L'Occitane Friends & Family 2009 - Save 25% through Sunday!

Happy Friday everyone! I'm getting caught up on my discount/F&F posts here on ABS as there are a bunch of great deals currently going on - 30% off over at Urban Decay, 20% off at Sephora, and now 25% off al L'Occitane! I'm a big fan of several of their skincare products and I'll definitely be taking this opportunity to check out a lipbalm or two as I've heard that theirs are up there with the best. Happy shopping!
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L'Occitane Friends & Family: Save 25% through 6/14/09!

Happy Thursday everybody! Once we're through with today we'll only have one more day until it's the weekend again--thank goodness! I don't know about you, but my week has been a series of disasters and I cannot wait for it to be over.

To kick off my little "its almost but not quite the weekend" celebration I'm sharing L'Occitane's F&F family event with you! Running today (6/11) through 6/14, you can save 25% on all your purchases by entering code: FNF25 at checkout when shopping online, or by printing and filling out the form below to take advantage of the savings in stores.

Click to Enlarge and Print

What will you be picking up with the discount?

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L'Occitane Friends and Family 2008: Save 25%

Save 25% on all your L'Occitane purchases from 11/13/08 through 11/16/08 both online and in stores! Use CODE: FNF25 for 25% off your entire purchase, and print out the L'Occitane F&F e-mail to use the discount in stores.

Don't have the e-mail? Don't fret my pets! Just e-mail me (my e-mail address is in the sidebar) and I'll be happy to forward it onto you!
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L'Occitane Almond Apple Velvet Concentrate: Review

L'Occitane Apple Almond Velvet Concentrate ($40)

Digital Angel requested that I review from L'Occitane skincare items, and of course I was only too happy to oblige--sorry it took me so long though! And for those of you who have review/tutorial requests pending, I promise I haven't forgotten and that they'll be up soon as well!

Before I start touting all of the lovely things that I like about L'Occitane's Apple Almond Velvet Concentrate, one gripe. I HATE the jar!! Hate hate hate! I generally don't have too big an issue with moisturizers and creams that come in jar form (although of course I prefer a nice sanitary pump) because at least they come with a cleanable spatula for scooping, plus the jars themselves are regularly shaped, but this jar happens to be narrower at the mouth than it is at the bottom, making for aggravation for Jen every time I decide to use it! Plus it didn't even come with a little spoon! =X Okay mini rant over! =)

The Almond Apple Velvet Concetrate claims to reduce pore size, improve skin texture, tighten pores, and enhance skin elasticity--all within a four week timeframe. I'll conceded that it does help to improve the appearance of the skin and improve skin texture somewhat, but I haven't seen much in the way of pore-size reduction. But honestly that was a little too much to expect, since we all know it's virtually impossible to shrink your pores!

I'd initially purchased this cream expecting it to leave the sort of siliconey/matte feeling on my skin that products like Estee Lauder Idealist did, because it had the word "velvet" in the name. Instead it leaves a pleasantly smooth, soft, hydrated feeling to my complexion that I don't find sticky or bothersome--great both for summer and winter. It smells pretty heavily of vanilla/almond to me (I'll admit I don't love the fragrance), and has a medium consistency, between that of a regular moisturizer and a thicker cream. Sort of like slightly thickened up Elmer's glue!

I tend to have sensitive/easily irritated skin and this hasn't caused any flare-ups or breakouts. I will say that as a moisturizer it's pretty rich, but as a cream it's not rich enough. Meaning on those crazy winter days when my skin is parched and dying for heavy duty moisture, this probably won't cut it, but it's great for every other occasion.

Honestly I don't use this that much thanks to the annoying jar that it comes in, and perhaps if I did use this more consistently my skin would now have smaller tighter pores, a smoother texture, and greater elasticity! =P

Related Posts:
Read about two great (and inexpensive) exfoliating products here and here-how much cheaper can you get than a bottle of Aspirin?

Need something to soothe that parched and irritated face of yours? Read about Shu Uemura's Depsea Waters here.

And read about my favorite cleanser of all time (plus my favorite foundation) here. It's one of the few products that I've ever repurchased!

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Woodbury Common CCO & L'Occitane Haul

I enjoyed my last Cosmetics Company Outlet visit so much (click here to see what I got) that I managed to talk (okay whine-but whining is still talking!) SO into taking me again. Keep reading to see what I got!

You're just getting photos for today--reviews and swatches to come in a day or two!

MAC Plushglass in Bountiful
Originally $17.50; CCO price $12.25

SO got the Plushglass for me. There's a good reason for this, which I'll tell you when I post the swatches =)

MAC Lipgelee in Valentine's
Originally $14; CCO price $10

I also decided to check out the L'Occitane store at Woodbury, just for the heck of it. They had a ton of miniatures that were dirt cheap (especially compared to the online prices), so of course I had to pick up a few!

Radiance Moisturizing Cream and Ultra Rich Face Cream-$3 each


Almond Shower Oil-$3

Related Posts:
Don't forget to enter the August Giveaway here to win a MAC Starflash eyeshadow!!

Check out my last CCO haul (along with some other stuff including the new Lancome Oscillation mascara) here, then click here for swatches of the pigments.

See my Bourjois haul during Sephora's clearance event here for shimmery liquid shadows and glittery glosses fit for a fairy princess.

If you haven't noticed already, I'm pretty mascara obsessed. Click here to check out my most recent entry into the mascara series, a review of Chanel new Exceptionnel de Chanel Intense Volume & Curl Mascara, then see how it compares to Chanel's Inimitable here.

Haven't heard of Givenchy's Phenomen'Eyes Mascara with the cute spiky ball applicator? Click here for a review and some fun photos!

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L'Occitane Friends and Family

L'Occitane is holding it's annual F&F event (25% off all items) from June 12-15th, so now would be a great opportunity to stock up on those delicious-smelling soaps and skincare products!

If you'd like a copy of the full e-mail, e-mail me or leave me a comment and I'd be more than happy to forward it to you!

Do you have any favorite L'Occitane products? I've been dying to get their Olive Radiance Moisturizing Cream, Ultra Comforting Cream, and Almond Apple Velvet Concentrate, although I definitely don't need all three! Plus the new Exfoliating Rice Powder sounds fun.

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