L’Occitane

L’Occitane is one of my favorite and Stephen is best salesperson ever. He is very helpful and informative without being pushy. You can tell that he loves what he is doing and is very passionate about it. Love all his recommendations.

Great little shop with delicious smelling scents. Stopped in while shopping on Armitage and picked up a cologne for my husband. Prices are pretty reasonable and the sales associate who helped me was courteous and helpful, I would definitely return.

Really love the products here, but after yesterday, I will be buying these online. The woman working in the store needed to back off when I told her I was just in there buying soap, but after 10 minutes of her drilling my friend and I about what kind of facial products we used I just had to walk away. Can’t deal with such pushy, inconsiderate customer service.
Product– YES. Crazy French Woman who yells BONJOUR! when you walk in: NO.

I first got introduced to these products in New Orleans. I was tickled to discover there was a shop within walking distance to where I live here in Chicago. Thankfully, I don’t have to walk there too often, since one of my friends gives me gifts from this location on a regular basis.
Oui, oui!

Great products, but I do hate the way they try to upsell you at every turn. It’s a small enough store that you can’t hide while you shop — an employee will be watching you the whole time, trying to get you to buy more expensive things. I got my mom a kit of lavender bath products for her birthday which was «on sale» and still really expensive, and they tried to get me to buy other stuff for myself. They did throw a few samples in which was nice, and their lotion is ridiculously good. I mean, if I had money to burn, I’d shop here. But I’m not in their demographic. One of the salesladies asked me what my skincare routine was and I was like «um, cleanser from the drug store.» and she’s all «but you moisturize, RIGHT!!!» and I was all «ummm, sometimes, with uh, neutrogena, when I think of it… stop shaming me!!!» Let’s be real here, a lot of the time drugstore stuff will fill the bill, but this stuff is great for a spa splurge when you want to feel like a queen, or for a gift. But don’t let them guilt you into buying more than you need, it’s REALLY hard to resist because everything is so lovely.

My newest addiction: L’Occitane
Look, I’m one of those extremely picky people. I might ask for tons of samples and I might try on several different scents over the course of a few trips, sure, but there’s a reason for it: high quality beauty products aren’t cheap. And I know if I fall in love with something because of what it does to and for my skin, I’ll be throwing a lot of money at the company who produces it.
Enter L’Occitane. Someone on my Facebook page «liked» L’Occitane (I’d never heard of it before) so it started showing up on my news feeds here and there. One day, an ad announcing a lovely goodie bag would be given if a certain, reasonable dollar amount of products were purchased. Hmmm… My curiosity piqued, I decided to walk on over and investigate.
The storefront is lovely. Inside, displays are set up on tables in small, cozy stations and, of course, the scent is heavenly. There were two sales associates on the floor but, other than saying hello and letting me know they were there should I have any questions, they didn’t pester. As I browsed, I learned that the aforementioned goodie bag was indeed high quality and full-​sized items so, thinking it would be a great way to try several of L’Occitane’s products, I decided to purchase the almond oil shower gel and the almond oil firming crème. The clerk wrapped up my treasures in a lovely shopping bag and I scurried home to investigate.
Love. Love. Love. Love. Love. Love. Love. Love. LOVE.
I’ve been back several times since my initial visit (I won’t tell you how much I’ve spent but suffice it to say that the third sentence of the first paragraph in this review is true). Every time I stop in, I feel like I’ve done something just a little extra lovely and decadent for myself and, in case you think you can’t afford anything in the store, think again. Purse-​sized toilette roll-​ons are only $ 20. The peony hand cream (light, watery scent, not a heavy floral) is just $ 10. Bonne Mere soaps are a mere $ 7 (I like lavender best).
If you’ve got a chance to stop in at a L’Occitane store, treat yourself and enjoy — especially if you’re at the store on Armitage.

