L'Occitane Spring Fragrance Picks

Spring is (allegedly) upon us once more and for me that means two things: I have to start thinking seriously about leg hair removal and it's time to start the hunt for a light fragrance to see me through until October.
I'll chat body hair another day- this post is all about my L'Occitane fragrance picks to keep things fragrant throughout the season.

My Spring fragrance of choice last year was an absolute thing of beauty. I was going through a serious infatuation with fig fragrances (of which I am still not quite recovered) and found THE ONE in the form of L'Occitane Figuier & Osmanthus Eau de Toilette. I could not fault this fragrance. It was figgy and woody with a touch of blackcurrant and bergamot and I loved it so much it even came on holiday with me to Sardinia. But alas, the love affair was short lived for one reason only- it was a limited edition fragrance.
Rather than dwelling on lost love, I'm looking ahead and have a feeling L'Occitane will once again be my brand of choice for a light spring/summer fragrance this year.

Neroli & Orchide Body Oil



While this isn't strictly a fragrance, it is scented with delicious Madagascan white orchid, neroli essential oil and bitter orange blossom. The dry oil formula makes it perfect for the (hopefully) warmer months ahead as it won't leave me feeling greasy.

Vanille & Narcisse Eau de Toilette




Anyone who knows me is aware that I am a complete vanilla fragrance fiend so it's a given that I add this to my list. This scent offers that sweet vanilla hit with a touch of floral fragrance thanks to the addition of narcissus absolute.

Roses et Reines Jardin Secret Perfume Gel



I first got a whiff of the Roses et Reines Jardin Secret Perfume Gel in Paris last month and to be honest I don't know why I didn't buy it there and then. The scent is obviously gorgeous - a true rose with fresh green notes - but the product itself is such a lovely idea. The perfumed gel is designed to be dabbed onto pulse points and even the ends of the hair. Great to throw in your handbag too.

Verbena Eau de Toilette




I truly love the L'Occitane verbena collection and have for years. It's such an incredibly refreshing and invigorating fragrance that is simply perfect for warmer months. The matching soap is great too (and unisex) as it somehow manages to cool the skin and leave you smelling lemony fresh.

L'Occitane have so many pretty fragrance options, I think I'll have a hard time actually choosing one for spring. If they could do me a favour and bring back Figuier & Osmanthus I'd be sorted.

Have you got a go-to warmer weather fragrance or are you still pining for a long gone limited edition scent?


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L'Occitane Christmas Gifts - My Picks

L'occitane is one of my favourite brands all year round, but at Christmas they really up their game and release gift sets that are both beautifully presented and exceptionally good value.
There is such a huge range of gifts to choose from this year so instead of listing them all here, I've picked my top five favourites that I'd love to give (or find under the tree) on the 25th.

Delicious Almond Collection £49

L'Occitane 'do' almond so well don't they? Not too sweet or sickly, just nutty and delicious. This set features one of my favourite L'Occitane products of all time - Almond Shower Oil, as well as the Almond Milk Concentrate, Almond Delicious Soap, Almond Delicious Hands and a little bottle of Almond Supple Skin Oil - something I am very, very interested to try (just in case you're reading this, Rich). All these almond goodies come packaged in a L'Occitane gift box, ready to take pride of place under the tree.

Pamplemousse Rhubarbe Tantalising Collection £55
I haven't actually tried anything from the relatively new Pamplemousse Rhubarbe range but I like the name of it and I like rhubarb, so that's a start. Featuring a Pamplemousse Rhubarbe Eau de Toilette, Body Milk, Shower Gel and Scented Soap, this collection would be a great introduction to this grapefruit and rhubarb scented range.

Cade Grooming Collection £52
For the man in your life (or for yourself, if you happen to be a man), this beautifully presented gift contains the brand's best selling male scent. As well as a 100ml bottle of Cade Eau de Toilette, the ready-made present features a Shower Gel for Body and Hair, Shaving Gel and After Shave Balm.

Sweet Honey Bath £9.50
The perfect gift for a Secret Santa and equally as good for stuffing stockings, the Sweet Honey Bath gift features a 100g Honey Bonne Mere Soap (best scent) and a gorgeous porcelain soap holder.

