I own far fewer bath and body products than you might expect, especially in relation to my surplus of perfumes and lipsticks. Just two weeks ago, in fact, I realized that I was down to one partially used bottle of shower gel (not counting my secret stash of LUSH Rose Jam, of course) and half a bottle of unscented body lotion. Spring is always a good time to try new body products, so I recently introduced two items from Le Couvent des Minimes into my morning regimen.
Le Couvent des Minimes is named for a historic convent in the French town of Mane, and its formulas and fragrances are supposedly inspired by the convent's gardens of curative herbs and flowers. The line's Silky Shower Cream belongs to its Botanical Cologne of the Cloister collection, a set of products that conjures up "the delicious fragrance of the flowers in the Convent's Cloister warmed by the midday sun." The label includes a subtitle of "Rose & Berries," but this shower cream turns out to be quite unlike the aforementioned LUSH Rose Jam or anything from Bath & Body Works. Its scent is a cheerful mix of soapy rose with geranium, pink pepper, citrus and ginger. It's clean but sophisticated, and surprisingly unisex. I like using this shower cream on days when I'll be wearing a light rose or lily perfume, since its fragrance does linger on the skin and pairs well with spring-y florals.
On days when I plan on wearing a citrus or herbal perfume, or mornings when I'm feeling sluggish, I've started reaching for Le Couvent des Minimes Refreshing Body Moisturizer. Its scent is the brand's Botanical Cologne of the Morning, a blend that evokes the "particular time of the day when nature comes back to life and reveals all its splendour." Basically, this scent feels like an Eau de Cologne with notes of lemon and bitter orange peel, herbal accents of basil and juniper, and a hint of cedar. It clings to the skin for several hours, making it an easy alternative to perfume on rushed mornings or very hot days.
Le Couvent des Minimes is a L’Occitane company, and the connection is evident in this brand's vintage-style label designs and the high quality of its formulas. Both of these products do include essential oils and shea butter in addition to synthetic ingredients, and they are effective and very pleasing to the senses. Who knows — I may try more products soon, at the risk of expanding my toiletries collection!
Le Couvent des Minimes Silky Shower Cream is $12 for 200 ml; the Refreshing Body Moisturizer is $14 for 200 ml.
I’m a fan of scented shower gels (not so much of scented body lotions), so I really enjoy these posts. I’d love to try the shower gel in the botanical cologne scent – there are always too few body products that smell green or woody, they tend to be floral or fruity or gourmand.
Annikky, I know what you mean — and sometimes, especially in warmer weather, I want a green/refreshing shower gel, not something sweet or floral! I really like LUSH’s Grass shower gel and C.O. Bigelow Lime & Coriander shower gel. Malin + Goetz makes some good ones, too, although they’re a bit pricey!
Grass is one of my absolute favourite shower gels, especially for summer. And I see that Malin + Goetz has just released a Sage-scented one, must try that (I’ve had their Geranium before). Have you tried the Hermès body products? I really like Narcisse Bleu shower gel and Gentiane Blanche is good if you want something different. Not cheap, but not as expensive as they could be: here they are in the same price bracket with Kiehl’s. I know because I really love Kiehl’s Fig Leaf and Sage as well
Oh, I would love to try the Hermes products, because I think I would enjoy some of those fragrances more as body products than as actual perfumes! Thanks for the reminder.
I wish this brand were stocked around here. There are a few things I want to try from them. Have you tried any Melvita products? It’s another L’Occitane brand with some nice stuff. I really like their geranium cream soap and their cinnamon-almond shower gel scrub.
Jonas, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Melvita! I guess different brands are distributed to different markets. I’d love to have a nice geranium soap in our bathroom!
These both sound lovely! I don’t think I would have looked twice and something that was supposed to smell like rose and berries (mostly because of the berries, because I like rose very much). However, I really like the sound of your description! Thanks for the illuminating reviews
Yukiej, I think fruity shower/bath products can easily turn cloying or very fake-smelling, so I’m fussy about that too! However, this one really isn’t fruity at all — it isn’t what I expected, but I liked it very much!
The shower cream sounds delightful! I’m not at all into scented body lotion so I’ll skip that.
A long time ago, Bath & Body Works used to carry the Le Couvent des Minimes line.
Hajusuuri, I do remember that brief period when B&BW was carrying all kinds of interesting brands, including Le Couvent des Minimes! I wonder whey they stopped doing that. At least some Duane Reade locations carry LCDM now!
I have the Cloister shower gel, some soap and the cologne I got from their website as a sale gift item. I really enjoy the rosiness, and the cologne is very refreshing in the summer… Still wish I had Rose Jam…will definitely get this year when it is released!
Yay for sales!
I’ll be looking forward to Rose Jam’s return, after I’ve used up my last few drops…
I think this line is carried at Ulta. They should have them online.
Joella, that’s a great tip. Thank you!