L'Occitane Almond Supple Skin Oil

When I first came across L'Occitane's Almond Supple Skin Oil I was a little hesitant to try out another body oil because of my less than inspiring experience with NARS Body Glow. I don't like feeling like a giant oil slick or looking like I'm about to enter into a body building contest. But after trying out a little in the store I liked the feeling and I loved the smell of the oil, so I was willing to try it out. It's part of their new Almond collection that offers a full range of different firming, toning and softening body products.

As everyone knows, the best time to try a new moisturizer is right after the shower, so after taking a nice, hot relaxing shower I broke out the almond oil. I always wonder what companies are thinking about when they design packaging, because this oil's isn't the greatest. It has this tiny pump that is very awkward to pump and get all of the product onto your hands without letting it drip down the side of the bottle. And who thought to make the bottle glass? In my opinion, this was not the best decision - glass bottle meets oily hands, equals big mess.

Once I got past the bottle difficulties, I absolutely fell in love with the oil. It goes on very smoothly, and a little goes a long way. Let's be clear here, putting oil on the skin is different from using a lotion, it's a little bit messier. It does leave your skin with a little bit of an oily top coat, but it eventually gets absorbed by the skin. This is different than lotions because the skin absorbs water based lotion more quickly, which means the skin loses moisture more rapidly, as opposed to the oil which gets absorbed slower but moisturizes for much longer. Even the next day my skin felt incredibly supple and smooth. It's because the oil contains three essential oils including peppermint, palmarosa, and immortelle which "restore and protect the skin's firming support tissue, as they fight against skin slackening and loss of elasticity." It penetrates deep into the skin to repair and nourish the skin, and it also can prevent stretch marks from occurring.

The smell of oil is also fantastic, a light and sweet, slightly tropical scent that lingers even when the oil is absorbed. I put the oil on right before I went to bed, and in the morning I was amazed with how wonderful my skin felt. It's a little pricey ($32US for a 3.4 fl.oz bottle), but it's one of those things that you can use a couple of times a week, as a treatment and then it's totally worth it. If you would like to read more about the Almond Supple Skin Oil, or to see more of the Almond collection, visit L'Occitane.