I loved pretty much all of the products that I finished in January, so you'll see a lot of hearts beside each item. Read more right after the jump:
*Please note that all of the prices are in CAD.*
L'Occitane actually has two lavender liquid soaps - one that's pure lavender and one that has shea extract in it. The one that's pure lavender has a stronger scent and it's more gel-like, which means that a little goes a long way. The one that I tend to prefer though is the soap with shea extract in it. I like how it doesn't leave your hands feeling really dry and that the scent is light and pleasant.
2 || Shea Milk Solidarity Soap | $3.00 for 50 g | L'Occitane || ♥♥♥♥♥
I'm a total sucker for packaging, so the first thing I'm going to say is that I really like the colour scheme for this year's solidarity soap! But more than that - I love what this soap stands for. L'Occitane releases solidarity soaps every year and while $3 is the lowest price point they have, 100% of the profits (retail price less taxes, transportation and production costs) from the sale of this soap goes towards fighting preventable blindness. You can read more about L'Occitane's efforts to provide eyecare to 10 million people by 2020 here. The fragrance of the soap is shea butter (think L'Occitane's 20% shea butter hand cream).
3 || Lord of Misrule Shower Cream | ~$33.00 for 500 mL | LUSH || ♥♥♥♥♥
The Lord of Misrule shower cream is my all-time favourite product from Lush! This past Halloween/Christmas was the second time that Lush brought it out on their shelves. There is typically a bath bomb and a body wash (shower cream) with the same fragrance - an intoxicating mix of patchouli, peppercorn, black pepper, and fair trade vanilla. What I like the most is that this shower cream leaves my skin feeling moisturized and pleasantly scented.
4 & 5 || Shea Butter Extra Gentle Soap - Verbena & Milk | $15.00/ea for 250 g | L'Occitane || ♥♥♥♥♥
You know what's great? Having a giant block of soap that lasts forever! L'Occitane has three large soaps like this - Verbena, Lavender, and Milk (shea fragrance). They do have smaller versions of the same fragrances as well, but it seems like the bigger sizes are a better value. Not only do these large soaps last forever (mine lasted just over 3 months) and have very natural fragrances, but they also all have the shea extract, which makes them more nourishing than your average bar of soap.
Everything in the Jeju Volcanic Lava line is generally for oily-combination skin. I have normal (neither oily nor dry) skin and I've been using these makeup removing tissues for a couple of years now without any issues. In fact, I would argue that these makeup tissues are pretty much the best ones I've ever tried. Compared to TFS's regular Herb Day wipes, the ones from the Jeju line are slightly ticker and the scent is citrusy. In terms of makeup removal, the Jeju wipes are equally as great as the Herb Day ones, and they also don't cause any sensitivity or stinging. There's just a sense of better quality with the Jeju line, you know?
7 || Charcoal & Konjac Cleansing Puff | $6.00 | THE FACE SHOP || ♥♥♥♥♥
For a couple of years now I have been using the white konjac sponge from The Face Shop. However, in the last 6 months I've found that the black konjac sponge actually works better for me. What's the difference besides the colour? While the white sponge can be used on any type of skin, its black counterpart has charcoal, which makes it better for oily skin. See, I don't actually find that the charcoal sponge is too drying. Even if it is slightly, I follow up with a pretty good and hydrating skincare routine. Moreover, it seems that the charcoal sponge actually lasts longer than the white sponge. Not sure why this is, but hey, if I can save money by buying less in a year then that's pretty fantastic!
8 || Chia Seed Fresh Cleansing Water | $33.00 for 300 mL | THE FACE SHOP || ♥♥♥♥♥
I've featured this cleanser on my blog before so I won't spend too much time talking about it. In short - I love how gentle yet effective (in removing makeup) this cleanser is! While it is labelled as a no-rinse cleanser, I do typically follow up with a foam cleanser.
9 || Toothy Tabs - Oral Pleasure & Limelight | $9.95 for 50 g | LUSH || ♥♥♥♥♥
Last year, Lush introduced new packaging and new flavours of their toothy tabs (solid toothpaste). When they were released, I picked up five flavours that I had not tried before. My favourite ones, "Oral Pleasure" and "Limelight," were the first ones to finish. The latter I like because it smells like Sprite, and the former I like because it has (totally safe) shimmer and a sweet passion fruit scent.
10 || Shampure Dry Shampoo | $39.00 for 2 fl oz/56 g | Aveda || ♥♥♥♥♥
I have been using Aveda's dry shampoo since it was released in 2015 and this is the first time that I have finished a bottle. The dry shampoo has a non-aerosol formula which contains a blend of 25 pure flower and plant essences that help to absorb oil. The scent ("shampure" blend) is so good! Since my hair is longer now than it was a couple of years ago, I use this dry shampoo at night in between days when I wash my hair. Be careful if you use this product on the go - if you use too much, there will be a white residue and you might find it slightly difficult to remove (especially if you use directly on the scalp).
Some time ago I received A LOT of 2014 Arlésienne fragrance foil samples. It actually took me until the launch of the revamped Arlésienne line this past November to truly appreciate the fragrance. If I had to describe the scent in one word it would be: enchanting. The mix of rose, violet, and saffron creates an alluring fragrance that is unlike any floral perfume I have tried in the past. I have actually always thought that I hated floral fragrances until I tried Arlésienne. Compared to the 2016 version, the 2014 Arlésienne has a stronger scent. I do have to admit that I like the 2016 line better in terms of both scent and packaging. At the same time, I didn't mind using up the 2014 samples until I owned a bottle of the 2016 Arlésienne.
12 || Almond Velvet Balm | $64.00 for 200 ml | L'Occitane || ♥♥♥♥♥
The Almond Velvet Balm is perhaps one of the most underrated products at L'Occitane. It often seems to lose out to the more popular Almond Milk Concentrate from the same line. The scent between the two is quite different; the Velvet Balm has a light floral fragrance and heavy texture, while the Milk Concentrate is light and has that famous almond fragrance that L'Occitane is known for. I actually prefer the Velvet Balm - so much, in fact, that in the next week or so I'm going to feature it in its own post! Make sure you keep an eye out for that! 😊
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Have you tried any of the products above?
Thank you for reading! 💜
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