Facts you need to know about L'Occitane

If you're a true fan of L'Occitane, than this is a must read. I worked as beauty advisor at L'Occitane a period of time and there were always same questions popping up from customers and others through this period. To answer or save some time browsing, here are some interesting facts on L'Occitane you might don't know yet...

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Če obožujete L'Occitane, potem je ta objava obvezno branje. Kljub temu, da verjetno poznate večino izdelkov do potankosti, se tu in tam izmuzne kakšna zanimiva, splošna informacija o L'Occitane. Če me še ne poznate dovolj dobro, potem verjetno niste vedeli, da sem se nekaj časa preizkušala tudi v L'Occitane poslovalnici, kar je bila neverjetna izkušnja za moje čute in znanje. Tokrat se bom dotaknila tistih najbolj zanimivih dejstev, katere sem pobirala s strani vprašanj strank ali lepotnih navdušenk.

• Even though I'm generally a massive beauty enthusiast, I didn't know the true story behind L'Occitane name. Shame on me. It might look and feel as just another fancy, french name, but there's definitely more to it. The inspiration behind the name comes out of old. middle-age province Occitania, language was Occitan. The name L'Occitane actually encaptures the spirit of Occitane women from Provence, who were passionate collectors of herbs and nature produce. Everything makes sense now, right? Oh, and if you're still wondering about pronunciation, it's LO-KSI-TAN, simple as that.

• Za lepotne izdelke se zanimam vrsto let, vendar izvora o L'Occitanovem imenu nisem poznala kar dolgo časa. Šele pred pol leta sem spoznala resnično zgodbo in navdih za ime te vrhunske francoske znamke. Ime še zdaleč ni izbrano, zato ker se sliši zelo francosko in šik. Inspiracija ustanovitelja Olivierja Baussan izvira iz starodavne, srednjeveške province Occitania, kjer so govorili jezik Occitan. Verjetno že predvidevate, kam vodi vse skupaj, saj namreč ime L'Occitane zajema sam duh žensk iz Occitanije, ki so bile strastne nabiralke zelišč in darov narave. In če se še vedno trudite okoli izgovorjave? Izgovori se LO-KSI-TAN.

• The big debate is always on natural ingredients and labelling L'Occitane as natural skincare brand. This is always the biggest thorn in the flesh upon users, customers and bloggers. The ingredients of L'Occitane products are based on active, natural ingredients but the smallest percentage (lower than 10%) consists stabilisers and preservatives to achieve the perfect balance of amazing textures, sensory experience and effect. Also, the base preservative is the rosemary extract. Still, it's not 100% pure, organic or bio but the true aim is to encapture the best out of all spheres. It's pretty hard to pinpoint a brand, that's totally natural and pure without any preservatives. If so, they usually have an unpleasant scent, texture or effect. Organic sister Melvita is recently proving wrong with new technology and innovative products, so choose products within their range if you're looking for pure, natural products.

• Velika razprava se vedno začne in konča o naravnih sestavinah v L'Occitane izdelkih. Oznaka naravna kozmetika je največji trn v peti tako pri zahtevnih kupcih, kot pri tistih, ki želijo popolno listo sestavin. Sestavine L'Occitane izdelkov bazirajo na naravnih aktivnih sestavinah kot so eterična olja, izvlečki rastlin, razna rastlinska olja in karitejevo maslo. Na tem mestu naj poudarim, da vsebujejo izdelki minimalen delež (manj kot 10%) stabilizatorjev in konzervansov, ki omogočajo dolgotrajnost, svežino, čudovite teksture, senzorični užitek in učinkovitost. Glavni konzervans je tudi izvleček rožmarina, ki je poznan kot naraven antiseptik. Ne trdim, da je L'Occitane 100% čista, organska ali bio znamka, ampak povezuje najboljše iz vseh sfer - hkrati naravne aktivne sestavine, prijetne teksture, učinkovitost in ozaveščenost. Če iščete popolnoma čisto in organsko znamko, potem se z lahkoto lahko obrnete na sestro Melvito, ki zadnje čase dokazuje, da je lahko tudi organska kozmetika zelo prijetna na dotik.

• Hot topic around L'Occitane is also animal cruelty or animal testing. L'Occitane is from the beginning a brand, that bans animal testing and doesn't use any animal ingredients in their products. However, a lot of dust was raised after expanding into China - like most beauty brands did. It's just unevidable step to be competitive. However, L'Occitane was probably the only one making an effort to explain certain things with sharing brochures about it. Although laws in China obligates brands to animal testing, that doesn't mean that brands started testing all their products for all countries. It's actually the independent chinese companies that additionally test products. It has nothing to do with L'Occitane itself - it's only a sad consequence of expanding. Sadly, it's not an excuse for such behaviour but personally, I respect brands that don't test on their own much more than those, who are testing on animals since their launch and use animal ingredients. But after all, it's a personal and individual decision to make on how much you tolerate.

• Vroča tema je tudi testiranje na živalih, kar sicer L'Occitane zavrača v svoji filozofiji, hkrati pa ne uporablja sestavin živalskega izvora. Problem se je pričel z vstopom na kitajski trg, kjer je večina kozmetičnih podjetij moralo podpisati dogovor za testiranje na živalih pred samim vstopom. Vse skupaj je velik dvorezen meč, saj brez vstopa ne morejo biti konkurentna, hkrati pa lahko izgubijo nekaj rednih kupcev. L'Occitane je zato vzel pobudo v svoje roke in natisnil prav posebne kartončke z obrazložitvijo o novi dinamiki okoli testiranja živali. Testiranja za evropski trg se ne vršijo, je pa testiranje za kitajski trg izvedeno v državnih podjetjih in laboratorijih njihove politike, zato znamke nimajo nobenega stika s tem dejanjem. Kakorkoli vzamete - tukaj presoja vaša vest. Osebno bolj cenim podjetja, ki že od začetka delovanja ne testirajo za evropski trg in jim lažje oprostim, kot pri bolj ustaljenih znamkah, ki se tega niti ne sramujejo že od samega začetka.

