FREEBIE FRIDAY L'Occitane En Provence celebrating 40 years gift box product review

I was lucky enough to claim a freebie goodie bag from L'Occitane en Provence recently and I hadn't got around to publishing the review until now. There were a few boxes going around with various goodies inside. My gift box included the following: L'Occitane En Provence Dry Skin Hand Cream with Shea Butter (which retails at £19 for a 150ml tube), a small tester post of their Crème Divine moisturiser which retails at a whopping £74(!) for the 50ml tub, Gel Douche Verveine Verbana Shower Gel £15 for 250ml and the Shampooing Shampoo essential 5 oils which is about £17 for a 30ml bottle. Quite an expensive freebie gift to celebrate 40 years of L'Occitane! I love the travel size bottles as they make it so much easier when travelling. I won't be reviewing the L'Occitane En Provence Dry Skin Hand Cream with Shea Butter as I already know I love it (see it here).

First up I tried the Crème Divine moisturiser which comes in two versions, a lighter formula which has SPF15 in the formula and the version that I tried. I loved this little moisturiser, it really works to rehydrate the skin. A little goes a long way with the Crème Divine moisturiser as it spreads really quickly. Like the name suggests the formula is super creamy although there was no overpowering scent just the smell of moisturiser when I opened the pot. I loved the Crème Divine moisturiser as it made my skin feel refreshed and hydrated. I can definitely see why it's so expensive but I won't rush out to stock up when I run out, I can't afford £74 for a moisturiser!

Next up was the Gel Douche Verveine Verbena Shower Gel which had quite a pleasant lemony scent. I'd definitely take the travel size version of Gel Douche Verveine Verbena Shower Gel away with me in my toiletry bag. The small 30ml bottle is perfect for when you have to travel light and limit your liquids to under 100ml! As for using the Gel Douche Verveine Verbena Shower Gel on a regular basis however, I'm not sold just yet. The Gel Douche Verveine Verbena Shower Gel doesn't foam up like most shower gels so I didn't really feel like it cleaned my skin. This is a definite downside if I was to take this away on archaeological digs. The Gel Douche Verveine Verbena Shower Gel is perfect for holiday's but it's quite pricey considering that I don't think it cleans very well.

Lastly, I tried the Shampooing Shampoo essential 5 oils which I was reluctant to try out and with good reason. Previously, I've tried out shampoos that are packed with oils and found that they dry my hair out and overload my hair with product. The Shampooing Shampoo essential 5 oils was no different as my hair felt heavy and dirty, particularly greasy and laden with product. I really disliked the Shampooing Shampoo essential 5 oils and I wouldn't recommend it for long, thick hair. It just doesn't work to clean the hair and seems to sit on the hair instead. (The picture below is only temporary so I will get a better one when I have a better camera and re-post this!)

Two out of four products weren't bad especially as they were free but I wouldn't rush out to replace the dwindling supplies of the products any time soon. Did you get a freebie 40 year anniversary box? What did you think and what was your favourite product? Let me know in the comments below xx