Launch: L'Occitane Frisson de Verveine

L'Occitane's launch for this month is this Frisson de Verveine collection, which is part of their mainline Verbena collection.

I have a friend who likes the simplest, most refreshing of fragrances - one of her favourites is the Lemon & Basil scent from Jo Malone. In my time knowing her, she hardly wears things that are sweet or floral. Immediately after smelling this Frisson de Verveine collection, I thought of her.

The scent runs across the collection and it is simply divine. You have that strong verbena smell, as well as a touch of fresh cucumber, some herby bergamot and a hint of sweet lemon. Which of these are stronger depends on each of the product, but this range is for the person who likes that refreshing feel, and none of that fruity, florally, sweet smells. It's a unisex scent, which gives you an idea of how lovely and neutral it is.

In the summer, I tend to go for lighter, fresher, zestier scents and to be honest with you, I would've chosen something like this had I gone and bought a new perfume (I have way too many to justify it though!). It's so light, and isn't stuffy at all - it's just so refreshing, natural and beautiful. If you live in very humid climates and don't want anything too much, this is highly recommended.

This limited edition collection comes with six products - the Cooling Body Gel (£20) and the Bath Salts (£16) aren't shown here, but here are my thoughts on the products you see above and the collection in general.

Fresh Shower Gel (£14)
To  me, most shower gels are just whatever - they do the job and that's enough. But this one ranks up there with other favourites, as it is just beautiful. It pulls more sweet than it does zingy in scent, but what I love is how it lingers after you step out of the shower. I really liked layering the EDT on top, and topping up with the Refreshing Body Mist throughout the day.

As for the formula, it's a true gel - even as I type, and it sits on my desk and wobbles. It doesn't lather like crazy, but I still felt like it did its job well as a shower gel. Even after the shower, my skin felt nourished and soft instead of dry and desperate for body lotion. If you're looking for a bit of splurge, I'd highly recommend this one.

Refreshing Body Mist (£12)
This is a spray that you can also use on your face, and it is meant to refresh and hydrate your skin. The spray isn't built very well, and I found that it spluttered a little bit which could get awkward if you're trying to spray it on top of make-up.

I found it okay as a liquid moisturiser - your skin definitely feels softer, but it was more the cooling sensation that I liked, which is why this will be getting a thorough testing this weekend when I go glamping :) Otherwise the scent has about an equal amount of sweet lemon and fresh cucumber.

Ice Gel for Legs & Feet (£20)
I love anything rollerball, so I was pretty excited to try this out, especially after one day where I had spent most of the day on my feet. Truth be told, it seemed to cool certain areas a lot, like on my inner calves but not so much on other areas - I found the Body Mist to be more effective for cooling! I also found that it was almost the massaging sensation of the rollerball that I really enjoyed rather than the gel. This also has a stronger zestier smell than the other products.

Ben, on the other hand, came home from Majorca with some sunburn on his shoulders, arms and back, and as we didn't have any after sun, I suggested using this. He did screech a little bit, and said it felt REALLY cold, but it worked amazingly and he went to bed completely happy with sleeping on his back and sides. Multi-tasking? Tick.

Frisson de Verveine EDT (£42)
Like most other EDTs that L'Occitane bring out, I really like this one. It has top notes of lemon and bergamot, heart notes of verbena and cucumber, and base notes of musk and cedar wood. Personally, I smell the lemon and verbena most, which makes this a gorgeously refreshing scent for the summer (it's also more of a zingy lemon than the other products).

As for lasting power, it wasn't superb but it wasn't awful either and the warm musk and cedar wood notes were clearly detectable. What you have to keep in mind is that this bottle is 100ml, which means you get quite a lot for your money but in return, I feel like it's something you do have to top up maybe once or twice during the day.

Overall..
This is a great collection for the summer. It's just so refreshing and just what I feel like I need in a heat wave - something light, zesty, green and unstuffy in scent, and cooling in effects! My personal favourite out of the range is the Fresh Shower Gel, but I also think that EDT and Body Mist are really nice bits to have alongside it. The cooling sensation of the Body Mist is addictive, and the EDT just makes wearing a perfume in the summer enjoyable as opposed to 'too much' and stuffy. Compared to their Vitoria Regia Day Flower Eau de Cologne from their Au Brazil range, which I also recommended for summer, the Frisson de Verveine is much zestier and definitely unisex, whereas that one is more fresh with a touch more floral.

The Frisson de Verveine collection launches this July 2014 in boutiques nationwide.

Yu