Ma Crème Naturelle, by L’Occitane (and me)

When this green box landed on my desk, I was quite wary of it. L’Occitane wants me to make my own cream? I don’t have a lab to do it in. I put it away for the time being and promised myself I’d take care of it later.

Later happens to be this weekend, since I’ve decided to have an at-home spa moment. I fished the box out from its hiding place and read the instructions printed on the (recyclable) box in several languages.

• 1 sachet of Preparation rich in plan oils, 100% organic and Eco Cert certified
• 1 graduated bottle of Concentrated preparation of organic olive tree extracts, 100% organic and Eco Cert certified
• 1 label, to write down essentials: prep date, best before date and references from other packages
• 1 mini whisk to agitate everything
• 1 spatula, to avoid sticking your fingers in there every day

As it turns out, very, very simple instructions that even I could follow to the T:

• Add filtered water to the mark on the graduated bottle and shake
• Pour contents of sachet into glass bottle
• Add content of graduated bottle to glass bottle, whisking away
• 12 hours in the fridge, which is plenty of time to fill in the label

Mixing everything in the final pot wasn’t so easy, despite the mini-wisk, it’s really important not to leave unmixed parts. Despite this, preparation is ultra-simple and with a little effort, you get a creamy fluid mixture.

12 hours later, what did I find in my pot? A cream that smells nice enough. As promised, the texture had thickened and it spreads very nicely. Having been whisked, it’s quite airy. Hydration-wise, it’s did the deed and my skin didn’t feel greasy afterwards.

So far, I’m convinced but I’ll let you know once I finish the pot in 6 weeks’ time.

If you’re up for making your own cream, the Ma Crème Naturelle kit can be found on the Occitane online store or at selected Occitane locations for €35. It produces 150mL of cream that needs to be used within 6 weeks of preparation.