Back in the day, like WAAAAAY back, around 2007 or so, L’Occitane discontinued their straight-up Honey line of products. It was a terrible day. The Honey line was quite popular and the scent was fabulous. Now, those of us who loved that original Honey fragrance can enjoy it again in L’Occitane’s new Shea Butter Honey Whipped Body Cream.

The Shea Butter Honey Whipped Body Cream contains 10% shea butter, so it’s extra-moisturizing. The texture is probably my second favorite part (after the scent), because it’s just this mousse-like whipped cream kind of texture that just melts into my skin. LOVE IT. My skin is soft and lightly scented for a few hours after applying the cream.

Contrary to what you’d expect from the name, the cream doesn’t actually contain any honey. It just smells like honey, all warm and rich and yummy. I LOVE THIS SCENT. If you must have more, there is a matching body wash, hand cream, and pure shea tin.

As with all things L’Occitane, it’s not going to be the cheapest thing around, at $22 a jar. If you love this smell and have dry skin, however, it’s totally splurge-worthy. It’s also limited edition (WHY?!? SO SAD!), so scoop it up now if you want some.

Are we tired of Halloween collection colors yet? I’m not! Today I used another new Black Rose Minerals color, this time from the Not Another Zombie Collection. I really love the top labels to the full size jars in this collection.

Sinister Urge, the Zombie color, is a light blue with a red sheen. This is a great color! I love pale blues, especially pale blues with cool stuff going on. I used it with more blue, but it would look great with pink or purple too. The crease color is Poseidon, a teal with turquoise glitter. Poseidon is one of my favorite blue colors! I used Poseidon with a damp brush to line the upper and lower lashlines as well. The highlight color is a discontinued L’Occitane color called Mousseline d’Argent, a white color with silver sparkles.

The blush is Lascivious, from Detrivore Cosmetics. The liploss is Nars Turkish Delight.

I’ve been using L’Occitane’s bar soaps for years because I like how mild they are and I like the fragrances. The Bonne Mere line of soaps are a particular favorite of mine, so it’s really cool that L’Occitane has expanded the line to include body wash, hand wash, and lotion. I got to try out the body wash, and it’s really nice!

I tried out the Bonne Mere Gentle Body Wash in the Milk fragrance. First, the bottle is HUGE. This is going to last for a while. It’s also probably the most economical of the L’Occitane body washes, at $34 for 20 fl. oz versus $20 for 8.4 fl. oz. I still consider it a splurge-type product, but it’s a good value for sure. The milk scent is a clean, fresh scent, and should appeal to most everyone. The formula is also really nice – lots of soft lather, and it leaves your skin feeling soft and moisturized. I like the pump bottle, it’s very easy to use.

In addition to the milk scent, there is also a honey scent which I’m sure is great. I haven’t tried it, but I’ve always liked L’Occitane’s honey scents so I’m sure it’s great. The new Bonne Mere products also include a hand wash and a gentle cream. I really want to try the cream!

The new Bonne Mere Gentle Body Wash is totally splurge-worthy! I give it two thumbs up!

When I’m feeling splurge-y, I really like L’Occitane’s face care products. The Angelica line is newer, introduced last year for dehydrated skin. Basically, it’s for anyone who needs hydration but not emolliency. I’ve used the Angelica Cleansing Gel and the Angelica Exfoliating Gel. I like them both!

The Angelica Cleansing Gel is a foaming cleanser. It contains angelica extract, and some peppermint. It’s made to remove makeup and cleanse the skin without being too harsh. It has a nice lather, and does a decent job removing makeup. While it’s supposed to be good for all skin types, personally I think it’s better suited to normal/combination skin. I didn’t find it drying, but I have really oily skin. I think drier skin types might find it a bit much. A little bit goes a long way, so while it is pricey, a bottle is going to last a while.

The Angelica Exfoliating Gel is a real winner, especially if you have sensitive skin. It has a fascinating texture – it’s soft, but still exfoliating. If you like a really SCRUBBY scrub, this one isn’t it. But if you have sensitive skin that just can’t take something with really scrubby bits, you’ll love it. It really reminds me of gommage-style product, which uses the rubbing motion of your fingers combined with a softer texture to do the exfoliating work. It’s still quite effective, my skin feels really soft and smooth after using it. This product is definitely splurge-worthy.

The Angelica Cleansing Gel and Exfoliating Gel get two thumbs up!

Most of us are pretty good at using some kind of sunscreen on our faces on a daily basis. After all, using sunscreen daily is probably the easiest and most effective way to slow down the signs of aging. Remembering to put sunscreen on the delicate eye area, on your lips, and on your hands is another matter entirely. Today I wanted to mention some sunscreens specifically for those areas that I’ve tried (and some that look good, although I haven’t tried them yet).

L’Occitane’s Immortelle Brightening Hand Care SPF 15 is a really nice daily hand care product that is basically anti-aging for the hands. With regular use, your hands will look smoother and if you already have age spots, they’ll diminish. I really like the texture of this hand cream. It’s a bit splurge-y, but otherwise it’s great.

I haven’t tried this one yet, but for a more budget friendly option, Boots’ No 7 Protect and Perfect Hand Cream SPF 15 looks interesting.

