L'Occitane Limited Edition Almond Smooth Hands

Il y a un parfum de lavande dans l'air ... il fait du soleil ... le ciel est bleu et beau ... où je suis?  Mais je suis en Provence, bien sûr!

Yes, if the French didn't tip you off then the above photo did: this weekend I stopped in my local L'Occitane shop.  It was quite a pleasurable experience - the store assistant was very knowledgeable about the products and L'Occitane's commitment to fair trade and sustainability, and I had the chance to experience their new face and body scrub!  (I was a bit hesitant at first, but when the assistant clarified that I didn't need to try the face scrub on my face, I jumped right in!)

After my sampling of the body scrub, the store assistant offered a lotion from their Almond range for me to try.  Unsurprisingly, of course, it just so happens that said lotion is currently available in the 30ml/1oz size hand cream format.  It is a limited edition and when asked if it would be extended into the full Almond range, the shop assistant said that it wouldn't.  She informed that their hand cream limited editions change frequently so once this variant is gone we'll have to keep our eyes out for the next one!

The store assistant did a good job and in the end I decided to purchase the Limited Edition Amande Mains de Velours [Almond Smooth Hands].  Not only does it 'moisturize and beautify' the skin, but it supposedly leaves it smelling of the delicate notes of almond tree flowers.  Well, let's see.

From the first whiff only strongly powdery notes are discernible; it's very reminiscent of J&J baby powder.  I almost feel like I am changing a diaper it's that intense.

In use the fragrance's violet toned floral notes present themselves and weave together skillfully with the powdery aromas.  It is indeed quite delicate and very clean, but sadly the scent does not have the sweet honey smell of an almond blossom.  Tant pis!

Almond Smooth Hands has a quite decent scent and as long as you don't know what a real almond blossom smells like you'll probably enjoy this product!

So, will you be rushing out to purchase Almond Smooth Hands, or is there another nicely fragranced hand cream you prefer?  Make sure to leave a comment!