L'Occitane Bath and Shower Series

One of the highlights (at least for me) of staying in hotels is partaking of their complimentary bath amenities . . . especially if they are from L'Occitane!

Pictured above is the evidence of hoarding. I brought home their Shampoo and Conditioner with 3 Essential Oils, Verbena Shower Gel, Verbena Body Lotion, and Verbena Extra-Gentle Soap.

All of them except the soap come in perfectly travel-sized 50ml bottles. I've been using the shampoo for over two months now and have had very good results with it. I can't say anything about the conditioner since I haven't used it (rarely use conditioner).

This tandem is made of three essential oils namely from angelica, lavender, and geranium. The shampoo's scent delivers its blurb on "soothing, repairing, and stimulating properties." Whiffs of calming lavender swirl through the bath when I lather the shampoo on, accompanied by the energizing crisp scents of angelica and geranium. The concentrated plant-based aroma smells very natural, as if the extracts were picked fresh from the plants and infused straight to the bottles. After use, my hair is really softer, shinier, and "repaired." The strands look fuller and moisturized and generally healthier.

The ingredients list. I didn't experience any irritation from the shampoo.

The aluminum cap is very nice to look at and easy to open and close. A round rubber helps keep the products securely covered.

Both body gel and lotion are from the Verbena series which smell like sweet oranges and green tea to me. (Verbena is actually a flowering plant.) The scents are perfectly blended without being annoyingly sweet or cloyingly strong as some bath products go.

The lotion is enriched with grape seed oil, aside from the obvious Verbena extracts. I would classify the consistency as medium rich, as I find it too sticky to use every day in Manila's weather. It works twice or thrice a week perfectly. I put this on my arms and legs when they are feeling dry and looking dull and see good results right away. The shower gel is very friendly to use -- it cleans well and does not irritate my skin. When toweling off, I notice my skin is not as dry as when I use conventional soaps. There seems to be a supple quality to my after-bath skin every time I use this. Also, a few squirts of this gel go a long way to foam up a bath puff. I must mention the scent is absolutely divine.

Ingredients for Verbena Body Lotion and Body Gel above.

I couldn't not try this Verbena Extra-Gentle Soap. Not when it is packaged so nicely in beautiful brown parchment with stamped-on design prints.

It is a hefty 100g bar, square-shaped and around two inches thick. The soap is even wrapped with a white cardboard type paper to protect and keep it in place. I noticed the soap's concentration when it started emulsifying slightly upon contact with my hands.

It has the same citrus-y sweet scent as the other Verbena products. I think the main thing that differentiates this L'Occitane soap from common bar soaps is its smooth "slip" and presence of many nourishing extracts and emollients. It is made of many great ingredients such as shea butter, glycerin, May Chang/mountain pepper extracts, vitamin E, rosemary leaf extracts, and sunflower seed oil. It's hard to ask my drugstore soap to beat that. It cleans the skin very well but does not strip it of moisture. It lathers properly and lasts me about 10 days.

Overall, a very satisfying set from a brand that incorporates more natural than chemically-produced ingredients.