L’Occitane Arlesienne

November seems a strange time to launch such a spring-like collection, but L’Occitane Arlesienne is hitting stores round about now. I’d describe it as a sparkly floral – there was a little hole in the envelope that these pieces arrived in which meant I could smell it before I opened it and I was smiling at the fragrance. I think that’s all a fragrance has to do, really. Make you smile.

The release is a bit scary – it’s gone very French in the way that it describes the scent as being inspired by a “woman who is the silent, markedly absent heroine of a play by Dudet in three acts” – I’m sorry? What? When we’ve all finished smoking stuff we shouldn’t, the fragrance boils down to a rose and violet infused floral, a little bit powdery, a lot pretty and very fresh for spring. The top notes of saffron give L’Occitane Arlesienne a bit of an edge over more standard florals – if you spot it in store, definitely have a spritz because I think it’s one of their loveliest fragrances yet. The range is supposed to represent the Arles woman from the town of the same name in the South of France. That’s probably a bit of a stretch for anyone living outside of France – it might as well be a fragrant representation of the Nottingham woman for all that this will resonate.

The product line up is interesting, too and includes a hair mist (which I am getting more and more into), a solid fragrance, a body oil and perfumed candle amongst the more usual items such as hand cream and body oil.

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L’Occitane Arlesienne seems higher in price point – the candle (which is small) is £24 and the EDT is £39, but at the other end of the scale, the soap is £4.50 and the sold fragrance is £8.

If you’re in the mood for Christmas shopping, I’ve just been on the L’Occitane website – lots of reductions on the site. However, do shop around – I noticed a Verbena Hand Duo for £32 and the exact same product, same weight etc, in a different box on the John Lewis website for £23.40 and the very same thing again for £26 on the Feel Unique site which is a bit naughty. I think the consumer needs a bit of consistency here – it’s really not fair to make customers work this hard.