Review: L’Occitane Aromacholgie Collection

I love aromatherapy. The simplicity of altering your mood with scents just appeals to me. I think it’s also a little nostalgic for me – I remember when aromatherapy was ‘in’ in the 90s and my sister and I would go around to all of our local candle shops, collecting essential oils and candles. It seems that L’Occitane has also wanted to go back to basics and use the gorgeous pure essential oils they became famous for in their new collection. After all, Provence France is known for it’s flower crops, so there’s lots of delicious scented oils to be distilled. Here is what L’Occitane says about it’s Aromacholgie collection:

Since 1976 when rosemary was first distilled by our founder, Olivier Baussan, essential oils lie at the heart of L’OCCITANE research which creates formulas that combine their active ingredients with the benefits of their scents. Our body care rituals contain Mediterranean essential oils and feature 100% natural scents which help to soothe or to revitalise body and mind. Each of our hair care ranges contain a blend of five essentials oils brought together to act in perfect synergy to meet the needs of different hair types.

The collection is made up of products designed to relax your body and mind (Aromacholgie Relaxing), to energise (Aromachologie Revitalising) and a whole variety of hair care products. I don’t have the whole collection (it’s pretty large!) but I have bought a selection of products from the Relaxing variety to the Revitalising.

I haven’t been sleeping the best lately. I don’t have insomnia per se, but I’m so exhausted by the end of most days that I can’t fall asleep very quickly (you know the feeling?). It sux. So I was really really *hoping* and praying that L’Occitane’s Relaxing line of products would work their magic on me.

First up are the really cute and rustic looking Aromachologie Relaxing Perfumed Sachets. Filled with dried lavender and scented beads (only naturally scented with lavender, bergamot, sweet orange and geranium essential oils) these sachets are meant to naturally relax and soothe your mind. They are quite subtle in scent (nothing overly powerful or intense) with lavender being the most noticeable scent (though it is lightly sweet, so it isn’t a ‘dull’  and heavy or suffocating scent). L’Occitane recommends placing the sachets on your bedside table. I would recommend that you keep them in-between your bedsheets or pillows while you are out and about, so that your bed linen becomes lightly fragranced. As my dogs would automatically steal these sachets and devour them, I actually keep them in my cupboard. Keeping them in a confined space intensifies the subtle scent. If I kept them out in the open, I have a feeling the scent would become a little to diffused and un-noticeable, so this works for me a little more. I love that they are cloth/linen bags and work so well in cupboards and drawers. They come in sets of twos for $20, so I have a feeling I will be getting a few more of these.  They aren’t an essential product to have, but they enhance your bedroom space and home is all about the little touches right?

Next up is one of the products I was most excited about, the Relaxing Essential Oil Blend. A blend of 100% pure essential oils (made up of lavender, bergamot and orange organic essential oils). The scent is very similar to the Relaxing Perfumed Sachets however as it is concentrated, the scent is obviously more intense. You shouldn’t use the essential oil blend undiluted – however there is a variety of ways you can use it. You can either add about 15 drops of the essential oil blend into a warm bath for a relaxing treat (which isn’t to oily) or make your own scented body oil by adding a few drops of the blend into a carrier oil (e.g. jojoba or argan oil etc.). My favourite way to use it, is in an oil burner. I add about 5 drops into some water and then relax while the oil evaporates, filling the room with a gorgeous soothing scent. The sweet lavender scent is just perfect.

Pure essential oils always come in little bottles, as you only need a few drops per use. The relaxing Essential Oil Blend comes with 10ml of oil and costs $25. I light my oil burner as soon as I get home from work and it helps me to unwind slowly throughout the evening. I find this really helps me to fall asleep quicker once it is bedtime.

The other product I had super high hopes for was the Relaxing Pillow Mist. You can use this mist over your pillows and bedding right before going to bed or as a room spray. The spray is also made up of the same essential oil blend found in the other relaxing products – lavender, bergamot, mandarin, sweet orange and geranium, however, this blend is a little more woody and has some more depth to it. As it is supposed to induce you to fall asleep, I think it makes sense that it is a little more ‘heavy’. It isn’t my favourite scent out of all the products but I actually think it works. It’s woody and specific in scent, but I wouldn’t say that it is offensive or to strange. Every time I have used it, I have fallen asleep quicker and haven’t tossed and turned as much as I usually do.

I love that the pillow mist comes in a heavy glass bottle. It’s very classic and feels luxurious also. You get 100ml of product for $30. I would expect that this bottle will last me a long time as you don’t need to spray a lot of the scent for it to be effective (especially since it is quite unique and concentrated). If I had to recommend only one product from the range to someone who was having trouble sleeping – this product would be it. It’s the first pillow mist I have tried and I’m so surprised at how well it works. I will also mention that my dogs hate the smell of this pillow mist, but that’s a bonus for me as it means that when they are sleeping in my room, they don’t hog the pillows haha excellent!

Lastly, I wanted to try the Revitalising Roll-On oil. Because I don’t usually sleep very well, mornings are hard. Oh so hard lol Anything to wake me up and feel more energised is always welcome.

I’ve also noticed that uplifting scents can help soothe my headaches and get me through the work day if I have no choice but to keep going. The blend of uplifting essential oils includes lemon peel, grapefruit, rosemary, orange and spearmint oil. The notes most noticeable to me is the orange oil and the spearmint. The combination of the citrus oils and the spearmint is so uplifting and balances really well. I will say this though, don’t expect to get an idea of the roll-on’s scent by sniffing the roller ball. All you get when doing that is the scent of alcohol. Same goes for when you first apply the scent to your wrists. Let the oil sit on top of your skin for a few second (5 to 6 seconds or so). If you smell it immediately after application, you will get a strong scent of alcohol. I assume that after a few seconds of sitting on your warm skin the alcohol evaporates, leaving the essential oils behind. It is a little bothersome as when I have a headache, if I get a whiff of alcohol I feel immediately nauseous. Luckily, I can avoid this as long as I know to hold off from smelling the oil for that few seconds. Once the essential oils do come through, it is uplifting and really pleasant.  The 10ml roll on will set you back $25. It’s also made from glass which is a nice touch.

I’m very happy with my new buys and especially happy with the essential oil blend and pillow mist. I know that L’Occitane also recommends that you incorporate the Relaxing Massage Oil into your nightly routine, to feel and see the full effect of it’s oils relaxing properties but at this point I don’t have a nightly routine down pat, but I think I’m on the right path. As I’m exhausted by the end of the day, I don’t want my nightly to do list to get large either.

If only we could all sleep as soundly as a Beagle….

Do you have a nightly routine down pat for unwinding? Any tricks or tips for getting a good nights sleep despite stress? L’Occitane has so many products in it’s Aromachologie range, which you can check out here.

Until next time beauties,

Beauty Bee~

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