My love for L’Occitane (pronounced Locks-ee-tawhn) began a long time ago as the very popular hand cream was introduced to me years ago by both my mom and mother-in-law. It was almost tradition to have L’Occitane hand cream in your purse at all times in our family! I’ve been sharing the brand on my platform for as long as I can remember and it’s such an honor to have been included on a trip to where it all started for L’Occitane.
Day 1 in Corsica
We traveled from NY -> Amsterdam -> Marseille -> Corsica on Sunday, June 23rd. It was definitely a long way to get there but it was SO worth it as soon as we checked into our villa in Corsica. We stayed at La Villa Calvi Hotel and it was the most beautiful hotel I’ve ever laid eyes on. We got there in the evening and had a nice dinner before a day full of adventures the next morning.
Day 2 & 3 in Corsica
We had an early start on day two and drove to the Corsican nature park. We had a botanist expert chat with us about the plants in Corsica and how they were different from other parts of the area. We then had lunch by the Mata Hari beach which was so nice and breezy! Since we were being hit with a heat wave, we had the opportunity to get in a little pool time in and freshen up before we went out to the town! We visited Old Town Calvi and explored the streets of the city a little more before dinner. Dinner was the highlight of the day as we drove up to I Scalini which was located on the top of a hill overlooking Calvi Bay. I seriously can’t recommend this place enough!!! The food was delicious but the views were what sold us. It’s definitely a hidden gem in the town and a must-visit if you’re ever here!
The next day we drove roughly 2.5 hours to the immortelle fields and had such an exquisite lunch in producer Pascale Cherubin’s home. I captured the beauty on my stories (saved in highlights) for y’all but the lunch was so intimate and so peaceful just right outside the immortelle fields. During lunch, we learned a lot about the relationship L’Occitane has with their producers and how respectful and passionate they are towards one another. The partnership L’Occitane has with their producers goes beyond the business itself—they truly care about every single person they reach and it’s just so special to see!
We also visited producer Stephan Francisci, the grower of the Divine Grand Cru flower. L’Occitane had the cutest pop up set up in the middle of the immortelle fields here!! We gained knowledge on how the immortelle range got started and the distillation process here on the field. L’Occitane has an immortelle line which includes very potent, natural essential oil from immortelle. It’s known to have healing properties and anti-aging powers.
Day 4 in Provence
We flew back to Marseille the night before so that the remaining couple of days were spent in Provence. We had the opportunity to take a tour of the L’Occitane laboratories where Pascal Portes, the Innovation & Scientific Director, went into detail about the process of developing and testing each product. Learning about factory process really makes you appreciate each and every single product a lot more!
After the lab, we had lunch at Aigo Blanco Restaurant in the village of Forcalquier. It was a quaint little village—so much culture in the air!
The girls on the trip got to have a little L’Occitane spa treatment in the hotel next and it was much needed! We were pampered with L’Occitane Precious and Reset products which are sooo good for your skin. My skin felt instantly better—I didn’t even need any makeup for the rest of the evening!
Day 5 in Provence
Our last day was definitely one for the books. We all woke up at 4:45am and chased the sunrise from a hot air balloon ride and my oh my was it so surreal. We could see the rolling hills, the lavender field from afar, and the city of Provence just gleaming through the sunrise. We were all just silent during this journey… taking in all the untouched natural beauty Provence had to offer.
A visit to the lavender fields was our next and last stop—the moment we’ve all been waiting for! Provence is home to some of the highest quality lavender that is a key component in some of L’Occitane products. If you haven’t tried their Lavender hand cream and Lavender foaming bath—you’re missing out! This entire trip showed me that L’Occitane really stands by their commitment to high-quality ingredients and responsible sourcing in an environmentally conscious way. I loved watching L’Occitane work so closely with their French farmers from the immortelle fields of Corsica to the lavender fields of Provence. What’s even more special is they can actually trace back the ingredients from each of their producers–from the farmer to the batch that it was made in. That kind of transparency is truly remarkable!
I hope you all enjoyed my recap from this beautiful L’Occitane trip in the South of France! Being in Corsica and Provence with the L’Occitane team was truly an experience of a lifetime and I’ll forever be grateful for the company and the team. I enjoyed getting to explore the incredible region that inspired so many L’Occitane products and learning about their process, values, and overall commitments to the company. We have so much respect for L’Occitane and how passionate they are about every aspect of their company. Thank you so much L’Occitane for the incredible opportunity. The memories will stay with us forever!
Favorite L’Occitane products:
Chat soon! Xo
Thank you L’Occitane for sponsoring this post. As always, all thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. Partnerships like these make Next With Nita possible.
