intended for someone concerned with visible signs of aging such as lines, wrinkles, and loss of firmness.
The Divine line is for a woman who is looking “for the ultimate.” As Michele says, “It’s for the ultimate anti-aging, the very best we have to offer, women who want luxury.” A combination of immortelle and myrtle essential oils — derived from everlasting flowers found in Corsica — aid in creating the appearance of firmer, smoother, more radiant, less lined skin.
The texture of Divine Cream and the silkiness it leaves behind must be experienced to be believed — I just had to ask Michele how they achieve it. Turns out, it’s the result of their using a variety of vegetable oils that deliver intense hydration in a very lightweight texture, rather than relying on a heavy moisturizing agent. And while it’s beside the point, I adore how the jar looks like a sunny little pot of lemon curd. Are you a L’Occitane fan? Which picks would you recommend to a friend?
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