FEELING down? A spritz of citrus can perk up a glum morning, and a lavender bath can soothe the senses after a long day.
Such accessible pampering is something L’Occitane has been providing for 40 years. The French cosmetics brand specializes in calming products with botanical ingredients, a quarter of them certified organic. L’Occitane is distributed in the Philippines by Rustan’s.
“The items are made with natural and sustainable ingredients sourced from Provence, France, and the Mediterranean,” explained Anna Grape, education manager for L’Occitane Philippines. “Research is done at the lab in Provence, where soap-maker Olivier Baussan established the brand in 1976.”
L’Occitane carries bath basics, scents and skincare formulated to make one feel good and smell luxurious. These are products made with science and tradition in mind, and in the Philippines, caters to women who want something indulgent and natural.
To celebrate its 40th anniversary, L’Occitane recently took us on a “discovery walk” in The Farm, a vegan resort in San Benito, Batangas. Through an installation series, Grape explained L’Occitane’s history, and that its core values “respect, authenticity and sensoriality.” She also gave us a rundown of L’Occitane best sellers that, for decades, have gained a following all over the world.
We tried out L’Occitane’s best products, and here’s our top eight picks which you can incorporate in your daily wellness routine.
1 Lavender Foaming Bath An aromatic bath foam that leaves the skin supple and smelling delicate. It works best in a hot tub, but lathers up well as a shower gel, too. Lavender is known as “blue gold” in Provence, and this bath foam smells mildly floral and soothingly herbal.
2 Shea Butter Hand Cream. L’Occitane takes pride in its shea butter sourced from Burkina Faso in Africa. This balmly cream is 20-percent pure shea butter and can be used by the whole family. It has honey, almond extracts and coconut oil which quickly nourish and moisturize tired hands.
3 Divine Cream. In the Mediterranean, there’s a cluster of tiny yellow flowers called immortelle—and they never wilt. L’Occitane translated this flower’s lasting property into the Divine Cream, an anti-aging best seller. It’s a lightweight day cream with SPF 20 infused with organic immortelle essential oil that gives the skin a youthful, radiant glow.
4 Verbena Eau de Toilette. It’s summer in a bottle. L’Occitane’s Verbena perfume is a unisex scent that leaves an invigorating fresh scent. It has a sexy citrus base of Mediterranean verbena leaves, with some notes of geranium and lemon. It comes in an elegant clear glass bottle with an engraved verbena leaf.
5 Almond Velvet Balm. This one is a rich body cream with almond tree native cell extract from southern France. It’s creamy and highly moisturizing, and leaves a soft, powdery almond scent on the skin.
6 Reine Blanche Illuminating UV Shield. It’s a facial moisturizer that promotes skin radiance, clarity and translucence. Key ingredient is reine des prés, a pure white flower that naturally contains salicylic acid, which exfoliates and lightens skin tone. This fluid has a whopping SPF50 for sun protection, keeping skin luminous even under the sun.
7 Aromachologie Relaxing Massage Oil. Take a break from eucalyptus and floral oils for your massages, and go for this sweet-smelling almond oil. It’s easily absorbed and non-sticky, and leaves a sexy satiny sheen on the skin.
8 Aromachologie Repairing Shampoo. Give your hair some love with this silicone-free shampoo that fills in hair “scales” to strengthen it and prevent it from falling. This mild shampoo has five essential oils—ylang-ylang, sweet orange, lavender, geranium, angelica—plus plant-derived amino acids and vitamin B5 to repair and protect hair fibers.