NEW L'OCCITANE ALMOND AND ALMOND APPLE STUFF

I have been waiting for the Almond Mist Concentrate since April 09 and its finally here!
Retailing for RM 131 (all price quoted before member discount) , its not as steep as its big sister The Almond Milk Concentrate (RM198) and basicly is a diluted version of the Milk Concentrate .



This would be perfect for those that find the Almond Milk Concentrate too heavy for day usage . I would say they diluted it to around 60% of the Milk version because it feels really light .

The Almond Mist Concentrate comes with pump packaging designed for portability and a quick pick me up type of usage . I suppose they would want me to bring it to the Gym / Swimming pool /Beach , but without SPF why would I want to ?

I don't know about you but I am using the Almond Milk Concentrate for my face only before turning in for the night and even so it absorbs quickly and feels thick/heavy only for a while, I even tried on the Immortelle Cream Mask and even that doesn't bother me. L'Occitane products always absorbs quickly in my experience using them .





The other new product that I thought worth mentioning is the Almond Apple Velvet Face Fluid which comes in 2 versions - the SPF40 and the one without . I tried on the SPF40 version on the hand and bought it after I walk around the mall for 15 minutes.

It cost RM 155 for the SPF40 version and RM145 for the one without sunscreen. It felt greasy for the first 2 minutes and then completely vanish into the skin . Texture wise its just like the Immortelle Very Precious Fluid SPF40 , a white liquid that vanishes into the skin in seconds . I think it did leave a bit of sheen on the face but overall its quite acceptable for a face sunscreen .

Either L'Occitane is picking up on customers demand of more sun screened products or maybe its just summer in Europe.

I am now patiently waiting for MEMBERS DAY or when the sunscreens go on sale . Failing that I could always wait for October when the points get counted and Cash Vouchers get printed .

There are quite a few products that came into the store without much fanfare and announcements that I found visiting L'occitane website . I will do a review when I come around to it :)

Sleep Well - L'Occitane Lavander Pillow Mist

I don't always have trouble sleeping but my dark circles around the eyes begs to differ. Thats why I picked up a bottle of L'Occitane Lavender Pillow Mist on my way home.It cost RM80 for 100ml and if you show your membership card , its RM76 . Not as costly as a bottle of Lavender EDP which would be around RM175.



The smell of Lavender can clam you down and makes you sleepy. While I find the smell wonderful , it would be nice if the smell could linger around longer than 10 minutes so that it could have time to calm me down and make me sleepy. This pillow mist lacks staying power, and I did not skimp on the spraying either, 5 serious squirts on the pillow and the smell will be gone in less than half an hour.

Luckily I am not a whiner and do not think of refunding it but for what its worth, you did not get what you pay for . Spend your ringgit to try other stuff in their shop.

Olive Express Radiance Mask

I went to the L'Ocitane Members Day Sale and this is all I have to show for it.

Well , that and a piece of Almond Soap that is not on sale.

I meant to try the Olive Face Scrub Mud but it was regular priced. So I figure this would have to do.
After all , the packaging is almost the same only the sticker differs in color . The price is also right - RM105.60.

Just exfoliate your face before application. Its simple enough to apply and it has a mild olive smell that I love. Follow the instruction and rinse the mask off after 10-15 minutes.

I tried to look up some testimonials for it and only found one comment at an chinese site. One that says - "Its Okey-ish". Not Good, Not Excellent , Just "Okey-ish".



The comment basicly says - A little goes a long way . Don't rinse it off as per the instruction on the box. Instead rub it off and it will leave your face clear and beautiful.

Multitasking L'Occitane Products

It all starts with the eye cream .

You don't need eye cream, you know that right? The cosmetics cop Paula Begoun told you right off the bat that cosmetics companies "sells you a product that is almost the same product as the face product and charge you twice as much and gives you half as much" for eye creams. Don't belive me? YouTube it yourself.

So , this gets me thinking . With the price of everything else sky rocketing following the fuel hike, is there something we could do to stretch our hard earned ringgit but still be able to afford luxury products such as L'Occitane?

Well, obviously getting a membership discount is a good 5% savings in itself. Yet if you visit their international sites especially the USA site, you will find that we in Malaysia is paying RM390 for L'Occitane's best selling Almond Milk Concentrate 400ml while their USA customers are paying RM 193 (USD56) for the same 400ml. In fact , we are in the same boat as the Canadians , they pay around RM189 (CDN58)for the 200ml version and we get it from The Spring at RM198 . Its pretty much a direct conversion for Canadian prices here in Malaysia .

