Tried & Tested – L’Occitane Almond Apple Products

by Affi — Monday, July 23rd, 2007 at 6:06 pm

I am a die-hard fan of the almond product range from L’Occitane. The shower oil is the product I turn to when I feel blah, when my skin needs extra moisture, when I need to shave my legs (they feel very smooth afterwards!) or simply when I need to inhale the delicious, creamy almond scent that seems to fill every inch of my bathroom when I use it. So of course I was excited to hear about their Almond Apple skincare range and was dying to try them!

I’m actually not the kind of person who tests skincare products recklessly, because even though my skin is not super sensitive, if a product turns bad on me, my skin won’t be able to bounce back from the negative effect as quickly as when I was still in my “prime age” (17 – 25 years old). So a woman needs to be careful about what she puts on her face, right?

But anyway, in the name of research, I brave the unknown and decided to pull out my sample stash from the drawer and try each product of the Almond Apple range. Just so I can report to you, dear FD readers, the results. Here they are :

I first tried the Cleansing Oil. This oil turns milky when mixed with water and smells like apple juice. I like the fact that it doesn’t leave my skin feeling tight (like a lot of cleansers do) yet doesn’t leave any oily residue either. However, I have a strong doubt that it doesn’t really clean makeup as well as it claims. I wasn’t wearing a lot of makeup when I tried this product on so I could be wrong. I just don’t feel squeaky clean, if you know what I mean.

Next, I put on the Toning Cider. I was surprised to find that the product smells almost exactly like apple cider and it was rather yucky. I felt a little sting when I tried it on my face and I suspected this product contains alcohol. A quick check of the ingredient list told me that I was right. I had bad experience using toner containing alcohol so I was a bit wary. But other than the slight sting, the toner seems to be working fine. It made my skin looks and feels smoother and toned.

The Velvet Concentrate was next. The texture is ..well…velvety and rich. I massaged it onto my skin as instructed on the brochure and saw immediate result. My skin definitely feels soft yet firm and the product was absorbed pretty quickly. 5 minutes after applying it though, my face felt slightly itchy. It was probably the effect of the toner combined with the velvet concentrate but again, I was cautious so I kept on checking my face from the mirror to see if there is any sign of allergy reaction (redness, puffiness, etc). Thank God there wasn’t any.

I should mention that I have also tried the Almond Apple Sweet Peel. I actually bought this product before I tried the others from this range. I must say it’s worth every penny because I’m loving it! It contains crushed almond shells that allows gentle exfoliation and leave my skin feeling soft and refreshed. Plus it has this yummy smell – much like those apple sauce for babies, it even has a similar texture!- that makes me want to scoop the whole thing from the jar with my fingers and puts it in my mouth! (I never did, of course)

Anyway, after trying on those products, I then went to sleep and when I woke up, I noticed that my complexion looks clear and healthy. I haven’t had any problems with my skin lately so to be really honest, I wasn’t sure whether the products were really working or I was just having a good “skin day”. So I tested it again and this time in the morning, just to see how it will affect my skin.

I repeated the whole step plus added Clinique City Block Sheer SPF 15. When I put on the Toning Cider, I felt a lot less sting and none of the itchiness when I apply the Velvet Concentrate. For the rest of the day, my skin seems to be in a normal condition – nor was there any difference in the way my makeup works. So I guess I can say that the Almond Apple range is quite safe although of course I need to use it continously to really know what kind of effect it has on my skin. But for now, with the exception of the Sweet Peel, I think I’m just gonna stick to my Clinique 3-Step products.

Twitter updates

@ketanserundeng @RifAriadhi @pinkcemplon my pleasure! :) # 3 hours ago

Yes, me wanna come n visit u also! :) RT @Nona_Manda: Another one is Amsterdam I think ;) # 8 hours ago

Pretty cupcakes from Emirates, each decorared with the new destination flags http://twitpic.com/2kj9iq # 9 hours ago

Just got back from a nice dinner with Emirates. They have new destinations,1 of them is to Madrid. Wish I could go now -A # 9 hours ago

Sissi says:

July 23, 2007 at 9:35 pm

Huhuhu…me too I loooooove the almond range (and alot of L’occitane products in general!! =) ), especially the body cream and the showering oil. Gue sendiri belum nyoba yang Almond-Apple. Karena masih belum brani. Pingin nyoba cleansing oil-nya, tapi masih ragu2 (ragu2 karena mendingan nyobain Almond-Apple Cleansing Oil, Immortelle Cleansing Milk, ato Shea Butter Cleansing Milk..hihihihi). Mungkin biar ngerasa bersih sih, abis pake cleansing oil mesti pake cleansing gel lagi kali ya?. Dan sekarang gue jadi penasaran pingin nyobain Sweet Peelnyah! =)

