L’Occitane Ma Creme Nature DIY cream – Giving your skin an Organic Break

I first read about L’Occitane Ma Creme Nature on Oprah.com (source). So when I was invited to the press launch, you can bet I was excited 😛

Anyway essentially, the L’Occitane Ma Creme Nature is a natural and organic preservative free face cream that you make yourself as and when you need it. Once you have mixed it up, it will only last you 6 weeks before it has to be tossed out. Never a better time to ensure that you use up your skincare! My favourite item in the kit as pictured above is the little teeny tiny whisk that looks like a child’s toy or something that fairies use to whip up fairy cakes.

I have been on L’Occitane Ma Creme Nature for just coming onto 4 weeks now. I’ll show you the fun side of the cream and tell you about whether I like it below.

How to make the L’Occitane Ma Creme Nature cream

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1. Pour in mineral water up till the line shown of the bottle with the amber liquid inside. Screw the cap back on and shake until the amber liquid is dissolved.
2. Pour the sachet of cream into the glass pot. Make sure to scrape out every bit.
3. Pour the liquid slowly into the glass pot using the baby whisk to stir the mixture so it emulsifies and combines. I find it works best if you pour the liquid in 3 batches.
4. Continue stirring the lotion to combine it with the liquid. The mixture will slowly thicken and emulsify and take on a creamy texture. You will also notice that the bubbles will have disappeared from the surface of the cream.
5. Fill in the date you made the cream on the label and stick it on the glass jar. Place glass jar in fridge for 24 hours for it to firm up into a thicker cream texture.

As they will say in cooking shows – Here’s one I made earlier.

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I spelt out the instructions above for you because if you look at the box, you might be totally confused. You are advised to use mineral water. I used normal boiled water because I had no mineral water at home 😛

After placing in the fridge for 24 hours, I noticed that the cream was smooth and firm-ish. Rather like that of Panna Cotta 😛 You are provided with a spatula which you will be well advised to use when dispensing the cream.

Ma Creme Nature must be kept in the fridge

The down side to using the Ma Creme Nature is that it must be stored in the fridge when not in use. Because I don’t have the luxury of a fridge dedicated to my skincare and because my fridge is in my kitchen, the past 4 weeks has been a minor level of hell every morning and night when I do my skincare routine. Because I’m paranoid also about smells from food in the fridge affecting the cream, I keep the cream in an airtight box and then place it in the fridge. Yes its an inconvenience of the highest degree.

I don’t know what I was expecting but the Ma Creme Nature cream feels a little like Panna Cotta or creme brulee. Smooth yet smooshes easily between your palms. I feel like I’m smoothing lavender scented creme brulee on my face every night and day and its a little strange 😛

4 weeks of using Ma Creme Nature – My thoughts

The cream feels a little oily on my skin and takes a while to absorb. I’m not sure therefore that it is suitable for those with oily skin. I must say however, that after its absorbed, a long while later, my skin feels lovely and smooth and plump. Is it all that olive oil, olive water and shea butter doing their work? I hope so.

In 4 weeks I experienced no breakouts from using this cream or any other reactions. I did feel that my skin turned a little oily in the day and since I don’t have oily skin, it might be this cream. I stopped using it in the day for this reason but at night, its fine since I sleep in an air conditioned room.

Here’s another down side. I can’t finish the cream in 6 weeks! There’s too much! Help!

So what I am starting to do is to use it on my neck and body too. Too luxurious but its actually quite nice on the body 😛 I didn’t want it to go to waste once I hit the 6 weeks expiry date.

A cream to give your skin an organic break

L’Occitane Ma Creme Nature is a cream you might want to use once in a while to allow your skin to take a break from everything else you are using. Its like sending your skin to an organic retreat for 6 weeks where all it is fed is organic and natural preservative free products. I can’t say if its been better for my skin these 4 weeks as opposed to before, but I can’t say that its been worse either.

Pros: Fun to make at home, Skin feels nice once the cream absorbs fully

Cons: Must be kept refrigerated at all times, May not suit people with oily skin, Too much for 6 weeks if just used on the face and only at night

A starter pack of the L’Occitane Ma Creme Nature retails at RM155 (US$42 in the USA) and you can purchase refills at RM118. The refill pack comes with just the olive extract and sachet of cream. You re-use the glass jar and whisk.

Personally, I don’t think it super expensive for a bit of fun and if you’d like to give your skin an eco holiday once in a while 🙂 If you’d like to try this, perhaps you could mix it up then share with a friend or your Mum. That way you split the cost and you finish it up in time. Game to try it? 😉

Paris B

Available at all L’Occitane stores from April 2010 Retail price RM155 and RM118 for refills.