What's new with L'OCCITANE?

The recently went public in HK Stock Exchange French brand L'OCCITANE seems to be very active on promoting their new products lately. I guess the investors are looking for higher revenue to keep the stock price rising.

I personally do think L'OCCITANCE offer quality product and have some addictions to a few of their products.

Put my addictions aside, let's talk about the note-worthy new products from them:

Summer Hair protection products -

I am getting ready to soak up the sun on South Beach FL. Here is a product I am planning to try out on my trip to Miami..

Summer Protection Sun Hair Mist

LC claims it can protect and act as a screen from the sun's damaging UV rays, and it prevents hair from becoming dry under heat, leaving it smooth and tangle-free.


So, basically, it's the sun-block for your hair~~ 

Almond Milk Concentrate

LC claims it can help firming and toning your skin. It's suitable for the whole body. It's made with almond ingredients of haute Provence origin. It's basically a skin firming cream for your body.

Almond Summer Body Duo

In the same line of the previous product, this body duo set has both shower oil and he body milk. As having the same almond ingredient, this line promotes its firm and toning effect on the body and the almond smoothing scent from the products. The shower oil also contains grape vine and rosemary, which help soften and nourish your skin.

I can't wait to try these summer products. Anyone has used it already? What do you think?

healthy smooth hands in winter!

How to have healthy and smooth hands in winter?

2 essential things to add to your routine -

1. Hand scrub
2. Good hand cream

Hand Scrub
I am a big fan of princess Janet, who is a well known model from Taiwan. After she retired from modeling, she began a second career as a beauty book author.
She recently wrote on her blog a recipe for a home-made hand scrub. I thought it is interesting to share with my blog readers :)

Here it is the recipe -

2 Tbsp of oive oil, 1 Tbsp of honey and 1 Tbsp of brown sugar.
Mix them together and use it like regular scrub on your hands.

In case you want to see her blog entry on the hand scrub, here is the link -
http://tw.myblog.yahoo.com/princessjanet-emag/article?mid=-2&prev=25564&l=a&fid=54

Hand Creams


Here are some of my favorites:


Kiehl's hand cream: Ultimate Strength Hand Salve

L'Occitane hand cream: Shea Butter Hand Cream

Jurlique Rose Hand Cream 

Seacret Select Hand Recovery Cream -

Seacret is known for its hand and nail products. Naturally their hand cream is pretty awesome.  It's also known because its main ingredient is the mineral from the Dead Sea.

I know the Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Hand Cream is highly rated in many magazines and blogs. However, it is a little too thick in my opinion. If your hands are extremely dry and skin is peeling, perhaps it works for you. 

Now, go show off your pretty and healthy hands even if it's snowing crazy outside!

Body Scrub

In the winter, many QBs suffer dry and rough skin. Well, other than find the best body butter, find a good scrub to make sure you get rid of the dead skin before applying moisturizer is also very important.

A few things to keep in mind before we start "scrubbing":

1. Don't use body scrub too frequently. It actually hurts than helps. Scrub too much will get rid of the oil on the surface of our skin that actually protects the skin. So, once a week is more than enough.

2. Using sauna or steam room to heat up the body before using scrub can help soften the dead skin and give better result on the scrub.

3. Must use thick cream or even oil afterwards, especially in the winter. I highly recommend baby oil after using scrub instead of regular body lotion or cream. Baby oil is the best body oil on the market; it's good for sensitive skins, and has no chemical.

Here is a list of body scrub for your consideration:

1. Bodyshop - Spa Wisdom Africa Spa Salt Scrub (bottom left)

I have used this scrub for at least 8 years. Every time I cheated on it with other scrub... I always ended up going back to it. The salt in this product dissolves in water quickly, so you don't feel much "scrubbing" on your skin. It actually feels smooth and creamy once it touches water. But it really gets does the job done.  There will be no dead skin after using it. As I said, it has been part of my body skin care routine for the past 8+ years.

2.  L'Occitane Honey and Lemon Sugar scrub (top right) - 

Honey, Lemon and brown sugar, what a wonderful combination of ingredients!!!! My 2nd love. It's got a great smell. You don't need to use much, and try to use it when the shower is off. Rub it all over your body then wash it off to get better result.

3. Giovanni Hot Chocolate Sugar Scrub

A sensational treat for the body. It amazingly moisturizes the skin while it exploits. You can use it more often than the other scrub.

It also nicely scented... It smells like chocolate cake. LOL...

The smell doesn't stay on your skin for long after you wash it off. Well, I think it's for the better. I don't think I can resist satisfying my sweet tooth if the smell stays on for too long!

 4. Borghese Tuscan Sugar Glow -

Living up to the Borghese masks reputation, this scrub brings out the skin glow like no others! For QBs love the tanned darker skin, this scrub is perfect to give your skin the sun kissed glow.  For fair skin QBs, it is still a fantastic one to show a brighter skin tone. Rub on a little bit of baby oil afterwards will really show off the result~

5. Clarins Smoothing Body Scrub for a New Skin -

Good for dry and sensitive skin as it is as gentle as the body shop Africa Spa Salt scrub. Clarins body products are better than their facial skin products in my opinion. It is among the pricier scrub on this list. However, it is quite price value is not bad considering you don't need much to get the job done. It lasts a while in other words.

Once you have a chance to read through these products and my comments. Feel free to share yours by posting your comment. I would love to hear from you too on what you use and what else is good!