Cattier Tilleul & Fleur d'Oranger Bath-Shower Gel

I discovered this shower gel in my friends' shower in Reims. My friends N & G have the best shower in all of Europe. It has great water pressure, a huge shower head and lots of space ... and also because it's always full of fun soaps and shaving creams and shampoos, including Cattier's Tilleul & Fleur d'Oranger (Linden and Orange Blossom) Shower Gel. I took one sniff and had to have it!

One of my favorite things to do while traveling is to browse through drugstores and pharmacies. I can spend hours gazing at all the soaps and face creams, all new to me, all in another language. I'm convinced I'll find a real treasure-- something heavenly I've never seen or smelled before. N and I share of love of lotions and potions; lucky for me she had the afternoon off so we went shopping!

The best way I can describe the scent of this shower gel is stemmy. It smells like the stem of a lily and fresh cut leaves. Have you ever bought clementines at Christmas, and come across one with its stem still attached-- the little twiggy thing? That's how this gel smells: a bit citrusy, a little woodsy, a little green. I get more orange blossom than linden (linden, by the way, is also known as lime blossom, and smells like the freshest spring day you can imagine).

It's almost bitter, a little earthy, a little herbal. It's wonderful and not overpowering. It has a great later and my skin feels very soft after use. Sadly, the fragrance doesn't last very long on my after toweling off. Normally I'd hate it if a shower gel left too much fragrance behind, but with this, I'd be happy with a little more scent.

Information (in English and French) on Cattier can be found here. From what I can tell, they're all organic and don't test on animals. I think they can ship to the United States; one of the drawbacks to buying French goodies is often times it's nearly impossible to find them back home - or very expensive to have them shipped. I'm already lamenting not buying violet tea (none to speak of here!!) and splurging on Chanel No. 19 pure parfum and Serge Lutens' Sarrasins. Next trip!