L'Occitane Almond Shower Oil

L'Occitane Almond Shower Oil, £16.50 online and in stores

This has been raved about on beauty blogs of late, so I couldn't resist seeing what all the fuss was about and made an order with L'Occitane, one of my favourite brands for bath and body (and their Angelica Hydration Cream - amazing). This is an oil that transforms upon contact with water into a gentle foam, but one that still feels oily and nourishing without leaving a residue. It is made with natural almond oil and, according to L'Occitane, "respects the hydrolipidic film" (phew). This smells absolutely gorgeous, like sweet almond with a hint of hazelnut, too (that's probably just my imagination though - it's not in the ingredients). After using this in the shower, I can smell it on my skin - which is left baby soft - for hours afterwards, and for me that is a major plus point. This is also brilliant to use in place of a shaving foam and doesn't irritate the skin at all - I find a lot of shaving foams leave my skin goosepimpled and quite red, so this would be perfect if you needed to shave your legs last minute and don't want to leave the house with bright red pins. Needless to say, because it is oil based, avoid using this if you've fake tanned. For that reason I imagine I won't be repurchasing this for summer, but will definitely keep it in my bathroom for when I haven't slathered on the Xen-Tan!

This is hugely expensive for what it is, but for me it is worth it - it is so gentle and feels so luxurious, and the lasting power of the scent is amazing. I don't think I've ever come across a shower gel/oil before that's had such staying power. You also only need a tiny little amount to cover the body, which means price per ml is actually not that bad - when you consider that a normal shower gel takes 3 or 4 pumps/squirts to cover the body, so you're using it up much faster.

Have you tried the L'Occitane Almond Shower Oil? Would it be something you'd like to try, or is it just too difficult to justify the price?