• Beauty advisors can be perceived as a bit annoying at first, but on the other hand, they can be your best friends when it comes to discovering new products from L'Occitane. From my point of view, I was always taking into account customer's wishes as beauty advisor, not trying to push extra products into their beauty baskets. The experience can be really pleasing, if you only leave some manoeuvring space. The misunderstanding usually happens, when customers don't vocalise their preferences or they're undecided. So be brave, vocalise and be simply curious with a lot of questions. Truth to be told, I've learnt a lot from my co-workers and tried products that I've normally skipped.

• Na spletu se najde kar nekaj pikrih debat o lepotnih svetovalkah v poslovalnicah L'Occitana. Čeprav na prvi vtis lahko delujejo malce vsiljive, so lahko v resnici vaše najboljše prijateljice pri nakupovanju. Sam nesporazum se pojavi takrat, ko stranka ne želi sodelovati ali ne zna izraziti svojih želj in pričakovanj. Zato bodite pogumne, navežite stik, ubesedite pričakovanja in bodite preprosto radovedne. Ni boljše izkušnje kot imeti radovedne stranke, ki je željna novih informacij, pa četudi ne sledi nakup. Ne počutite se obvezane nakupu, če vam svetovalka pomaga pri raziskovanju. Resnici na ljubo, tudi sama sem se naučila ogromno novih informacij in spoznala moje nove najljubše izdelke prav preko sodelavk, ki so zakladnica znanja. Lahko opozorijo na skrite favorite ali dodajo kakšen nasvet pri negi kože. Prav tako ne pozabite, da se lahko udeležite nege obraza kadarkoli - brezplačno s katerokoli linijo!

• Each L'Occitane line has a unique, true story. Every single line has a purpose, story and meaningful motive behind it. That's when the beauty advisers really come in handy. I've learned so much through my process of discovering L'Occitane. I especially cherish Arlésienne fragrance line because of it's lovely story around choosen women called Arlésienne from Arles, Provence. Each year, there was a choosen woman, which was always heavenly beautiful, mystical and gracious. Everyone looked up to her while she was still mysterious, feminine, lingering and worthy of lust. Like a soft breeze you can't catch. L'Occitane interpretation of Arlésienne is embottled in a Eau de toilette with corresponding products. If you're already a fan of their old version, made out of velvety roses, gentle violets and sharp saffron, you will probably love the new Arlésienne line. The base stayed the same - rose, violet, saffron, while fresh bergamot, lily, white musk make all the difference. New Arlésienne is much more softer, powdery and gentle. A younger interpretation of Arlésienne. Still captivating but fresher, elegant and mystical, while Arlésienne still wears a scented, unique ribbon in her hair...

• Vsaka L'Occitane linija ima svojo resnično zgodbo s pomenom in smiselnim motivom. Tudi tukaj vam lahko pridejo prav informacije lepotnih svetovalk, ki poznajo zgodbe do potankosti. Naučila sem se ogromno novih informacij, ki nam ponavadi kot rednim strankam ostanejo skrite. Še posebej cenim zgodbo o Arlésienne, skrivnostni ženski, za katero ostaja močna sled a je hkrati nedosegljiva. Je zgodba, ki prihaja iz mesta Arles v Provansi. Tam so vsako leto izbrali žensko, ki je bila božansko lepa, skrivnostno magična, karakterna in prikupna. Vsi so jo občudovali, vsi oboževali kljub skrivnostnosti, ženstvenosti in poželenju. Bila je kot nežen vetrič, ki se te dotakne, a ga ne morete uloviti. Duh Arlésienne je ustekleničen v njihovi klasični Eau de Toilette in prikladnih izdelkih za nego kože. Če jo že poznate, potem verjetno hitro zaznate note žametne vrtnice, prikupne vijolice in nenavadnega žafrana. Je karakterna, ženstvena in nenavadna dišava. Po uspehu klasike, je tukaj nova verzija Arlésienne za novo, resnično zgodbo. Poleg klasične vrtnice, vijolice in žafrana je dodana še bergamotka, lilija in beli mošus za bolj nežen pristop s pudrasto noto. Vsekakor bolj mladostna interpretacija karakterne klasike, kar pa ne pomeni, da novodobna Arlésienne ne nosi očarljivega traku v svojih laseh kot sinonim skrivnostnosti in ženstvenosti...

More about new Arlésienne line soon on my blog. L'Occitane Arlésienne will be sold worldwide from 3th of November 2016. And what's your opinion on above topics? Let me know your thoughts!

Don't forget to read my TOP 5 L'Occitane picks.

Več o novi Arlésienne si boste lahko prebrali kmalu. Linija bo na prodaj 3.11.2016, katerega že nestrpno pričakujemo. In kakšno je vaše mnenje na katero od tem? Kakšne so vaše izkušnje?
Ne pozabite prebrati vseh informacij o mojih TOP 5 favoritih iz L'Occitana, ki so lahko tudi odlična darila.