Sweet Candied Fruit Home Duo
The scent of dried fruit, honey, caramel and vanilla make this a very festive little gift set. Containing a tinned candle (which boasts outstanding scent-throw by the way) and a room spray, this duo will make a gourmand scent lover very happy indeed.

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L'Occitane Black Soap

It's not often that I feel like blogging about soap (unless it comes from Lush, obviously) but this one is a little bit different. L'Occitane Black Soap has been available for a good few months now and it's proved to be a very popular addition to the Aromachologie range.

I love balm- type products so I knew when I first saw the black soap in a L'Occitane store it would only be a matter of time before it took pride of place in my bathroom.
Because I'm a bit impulsive (just a tad), I took this home without even looking inside the tin so it really was a complete surprise once I opened it up and was met with the sight of semi-transparent black balmy sludge stuff and the scent of eucalyptus.

The black soap is essentially an olive oil based paste ('paste' sounds marginally more pleasant than 'sludge') with the addition of eucalyptus essential oil and is part of the L'Occitane 'Rebalancing' collection. The Rebalancing collection also includes a massage cream, exfoliating shower gel, bath infusion and a face mask but there's just something a bit extra special about the soap that got a lot of people interested.

Because of the consistency of the soap, it took me a while to figure out the best way to use it. I realise how ridiculous this sounds. My fail safe method is just to scoop a little bit out with my finger and spread it over wet skin before going to town with the loofah and getting all sudsy. It leaves me feeling clean but maybe wanting a little more in terms of fragrance? It just smells like eucaplyptus really, which is lovely of course but the scent doesn't tend to linger on my skin once I've rinsed the soap off. I suppose the fact that the scent doesn't stick around makes it suitable for pretty much everyone, after all, eucalyptus is quite a medicinal scent and might not be the kind of thing you want to walk around smelling of (especially for those of us who grew up in Australia with parents who used eucalyptus oil to remove ticks from the dogs). That said, if you're feeling a bit under the weather or as if you're coming down with a case of the winter lurgies, the eucalyptus in the black soap should help you breathe a little easier, which is never a bad thing.

Overall, I do enjoy using the L'Occitane soap. It is quite refreshing and sort of fun to use and has garnered a load of positive feedback on the L'Occitane website. As an end note - L'Occitane advise that you use the soap once or twice a week as a treatment, which I don't really adhere to. To me, it's just soap - and a pretty good one at that.

L'Occitane Black Soap is £16 in store and online.

L'Occitane Melting Honey Ultra Soft Cream

So I'm pretty certain I've found the perfect body moisturiser to see me through the autumn in the form of L'Occitane Melting Honey Ultra Soft Cream.
I am just a little bit infatuated with honey skincare products so when L'Occitane recently introduced their Melting Honey range, it was only a matter of time before one or two pieces ended up in my collection. I mean, it's called Melting Honey - how utterly luxurious does that sound?

The Melting Honey Ultra Soft Cream is presented in a cute round tin with a colourful honeycomb design, making it perfectly ornamental and certainly worthy of displaying on your dressing table. Or, you can do what I do and just keep it on the floor next to your bed :/

L'Occitane say: 'By combining a high concentration of nourishing shea butter and softening honey from Provence, this silky smooth, light-textured body cream helps to nourish and protect the skin, while enveloping it in the delicious scent of melting honey.'
They're not wrong!

This super silky moisturiser contains 10% Shea butter to deliver a hefty dose of hydration yet somehow manages to stay exceptionally light in texture. In fact, I'd say that texturally, it's halfway between a cream and a lotion (a crotion?).

And the scent? Don't even get me started on how great this smells. In a nutshell, the cream smells nothing short of marvellous - like real honey- and in turn, makes the skin smell pretty darn good too. If you remember the honey facial moisturiser that L'Occitane used to do (and if you happen to be reading this L'Occitane, please bring it back!) it smells pretty much exactly like that. In other words, it smells utterly divine.

I bought my tin of Melting Honey Ultra Soft Cream in store but you can find it at L'Occitane online for a fairly reasonable £18.