Review: L'Occitane Immortelle Brightening Skincare

I got to try out L'Occitane's Immortelle Brightening Skincare range and was really impressed with it!

This is my first time using L'Occitane's skincare products.. I've always known L'Occitane for their hand creams and fragrances, but I was pleasantly surprised to find out about their skincare range!

What I really like about L'Occitane is that L'Occitane places alot of emphasis on using natural ingredients that are proven to be effective, and replaces or limits the concentration of parabens, chemical sun filters, phthalates and silicones, so that it's less harmful and also suitable for sensitive skin like mine!

Was treated to a little tea party at L'Occitane's office while we learnt about the Immortelle Brightening Skincare range and how to use the products! Thank you L'Occitane! ;)

This range is specially formulated with two ingredients that help to effectively combat anti-aging: the Immortelle flower and Bellis Perennis, a species of daisy.

Here's the range of products I was given to try: Immortelle Brightening Foaming Cleanser, Brightening Mist, Brightening Essence and Brightening Moisture Cream.

I have been religiously using these products for the past one week plus, and I have to say that I really enjoy using them!

A little background on my skin: I have combination skin type with oily T-zone and dry cheeks, and I think I'm probably suffering from every known unwanted skin issue ever to plague mankind! :( I have sensitive skin that's dull and tired-looking, broken capillaries/veins all over, clogged pores especially on my cheeks, pretty bad pigmentation and recently had a bad case of breakouts on my cheeks and chin.

Also, I'm already past the age of 25.. If you didn't know... women start aging at the age of 25 so it's time to step up your anti-aging regiment to fight against those wrinkles, fine lines and saggy skin, ladies! Remember, prevention is always better than cure!

I thought that the L'Occitane Immortelle Brightening Skincare range sounded ideal for me, because of the natural ingredients that would be gentle on my sensitive skin, well being able to treat some of my main concerns (brightening of my dull skin, reducing pigmentation)

The Immortelle Brightening Skincare range will also help prevent early aging as the ingredient of Immortelle (everlasting flower) helps to multiply collagen production, protect against free radicals (these are the bad stuff in the environment that makes you age exponentially faster than you should!)

Enough of my rambling on, here's my review on the Immortelle Brightening Skincare range!

The Immortelle Brightening Foaming Cleanser is a soap-free, non-drying facial cleanser that takes care of the skin every day. Its creamy texture transforms into a rich foam that effectively removes impurities and make-up, revealing fresh skin and a luminous complexion. It combines Immortelle essential oil to help smooth the skin, and Bellis Perennis brightening extract to even out skin tone and illuminate the complexion. Fresh and perfectly cleansed, the skin feels soft and comfortable. The complexion looks even and luminous, with a radiant, youthful glow.

I like how the Brightening Foaming Cleanser lathers into a rich foam that glides over my face easily! The best part is that it doesn't leave my face feeling tight and dry, like some other facial cleansers do. After cleansing my face with the Brightening Foaming Cleanser, my skin feels very clean and soft. Of course, if I have makeup on, I still double cleanse with a makeup remover prior to using this! :)

The Immortelle Brightening Mist is an alcohol-free toner enriched with Immortelle floral water and Bellis Perennis that helps refresh, soften, illuminate and refine skin's texture. It can also be sprayed onto the skin after make-up application to help make-up stay in place all day.

The Brightening Mist is super refreshing and I love the sensation of spritzing it onto my face :) You can either spritz it straight onto your face (recommended for mornings), or onto a cotton pad after which you use to pat the product onto your face (recommended for nights). It feels extremely gentle, and leaves my skin feeling soft and refreshed! Sometimes, I even spritz it on after I finish applying my makeup, just to set my makeup and keep my makeup fresh looking!

Immortelle Brightening Essence is a serum that corrects wrinkles, evens skin tone and brightens the complexion. Its aqueous texture enhances the penetration of Immortelle essential oil, which stimulates collagen production and fills wrinkles.

The Brightening Essence has a light-weight texture that is absorbed into the skin very well, and application is easy. I just use the dropper to drop a few drops onto my palm before patting it into my face gently! I love how light-weight and easily absorbed it is. It leaves my face feeling brighter and smoother instantly as well!

The Brightening Moisture Cream offers triple action benefits to correct wrinkles, even skin tone and brighten the complexion. Immortelle essential oil stimulates collagen production to fill wrinkles and firm the skin* for a more youthful complexion. Bellis Perennis extract and a Vitamin C derivative reduce the appearance of age spots to even skin tone. 

