L’Occitane x Pierre Hermé = A delicious bodycare collection from the ‘Picasso of pastry’
F or L’Occitane’s newest collection, founder Olivier Baussan wanted a nose who also had a gift for flavors, so he tapped his friend Pierre Hermé, widely regarded as one of France’s greatest pastry chefs. He’s been called “the Picasso of pastry” by French Vogue for unorthodox flavor combinations like oil and vanilla.
Baussan invited Hermé to compose a collection of scents, giving him total creative freedom, so the pastry chef decided to riff on the flowers and fragrances of Corsica, inspired by memories of the Mediterranean isle that is the favorite vacation spot of the two friends.
The result is a luscious line of body products featuring three fragrances that tantalize the nose as well as the taste buds. “I wanted to hint at ‘ gourmandise’ (good eating) without actually saying it,” Baussan says.
Sunny Jasmine- Immortelle- Neroli balances the sparkling notes of gardens at dawn with the gold of jasmine, a flower that flourishes throughout Corsica. While toothsome notes like lemon and pink pepper add zest, this is a feminine floral fragrance that captures the scent of the “Island of Beauty” in an eau de toilette, shower gel, body lotion, shimmering body powder, perfumed soap, hand cream, and lip gloss with a rosy sheen.
Pamplemousse Rhubarbe is a daring combo of grapefruit and rhubarb, celebrating not just the tartness of grapefruit but also the bitterness of its pith. Underlined by the green, crisp aroma of rhubarb, the blend is softened by spices like clove and nutmeg. It’s available in a shower gel, body lotion, hand cream, lip balm and perfumed soap.
Hermé’s favorite “flavor” in the line is the final one, Miel Mandarine. The chef wanted to conjure up golden honey crystallized on a sun- drenched slice of mandarin orange, so he combined notes of honey and mandarin with beeswax to give it a caramel undertone and tonka absolute for some almond- y goodness. Oddly, though, Miel Mandarine is only available as a hand cream and lip balm. I would also have loved it as an EDT.
“When I created these fragrances, it all came down to taste,” Hermé says. Needless to say, I’m waiting hungrily for the matching pastry line.
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L’Occitane is available at Rustan’s The Beauty Source.