L'Occitane

L'Occitane Eau des Baux Stick Deodorant had two things going for it: it's an alcohol-free formula which I thought would be great for the husband's sensitive skin, and the scent- a blend of cypress and cool incense- is beautiful.

 I picked the deodorant the last time I was at my local L'Occitane store and happily gave it to the Blond. He was delighted with the scent and eager to try it on. The good news is that his armpits have never smelled so good. The bad news is that it only lasted for a few hours before nature took its course. I tried the Eau des Baux Stick myself on a day I was not going to leave the house (a lesson learned from other deodorant testings) and had to agree- it doesn't work unless you're willing and able to reapply every three to four hours.

Bottom Line: Get the shower gel instead.

L'Occitane Eau des Baux Stick Deodorant ($16) is available at every L'Occitane store and online.

Photo: esquire.com

It occurred to me that I never shared my most trusted hair care product. I did talk about L'Occitane hair care product in general, and they are, indeed, awesome. The best one is Aromachologie Repairing Hair Mask. This is a heavy duty, fix-every-hair-sin and bring it back from the dead product. If you're a normal person with a reasonable amount of hair on your head you'd probably only use it occasionally and to fix issues like over-processing, chlorinating and sun damage. It'd be too rich for you on a regular basis. But if your hair is dry, super thick and/or very long (thus requiring extra care to ensure shine and moisture), the Aromachologie Repair Musk should be part of your routine.

I have a very long hair. I keep it at mid-thigh length because that's how I like it. It's also very thick and can get dry very easily if not fed shea butter and cake (well, only the shea butter) on regular intervals. I've been using the Aromachologie mask regularly for nearly three years, some weeks on an almost daily basis if I feel the need. It's that good and is partly responsible to the health of my hair.

L'Occitane Aromachologie Repairing Hair Mask ($29, 8.4 oz) is available from every L'Occitane store and online.

Photo by Nina Leen, 1947

My home scenting adventure continues.

I was at the local L'Occitane store stocking up on my favorite hair products (yes, I know that a suspicious amount of posts starts with this sentence. What can I say? L'Occitane need to start selling their conditioner and hair mask in family size packaging), when I smelled something familiar and wonderful.

Fig.

My love for fig scents is well-documented here, so you can imagine how thrilled I was to discover the Fig Tree Leaf reed diffusers .They also come in other scents and I even got one, I think the Provencal Landscape, which I'll review when I break it open, but right now I'm all about the incredible aroma of a fig tree in the middle of summer, lush, green and heavy with fruit that is about to ripen. The thing about good fig scents is the balance between the leaf, wood and fruit, and this L'Occitane product is a really good one. Now I want a full range of body, personal care and perfume with this smell. And also a laundry line, while we're at it.

I only got the refills, not the entire set, because I prefer to hunt for nice bottles and containers in other places and I've been buying the reeds in bulk online ever since I discovered I can use diffusers all over the house as long as they are placed strategically out of cat and harm's way.

L'Occitane Fig Tree Leaf Diffuser refills ($16, 3.4 oz) are available from L'Occitane stores all over creation as well as online.

Image: Gelini's Fig Tree byDeborah J Humphries

I am a big fan of a super minty foot cream but I know some people aren't so I thought I would investigate what is out there that is non-minty:

Avon Foot Works Pomegranate & Chocolate Moisturizing Foot Cream - 100ml - $7.99 - with pomegranate and cranberry extracts to help soften skin - I wasn't sure how I would like this, I love chocolate but I'm not sure that it's something I want my feet to smell like.  The cream smells more fruity with just a hint of chocolate - I really like it.  My only complaint would be that it's not as greasy as I prefer a foot cream to be (this is the only part of my body that greasy is preferable for me) so I have been using 2 layers of it to get optimum moisture - the lack of grease does make it good as a hand cream too though.