I am a HUGE fan of L’Occitane products. I love the Shea butter line and I’ve never been disappointed by other products until this time. As I type, I am rubbing off pieces of lotion that I was strong armed into buying at this location. It is the Almond Milk Concentrate and it cost me $ 44 for 7 oz. I walked into the store as I was out picking up stuff for a charity event and I figured I’d buy some bath products. The saleslady immediately approached me and asked if I needed help. I politely declined. In a span of 10 minutes she asked about 4 more times then she just started talking about this Almond Milk Concentrate. I used it on my hands, enjoyed the smell and figured what the heck. I wasn’t pleased that I had been pushed but I allowed it so that is my own problem. I am just not a huge fan of this store. I’ve been into other L’Occitanes and have enjoyed wandering around. This woman was not having it. I was basically pushed to spent $ 44 to have pieces of lotion all over me and my clothes.

I love, love, love all things L’Occitane. Their 20% shea butter hand cream is the hand cream of all hand creams. Seriously a life changer. I buy this stuff for everyone I know and they all agree. I went in recently to start my holiday shopping and they have tons of cute gift sets and other gift ideas to choose from… and they offer free gift wrapping. I’m in here restocking every few months and I always find something new to try… love this store, stop in and try the shea hand cream and you’ll be hooked in no time.

My first time to this store was on a day that I was feeling at my worst due to kindergarten cesspool goodness and despite feeling like absolute death, I had the most pleasant experience shopping here. The gentlemen that was working offered me tons of soft tissues so I would no longer have to sniffle and was very knowledgeable about the products and their locations. Although they are a bit pricey, I can’t help but love the scent of verbena after I wash my hands with their soaps. I recommend getting the refill packages instead of the new bottles as it is cheaper but with such great customer service and product quality, its worth the higher price tag.

Something awful happened to me in January of ’99. I woke up with dry, scaly hands and lips so chapped they actually hurt! I had never experienced such a thing growing up in sunny South Florida.
A few years later a very dear friend introduced me to the secret of surviving a Chicago winter… L’Occitane hand lotion. Apply just a dab of lotion on your hands daily and they’ll be as smooth as a baby’s bottom. Ok, maybe comparing your hands to a butt isn’t the best analogy, but you get the point.
And the smoothness doesn’t stop with the hand lotion. I promise any of their shea butter creams will take care of any cracks on your body.
I’ve tried it all: Bliss, Kiehls… and L’Occitane is by far THE best!
Since I“m a nice person (and want to keep L’Occitane a long time so I don’t have to move back to Florida) I’ve been spreading the love by buying their hand cream and other lotions as xmas presents. Most recipients are already L’Occitane junkies and I tell those that dont know that this present will probably end up costing them money in the future… because they won’t be able to live without it!
The L’occitane on Armitage is my favorite location in Chicago. It’s less crowded than the 900 N store and the employees are very helpful and happy. I’d be happy too if I was surrounded by these wonderful products all day!

L’Occitane’s Almond Oil & Shea Butter Body Lotion have been amazing at battling my dry, dry skin due to our current horrid winter weather. The stuff works! I love the scents of both products and am happy with how they work. The staff is friendly and helpful.

Shea butter had cream is the best! ($ 25 NOT $ 38) Their cold cream soap is excellent too, and lasts forever. Not drugstore cheap, but not outrageous either, especially when you consider the quality and how long the products last. You don’t want to cheap out when you are fighting sub-​zero temps during Chicago winters!

Just don’t get the lemon verbena. Unless you want to smell like you took a bath in a product used to clean kitchen counters. Unappealing all around.

This upscale fragrance and body care boutique fits right in on Armitage. They are part of a French chain and their focus is on scents with a natural base — verbena, lavender, cypress, almond. The packaging is beautiful — gift wrapping would be overkill — and nearly everything in the store smells fantastic. Of course, the big drawback comes when you see the pricetags: 8 oz. shower gel for $ 18, 4 oz. cologne for $ 40, 6 oz. shea butter hand cream for $ 38, and (this is the one that just kills me) a candle for $ 25. I’m not a department-​store cosmetics shopper, so I was shocked by how quickly just a few items could add up to a very large total. Still, their almond shower oil is fantastic, and my best friend swears by their honey face cream.