L’Occitane Almond Shower Oil – my guilty pleasure

I’ve been using the L’Occitane Almond Shower Oil on and off for some time now, but haven’t thought of reviewing it until someone posted a question about it on Stace’s shower gels post recently. This shower oil is an amazing product and I love it so much I always keep a spare bottle in the cupboard in case I fancy using it, which is a lot lately!

L'Occitane Almond Shower Oil, RRP £25 for 500ml

The oil consistency is fantastic, looks like an oil and feels like an oil:

Oily consistancy of the Almond Shower Oil

However, once it’s mixed with water it produces this wonderful and velvety to touch lather that envelopes my body with its softness! It’s an amazing experience, as the lather isn’t too bubbly or thick but very smooth and fantastically moisturising.

Perfect lather created with L'Occitane Almond Shower Oil.

Once I shower with this product I don’t feel the need to use any additional moisturisers afterwards as the skin is so nourished and silky! Hence, during the summer months (whenever we’re going to have any this year!) I only use the oil alone. However, I do use a bit of the L’Occitane Shea Butter Ultra Rich Body Lotion in the winter to add the extra bit of nourishment to my skin.

The smell is fantastic! It’s a combination of almond oil, grape seed oil, fresh green apples and a slightly hint of rosemary that creates this fresh but subtle smell that lasts for a few hours after I use it, which is why I usually use it in the late afternoons or evenings to be able to enjoy the aroma for longer with no need to rush anywhere!

The versatility of this product is amazing, too! The lather creates the perfect shaving foam, which I sometimes use to shave my legs or underarms! It leaves my skin amazingly soft and smooth with no irritation!

Almond Shower Oil creates the perfect lather to shave with no irritation!

I absolutely love this Almond Shower Oil! It usually comes in 250ml bottles (RRP £16.50) but recently I’ve discovered that the L’Occitane shop stocks it in the mega 500ml bottles for £25 each! It may seem expensive, however the feel you get after using this product is worth every penny, and the huge bottle lasts a long time as you only need one pump to use over the whole body!

Have you used this L’Occitane product before? If so, what do you think? What other L’Occitane products have you used and would recommend? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

Stay beautiful!

Mags xx

Holiday essentials

 

No matter if you’re off for a short city break or a long beach holiday, it’s essential to keep a beauty routine up even on the go! Recently, Stace got back from her holidays and we were chatting about the different things we take away with us. This year, I’ve travelled quite a lot and I established my ‘must have’ list of items that I take with me when travelling.

When away:

• Cleanse your skin morning and evening! It doesn’t matter if you’ve put  make-up on or not, there’s lots of pollution in the air so clean the skin to remove the dirt. It’s hard to get all the cleansers in a small bottles (flight restrictions don’t allow taking anything bigger than 100ml in the carry-on luggage) so I always hold on to small containers or buy a travel sized bottles from Boots and use for my trips.

Instant Boost Skin Tonic by Liz Earle

• Toner – if you don’t always cleanse in the morning, at least use a bit of a tonic to clean and wake up your skin! I’ve got a little 30ml bottle of Instant Boost Skin Tonic from Liz Earle that I religiously use and re-fill for every trip I take! It’s fab on the plane, to freshen up the skin, and great on the beach as an instant refresher, or in the city to revive after a long, tiring day! For additional coolness, in particularly hot weather, place tonic in the fridge overnight!

• Hydration – apart from drinking plenty of water during the day, I always use a day and night cream! It helps the skin rejuvenate and makes it more plumped and fresh looking! I don’t wear too much make up on holidays so a bit of moisturiser on the face prepares me to face the world. When it comes to storage I have a secret! For my day and night cream I use a dual container for contact lenses storage, where in one part I put my day cream, and in the other, my night cream (see photo below). This way I don’t carry two big pots but a small container with both creams in it.

Contact lense storage container that I use for day and night cream

• Clean hands – I always carry with me a little pot of sanitising gel. This time I carry the L’Occitane lavender Clean Hands Gel. It purifies and sanitises hands without water or soap! It’s perfect for any situation but particularly if you’re stopping for a bite to eat on the way! 

