REVIEW: L'Occitane Almond Delicious Paste

For anyone who has been regularly reading my blog over the last month you'll have realised by now that I'm having a little love affair with L'Occitane. Today's product review is another gem from their almond range, all of which is just gorgeously luxurious with the most enchanting rich, sweet nutty fragrance.

This particular product is an exfoliating paste that also provides moisturisation which makes it perfect for delicate or sensitive skin. I have quite a big problem with my dry hands, most notably with the skin on my knuckles which always seems to be dry regardless of what I do! I'm currently blaming winter for this.

I've started using this on my fingers, all I do is scoop up a tiny bit of the past and rub it over my knuckles, then over my fingers and, if I think I need it, over the rest of my hand. The majority of the product ends up sinking in the skin really nicely leaving you with soft (albeit slightly sticky) hands which you can either wipe clean on a towel or flannel or if you don't like the feeling you can wash your hands in water. If I wash my hands afterwards I tend to follow this up with a hand cream, I'm currently using the Body Shop's Almond hand cream (a review is no doubt imminent). The result is that my skin is really soft and far more easily absorbs any moisturiser or cream that you'd normally use, and it has vastly improved the feel and look of my dry skin. This has become part of my daily routine and I can see it remaining there for as long as my hands are this dry.

I've also tried this on the length of my arm to see what its exfoliation is like on larger areas and I was really impressed with how little you needed to use to get really smooth skin. I've been using L'Occitane's Almond  Delicious Soap for exfoliation for a while now and it really ticks all the boxes, especially as it's only £4 which compared to this paste is really cheap (the Almond Delicious Paste costs £27 for 200ml). The difference between the two though is that the Paste's is a lot finer and more deeply moisturising than the soap which makes it better areas you specifically want to target- such as elbows and knees (or knuckles in my case). I really do love this product but I'll probably reserve this for my hands as the soap is doing a perfect job for all my other exfoliation needs, but it's definitely worth checking out if you have very dry or sensitive skin!

Do you have any recommendations for exfoliation products?

Angelica

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REVEIW: L'Occitane Almond Milk Concentrate

If you've been a regular reader of my blog you may well have read a post I wrote in October about how much I loved and wanted to buy some of this Almond Milk Concentrate. Nothing changed between then and now other than by a happy series of events (including the final splurge in which I came into its ownership) which finally brought this into my day-to-day skincare routine. This was another item which was part of L'Occitane's Delightful Almond Collection that I picked up last month, and which with every passing day is looking like an even better value set than I originally thought. (Sadly though, I just looked online and it seems as thought it isn't available anymore, but don't let that stand between you and this particularly body cream!)

This is a 100ml pot of this Almond Milk Concentrate (half the size of the normal 200ml pots) and I just think the packaging is gorgeous. I love the box and I love the heavy glass jar even more. I know there's always a risk with glass that it might break and ruin your product, but this one is quite heavy and I have actually knocked this off the desk in my room, onto a carpeted floor, and it didn't smash so it isn't overly delicate.  It just looks lovely on your dressing table and screams quality.

As soon as you unscrew the lid you can smell the gorgeous almond scent that all of L'Occitane's Almond range has. It's sweet but really delicate and fresh.

The product itself has a sort of gel-like formula that is light and absorbs incredibly quickly. The product just sinks into your skin and feels really light but actually moisturises incredibly well whilst also leaving a lingering almond scent on your skin. It really is just gorgeous and leaves your skin silky, soft and really delicately scented. On the box, it is also recommended as a perfect 'after hair removal or shaving' cream (so a perfect accompaniment to the Almond Shower Oil) as well as having 'firming' properties. I've also used this in the summer as an after-sun lotion and this is really incredible at that as it is so gentle and soothing.

All in all, I really do recommend this as it is just so gorgeous. It smells amazing and leaves your skin in such a lovely condition. It is really pricey, which did put me off buying any for a long time, but it is worth it and I would, and will, repurchase this. You can find L'Occitane's Almond Milk Concentrate on their website or in their stores for £34 (for 200ml). You can also purchase it from FeelUnique for £32 with free delivery.

Do you have an expensive 'HG' item like this that you'd recommend?

Angelica

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REVIEW: L'Occitane Almond Delicious Soap

This is another item that I got in the L'Occitane Delightful Almond Collection that I picked up at the Marie Claire Event. There were two of these in the collection which I was a little bit skeptical about at first but I have been blown away by these so I'm actually hugely pleased that I have more than one.

The Soap is really rich and foams up in the most amazing way when it comes into contact with water. It contains small, but quite rough, crushed almond shells which allow for serious but not too tough exfoliation. The high quality ingredients make it quite moisturising which is a plus for people like me with very dry skin. In its ability to foam up and as an exfolitater it is better than Lush's Porridge Soap which has been my favourite for a long time now. 

At £4 on the L'Occitane website it might seem like quite costly for such a small soap. However, I've used it about 5 times (twice weekly since I got it) and I've only used up about one third of the soap so an entire bar will last for over a month and I really do think that given the quality it is totally worth it. This is another L'Occitane almond beauty that I'd highly recommend!

Have you found any great exfoliating products that you'd recommend?

Angelica

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REVIEW: L'Occitane Almond Shower Oil

Last week I attended the Marie Claire Event at my local L'Occitane Store in Leeds where I made sure to test it out this product (along with some of the other Almond products) as I've been keen to buy them for a while. Long story short, when this range was used on my skin the delicate scent and moisturisation was a combination that I just fell in love with. Since then I've been indulging my skin by using this oil daily in the shower and it is just gorgeous! On contact with warm water it transforms into what is described on the reverse of the bottle as a "delicate foam" that cleanses without drying the skin out. It also leaves a very light almond scent lingering on the skin that you can enhance by following up with the use of other almond products, such as the Almond Milk Concentrate. 

After daily use of this oil my dry 'Winter' skin has been transformed without even picking up a tub of moisturiser! In addition, as it states on the bottle, it really does make a superb shaving oil. I've used this a couple of times when I've shaved my legs and not only does it improve the smoothness of shaving but it also stops skin from feeling dry or tight afterwards. 

This is quite an expensive product but it does go very far as you don't need much of it to cover your entire body, and even less if you're going to use this just as a shaving oil. Now that I've started using this I'm absolutely hooked, I really can't stress how much I like this. I bought it as part of the Delightful Almond Collection (which cost me £48) and the main bonus of getting the Almond Shower Oil as part of this collection is that it comes in a 500ml pump bottle which is incredibly shower-friendly and makes it really easy not to waste product. You can buy this Shower Oil in a 250ml bottle for £16.50 but it doesn't come with a pump dispenser. I'm sure the 500ml bottle is available out of the Gift Set but it isn't currently on L'Occitane's website.

Have you tried any L'Occitane products that you've fallen in love with? Or do you know of a shower oil that you love as much as I love this one? 

Angelica