My favourite product in this range has got to be the Brightening Moisture Cream! The texture is light and velvety, and it practically melts into my skin upon application, leaving it feeling extremely hydrated and moisturised. A small amount goes a long way. Love it! My only gripe about this is that it can be quite difficult to get the product out from its tub packaging without using a spatula. Still, definitely one of my favorite moisturizers to date!

After using the Immortelle Brightening Skincare range for just seven days, I could see an improvement in my skin already!

I noticed that my skin tone looks brighter and slightly more luminous after just seven days of application! My skin also feels more moisturized and plump, yay! My favourite part of the Immortelle Brightening Skincare range is how light-weight all the products are, and I adore the fresh summery floral scent of this range as well.

As you can tell from my bare-faced pictures that I've courageously put up, I have pretty bad blemishes on my cheeks and chin from my breakouts :( The Immortelle Brightening Skincare range did not do much to improve the condition of my breakouts, but it did not break me out further or worsen my breakouts, but helped to calm down some of the redness and lighten some of my blemishes just slightly.

I also find that my makeup goes on better and more smoothly than before!

I'm definitely going to continue using this range, and I hope to see even better results! :) The Immortelle Brightening Skincare range is already available at all L'Occitane stores in Singapore, so do pop by to check it out!

L'Occitane can be found at the following locations in Singapore:

B2-33 ION Orchard, Phone: 65099068 

B2-106 Marina Bay Sands, Phone: 6688 7005 

B1-33A Ngee Ann City, Phone: 6737 7800 

B1-24 Paragon, Phone 6836 5338 

01-65 Plaza Singapura, Phone: 6338 0378 

01-40 Raffles City, Phone: 6338 7028 

Interior Dept, B1, Takashimaya Dept Store, Phone: 6737 6312 

01-10 VivoCity, Phone: 6270 8636

For more information on the Immortelle Brightening Range and other L'Occitane products, do check out their Facebook page here! :D Also, there's gonna be a cool Facebook app featuring meeee that's launching on L'Occitane's Facebook page some time this week, so you gotta go check it out!

EDIT:
Psssst. The Facebook app is up!! :D

Win yourself some luxurious samples by playing with the app right here! :D

Have an awesome week ahead, folks!

xoxo

Foodie Dates at Tonkatsu Ma Masion & Sukiya + L'occitane Give-away!

life is so awesome when you have friends, family and love.

 i really think one of the greatest pleasures in life is sharing good company over good food! though it's definitely not good for my diet, hehe. it really can't be helped, i love to eat too much :X

 went out for a dinner date with my girls the other day, which was right after i got my hair done at Salon Vim! we had initially planned on going to Antoinette or Wild Honey at Mandarin Gallery, but Antoinette was too crowded, and after some of the girls arrived earlier to queue at Wild Honey, we were told they had to give away our table because a couple of us were not there yet. #angryface
and it wasn't even a weekend night! 

not the best service i feel. so we decided to go somewhere else for our meal instead, and we ended up at  Tonkatsu by Ma Maison, also at Mandarin Gallery! Wild Honey called us up while we were queuing for Tonkatsu by Ma Maison to inform us that they had seats available for us already, but we rejected it on principle. HAHA :P

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Tonkatsu by Ma Maison 
333A Orchard Road 
#02-35/36 Mandarin Gallery 
Tel: +65 6733 4541 
Mon to Fri: 11am–3pm, 5pm–10pm 
Sat, Sun and PH: 11am–10pm


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if you want to have Tonkatsu, this is the place to go. because just about every single item on the menu is..... *drum rolls* Tonkatsu. LOLOL. there's almost nothing else on the menu, except slight variations like chicken/prawn and others like katsu don. this place is seriously Pork Cutlet Heaven!

on the other side of the table: Wendy, Fel and Joyce! :D

on my side, Nancy, Debs and me :D

we all ordered one Tonkatsu each except for Nancy who went for the Katsu Don. some of the other girls had the mixed set too which has Ebi Tempura in it! and this is the three girls showing no mercy to the pickled radish appetizer. i mean, it's only radish! need to be so paparazzi or not! hahaha. they so funny.

and this is my super awesome Negi Miso Rosu Katsu set. 

every set comes with refillable cabbage, rice and miso soup!!!! MAD AWESOME. and the miso soup is the BEST i've ever tasted! i had 4 bowls of it :X there's pork and radish in it and it's so so so yummy. for the rice, you can choose from either white rice, or a healthier multi-grain rice.

