I noticed L’OCCITANE (Malaysia) have been heavily promoting their Immortelle Reset product, I see quite a few sponsored posts from them on Facebook about this product (and the Divine Oil).
Honestly their choice of ambassadors/ influencers to promote the product is quite strange. They seem to be trying to target younger consumers and try to use language that they think appeals to that age group. For example, the captions accompanying the posts uses words like “uolls”, “stress giler, beb”, “GG.com” etc. For a skincare product most of their ambassadors/ influencers are heavily made up (think 1 inch thick makeup), uses other expensive skincare products, and so on which doesn’t really help to sell how effective the skincare product is. The ambassadors talk about being stressed about paying bills… but as commenters pointed out.. stressed about paying bills but can afford to use L’OCCITANE products? :p Also a lot of the more positive comments don’t seem organic and feels like these people have been paid to ask certain key questions or mention certain things. Of course, I could be wrong. (ps. the not so positive comments are hilarious on some of the posts)
Personally I think they are trying their best, but the approach could be better. L’OCCITANE products are not cheap, that’s a fact. The age group they are targeting are not exactly rolling in disposable income. Perhaps approaching it as more of an “investment” would be better. Yes, it’s expensive, but the long term results are worth investing in this product. You’re hustling in your 20s and 30s for a better future and naturally would constantly encounter stressful moments, let L’OCCITANE Immortelle Reset take care of your skin so you have one less thing to stress about. And choose “ambassadors” from every day relatable actual customers of L’Occitane, not “influencers” who have been sponsored/given free products. My silly 2 cents. :p
Anyway, long story short, they succeeded in piquing my interest (that’s a win for any marketing strategy!). I got the 7 day trial set from their store after filling out an online form. The form can be found HERE. Redemption is until 30th September 2018 only.
*UPDATE* It’s possible to ask for samples from L’OCCITANE stores. But if you’re not sure of availability of the samples, you can drop them a message on FB and they can check your preferred store for availability. They just need your name and phone number as reference! 🙂 Here’s what the 1ml sample will look like (I got 2 for my mom) :
The description reads:
A delicate oil-in-serum dual texture that melts perfectly into the skin with a powerful botanical complex and Immortelle essential oil from Corsica
The claims are quite impressive. After 7 days, 100% – skin looks rested, 97% – complexion has a healthy glow, and 90% – fine lines less visible.
When you see the fine print, it says 100% skin looks rested & 97% found their complexion has a healthy glow is based on consumer test results of 31 women. Whereas 90% out of 51 women had less visible fine lines.
We don’t know for sure how the tests were done, I assume it’s based on the perceptions of the testers. Meaning perhaps they did a self evaluation and completed a survey indicating their perceived results after using the product. Not sure how they measured less visible fine lines. Different sample sizes of 31 and 51 women is kinda strange, not sure why they didn’t use the same sample size for all the tests.
Anyway, I decided to give it a try and see if I get similar results. The test is a 7 day trial sample kit, each sachet contains 1ml of product which you can use 2-3 times.
First impressions:
I used a small drop in the morning and night after cleansing. The comments on the L’OCCITANE Malaysia Facebook page mentioned it’s not oily and is more like an essence. But I disagree, you can definitely feel the oiler texture compared to a normal essence which would be more watery. After direct application, it feels a bit tacky so I would let it absorb/dry up after a few minutes before continuing my routine. The scent is very mild, there is fragrance added but it wasn’t overpowering to me.
Results & thoughts:
The product broke me out on my chin 3 times. Their FB reply to comments from customers who went through the same thing mentioned that it’s normal to get acne and it’s part of the skin’s detoxing process (?). I suppose they meant the skin purging process where it gets worse before it gets better. Honestly I haven’t found any medical journals to back up this claim that the skin “purges” when using new skincare products.
Looking in the mirror I don’t particularly think my skin looks rested or has a healthier glow. In fact halfway through the challenge, I found my skin full of sebaceous filaments. While it’s normal to get it in my oiler T-zone area, this time my whole cheek was filled with these too. I had to use my NEOGEN Bio Peel and my charcoal blackhead peel off mask to remove most of it and return my skin to a smoother texture. Also when I used it in the day time, I noticed my skin was oiler than usual after a few hours.
HOWEVER, looking at before and after photos I took, I can see a slight improvement in my skin especially under my eyes (bottom pic). Perhaps the product would work best for me when used together with regular chemical exfoliation. In the future I would avoid my acne prone areas. 2 pimples and 1 cystic acne on my chin in the span of 7 days is not fun. And seeing all the sebaceous filaments on my cheek was terrifying. 🙁
Final Verdict
I think the trial set is a great way to test the product. At RM248 RM269* for 30ml, it’s a steep price to pay unless you are sure of the benefits to your skin. The trial sachets are 1ml each which makes it abouttttt RM8.30 per sachet. 1ml is enough for 2 – 3 uses which means it’s about RM3 – 4 per use.
*seems like the price has gone up since I first wrote about this in Sept 2018
7 days is good enough to see if it makes a difference and to see if your skin would react to it. They did another consumer test of 115 women who found their skin texture visibly transformed after 28 days of using the product. Those with combination, oily, acne-prone skin beware that you may break out after 2-3 days. They claim it’s normal and your skin would get better after that. Maybe test the product when you don’t have important events that week.
Would I purchase it? Maybe in the future, though I really wish they would come up with a smaller size so that I can buy it at a cheaper entry cost and test it for longer than 7 days. Also I used it day and night, next time I would use it only at night (more economical and also maybe would help reduce break outs). UPDATE (30 Dec 2019): They now have a “starter kit” for RM98! Added the direct link below if you’re interested.
L’OCCITANE Immortelle ResetRM248 RM269 for 30ml
Purchase in store or online (free shipping with purchases above RM200)
https://www.facebook.com/loccitane.my/
https://my.loccitane.com/immortelle-reset,42,1,93479,1272291.htm
Starter kit: RM98 (5ml x 2? Not stated in the website)
https://my.loccitane.com/reset-starter-kit,42,1,79336,1398129.htm#s=93477