I’ve revised my opinion of Lavanila’s The Healthy Lip Screen SPF 30. It’s luxe, but I really like it. It’s the texture – I like it better than other mineral-based sunscreens I’ve used. It has a much more weightless feel on the lips than other products I’ve tried.

I haven’t tried this yet, but a very budget-friendly option to check out is Nivea’s A Kiss Of Protection, SPF 30. It’s really inexpensive, and combines chemical and mineral sun protection. It’s also readily available in drugstores.

I liked this L’Oreal Revitalift Deep-Set Wrinkle Repair Eye Cream quite a bit. It’s a two-fer – it has an SPF 15 day cream and a non-SPF night cream. Considering it’s two products in one, the price is pretty reasonable. I liked that the SPF 15 cream didn’t sting or irritate my eyes. I don’t have much in the way of deep wrinkles, so I can’t comment on that, but overall I was pleased with the product.

This Clarins Sun Wrinkle Control Eye Contour Care SPF 30 is more splurge-y, but their products are always so nice. I haven’t tried it, but if I was going to a sunny place for vacation or spent all day in the sun regularly, I totally would.

What are your favorite eye, lip, or hand sunscreens?

I haven’t used my Shiro Cosmetics pretties enough lately, so today’s makeup uses Shiro! I had a doctor appointment, so I kept it on the more neutral side, with a hit of pink to keep it fun.

The inner corners are Baker’s Boy. Baker’s Boy is a shimmery light golden brown with blue sparks. It’s so pretty! It’s definitely a great neutral color. The outer corners are Mew, a pretty pink color that’s discontinued. (Awww.) The crease is There Will Be Cake, a shimmery chocolate brown with cherry sparks. This is a great brown color! The cherry sparks are fun, and it ties well with the pinky Mew. I forgot to use a highlight (derp!). The eyeliner is VS Makeup Eyeliner in Dark Chocolate.

The blush is Detrivore Cosmetics’ Indecent. Indecent is a deep vivid pink matte blush. I felt like being sparkly-ish today so I brushed a little bit of green hilite on top. The lipgloss is from L’Occitane, a discontinued pomegranate color.

Black Rose Minerals makes some of my favorite eyeshadow colors. Rosa is also such a sweetie and her customer service is great! Yesterday was a fun day (beer! food! thunderstorms!) (okay not so much the thunderstorm, lol) so I wanted to do some fun makeup. I’m still feeling very into neutrals so it’s not as fun as say, hot pink, but all the sparkly stuff going on in these colors definitely means they aren’t boring!

The lid color is my beloved Theo. Theo is a light fawn with a green duochrome and green sparkles. Lovefool, the crease color, is a chocolatey brown with a rose tinge and lots of golden sparkles. It’s SO PRETTY! I used Divinity from Persephone Minerals to highlight. The eyeliner is Victoria’s Secret Makeup eyeliner in Chocolate.

I used Detrivore Cosmetics blush in Gallows. Gallows is a deep pinkish red shade with a satin texture and shimmer. It’s so pretty! The lipstick is a brown color from L’Occitane.

Here’s a gratuitous Theo picture, just because we’re talking about his color!

We had a crazy thunderstorm here in the evening. The weather this year has been… interesting, to say the least.

L’Occitane introduced their Brightening line a few years ago, and the Brightening Essence has been one of the most popular products in the line. It’s a lightweight serum that is supposed to correct wrinkles, even skin tone and brighten the complexion. I’ve been using it pretty regularly, and the prognosis is I love it!

While I don’t have significant pigmentation issues from sun exposure, I have heard from a good friend of mine that this product works a number on darker spots and unevenness left from acne. I don’t get a lot of breakouts, but probably because of some immune system issues I have, I heal slowly from them when I do. I really hate having the marks on my face for weeks (sometimes months if they’re particularly deep) afterwards. Immortelle essential oil, one of the ingredients in the Brightening Essence is particularly good for healing skin. I wanted to try the serum to see if it would help with the acne marks.

In addition to immortelle essential oil (which also helps with collagen production), Brightening Essence contains Bellis Perennis (Daisy) extract and a Vitamin C derivative to diminish age spots and give skin a youthful glow, and Garden Nasturtium extract to increase the skin’s natural ability to reflect light. It also has wintergreen leaf to help with natural exfoliation.

The texture of the serum is light. It’s water-based, so it’s not greasy or oily. The bottle lid is a dropper, which I like, as it helps regulate how much product you use. If you’re treating significant pigmentation issues, I would use it morning and night for best results. I only use it once a day, usually at night. Be sure to wear sunscreen, or you’ll negate the brightening effects! There’s no point to using products to correct sun damage if you aren’t wearing sunscreen every day.

Right away, I noticed that the lingering redness from acne marks cleared up much faster than usual. Sweet! Overall, my skin does seem improved over time, with a smoother feel and the blemishes I do get (they are reduced) heal much faster. I also appreciate the anti-wrinkle effects of this product!

It’s a serum, so a little bit goes a long way. Used twice a day, you’ll probably use up a bottle in three months, or six months with once a day use. It’s not cheap, at $56, but I’d call it splurge-worthy since you get firming and anti-wrinkle benefits as well as the brightening effects. I definitely recommend the Brightening Essence if you’re in the market for a good anti-aging serum, that’s not full of harsh chemicals.