L'Occitane Plum Blossom Skin Moisture Gel

Brought this L'Occitane Plum Blossom Skin Moisture Gel with me to Taipei, expecting crazy humidity. This is a 2.5 oz. travel size bottle that was a part of the Delicate Embrace Set I bought last year, which also came with another 2.5 oz. of Plum Blossom Polishing Shower Gel (gifted to mum in law who loves shower scrubs), a 1 oz. Cherry Blossom Hand Cream, and a 1.7 oz. Cherry Blossom Soap (still haven't used this yet!).

A Delicate Embrace Set

Humidity I expected and humidity I got. Boy is it super humid here, even more so than it was in Yokohama. The upside is that it's a couple of degrees Celsius lower, but still the humidity makes me sweat bucket loads every day. In fact, it's been so humid within 2 weeks of arrival my daily routine has shrunk down to just a refreshing toner (Clinique Clarifying Lotion 2 for day and SKII Facial Treatment Clear Lotion for night), light serum (SKII Facial Treatment Essence), and a super light eye cream (Bliss Fabulous Every Day Eye Cream, will review all in the next few weeks). Perhaps every two nights I apply a tiny dab of Laneige Water Sleeping Pack EX to rehydrate, skipping every third night for retinol treatment (been a loyal Differin user for 4 years before switching to Avene Triacneal about 2 months ago, will review this later too) but that's it. No more layering on skincare the "Japanese" way, which means no Hadanomy AquaPlacenta Concentrated Mist, not even the usually fail-proof Clinique Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief and hubby too has stopped using it!



As for sunscreens, Mentholatum Skin Aqua UV Moisture Gel quickly turns into a sticky icky mess not having any chance to dry, which makes me kick myself every day, wishing I had brought Nivea Sun Protect Water Gel instead, at least for comparison's sake. On my face, Mentholatum SunPlay Super Block now takes for freakin' ever to dry, at least 15-20 minutes! While the slight white cast disappears after setting with translucent powder, the slight sheen remains no matter how much I blot or dust. After a few hours, my nose gets shiny and my forehead gets greasy. So now I'm wishing I had brought some Allie Extra UV Protector Perfect Alpha N with me, again for comparison's sake at least. Yes, that's really how humid it is here. Urgh.

75mL/2.5 fl. oz. travel size bottle.

Anyway, enough ranting. This Plum Blossom Skin Moisture Gel has been great! It's a super light gel that dries quickly and absorbs completely, even in this humidity. It keeps my skin nice and soft in addition to being lightly scented with a powdery flower scent. Obviously I don't apply it all over, because, well, it would be overkill right now. I only use it on my elbows, knees, and feet where my skin is driest. If you were to put your nose to the bottle and smell the fragrance, it will come off strong. However, once applied to the skin and the gel is absorbed, the end note is much lighter and long lasting. Hubby was being silly last night, putting some on himself to play a trick on me. When I came out of the shower, my whole apartment had this nice lingering scent, which I eventually sniffed out from him and wondered out loud, "How come my hubby smells like a supermodel?"