Review: L'Occitane Almond Shower Scrub

I've had my eye on this scrub for so long and I'm really glad that I wasn't disappointed after I've purchased it because I've had high hopes. The packaging is beautiful. L'Occitane manages to amp up even the most basic, plastic tube and breathe in some of the Provense in it. Besides being aesthetically pleasing to the eye, I also find it very handy. The way you open it is probably the best solution for similarly packaged products. The twist off/ on cap is extremely useful and prevents accidental spilling of the product. Since the tube is made of clear plastic, you can see that the texture is a bit thinner than you'd expect from a scrub. You also see the pretty effect all the flakes of crushed almond shells make. You get 200ml of product which is pretty much standard or eventually 50ml short when compared to some other scrubs but what I can say in its defense is that this is no ordinary scrub.

Vec neko vrijeme sam “bacila oko” na ovaj piling i strasno mi je drago sto se nisam razocarala nakon kupovine jer sam mnogo ocekivala (bome mi ni zbog cijene od 28KM nije bilo svejedno). Pakovanje je prelijepo. L'Occitane nekako uspije da uljepsa i najjednostavniju plasticnu tubu i udahne djelic Provanse u nju. Pored toga sto je oku ugodno takodjer je i jako prakticno. Nacin otvaranja je vjerovatno najbolja solucija za sve proizvode slicnog pakovanja. Cep na polu-odvrtanje (twist off/ on) pomaze u doziranju i smanjuje mogucnost da vam se proizvod izlije. Posto je tuba napravljena od prozirne plastike, mozete vidjeti da je tekstura nesto rijedja nego sto bi ocekivali od pilinga. Takodjer je vidljiv i lijepi efekat koji prave ljuspice bademove ljuske u narandzastim i smedjim tonovima. Dobijete 200ml proizvoda sto je neka standardna kolicina ili eventualno 50ml manje u odnosu na neke druge pilinge. Ono cime mu mogu stati u odbranu jeste da ovo zaista nije neki obicni piling.

You find the description, name and logo of the brand at the front and the ingredient list along with some additional info at the back. What I want to talk about is the smell. Since this shower scrub is part of the Almond range, I expected it to have the same delicious, mouthwatering scent as the body concentrate. I was amped up so much with expecting it to hit my nostrils that I've experienced a small shock when I have actually sniffed it. It doesn't smell like the body milk concentrate, it smells exactly like L'Occitane Almond Beautiful Shape cellulite cream. I must set the record straight – this isn't a scent anyone on Earth could call unappealing. It's absolutely appealing and attractive because it smells of spring, very light and fresh. Pretty feminine and charming aroma in which I have fallen in love with again but for all those who expect it to smell like the body concentrate – do have in mind that it doesn't. I am guessing that the delicious paste (the thick and creamy scrub from the Almond range) smells like the concentrate. It seems that only the pricy part of the Almond range is awarded with the specific and very special scent of the body concentrate.

Opis proizvoda i njegov naziv te logo brenda se nalaze sprijeda dok je lista sastojaka uz dodatne informacije na poledjini. Ono o cemu zelim malo raspraviti je miris. Posto je piling dio kolekcije Badem, ocekivala sam da ce biti istog slasnog mirisa od kojeg tece voda na usta, mirisa koji krasi Badem mlijecni koncentrat za tijelo. Toliko sam bila uzbudjena ocekivajuci da ce me zapahnuti taj krasni miris da sam se malo sokirala kada sam ga ustvari pomirisala. Uopste ne mirise na mlijecni koncentrat vec na L'Occitane Almond Beautiful Shape anticelulitnu kremu. Moram odmah razjasniti da pod ovim ne zelim reci da sam razocarana mirisom niti da mi se ne dopada. Za miris ovog pilinga mislim da se nece nitko naci da kaze kako nije prijatan i lijep. Iznimno je privlacan jer mi mirise na proljece, veoma lagano i svjeze. Prilicno je zenstvena i sarmantna aroma u koju sam se iznova zaljubila ali zelim svima koji eventualno ocekuju onaj drugi miris poruciti da to nije to. Pretpostavljam da slasna pasta (onaj gusti, kremasti piling iz linije Badem) dijeli mirisnu notu sa koncentratom. Izgleda da je taj specificni miris rezervisan samo za skuplje komade kolekcije Badem.

