===L'Occitane Verbena Shower Gel===

I'm really lucky in that for Christmas's and Birthdays my family treat me to high end, luxurious bathing products, knowing full well that I couldn't normally afford to treat myself. This Christmas has been no exception. I know it was just over a week ago, but I've been using this daily since; an==L'OCCITANE VERBENA SHOWER GEL==
d my gift of L'Occitane Verbena shower gel is the purpose of my review.

===L'Occitane===

The L'Occitane story begins in 1976, in France. Its aim is to respect man and the environment and with this in mind, it supports three main causes. The first being, literacy and support for women in developing countries. The second is to fight against blindness and assist the visually impaired (braille labelling was introduced in 1997). Finally, supporting the preservation of traditional cultivations and harvesting methods.

With this in mind, L'Occitane uses high quality, traceable ingredients, and have never used animal products, excepting beehive products, honey being the main one. The ingredients are 100% natural and certified organic products. A good thing to know is that 78% of their products are paraben free (they are working on the rest).

===The Product===

I received a large 500ml bottle of this shower gel, which retails at approximately £26.00. I received mine in part of a gift set though, and I see that at the moment the whole set (the winter verbena collection) is on sale on the L'Occitane website for £27.00 rather than the full R.R.P of £52.50; which makes it a huge saving in my eyes, and makes it a much more affordable luxury.

The Bottle is clear, with labels down the sides oddly enough. These labels are printed on a brown paper which, although they could look cheap and nasty, still manage to look quite elegant. An embossed verbena leaf shape, added to the front and reverse of the bottle (which is recyclable plastic by the way) completes the look.

The contents are dispensed via the use of a pump, which when you receive it, is locked into place to avoid spillages. To unlock, you need to twist the pump dispenser anti-clockwise, this feels rather unnatural, but it's easy to do. I would have liked it if the pump was spring loaded like on some manufacturers, as there was no way for me to tell when I had unlocked the pump, and was still twisting a couple of minutes later. Hey ho.

When you activate the pump (finally), you are greeted with a golden gel. This is quite viscous and the perfect consistency for a shower gel, not too jelly like, and neither is it so liquid that it runs through the holes in your sponge or shower puff.

The fragrance is to die for if you love lemon or citrus fragranced products as I do. It's a heady mixture of lemons, a green earthy tone, and sherbet; all mixed in to one. It's light, fresh and citrussy, and totally revitalising and awakening. It will put a spring into your step that's for sure.

Application is easy - just do what you normally do when you have a shower. I always use one of those net shower puffs, as I like to think that not only does it help produce a better lather, it had the dual purpose of exfoliating my skin at the same time.

With all other L'Occitane products foam up beautifully, and are creamy and rich; and utterly luxurious. I've been quite disappointed with this shower gel in this respect. While it lathers up adequately, that's all it is - adequate. It bubbles up nicely, but it isn't effortless, and it's weak, barely there, and nondescript.

===After Showering===

My skin is left luxuriously scented, soft and conditioned. I do not suffer with dry skin most of the year, but in the winter months the skin on my knees, elbows, and shins to a slight degree. Sometimes I apply body lotions, and body creams for moisturisation, but mostly for the purpose of layering scents to make them last longer; and I've felt absolutely no need to apply either after my showering experience in the last week. The scent lingers both on my skin, and in my bathroom for hours. Although it's not a strong fragrance it's sweet and delicious. If you are a fan of sweet, and citrussy perfumes or even florals, the scent of this wouldn't be at odds too much with whatever scent you prefer. I might be preferable to let the scent die down for a while before applying your perfume/aftershave if you find them waging a war amongst each other.

I say aftershave because I can't see why a gentleman wouldn't like to use this either. It's clean, fresh, and unisex with woody, earthy tones. It's sweetness 'might' put some men off, but that's the only thing that they could find offensive.

===Positives===

* Amazing fragrance
* Looks luxurious in the bathroom
* Unisex

===Disadvantages===

* Price
* Lack of luxurious lather
* There is a better/cheaper alternative when you purchase the Sweet Lemon shower gel from The Body Shop


===Overall===

I love this product. I love all things lemon/citrus. However, there is one small downfall, despite the price, I do think the only thing letting this product down is it's lack of foam and luxurious lather. I do believe I can get a better showering experience at a lower price, buy purchasing the lemon shower gel sold by The Body Shop. The both companies have the same ethos regarding recycling, and caring for people and the environment; it's just that the price per ml, and the better bubbles from The Body Shop shower gel wins hands down every time; therefore I can only award this shower gel three stars.


Thanks for reading my review, which may also be posted on other sites.