The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

If you’re a fan of homemade natural
skincare products with fresh organic scents, chances are you might go gaga
inside L’Occitane En Provence.

Founded in Manosque, France 1976, L’Occitane
en Provence’s philosophy is to spread Mediterranean well being with unique
home, body and face products.  With
branches all over the world, the French brand has arrived in Cairo with a small
shop adjacent to Faces in 6th of October City’s Mall of Arabia. The
shop is located across from Gate 3 and Monsoon.

L’Occitane is not cheap, especially when
compared to local skincare brands that similarly focus on natural products and
essential oils. Still, there’s something about the quaintly arranged window
display – sprigs of lavender and yellow flowers in wicker baskets with bottles
of almond oil and creams – that seduces you into the space, and soon enough
you’ll be enthusiastically spraying, smelling and touching everything you can
get your hands on in the shop.

The shop’s mud coloured tiles and dark
brown wooden racks give off a very French/Mediterranean atmosphere, further
emphasized by the shop’s sweet scents. At the entrance, the racks of scented
candles in metallic tins will catch your eyes. Available in spicy cinnamon,
verbena and other scents, the candles are not cheap at over 160LE a pop, and
this reviewer was disappointed not to find a lavender scented candle at the
time of our visit. There are also a few scent diffuser kits (around 350LE) and
room scent sprays in cute, old fashioned perfume bottles.

The range of available products is not as
extensive as you’d find at other L’Occitane branches, but it does stock the
basics and best sellers, such as the almond shower oil, shea butter liquid
soap, the heavenly scented almond delicious paste (over 350LE for a large 7oz jar).
Several skincare products are available in the same ingredient, such as Fleur Cherie
(cherry flower), lavender, verbena and almond.

Two racks are devoted to the men’s skincare
line, including the Baux aftershave balm and gel, and another rack carries a
selection of their bestselling oils and fragrances. The cheapest item you can
walk away with is a square cube of Marseille soap (around 45LE), a cherry
blossom soap packet, or an 8.8oz soap bar in lavender or shea butter (around
85LE). L’Occitane’s body lotions and hand creams are world-renowned, and this
reviewer couldn’t resist walking away with a 30ml tube of lavender scented hand
cream (85LE). The cream’s light texture and refreshing scent make this tiny
tube well worth the price. L’Occitane is definitely a shop we’ll be heading to
when it’s time to pamper ourselves and we can afford to unload several hundred
pounds on a face cream, body lotion or scrub.