L’Occitane Signature 2018 Advent Calendar

The L’Occitane Signature Advent Calendar is the smaller of two calendars that were released by L’Occitane en Provence for 2018. The larger size is the L’Occitane Luxury Advent Calendar that can be purchased for $124.00. L’Occitane is a luxe brand based in France that specializes in skincare, bath & body products, and fragrances. The Signature advent calendar is a perfect introduction to the company with 24 doors containing miniatures of their best products. The items are perfect for travel, using as stocking stuffers, or even to sit out for your out-of-town guests this holiday season!

The Cost:  $59.00

The Homespun Chics paid for this product. All opinions are 100% our own. 

The calendar comes folded in half and tied on top with beautiful gold and yellow ribbons. Once untied, the advent calendar lays flat and has two shoulder pieces that pop out. You can connect the shoulder pieces to the bottom half of the calendar to help prop it up and create a lovely display!

This year’s holiday collection was designed for L’Occitane by Castelbajac Paris. I love the vivid, primary colors and whimsical illustrations. Though there are quite a few things going on, it was fun to search for and locate each day’s door.

Day #1 – L’Occitane Shea Body Shower Oil

Each door opened easily and all 24 days’ products were nestled in their proper places, where they should be. I was floored by the thoughtful designs that literally popped up as each door was opened. Even the inside of the calendar was printed with adorable illustrations. The entire calendar filled my house with all the good smells of luxury bath products (even before I started opening the doors!)

*** SPOILER ALERT! ***

BELOW:  I will be showing all products included in the 2018 L’Occitane Signature Advent Calendar! 

😉

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There were seven different sample shower products in the calendar, including:

• Shea Body Shower Oil
• Almond Shower Oil
• Aromachologie Intensive Repair Shampoo
• Aromachologie Intensive Repair Conditioner
• Verbena Shower Gel
• Cherry Blossom Shower Gel
• Shea Butter Ultra Rich Shower Cream

 

So far, I have tried the shampoo & conditioner as well as the Cherry Blossom shower gel. The shampoo and conditioner unfortunately did not work well with my long, thick hair but I did enjoy smelling the essential oils while washing my hair. My hair was also noticeably softer after use, however I need a lot of assistance detangling my hair and there just wasn’t enough silky conditioning going on to control my hair. The Cherry Blossom shower gel smells amazing and left my body feeling smooth and clean. LOVED this. I’m most excited to try the shower oils and shower cream next!

Also included were three bar soaps and a little bath sugar cube:

• Almond Delicious Soap
• Soap with Verbena Leaves
• Shea Butter Extra-Gentle Soap
• Aromachologie Revitalizing Sugar Cube

 

I’m gifting these soaps and sugar cube to my mom since she loves bar soaps and will (happily) use them! She is most excited for the soap with verbena leaves. That bar is actually shaped like a little leaf too, how cute!

Next were a few lotions and specialty creams:

• Immortelle Precious Cream
• Shea Light Comforting Cream
• Almond Milk Concentrate
• Cherry Blossom Shimmering Lotion
• Verbena Body Lotion
• Shea Butter Ultra Rich Body Lotion

 

I have not tried any of these yet and have promised mom I would split these with her so we can both enjoy them! I was blown away by the price of the Immortelle Precious Cream on L’Occitane’s website ($64 for 1.7 oz!!!) I’m eager to see what mom thinks of this expensive face cream!

My favorite products are these delectable hand and foot creams:

• Shea Butter Foot Cream
• Verbena Cooling Hand Cream Gel
• Almond Delicious Hands
• Shea Butter Hand Cream
• Cherry Blossom Hand Cream

 

Mom has been using the Shea Butter Foot Cream over the last several days and says it’s heavenly! All of the L’Occitane creams we have tried go on so smoothly and leave your hands and feet feeling hydrated and smooth without feeling greasy at all! My favorite hand creams are definitely the Almond and Cherry Blossom scents. I will be purchasing full-size versions of these once my advent calendar stash is gone.

Last but not least, we received a lip balm and perfume:

• Shea Butter Ultra Rich Lip Balm
• Verbena Eau de Toilette

 

I have been using this lip balm every day since I opened this advent calendar. It has been incredibly cold and dry in the mountains and the L’Occitane Shea Butter lip balm has been a total lip-saver! Like the rest of the products I’ve tried so far, the lip balm doesn’t feel greasy or sticky yet hydrates instantly upon contact. I’m in love. The full-size lip balm is $12 and it is already added it to my Christmas wish list. 🙂 The Verbena perfume is in a beautiful little glass bottle and smells really lovely, however it just doesn’t work with my pheromones. I am going to give all the Verbena lovelies to my mom to try out!

Final Thoughts

I had a blast opening up each day’s door. This was such a great calendar and I loved the thoughtfulness that went into the design and layout. Normally I think I would be disappointed with receiving sample sizes however I completely understand with a luxury brand. Full size L’Occitane products can cost as much or more than the price of the Signature Advent Calendar by themselves. 

I love L’Occitane and am really having fun trying all of these products with mom. I have a better understanding of what works for my skin and am looking forward to our next trip to Charlotte, NC… because I totally searched the interwebs and found a L’Occitane boutique store there. Yup, it’s going to be dangerous. 

At the time of this post, you can still order a L’Occitane Signature 2018 Advent Calendar to arrive before Dec 1. It is available from L’Occitane directly for $59.00 with free shipping!!

What do you all think of this calendar? Love it or leave it?

🙂