If the cosmetics company sold us eye creams that is identical to face products , then we should investigate if the body/hand products would work on our faces since theres another trend - the mililiters content of the body products are almost always twice/three times as much compared to the face product.

For example , Almond-Apple, L'Occitane's Face Range , all the Almond-Apple products are for face use only - toners , cleaners , peels(100ml), moisturizers(50ml).The Olive range too have their own moisturizers for face - Olive Radiance Moisturizing Cream(50ml) . Red Rice have its Ultra Matte Face Fluid(30ml).

Yet you get your body products : Almond Milk Concentrate in 200ml jar, your Almond Delicious Paste also, in 200ml jars. Shea Butter Ultra Rich Cream ? Yup , 200ml.

The Almond Apple Sweet Peel (100ml) goes for RM123 and the Almond Delicious Paste (200ml) goes for RM155. So today I went and got L'Occitane's Almond Delicious Paste to use as scrub for my face.

Can my face tell the difference? Nope. It smells great and the almond seeds and what not did a good job on my face , I even scrubed the back of my hand (which has coarser skin than the palm)while rubbing my face . Talk about getting the most out of your products.

Almond Milk Concentrate or Grape Beauty Milk can substitute your nightime face moisturizer too if you find paying for 50ml dose of Immortelle Night cream or Olive Radiance a bit extravagant.

Multitasking is no longer restricted to operating systems and processors anymore.

L'occitane En Provence Kuching Official Opening

Everyone that has been to The Spring Kuching should know that L'Occitane En Provence have been opening its doors since April 08 . Well, if you haven't , you will ; after the official opening ceremony which will plaster the inner pages of local newspapers and their LifeStyle supplements .



The upside of being a french brand is that you get to be snotty and throw a lavish reception at the Spring's atrium inviting Yang Amat Berbahagia Datuk Amar Puan Sri (Dr) Hajjah Laila Taib to officially open your latest branch ergo attracting all the right media attention.



The downside , is you are really not sure if people in Kuching are willing to spend a fortune on Handcreme , shampoo and soaps .

L'occitane Red Rice Set

Just got this from L'Occitane the Spring, Kuching. The staff still has not finished putting up the bunting and promos yet but hey, they sold a few sets already. The lady manager said they only have 40 plus sets each priced at RM199 each. So now they only got 30 plus sets left.



I have no idea what it will do to my face but it seemed like a good deal since the Exfoliating Rice Powder and the Ultra Matte Face Fluid are full size and already cost RM 95 and RM 120 (Don't quote me on this) if buy separately , so you get the travel size 50ml Toner and Cleanser for next to nothing.L'Occitane's USA and Canadian sites have it listed as NEW product . So guess we in Kuching finally got what we deserved - Expensive body and bath products from France.

The one thing that got left out in this pack is the Mattifying Papers . If you really need it , its in the store , just have to pay RM20 for it.

As always , the packaging for this is NICE . They also have a "purchase with purchase" with this Red Rice set which is a special pack comprising of Sample size Masks , the Red Rice Toner (travel size also) and the Olive Express Eye Treatment (which cost RM115 alone) selling for RM120. I am happy with 1 Red Rice Toner so , no need to get another.




The marketing of this is briliant ! If left with my own devices , I will want to try the Cleanser and the Toner first , because they are 200ml and RM77 each. Noone will go for the Exfoliat and Ultra Matte Face Fluid simply because they cost more. By bundling the full size Exfoliat and Ultra Matte Face Fluid with travel size cleanser and toner , you will be back in no time to get the 200ml ones while they got to sell you an Exfoliant and Face Fluid which you might not buy in the first place .




UPDATE : Just tried the Cleanser, the Toner and the Ultra Matte Face Fluid.
Would recommend the Cleanser because it "cleaned like a detergent".

I really don't know how to rate a Toner. I figured you would need one after the deep clensing that the Cleanser did. Felt pretty dried out after using the cleanser. Which is why they have this to balance the PH level .

Would recommend The Ultra Matte Face Fluid since it absorbs quickly and skin feels tightened after a nights sleep.
The powder form Exfoliator is a gentle scrub complimenting the line.Not too coarse but does a good job.

There is little fragrance if any in these Red Rice products. Which is not surprising since rice wouldn't have any smell until you cook it.

These promotional sets will run out. And I will probably stick to the Cleanser and Face Fluid if I have to pay full price for them .