Hanzky says:

July 24, 2007 at 7:57 am

gara gara review mu tentang shea butter itu gue jadi beli hand creamnya deh, hehehe…i was a loccitane virgin before that…ehh pernah deh punya lip balmnya tapi kok nggak pernah di pake yahh dan udah ilang aja pas di cari kemaren. bahkan temen gue dulu kerja di situ lho dan dengan bodohnya gue nggak memanfaatkan employee discount, huhu. srierani juga tuh jadi langsung beli beberapa produk loccitane..:)

tapi kalo yang 100% shea butter itu terlalu greasy sih untuk gue..dan baunya nggak enak, tapi dari segi fungsi nya emang berguna sih yah. Yang gue beli ini yang 20% shea butter. Jadi pengen nyobain yang lain lainnya juga niih..tapi nanti deh tunggu persediaan abis…

DYS says:

July 24, 2007 at 9:23 am

wah thx for the review.. i may try it out cuz kayaknya range l’occitane yg gw suka banget cm yg almond doang.. sampe gw jd beli yg rosee de fleurs blossom dew.. soft bgt bau-nya, walau itu sebenarnya if im not mistaken, utk firming n restoring your skin tissues/collagen..
kalo range l’occitane yg lain, utk gw terlalu menusuk baunya, maklum jd rada sensi dgn bau2 tajam sejak kena tipes dulu ;P sgt aneh emang!
But, gw suka banget ama botol home perfume-nya l’occitane, kaya parfum jaman dulu.. sayang ga ada yg bau almond, palingan yg masi bisa gw tolerir cuma yg bau2 white tea + jasmine, or the old classic lavender scent.

sLesTa says:

July 24, 2007 at 9:39 am

gue juga suka banget ama body cream nya l’occitane, tapi gue ga tahan liat harganya kalo di jakarta. mahal banget!!! mana almond body milk itu gak pernah sale lagi…

duluu waktu di NY seneng beli hand creamnya. walopun satu tube harganya $8, masih bisa kebeli lah. kalo di jakarta, satu tube hand cream 80ribu?? gile aje… walopun masih mampu beli, kayaknya mendingan gue beli yang laen udah dapet satu botol gede.

tapi entah kenapa, orang yang pernah tinggal di luar, ngeliat harga2 di jkt, langsung sebel karena mahal banget, padahal kalo dipikir2 sih sebenernya bisa aja kebeli, cuma malesss, karena dah tau harga aslinya.. nyesek bo!

July 24, 2007 at 10:54 am

Shiin yang travel size itu udah $10 sekarang..sama tax $10.75 dehh..heheh….

lyn says:

July 24, 2007 at 11:29 am

huhuuu.. thx so much for the review. kebetulan gw lagi berniat untuk beli l’occitane deket2 ini (i was gonna try shea butternya), jadi gue bakal skalian nyoba range almond ini.

Koukla says:

July 24, 2007 at 11:35 am

Sissi
Iya betul, Immortelle range itu kayaknya lebih bagus ya review2nya dan mungkin lebih worth trying. Kalo cleansing oil-nya Almond Apple ini menurut gue nggak lebih baik dari cleansing oil merk2 yg udah lebih ngetop (seperti Shu Uemura). Mungkin jg sih bisa berasa lebih bersih kalo pake cleansing gel lagi setelahnya, tapi gue sih males repot orangnya

Hanzky,
Memang sih, pure shea butter itu greasy bgt dan karena gak ditambahin fragrance apa2 jadi baunya rada aneh ya. Makanya gue pake dikit2 aja, tapi emang ampuh bgt terutama buat bibir gue yg sering bgt kering sejak hamil. I’m also using the 20% shea butter hands cream. Love it!

DYS,
Wah aneh juga ya, gue baru tau kalo orang abis kena tipes jadi sensi sama bau2an, kirain yg hamil doang! Hehehe. Gue justru suka pake wewangiannya L’Occitane karena menurut produknya gak terlalu ‘perfumey’ – jadi bisa nempel di kulit pemakainya (at least di gue yah). Seperti Mimosa dan Bitter Orange itu, gue suka bgt! (L’Occitane should really pay me for this hehehe)

Slesta,
Gue aja yg gak pernah tinggal di luar negeri ngerasa kok kalo produk2nya L’Occitane ini mahal bgt harganya. Almond Shower Oil itu harganya 300-an dan kalo dipikir2 sinting juga “sabun” doang harganya segitu (herannya kok gue beli? hahaha). Makanya kalo gak yakin2 bgt gue bakal suka sama produknya gue sih nggak akan beli, untungnya Almond Apple ini gue dapet samplenya (kecuali sweet peel, itu emang gue beli) – if I have to pay for the complete range, it will amount to over 1 million rups! Yikes!!