my pork cutlet was deep fried to a crispy crunchy batter finish, but the pork was still soft and juicy! tasted wonderful with the miso sauce! though it was a tad salty, but i'm a sodium junkie :D i spammed sesame dressing on my cabbage salad as well, and finished the entire mountain of it! NOM NOM.

happy with my food! as you can see, the portion is quite huge for being re-fillable too. i couldn't finish my cutlet, but i had extra servings of cabbage and miso soup!

variety of condiments available! i didn't try any of those, except for the sesame dressing. love it!

the compulsory group shot! :D love catching up with these girls over a good meal. we have to meet more often! thanks to Wendy for organizing this one ❤❤❤

we ended off with dessert at Coffee Club nearby! their mudpie is delish and feeds many people. love it! poor Wendy and Nancy ordered the wrong thing and got hot coffee instead of iced ones :X hahahaha. sad max! let's plan the next outing again soon! 

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and just last Saturday, i was really craving for some meat, so i asked YZ to go to Sukiya with me! :D

actually, i asked the girls before our dinner date if they wanted to go Sukiya. HAHA. but they said no :( so, i finally got my sukiyaki craving satisfied with YZ instead! :D :D :D so happy!!! the queue was rather long, and we had to wait around 15-20 minutes. but it was worth it! :D

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Suki-Ya

6 Raffles Boulevard, #02-138FG, 

Center Stage Marina Square, Singapore 

Tel: +65 6337 9969 

Mon–Fri: 11.30am – 10.30pm Sat–Sun: 11.30am – 11pm

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my handsome boyfriend :X

i love love love Sukiya because they have not just free-flow meat, but also a pretty decent selection of steamboat ingredients! though i usually concentrate on the meat :D

we always start off with six plates of meat, haha. two each of chicken, beef and pork :X and then we order extra from there depending on our preference for the day!

veggies and mushrooms for the soup!

you must must must dip your meat in the raw egg. beat it thoroughly first!

we had Sukiyaki and Shabu Shabu soup base! Kimchi soup base is also available.

this cheese ball thingy is way awesome. can i find it at NTUC or something??

and the ice cream didn't use to be free-flow, but i think it is now!!! :D it's not super good quality, but it's decent soft serve and i love mine with cornflakes!

the two of us finished 10 plates of meat and we were soooo stuffed!!! i had difficulty walking after the meal :X but i love meat!!! *carnivore* cannot resist. SO GOOD! i wanna eat again soon! :D the two of us really love to eat :D it's a good thing that we're both more health-conscious now! YZ's been exercising regularly as well and he jogs 10km a day! insane or what!

we went for a run together last week, and covered 8KM! siao. i was like dying and dragging my feet through out and had to take walk breaks, but it was like a no-brainer for YZ =.= he said he wanted to fall asleep cos it was so boring to run with me FML.

still, it's a HUGE achievement for me! :D but i am too lazy to run so far on my regular jogs la. trying to do at least 4KM, 4 times a week :D so far, i've been keeping up quite well! at least some of the calories i've been taking in like crazy have been burnt off.

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my outfit for Sunday! Dazzle Sequin Cropped Top in Black, with the Pastel Candy Jeans in Salmon and Cambridge Satchel in Burgundy. i love the sequined top and how edgy it looks!

and here's a preview of my awesome new hair. you can't really see the pink streaks from the front, haha. will blog with more photos soon! Salon Vim's having their 30% off GSS promo for Cut+Color+Highlight so you should take the opportunity to get your hair pampered now!

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lastly, i've got a GIVE-AWAY to do! :D

thanks to L'occitane, i'll be giving away THREE of this super lovely gift set consisting of the Pivoine Flora Shower Gel 75ml, Pivoine Flora Hand Cream 10ml, Pivoine Flora Eau de Toilette 5ml and Beauty Pouch! they are really cute miniature sized products, handy for travel, and they come in a matching pouch as well. pink and girly and oh-so-pretty!

do check out my blog post on the Pivoine Delicate range here to find out more about these products!

to win one of these sets, just leave a comment on this blog post, saying I WANT! :D do remember to fill in the email address so that i'm able to contact you! (don't type your email addy into the comment box, because it won't be privatized!)

give-away ends on 23th June, midnight! :D only open to local (Singapore) addresses!