L'Occitane Lavender Clean Hands Gel

• Lips – I can’t leave the house knowing that I don’t have any lip product with me! Call it an addiction or purely a habit but I simply like my lips nourished at all time. Any lip product will do for me as long as it moisturises my lips for long enough not to re-apply too often.

• Soft hands are also important to me, so whenever I have a chance to purchase, or get a smaller size of hand cream (Check out November issue of Marie Claire magazine – you can purchase it with a choice of L’Occitane limited edition 30ml hand cream!) I put it aside for future trips! There is nothing more soothing than application of your favourite hand cream on a long-haul flight, long car journey or after a long day in the sun!

• Dress up the eyes! I’d lie to you if I said that all of the above are the only items I take on a trip! I do take a packet of paracetamol (just in case) and eye mask if I want to sleep on the plane, a few of ear buds for obvious reasons… however, I would not leave the hotel room without my mascara on. I’m not sure what is your view on that but if I don’t dress my eyes in mascara, I look like I haven’t woken up properly! I feel naked and blah. Once it’s on, I’m ready to conquer any continent! 

I’ve travelled a lot and learnt by mistakes when travelling heavy (too heavy, at times), which cost me lots in overweight luggage. Now I stick to my essentials and there is no problem! 

What are your beauty essentials that you can’t leave the house without? Do you struggle to pack for any journey? Let us know on twitter @beautyu. We’re looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

Stay beautiful!

Mags xx

Heavenly hands from L’Occitane

I’ve been using the Dry Skin Hand Cream with 20% Shea Butter from L’Occitane for over a year now. I love the texture, richness and thick consistency of this product. The smell is fresh and subtle. The product sinks in very quickly, not leaving any residue on the skin and it keeps my hands moisturised for a long time. It’s perfect for this time of year (even though we experience this beautiful weather, which will soon change into fab autumn - my favourite time of the year!). So as you can see, I am a happy bunny when it comes to my hand care!

Dry Skin Hand Cream with 20% Shea Butter

However, recently, I’ve come across this little Heavenly Hands set from L’Occitane and decided to give it a try, as never had a chance to use all the different hand creams before! The set comes with five different creams, all 15mls in size – perfect handbag size or stocking fillers (as it’s 12 weeks to Xmas!). 

Heavenly Hands, £20.69 for 2sets from QVC

Consistency of each cream. From left: Lavender, Rose 4 Reines, Cherry Blossom, Verbena and Shea Butter.

The content:

Lavender hand cream, 15ml

This Lavender cream has a lighter but creamy consistency. Smells absolutely amazing - like taking a walk through lavender fields in Provence! There is nothing artificial in the smell! It's very soothing and help me to relax! It moisturises my hands perfectly, sinks in quickly and doesn't leave any residue on my skin. I really fell in love with it and it's my contender to Shea Butter cream!

Rose 4 Reines, 15ml

This Rose cream has a lighter consistency and as its name indicates it has a lovely, rosy smell - very subtle and very real. It moisturises my hands well, sinks in quickly without leaving oily residue. 

Cherry Blossom, 15ml

Cherry Blossom cream has a lighter consistency just like the Rose cream. The smell is nice, but too sweet for me. It moisturises hands well, sinks in quickly without any residue. Perfect companion for spring and summer months!

Cooling Hand Cream Gel with Verbena, 15ml

This Verbena hand product has a light, gel consistency, which creates a cooling sensation on application. The lemony smell is too overpowering for me. It moisturises hands, however, I think it sinks in too quickly and disappears after a few moments. I have to admit, this is not my favourite hand cream. It may be a good product for men as the smell is unisex and because of it's cooling properties it may be good for hot summer!

and Dry Skin 20% Shea Butter, 15ml which I've reviewed at the top of this blog!

So as you can see I’m not a fun of a gel-like hand creams, so Verbena is not one I’d use! However, I absolutely love the Shea Butter and the Lavender one, especially when I want to unwind after long, tiring day or relax before falling asleep! 

What is your favourite hand cream? Do you have one you stick to or you swap between brands? Share your thoughts with us on twitter @beautyu we can’t wait to hear your story!

Stay beautiful!

Mags x