July 24, 2007 at 11:40 am

Lyn,
You’re very welcome! Kalo produk Almond yg utk body – semuanya highly recommended! If you have the money, go buy them all! Tapi kalo untuk Almond Apple (utk face) saran gue sih mendingan minta sample dulu supaya yakin akan cocok buat kamu. Happy shopping!

Lies says:

July 24, 2007 at 12:26 pm

Koukla, request reviewnya solid parfum loccitane duonk….

July 24, 2007 at 2:01 pm

Lies, boleh boleh….nantikan ya!

July 24, 2007 at 3:32 pm

Koukla, maunya sih minta sample dulu. tp di jkt bisa dpt sample gratis atau harus bayarkah? dulu gue pernah dpt sample untuk scrub tp dg beli barang laen.

July 24, 2007 at 3:41 pm

Hmmm, actually I am not sure. Selama ini emang gue selalu beli sih pas dikasih samplenya. Tapi coba aja diminta dulu, kali2 aja dikasih

July 24, 2007 at 3:55 pm

Hanny, hand cream yang travel pack harganya 10.75 US$? Sementara disini cuma 5 euro saja! Hmm…mungkin emang asalnya dari sini ya..jadi emang lebih murah.
Gue udah lupa deh di Indonesia L’Occitane sebrapa mahalnya (tapi gue emang udah jadi penggemar sejak dia baru2 aja di buka di Indonesia), tapi di Prancis-pun, L’Occitane ini termasuk range mahal. Koukla itu cleansing oil di Indonesia brapa ya? Disini 15 euro gitu, jadi emang dua kali lipet lebih murah dibandingin sama Cleansing Oilnya Shu Uemura (30 euro untuk botol kecil). Sementara Almond Body Cream disini 26 euro…

July 25, 2007 at 5:36 pm

koukla.. usul dong, kalo ngasih review lagi, sekalian share harga retailnya di jakarta. biar temen2 dari negara laen bisa compare…

*jatohnya sih pasti lebih mahal di jakarta*

mini says:

August 7, 2007 at 12:20 pm

Hello semua,

cuma mau ikutan nimbrung, anyway kalo ada yang mau tau tentang product loccitane, gw bisa bantu.. at the moment gw kerja and part of executive di Loccitane Australia. we have lots of skin experts in the office.

Hope i can help penggemar loccitane di indonesia.. walaupun bantuanku mungkin cuma sedikit ^__^

Regards,

Nona says:

May 8, 2008 at 11:56 am

hand butternya OK banget. LOVE IT!

Susan says:

June 20, 2009 at 4:08 pm

Hi semua,
gw baru nyoba almond apple cleansing oil, hasilnya mengecewakan! muka jadi bercak2 kemerahan disekitar pipi, dahi n dagu. hikhik… mau cantik malah sakit…..

cathy says:

November 9, 2009 at 7:56 pm

Hi, aku juga penggemar berat L’occitane sejak pake Shea Butter yg 20% itu. Pas winter, jari2 aku pecah2 parah sampe mengerikan, tp pake lotion itu 2-3 kali, langsung lembut ^^. Cuman stlh gaji rupiah. Mahal bo! Yang Almond Concentrate juga keren dan wangi banget. Again, stlh gaji rupiah, ga kuat!! 660RB per 200mL. Gile~~

Skrg pake Imortelle (cleansing foam+Toner+Eye Cream VPC). Foam sih ok banget, cuman agak boros. Toner agak lengket, tp aku memang ga suka lengket dan semua toner so far lengket semua. Eye cream-nya, ga beda2 banget ya. mgkn krn aku ga rutin pakenya.

Abis beli VPC dan Precious cream online, yah lumayan sih 1.35 juta dapet 2-2nya. Mudah2an cocok dan ngasih perubahan ya ^^…

aku lagi compare Kiehl’s dengan L’occitane nih. Ada review dari kalian yang uda coba?? anyone

Affi says:

November 10, 2009 at 10:35 am

cathy,
Kayaknya kamu mesti ikutan forum kita deh supaya bisa dapet review yang lengkap dan ‘mendalam’ ttg kedua brand tsb. Nggak akan nyesel deh

Inalatu says:

April 18, 2010 at 8:53 am

Tolong info alamat lgkp dan tlp, d mana sy bs mndptkan product L’Occitane, thanks a lot for a short reply – Ina

June 19, 2010 at 8:44 pm

Inalatu, silahkan cek http://www.loccitane.co.id untuk alamat toko2 mereka