As the sun starts to make more of an appearance, getting in touch with the great outdoors becomes a high priority on our wellbeing list. We sat down with Alexis from L’Occitane to discuss the importance of bringing a little bit of nature into our everyday routine.
While we know fresh air is good for us, can you share why getting back in touch with nature as part of our daily routine is so important?
Every day I go outside to walk my dogs, Alfie and Mimi. Even if this is just for a short time, I have always found that being outside in the fresh air rejuvenates me, and this became even more apparent to me during lockdown. Whatever the season, I notice the benefit in my mental health, my body, and in the radiance of my skin.
How do you like to incorporate the natural world into your day?
I love herbal tea, drinking green tea throughout the day to help cleanse the body, and at nighttime, chamomile and lavender tea before bed to help me relax and unwind after a busy day. I spray the Relaxing Pillow Mist onto my pillow every night as part of my bedtime routine. Lavender has such a calming effect on me, so I try and incorporate it into my day-to-day too, rather than just at night. I have the most beautiful lavender bushes outside my lounge window, and when they are in full bloom, I have my window open wide to get as much of the beautiful scent into the house as possible. If I close my eyes, even if just for a second, I could almost imagine I was at the Valensole Plateau in Provence. I like to always have flowers in bloom in the garden, no matter the season. In particular, I like the purity of white flowers.
Bringing it back to beauty, do you find different ingredients have different purposes through your routine?
Yes absolutely – different ingredients do different things! I love the Immortelle Divine Cream! I love the smell of all the essential oils of the Immortelle and the aromatic scent on my skin. When I wash my hands, I love the feeling of clean, fresh verbena and in the summer months, I only ever want to shower my body in its invigorating scent because I want to feel clean and non-sticky. In the winter months, I use a more comforting scent such as the Almond Shower Oil or one of the floral-scented shower products, like rose.
I like to have different scents for different purposes, and when it comes to a fragrance, I love L’Occitane Rose Eau de Toilette. I would always opt for different scents rather than fragrance layering, having a shower gel that matches the body lotion, or that matches the fragrance. I’d rather choose a product on its benefits. For example, shea because it is most moisturising, verbena because it is invigorating, Immortelle because it is hard-working anti-aging. Despite being a huge fan of the verbena collection, I would choose the Shea Butter Hand Cream over Verbena Hand Cream. Verbena Hand Cream has a lightweight gel texture, whereas Shea Butter Hand Cream is rich and intensely hydrating; perfect for soothing my dry hands in the winter. It is really important to choose a product that works for you, basing your choices on your personal skin and body care needs.
What are your “can’t live without” products inspired by nature?
The Immortelle Divine Cream. Divine by name, divine by nature. I have tried so many face creams from other brands, some being more than double the price, but I always come back to the Immortelle Divine Cream – nothing else even compares. And then, of course, the Shea Butter Hand Cream, which is undeniably the best hand cream in the world for me!
If you could offer one top tip about getting in touch with nature, what would it be?
At L’Occitane we are Cultivators of Change, and what this means, put simply, is that we can all make a huge difference together with the small things that we do. I love that we have eco-refills across more than 25 different ranges, including haircare, hand soaps, skincare, and body care, which helps to reduce our plastic usage! We say it is best to refill your bottle rather than your bin and I love this motto. I know this may seem small, but it all adds up, and it’s also money-saving for you! We have wonderful products that look after your face, body and mind, but we also have that knowledge that you are using products that in turn look after nature, people and the planet.
Thanks Alexis! If you need a little more inspiration about getting in touch with nature, make sure to check out our Feeling Good Together campaign, where we’re regularly updating the page with fitness inspiration, wellbeing top tips and expert interviews to help support and inspire you throughout 2021.