If you like the smell it also comes as a Soothing Foot Soak - 100ml - $7.99 or Smoothing Foot Scrub - 100ml - $7.99

Elizabeth Grant Camphor Hand & Foot Cream - 100ml - $20 - they warn you right on the tube that it's strong smelling, so I was expecting something like what my grandmother's house smelled like that camphor/mothball combo, but I didn't really find it that bad at all.  I don't like it as a hand cream, to me it's a foot cream smell - but if you don't mind the smell, it does absorb easily so would be fine for your hands too. Available through their website at www.elizabethgrant.com or at The Shopping Channel - www.theshoppingchannel.com

L'Occitane Shea Butter Foot Cream - 150ml - $30 - with a light lavender scent to relax you, this cream protects, soothes and hydrates your tired feet.  It has a non-greasy formula that quickly absorbs into your skin, leaving it silky smooth while repairing dry, rough skin on your feet and heels.  While it's true it's not greasy - it is really thick, so I am a big fan of this one!  And of course it's part of our L'Occitane giveaway, so if this sounds like something you want to try, be sure to enter here!
If you just don't like foot cream there is another option - Airplus Spa Footie - $5.97 - it's a fuzzy little sock that is infused with a combination of aloe & Vitamin E - keep your feet warm and moisturize them at the same time!  Available at London Drugs, Walmart and Zellers.

If you are anything like me you are dreading the cold weather that is due to hit us anytime now (depending on where you are, you might already have it) because of the total havoc it causes to our skin!  This is the time to start thinking about upping the moisture ante with your skin care products and if you aren't already familiar with L'Occitane's Shea Butter line, it's time to become acquainted!


Mini Pure Shea Butter - 8ml - $10 - 100% Shea Butter and the perfect size to pop in your purse and pull out when anything feels dry!  Good for lips, face, cuticles, hands or anything else you want to put it on!



Shea Butter Hand Cream - 150ml - $30 - enriched with 20% Shea Butter, it penetrates quickly to protect, nourish and moisturize your hands.  Absorbs rapidly with no greasy aftermath and makes it through multiple hand washings.  It has very little scent so even your guy will be a fan!
Shea Butter Foot Cream - 150ml - $30 - protects, soothes and hydrates your tired feet.  It has a non-greasy formula that quickly absorbs into your skin, leaving it silky smooth while repairing dry, rough skin on your feet and heels.  The scent is a light lavender to relax you.
Shea Butter Ultra Rich Body Cream - 200ml - $48 - with a rich, smooth texture this multi-benefit cream for dry or very dry skin deeply nourishes, protects against harsh environmental elements and helps to restore the skin's hydrolipidic film.  Enriched with a 25% concentration of Shea Butter, it provides long-lasting, 24 hour hydration and leaves skin soft and supple.
Shea Butter Lip Balm Stick - 5g - $12 - to repair and nourish your dry lips

Shea Butter Extra Gentle Soap - Verbena - 250g - $14 - has a 100% vegetable base and is rich in softening and protective Shea Butter while the Verbena adds an invigorating lemony fragrance.

You can find all these products and the entire L'Occitane line on their website at www.loccitane.ca
 
Seeing is believing - Try before you buy - whatever cliche you prefer, how about a gift basket full of every single product we just showed you above?!

This contest is open to Canadian residents. All you have to do is join Beauty Crazed as a follower if you aren't one already.  You can either do it through Google or through Networked Blogs on Facebook - you can find both signups on the right hand side of the Beauty Crazed site.  Once you belong to our crazy family just leave a reply to this post letting us know you want in and let us know what part of your body gets the driest during the winter months! If you give the contest link a tweet and/or post it on your blog, there's an extra entry in it for you! If you "like" L'Occitane on Facebook, that's another extra entry! Including an e-mail address would be extra helpful and you can write it like this - info(at)beautycrazed(dot)ca - so the bots can't find you but we can.  If you prefer not to leave your info on a public post, please leave a post saying you want to enter and then e-mail us your info to info@beautycrazed.ca, please put "L'Occitane Contest" in the subject line.  Winner to be decided by random drawing and you have until December 10th to enter.