Gifts We Really Want - L'Occitane en Provence Hand Creams

L'Occitane en Provence - Memoirs of a Hand Cream Holiday Gift Set is the complete holiday package!

Provence, in the South of France: It always seems to be a challenge to choose just the right holiday gifts each year for our friends and family. Then there's all the boxing, wrapping and everything else. Well, not this year! On my last visit to QVC Studios, I heard about QVC Gifts. These are a special collection of holiday gifts that come in beautiful packaging, pretty much ready to set right under the tree.  These are top luxury labels from designers like Issac Mizrahi, Laura Geller, Josie Maran, WEN and Philosophy.

On L'Occitane de Provence's Set at QVC TV Studios.

L'Occitane en Provence
So I was very excited to see L'Occitane included among the QVC Gifts collection as this is a line I've been using for quite some time. In fact I keep a tube of their 20% Shea Butter and Lavender Hand Cremes in my makeup bags. L'Occitane's creams are made in France with real botanicals so you get all the healing benefits inherent to the plant. 

I keep a tin of L'Occitane's 100% Shea Butter in my first-aid kit.

  
L'Occitane's Lavender Hand Creme is so soothing and calming on long flights or car trips. My book, The New Woman's Herbal and Nutritional Guide extols the healing wonders of Lavender for burns, scrapes and irritations. It's like having a first-aid cream that also smells amazing. Just like the finest aromatherapy oils, the essential oils used in L'Occitane's hand creams are harvested from all over the world: Grasse, Turkey, Bulgaria and Morocco to name a few.

I always keep a tube of L'Occitane Lavender or Shea Butter hand cream in my travel bag.

Memoirs of a Hand Creme Set
Now that you know how GOOD L'Occitane Hand Cremes are, let me tell you about the beautiful set of 8 being offered in their Memoirs of a Hand Creme from QVC. Beautifully gift-boxed, it opens like a bed-time story book tied with a satin ribbon. Only it's a TRUE story! It tells the tale of their unrivaled 20% Shea Butter hand creme and all the others made from the most fragrant plants and flowers.

L'Occitane's Story of a Hand Creme opens to hold 8 of their full sized 30 ml hand cremes.

These are the same full 1 oz tubes sold at their NYC flagship store. I shop there so I know. This is a great value as each tube of hand creme retails in the store for about $12.  However, some of the cremes in this collection I've not seen in the store such as the: Pivoine Flora Hand Cream, Fleur Cherrie and the Rose 4 Reines Hand Cremes. You can gift the entire set or break it up into individual elegant stocking stuffers. There's plenty to go around, even if you like to save a tube or two for yourself!

The End!

L'Occitane Memoirs of a Hand Creme c/o QVC

Creme de la Creme Fashion Week Artist Secrets from Embryolisse Paris - France

Creamy!: Embryolisse BB Cream, Creme Hydrante a l'Orange & Artist Secret Compact Foundation Cream

NYC, NY Fashion Week: I have my Fashion Week NYC Pinterest Board up now so please check it out!  One thing you will be seeing next spring is a much lighter hand in makeup. The French always prize skincare over trying to cover a bad complexion with tons of makeup. This is really a good place to start, especially when you see how many lines are now including more significant SPF protection and botanical ingredients.

Makeup Your Mind
One of the best things you can do is to focus on obtaining a healthy complexion by prepping your skin from the inside out. 

1.) Include essential fatty acids in your diet each day such as: walnuts, mackerel, salmon and sardines for a complexion that's moist and glowing. 

2.) Next, invest in skincare over let's say, the latest eye shadow shade from Dior (j' adore Dior)!

3.) Become a moisturizing and primer maven. This creates a perfect base for a flawless makeup application.

4.) Become a shady character. Make sure you wear a SPF of at least 20 EVERYDAY. Even on seemingly cloudy days.

Primer, concealer and BB Cream make the perfect base for your makeup.

Shine Stoppers
One of the problems with wearing makeup in warmer weather is the appearance of oily sheen. I actually like a dewy finish but full out oiliness isn't attractive! I like the Emulsion Hydra-Mat as a primer/moisturizer as it will help blot up later oil breakouts. Another option is the Creme Hydrante a l'Orange which has natural extracts of orange which is rich in vitamin C, vitamin E, sweet almond and sesame oils.

BB Cream-y
I particularly like Embryolisse Artist Secret Complexion Illuminating Veil BB Cream because unlike some others, it has a SPF 20. It also works with just about all skin tones. It's opaque enough to brighten and correct minor flaws but nude enough to allow your natural pigmentation to shine through. It's not cakey and has mineral powders with light reflecting properties.

I'm wearing Artist Secret Compact Foundation Cream in Hale (Tanned)

Artist Secret Compact Foundation Creme
You are really going to love this for spring! This compact foundation is very creamy and comes with it's own little sponge all hidden away. A little goes a long way, especially when applied over concealer and BB Cream. It goes on very smooth, (use a moist blender sponge), but dries to a semi matte finish. Your skin looks so naturally radiant and plumped up. That's because this Artist Secret has a double moisturizing treatment of hyaluronic acid and vitamin E. On top of that, it has a SPF protection of 20. BOOM!

Spring 2014: Less is More. Artist Secret Compact Foundation Cream

 
Skincare and Makeup c/o Embryolisse USA 
Eyewear by XX2i Optics France 1 Collection
Hat: Tinsley by Pistil Designs