Thursday, October 16, 2008

New Thing I Love

Y'all know how I have the oiliest skin in the land. Indeed, it's hardly genteel to shout this from the rooftops, but if I had a dollar for every Clean and Clear oil absorbing sheet I've applied to stem the problem, I could have 3-bedroom-with-a-view on Park Avenue. Yes, the kind with a concierge. :-)

You'd think, by the age of 38, I might have moved into less-greasy mode, and I suppose I have. It's just that less greasy by my standards still means "requiring large volume of loose powder" by yours. So I am shocked, and thrilled, to report a new product (really two new products) that have radically diminished the shine while improving the glow. (Could a line actually live up to its far-flung claims???)

Meet L'Occitane Brightening Renewing Serum:

(I got this on my excursion with Yulanda in early September. At the time, I thought I was high on drugs for spending $60.00 on something to "de-age" and "brighten" me. But I'm not proud. I bought it. And it really is firmalicious!)

It worked so delightfully - not to quell grease as much as to "firm" and "redefine" my "aging skin" - that I allowed (ok, asked) my mother to buy me the Immortelle Very Precious Fluid SPF 40.

Yes, I use sunscreen 40 and when my skin looks baby soft line-free at the age of 85, you can credit the SPF (or the fact that my sebaceous glands will have been basting my visage in grease for 8 and a half decades). But I will give it all up to the block. The only problem: it costs $56.00 CDN per ounce. Wait, let me sell you on the concept.

On entering the store, L'Occitane bombards you with these pretty "French Country"-esque flowers called fleurs immortelles. As in immortal, get? The "cool factor" (they quickly advise) is that the flowers have been out of water for months but they are still, like, flowery. And not so much dried flowers as flowers that are living sans water. Oooh. Contained within these little buds is the veritable secret of youth!! (They tell you this outright in case the metaphor didn't take.)

Immortelle fluid is the basis of both the Very Precious and the Renewing Serum. In fact, some people can't take the "volatility" of both products on a daily basis. Of course, I'm not one of them. Which is why I get to spend on both. But the benefits are also two-fold. (OK, I made that part up.)

This is the fantastically weird claim which appears to be true: If you've got oily skin, the SPF40 version of the Very Precious - as opposed to the less expensive SPF 15 version - is the indicated formula.

You know how usually when you have greasy skin, the higher the block, the more like a basted turkey you look by the end of the day? And the more likely you are to breakout and feel bad about being some almost-40-year-old with zits? Well, mysteriously, the 40 works better than the 15 to mattify and calm the oil glands?!?! Now, not having tried the 15 I cannot corroborate that it wouldn't do as well, but the 40 is pure awesome on this account. So awesome I intend to continue spending $56.00 for the foreseeable future.

Has anybody out there tried this line? If yes, I'd love to know if you concur with my assessment.

13 comments:

  1. Hooray, you!! Love it when I find a product that really works for me.

    I love going into L'Occitane. I have tubes and tubes of their hand cream. I adore their almind shower oil. Le sigh! Speaking of which I am out of that and I need more. I also LOVE their travel tin of shea butter. Good stuff. ALl that said, I bought the Seventy-something dollar Very Precious Creme and it did nothing for my dry and prone to dehydration creme. My He-weasel inherits all my skin cremes that I don't like. He is presently using up Decleor cremes I didn't love.

    Everyone's skin is different and it sounds as if you and I have very different skin. But,after my disappointment with the Very Precious Creme I don't know if I would try L'Occitane's skin care again. I am presently using Patricia Wexler's Anti-aging system and Renova and I am happy with the results. But, I do love L'Occitane hand creme.:-)

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  2. Wow. I haven't given this line a whirl, but with an endorsement like that, I'll have to check it out!

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  3. I love when you do these beauty write ups. I consider beauty products scary territory, but these write ups always make me consider stepping inside some crazy beauty store, and (shock and horror) buying something. Proof word of mouth still works wonders.

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  4. Mais non but I must pop into their store near me to check them out!

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  5. Those clean n clear wipes are a miracle for me. I too have oily skin. One thing that worked for me... I got it as a tester - and it worked a marvel. Smashbox 'Photo Finish' Foundation Primer Light - oil free. I wish I'd known about it a decade ago:)
    I recommended it to a friend who is about 45, who still also has oily skin. She bought it and couldn't believe it did the trick.
    Thought I'd share:) I think you can get a sample size to try out.

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  6. I haven't tried it, but I'm interested, as I have the oiliest skin in the land. (The US. You can have Canada.)

    I love L'Occitane, but I'm so devoted to SK-II, I don't know if I can defect!

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  7. Ooh, this sounds good!! I too have shiney/oily skin yet it is also at the same time very dry and sensitive. Hmmmm, how can that be you say? I say that too sometimes. But maybe I'll give it a go...

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  8. Belette: The shea butter is fantastic! So maybe the very precious creme would also work on me?? So many ways to spend. I love that your husband gets your fancy-girl cast-offs! You have cher tastes in beauty prods, B!

    Sal: Try it!

    Jill: What a great compliment, thanks. But when you walk in the store, have something in mind or you could walk out with 500 bucks worth of new potions.

    MDM: Let me know what you think.

    Tea Lady: I must try that. Thank you for the tip!

    E: Oooh. That's quite a throw-down. Cuz I think I'm taking all of north america including Mexico :-)

    Paper Doll: I can understand this. I have red-prone skin that is also totally oily. So the stuff to strip the oil generally adds to the redness! Like one issue isn't enough.

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  9. If it wasn't for the price, I'd be all over these.

    Now that the cold is here, I don't really have to worry about my shiny face.

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  10. Wow, K-line, I need to find the products in a store near me. I, too have super oily skin.

    I've been relying on a mattifying compact from smashbox, lightly covering my humongous pores. That kind of works but I don't believe it will do the kind of magic L'Occitane products claim to perform.

    Perth is a city of devilish sunshine so it's really important to put sunblocks so this is perfect. Prohibitive prices, yes, but well worth it I think.

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  11. Raven: I hear you. Maybe try 'em out next spring.

    Songy: That Smashbox sounds like the go-to product for the greasy girls! At any rate, give this a go and tell me if it works in your crazy hot and sunny environment.

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