Yves Rocher

I'm vain, I admit it! Not beautiful, but I still like to do my bit and keep back the aging process. I also like to ensure that the products I use are not animal tested and as natural as possible. For this reason I have been an Yves Rocher fan for almost 20 years. I love browsing round their shops but now can only do that in Europe, guess we English weren't ready for them at the time they were here!! In the UK we can buy mail order or, as I do, on-line at www.yves-rocher.co.uk. You need to register to buy but the site is very easy to use, with clear pictures and descriptions.

A very brief history:

Yves Rocher began making cosmetics in 1956 in La Gacilly, Brittany. These products used natural ingredients, many of them home grown. The products proved so popular that by 1959 the first factory was build. The Head Office and botanical gardens are still in La Gacilly but it is now a world wide organisation.

Prices:

The prices start from £1 but some products can seem expensive. Having said that, price is subjective and if you are used to paying for Clarins, Dior etc then you would probably disagree. They regularly offer great savings such as 50% off, or buy one get one free. The current on-line offer is to save £10 on any order over £25. Postage and packing is £2 up to £20 and free thereafter so not expensive and delivery is usually within 7-10 days. I have my favourite products and tend to buy only when there is an offer on. Actually, to be honest, there is usually one offer or another on-going and I don’t think I have ever paid full price for anything :-)

Products:

They sell anti-aging products, face and body care, make up, bath and shower products, hair care, perfume, aftershave, and ranges for both men and children.

My favourites are the Monoi de Tahiti range, Pro-Retinol 100% Vegetal products, the Plaisirs Nature Vanilla range and Chevrefeuille (honeysuckle) eau de cologne so I will chat about these and leave you to discover your own favourites.

The eau de cologne is a lovely light fragrance reminiscent of balmy English summer evenings spent walking along country lanes, the gentle hint of honeysuckle on the breeze. Sigh!! You get the idea. It usually sells at £10 for 125 ml.

Autumn and winter I like to use the Vanilla range of products. They smell warm and good enough to eat – like fudge!! I like to layer them up so use the shower gel and shampoo both £3 and 400ml. They don’t give too much lather, which I like, and they last for ages (there is a 50ml travel size shower gel available and I have used this as a shampoo as well whilst away as it is so mild). Then I sometimes moisturise using the 400ml body lotion, again £3. During the day I top up with the vanilla spray eau de toilette (£5.50 for 100ml). This range may not be to a lot of people’s taste but both myself and my partner love it. I also find the products look good in my bathroom as they range from the warm dark honey of the shower gel , through a golden honey shade of shampoo and into the milky coffee colour of the body lotion. How sad am I!(rhetorical question that one ok, answers on a postcard not needed thanks!)

Spring and summer I go more floral and exotic: Monoi, a lovely fragrant combination of coconut and gardenia, heady and intoxicating to the senses. Again I layer up, first with the shower gel (£3.80 for 150ml), this is a lovely moisturising shower gel which makes a wonderful shampoo as well and then with a lovely luxurious oil which contains 50% gardenia oil. My big concern with this is that the bottle is glass and you can imagine oily hand and glass bottle are not the best combination. No disasters yet though! Can’t tell you how much the 100ml bottle costs because it is not on the website at the moment. I hope it comes back or I shall cry!! I have also seen an eau de toilette and sun cream in this range but not in the UK.

Please could I just add that I don’t always smell of vanilla or gardenias as I do also use other products from other places, honest!

Lastly on the product range (for those of you who are still with me) is the anti aging stuff - Pro-Retinol 100% Vegetal. I get the impression that the magic ingredient is the Pro-Retinol stuff and the fact that this one is 100% derived from plants. I particularly like the Urban Defence Fluid (£11.20 for 40ml) it has an SPF of 15 & light-diffusing pigments. It is very light, is easily absorbed and non-greasy. I can’t say I honestly notice if the pigments do make my skin look more radiant as claimed but as I like the product maybe they do. There is a slight, gentle fragrance to it and I do think it helps my anti-aging regime

At night I use the Minuit cream in the same range. This is particularly cleverly packaged as the green interior pot is detachable from the clear outer one so you only need to buy refills once you have bought your first one (40ml costs £13.20 and the refill is £8.50). When you first dip your fingers in, the cream feels a bit ‘hard’ and you have to be firm with it. Once on the finger though it blends very easily into the skin leaving it silky smooth. Again there is a subtle scent to it, more floral and more noticeable than the day fluid. I am sure that the combination of these 2 products is helping to keep the fine lines from getting worse

In this range there is also an eye cream. The one I am using has been discontinued and replaced by Self Defence Eyes at £11 for 15ml. If it is anything like its predecessor then it should be good. When I check it out I will let you all know. They also have a cleanser, an all-in-one face and eye cream, night wrinkle reducing cream and a ‘magic’ camouflaging stick which I have yet to try

Downside to shopping at Yves Rocher:

It can be nice having a shop to pop into to try things out, but having said that, Yves Rocher do offer a 100% money back guarantee on their products if ever they fail to please

Also they have naff incentives to induce you to buy – cheap handbags etc. I would rather not have those as I think the huge reductions on offer are a much better incentive to most of us who shop with them. I wonder if any of their customers ever pays full price for anything??

Thanks for reading this review