L'Occitane Luxury

How lucky am I? The Boy got me the recent L'Occitane TSV,  because he says he scrubs his arse with my other nice products, so it was only fair that he replaced a few.  Who am I to argue with that logic!?!? Would you say no... hmmm thought not!

 The "warm" version of the TSV arrived this week, in the most humongous box,. which opened to reveal this...  Honestly, this box alone had me excited.   It's a hardened lacquered cardboard gift box in the most beautiful jade colour, that was so pretty and shiny, I almost forgot what was in there.  Almost!  Have a little peek inside.

.Warm option:

• 1 x Shea Vanilla Shower Cream (500ml) - creamy, detergent-free formula to leave skin soft and delicately scented.
• 1 x Liquid Soap Sweet Almond (500ml) - enriched with shea butter and soothing aloe vera extract; gentle enough for dry or sensitive skin.
• 1 x Bergamot Tea Shower Gel (250ml) - delicate shower gel, infused with sparkling citrus and subtle tea.
• 1 x Ruban D'orange Sunny Shower Gel (250ml) - cleanses softly and leaves a fresh and sparkling scent of citrus fruit on the skin.
• 1 x Almond Shower Oil (75ml) - when in contact with water, the oil transforms into a lavish, softening foam.
• 1 x Shea Vanilla Hand Cream (30ml) - softens the skin and leaves a soft and delicious scent of shea with a hint of vanilla.
• 1 x Shea Milk Soap (50g) - formulated with a 100% vegetable base and enriched with nourishing shea butter.

I chose the warm selection for the 500ml Vanilla shower gel alone.  I make so secret of the fact that I am a "Vanilla Girl" so this was the first product I had a sniff of.  It actually wasn't what I expected.  It's Vanilla Flower and it has the most lovely creamy, yet understated smell.  It's a bit like mixing vanilla with a very light floral scent.  It's not the cloying cakey smell (that I love!) that my Mum would wrinkle her nose at .  There is something more grown up about it. It's such an attractive looking product. too  It's appears almost metallic in the bottle, which I am assuming has something to do with the shea butter content in the shower gel.  But I could be wrong.  They also included a Vanilla hand cream.  I use L'Occitane Shea hand cream on a daily basis, so this was always going to be a winner for me.  Again, the scent matches the shower gel.  This will have pride of place in my handbag.

I already use the Sweet Almond liquid soap and the Almond Shower Oil, so they are already firm favourites.  What I haven't tried, or smelled before, were he Ruban D'Orange Sunny Shower Gel or the Bergamot Tea Shower Gel. I'll be honest, I wasn't holding out much hope for these as they are not the usual  types of scents that I would gravitate towards. I don't like citrus fruit, unless it's in the form of a Terry's Chocolate Orange and I don't drink tea, I'm a coffee gal.  However, I am very pleasantly surprised that I like them both.  The Boy says that the Ruban D'Orange smells like "Sunny Delight" and he's not far off!!   It has a sweet, almost fizzy scent to it.  I'm not sure how they can make something smell fizzy, but they do.  It's as though you've been drinking Fanta (which coincidently, I don't like!) and all the bubbles have rushed up your nose. That's what this shower gel reminds me of.  This will be a perfect pick me up on dreary winter mornings.  

As for the Bergamot Tea shower gel, I would say this is a unisex scent, however it does lean towards the masculine side of the spectrum.. It's mildly herby, but not strong enough to interfere with any perfume you choose to wear afterwards.  There is actually something quite appealing to me about this smell.  Maybe it's the slightly masculine edge to it.  I think The Boy will like this one too.

I'm probably going to refrain from using this for another few weeks.  That will give me time to finish off a few opened bottles of shower gel and truly appreciate a dash of L'Occitane luxury at bath time, when the weather gets a little colder.

Do you use L'Occitane products? Any recommendations?