Some of my favorite body moisturizers over the years include Clinique Deep Comfort body butter, Biotherm Anty-Drying Body Milk, Clarins Moisture Rich Body Lotion, Nivea (yes plain little Nivea the one in the dark blue bottle), several of The Body Shops Body Butter (I love their Cocoa Butter Hand & Nail lotion) and the one that kind of comes up on top is Avène Cold Cream Body Lotion. I think I went through four bottles of that one in recent years!
For some reason I tend to be unfaithful. I like to change and I must admit that my long time relationship with Avène and Nivea is exceptional for me. I get bored easily but these have remained staples.
There's a new one on my block...
L'Occitane en Provence Shea Butter Body Lotion...
Ok I know it's not that new but for me it is, there! L'Occitane* was founded in 1976 by Olivier Baussan who's intention was to preserve the traditions of his native Provence. The company took the name L'Occitane en Provence in the late 1990s.
This lotion with it's 15% shea butter from Burkina Faso a little landlock country of West Africa, is rich, luxurious and has an amazing fragrance! I can't quite put my finger on it but it has a flowery and powdery smell that reminds me of products my mother used when I was a child. In other words, it's very comforting. Maybe it's the smell that surrounds you when you step into a lovely ancient French house on the outskirts of Nice or Arles in the south of France.
Rich but non greasy, just the way I like a body moisturizer, it penetrates quickly and keeps my skin soft a good twelve hours, even my elbows! If you have very dry skin you may want to try the Shea Ultra Rich Body Cream which comes in a jar. I only tried that on in store but it did seem extra moisturizing. The Shea Butter Body Lotion is a little on the pricey side at $34.00 for 250 ml, especially compared to Avène which is the same price but for 400 ml.
L'Occitane en Provence Shea Butter Body Lotion may not be the most moisturizing body lotion on the market, that is of course if you have extra dry skin, but it does an excellent job for my winter skin and just the fragrance alone makes it totally worth it.
Shower, this lotion and flannel pj's = super comfy fuzzy feeling inside.
Have you tried this body lotion or any of the L'Occitane en Provence offerings?
Reviews:
Makeup Alley: 3.8 / 5 lippies for 50 reviews.
Beauté-test: 4 / 5 stars for 88 reviews.
Ingredients (from Sephora website):
-Shea Butter (15%): Protects, nourishes, and moisturizes the skin.
-Extra Pure Apricot Oil: Regenerates and nourishes with vitamins A, B, and C.
-Honey and Coconut Oil: Moisturize and soften.
Water*, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter*, Glycerin*, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride*, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Oil*, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Dimethicone, Prunus Armeniaca (Apricot) Kernel Oil, Cetearyl Alcohol*, Glyceryl Stearate*, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil*, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Fruit Extract*, Mel Extract/Honey Extract*, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Tocopherol*, Ethylhexylglycerin, Fragrance, Xanthan Gum, Propylene Glycol, Sorbitan Isostearate*, Polysorbate 60*, Chlorphenesin, Peg-100 Stearate, Phenoxyethanol, Ceteareth-33, Benzyl Alcohol, Benzyl Benzoate, Hydroxyisohexyl 3-Cyclohexene Carboxaldehyde, Linalool, Citronellol*, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Coumarin, Hexyl Cinnamal, Limonene*, Geraniol.
*Natural origin ingredients.
*Occitane to put it simply, is a female native/resident of the pays d'Oc. Its language, originating from the Middle Ages is still spoken today in southern parts of Spain, France, Monaco and Italy. Although considered as a dialect by some (it would seem to be the fusion of several dialects), others firmly believe it's a language and that, even if there are different ways to speak it. Occitan is often synonym to Provençal which in turn originates from Latin Provincia likely of Romain origin.