Nevermind my subjective expectations of the smell, the performance of this scrub is amazing. As I've mentioned before, it's a little runny so it doesn't fall in the thick, creamy category of scrubs and neither it's packed with dense or sharp granules. You'd think that it would be too mild and not to scrub the skin at all but it does a terrific job at exfoliating. It also lathers so you can actually use it as a shower gel and a scrub, both in one, when in hurry. It doesn't feel rough or grainy but it scrubs away all the accumulated dead skin so your body feels soft and buttery upon toweling. I've instantly noticed how my skin felt supple for the first time in months the first time I've used it. It's a very smooth consistency, a bit like jelly before you lather it up. But it gives such a decent lather and can be even used for shaving. I am positive that the moisturizing properties are due to the content of precious almond oil.

Ako zanemarimo moje subjektivno ocekivanje mirisa, performanse ovog pilinga su izvrsne. Kao sto sam ranije spomenula, nesto je rijedje teksture tako da ne spada u guste, kremaste pilinge niti u one sa gusto ubacenim ili ostrim granulama. Po ovome bi pomislili da ce ovaj piling biti previse blag te da nece pruziti dostatnu eksfolijaciju ali on bas to cini. I lijepo pjeni tako da ga mozete ako ste u zurbi koristiti i kao gel za tusiranje i kao piling. Nije grub na kozi, ne sadrzi zrnca koja jako grebu kozu niti ce se koza zacrveniti ali je dovoljno jak da skine svu mrtvu kozu i koza je puterasto mekana sto cete primjetiti dok se budete posusivali peskirom. Ja sam trenutacno zamijetila kako mi je koza mekana prvi put nakon toliko mjeseci vec nakon prve upotrebe. Dosta je gladak, poput zelea dok se ne zapjeni. Jako dobro pjeni i dovoljno je dobar cak i za brijanje. Sigurna sam da mu hidratantna svojstva poticu od bademovog ulja kojeg sadrzi.

My skin hasn't felt, not even once, that horrid tightening feeling and I'm always in doubt – should I or shouldn't I use a body moisturizer afterwards? It's that moisturizing but I usually do slather some light body lotion all over. The crushed almond shell makes relatively small exfoliating particles but the fact that they are made of hard shell (not too hard though, this will not irritate the skin) makes them firm enough to exfoliate. I definitely feel them scrubbing away. This shower scrub leaves skin delicately scented and it's just lovely. One of the most, if not the most important part, is that it won't strip the skin with harsh chemicals yet it reveals softly radiant skin underneath. If it didn't contain SLS it would be perfect but other ingredients are of the natural origin. Yves Rocher also nurtures the same approach to beauty yet they use SLS too. I find that products from both of these French beauty brands dry out my skin so I don't hold it againste them too much.

Niti jednom nisam osjetila zatezanje koze sto prezirem kada osjetim nakon tusiranja (iako mi koza nije suha) te sam uvijek u dvoumici da li nanijeti losion za tijelo ili ne? Najcesce se namazem nekom laganom kremom ili losionom iako bih komotno mogla proci i bez toga. Smrvljena ljuska badema cini relativno sitne eksfolirajuce cestice ali bas cinjenica da su od cvrste (ne pretvrde) ljuske ih cini dovoljno efektnim da skinu sve sto trebaju. Koza je poslije koristenja lijepo i decentno mirisna. Jedna od najbitnijih, ako ne i najbitnija stvar, jeste da ovaj piling nece hemijskim komponentama skinuti kozi zastitni sloj nego samo otkriti svjezu i zdravu kozu. Da nema SLS u sastavu bio bi apsolutno savrsen ali su ostali sastojci prirodnog porijekla. Yves Rocher takodjer njeguje prirodan pristup njezi i ljepoti pa i njihovi proizvodi sadrze SLS. Meni proizvodi oba francuska beauty brenda ne isusuju kozu tako da im SLS u sastavu necu mnogo zamjeriti.