L'occitane Pivoine Delicate Collection!

one of the perks of blogging.. it's so cool when you get to work with your favorite brands!! sort of like meeting your idol like that. hahaha! *fangirl mode on* and when it comes to hand and body products, i am sure most of the girls, like me, swear by L'occitane's products because they are really really good!

when L'occitane (it's pronounced LOX-EE-TAN if you didn't know!) invited me to an exclusive bloggers' party to showcase their latest collection, i was delighted! :D along with Valerie, Juliet and Patricia, I was introduced to L'occitane's latest Pivoine Delicate collection, which is a range of body products inspired by the lovely Peony flower and containing peony extract especially procured from Drôme!

the event was held at Fullhouse Cafe (which if you noticed, is also the very same place we did our shoot at for the upcoming collection!) it's quite a new cafe/restaurant, with themed interior deco that's really lovely!

 Full House Singapore 
(Lifestyle Cafe)
9 Bras Basah Road, 
#01-04 Rendezvous Gallery


with my pretty companion, Valerie!

i have to say, the flowery but fresh scent of the Pivoine Delicate Eau De Toilette (S$78) really grows on me! i'm not one for heavy perfumes that make you smell like an entire garden, and i like the lightly scented fragrance of the Pivoine Delicate Eau De Toilette as it has just the right balance of floral notes complemented by the sandal wood and citrusy notes!

the Shimmering Powder (S$56) is gorgeous enough with its unique packaging, and though i couldn't get a good swatch of the shimmer powder when applied, it's really sparkly and pretty without being too over the top! be careful with the pump though, the first time i pressed it really hard, and this whole explosion of shimmering powder came out. haha!

do pop over to a L'occitane store soon to check out the other products, i absolutely love the Pivoine Delicate Hand Cream (S$32) in the same collection as well that has the same gorgeous fragrance and feels really good on the hands! another interesting product i'd be sure to get my hands on is the Pivoine Delicate Eau de Toilette & Gloss Duo (S$39), a carry-around 2-in-1 compact that combines the lip gloss and Eau de Toilette into one super portable and convenient product that'd be perfect for slipping into your tote for touch-ups!

Pivoine Delicate will be available in stores from the 31st May!! :) also, stay tuned for an exciting give-away from L'occitane as well.. i can't wait to share more on that soon!!! :D

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a FotD for the day of the event, i wore the Pixie Eyelet Frock in Pure White from TheVelvetDolls and matched it with a pastel pink blazer i got from Megagamie last year, since the theme was PINK :D

i went with a very natural look for my makeup, false eyelashes that look like they are barely there and contouring on the brows and nose to bring out my features better ^^ oh and i have got a really good hair product that's i've been using when blow-drying my hair to get it to curl in nicely at the ends! i will share on that next entry! :)

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ohhh some long over due pictures from dinner with my favorite Cherri a couple weeks ago! :D Cherri popped over to office to get some stuff, so we went to pig out at Wan Tou Sek, and ordered soooo much we could barely finish. next time i'm never gonna give in to Cherri's orders again. want to order so much then halfway through complain that she's full already! TSK.

Wen Dao Shi 搵到食 (126 Dim Sum)


 126 Sims Avenue, Singapore 
Tel: +65 6746 4757 
Open 24 hours!

my top picks are the chee cheong fun, glutinous rice and 纸包鸡!!! so yummy! the 流沙包 is so MEH, it's just custard with no salted egg yolk :(

and yup that's the Lace Overlay Tank in Cream from TheVelvetDolls! i wear a size M :D love it so much! Endlessly versatile and can be worn in so many styles, casual/dressy/corporate!

oh yes, someone asked for an instagram of the Garden of Eden Floral Blazer in White, so here it is! :) it comes in S, M & L, and i wear a size M! :)

i totally couldn't decide between the two colors at all.. and ended up keeping both! :X well, the prints/colours are totally different, so it's forgivable! :P plus, blazers can be worn in so many different ways too! the lace dress paired with the blazer is also an upcoming piece! ^^

just came back from a jog (i woke up at 6.30AM to jog!!!) and i'm hoping to change my lifestyle a little for a healthier me :( ugh, i wonder why all my "health initiatives" never seem to last. so this time round, it starts again! meaning to say, cutting down on my junk food and getting more exercise into my schedule! waking up early is good for me too, so that i can start the day early and get more work done, and try to sleep earlier :X

alrighty. stay happy everyone! have an awesome week, and i will try to blog again soon so do come back and visit ok? ❤❤❤