Lavender Fields Forever: See Where Beauty Brand L'Occitane Grows Its Goods

Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.

Grid View

Expand

• The farm in Valensole where L'Occitane sources its almonds from producer Jean-Pierre Jaubert.
• The brand buys almost all of his inventory, including broken almonds that fall to the ground; they can break these down further into essential oils.
• The olive tree that's on all of the brand's shopping bags, also in Valensole.
• A lavandine distillery in Les Grandes Marges, Valensole, owned by the Jaubert family. The bale pictured is lavandine, which is different from lavender: It's easier to grow and is often used by large companies for things like laundry detergent or soap. L'O
• Tashka Sofer, the Plant Specialist at the Ethnobotanical Garden of Salagon. She shares information and tips on how to restore plants when they're sick—in essence, she's L'Occitane's plant whisperer.
• Lavender fields in Lagarde d'Apt. The brand sources all of the lavender it uses worldwide from just two producers in France, each with five-year contracts.
• To make 20 kilos of essential oil, 100 kilos of lavender is used. Lavender essential oil can be applied directly to the skin in small amounts, or with a carrier oil like olive or sunflower. Stronger oils, like thyme, should always be used with a carrier o
• The factory in Manosque.
• A huge ball of immortelle, a flower with anti-aging properties. L'Occitane sources this from Corsica, an island in the Mediterranean.
• A sneak peek at some of the plants being used in the forthcoming Aromachology line. Included are two collections of essential oils: relaxing (with scents like lavender) and revitalizing (with scents like citrus).
• A distillation unit.
• Jean-Louis Pierrisnard, Scientific Director of L'Occitane Research & Development, working on a leg cream.

Google Provence, a region in southeastern France, and you'll find endless photos of vibrant lavender landscapes and small villages nestled into rolling hills. You'll probably also come across at least one logo from the beauty brand L'Occitane en Provence, which is headquartered in the area.

The brand sources all of the lavender it uses in its products from Provence, which means that buying any one of their hand creams, bath soaks, or essentials oils in America is the same as buying it directly from a shop in France.

We were invited on a press trip this month to tour the brand's factory, located in Manosque, as well as their fields, for a firsthand look at where their main ingredients—lavender, almonds, immortelle, olives, and verbena—actually come from.

· L'Occitane en Provence [Official Site]