L'occitane Aqua Reotier Ultra Thirst-Quenching Gel Moisturizer-Retail $29

I've been in love with some of L'occitane's body products for the longest time-such as the almond body wash and the famous shea butter hand cream, but I haven't tried too much of their skincare. This gorgeous moisturizer was sent to me for free by the brand for an honest review. So here it is!

Specs: 

• Size: 50mL
• Scent: Fresh, clean scent
• Texture: Gel
• Packaging: Tub
• Made in France

Ingredients: (taken from their website)

AQUA/WATER - PROPANEDIOL - GLYCERIN - SODIUM HYALURONATE - ACRYLATES/C10-30 ALKYL ACRYLATE CROSSPOLYMER - XYLITYLGLUCOSIDE - CAPRYLYL GLYCOL - ANHYDROXYLITOL - PPG-26-BUTETH-26 - XYLITOL - PEG-40 HYDROGENATED CASTOR OIL - SODIUM POLYACRYLATE STARCH – SODIUM HYDROXIDE - SODIUM BENZOATE - CITRIC ACID - PARFUM/FRAGRANCE - LINALOOL - HEXYL CINNAMAL - CITRONELLOL - CITRAL - GERANIOL - CI 42090/BLUE 1. 

*Almost every single one of these ingredients are pretty clean ingredients except for 2 under the fragrance category. See this CosDNA website for the deets. 

Performance: 

Gel moisturizers used to be my jam! I used to exclusively use gel moisturizers until my contact dermatitis reaction that happened last December (read about it here if you want to know what happened). Even after the healing process couple months later, I happened to fall in love with gel-cream textures and have been pretty much using those ever since. So I was pretty happy to be able to use a moisturizer that was gel because it's been so long! 

This lightweight moisturizer is a beautiful blue color that is a hydrating gel texture perfect for summer. There's a good amount of sodium hylouronate in here (4th ingredient) which makes it very hydrating for the skin. This is in a tub, which isn't my preferred packaging due to hygienic reasons, but it's not surprising since many moisturizers out there are in tubs (just be sure to use a spatula!). Synthetic fragrances is something I don't prefer, but since I'm not sensitive to it in skincare, I'm still OK with it. It smells clean and fresh, nothing that will linger for a long time, nor will it make you feel sick of it the more you use it.

The formulation is non-sticky, and glides onto the skin seamlessly. It feels like a drink of water to your skin and who doesn't want that? For my combo-oily skin on top of toner, essence, and serum, this was something that layered nicely on top and made my skin feel supple after use. It takes around 2-3 minutes for the product to sink in and give you that supple-but-not-sticky aftereffect. At least for my oily-combo skin it was enough hydration for me, but I'm not quite sure if this will be enough for those out there who only cleanse and moisturize. 

Verdict:

Yes, for the price point, I'd say $29 is a fair price point for a moisturizer that hydrates the skin! Is it my favorite moisturizer ever? No. But it's definitely a decent one that I don't think many people will complain about if you're not sensitive to fragrance. If you or a friend are one of those people who hate the oily/sticky feeling after moisturizers, this might be one to try! 

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