L'Occitane Program

Chasity's Adventures in Provence

Guest Blogger, Chasity Reynolds

The L'Occitane Provence in Every Sense workshop was the experience of a lifetime to say the least! To be perfectly honest, I experienced so much in that one week that it's becoming quite difficult to condense my thoughts about the experience into a few paragraphs.

During this trip, we participated in workshops that stimulated our sense of smell as well as our sense of observation. The first day we arrived in Provence, we visited the L'Occitane Fragrance Garden and Museum, where we met our instructor, Tashka. She taught us about the different steps involved in making the essential oils for the L'Occitane products and even helped us to make a sample of lavender essential oil, which, incidentally, is very good for sunburn. (Unfortunately, I had to learn the hard way....)

The next day, we ventured into the city for our first workshop. There, we made a collage of the different plants, such as thyme, rosemary, and mint, used to make essential oils. Later, we made little bags of potpourri. My favorite was the orange-clove one; it smelled just like gingerbread!

The next morning, we loaded ourselves in the van and took a trip to an actual lavender field. It was absolutely breathtaking! The lavender fields seemed like they stretched on forever! We hiked up a hill and observed several of the plants we had learned about the previous day growing in their natural habitats. Something that I really found surprising was that immortelle, a small lightly fragranced yellow flower, was actually growing in a cluster of rocks!

Later that day, we returned to the city and attended our second workshop where we planted basil and learned how to make bath salts. While we were planting the basil, Tashka told us some of the legends associated with the plant. She said that in ancient Rome, women used to decorate their balconies with basil to attract men; it was supposed to be a symbol of availability and good cooking. (I was considering stuffing a bunch of basil in my bag, but then I remembered that I was a terrible cook. Lol.)

After that, we made bath salts out of two of the simplest ingredients available; however, I'm not going to tell you what they were. If you really want to know, you'll have to check around the AFB web site. (Although, I think it should be pretty obvious what one of them is. Lol).

On our last day in Provence, we took a tour of the L'Occitane Factory. We got to see a lot of the different manufacturing processes that take place in the company. The fragrances in each area were considerably strong, especially in the soap manufacturing area where our last workshop was. We went to a lab right above the manufacturing station to manufacture our own L'Occitane product, a bottle of Cherry Blossom Shower Gel (my favorite fragrance!). To do that, we measured a series of bases using an electric balance, added the dyes, and mixed them all together in a large machine that resembled a large countertop mixer.

We left for New York, where we had an interesting experience in a television studio, later that afternoon. This trip was really an eye-opening experience for me. I got to see and experience many things in three days that many people won't get to experience in a lifetime.

I'd like to take the time to thank the American Foundation for the Blind and the L'Occitane Corporation for blessing me with this opportunity!

Remembering Provence

Guest Blogger, Daniel Gillen

Hello, this is Daniel Gillen, and I have just returned from the south of France with some very interesting information about L'Occitane and their products. I was surprised that a company with over a thousand worldwide stores only has one factory from which all of their products are manufactured and shipped. I was even in the factory lab making my own shower gel.

In terms of the rest of the trip, the lavender fields were my favorite. I was surprised that lavender could grow at such high elevations and with less water than other plants. For the first time in my life, I was able to walk through paths that were entirely lined with pure lavender. In this manner, the smell of lavender was present in every place in the fields. Aside from this, the hotel was one of the best and most comfortable places to stay in. It was almost impossible to get out of bed in the mornings, but the thought of delicious breakfast croissants was enough to wake me up.

We also attended a series of workshops that led up to the factory tour. The first workshop involved going to an exhibition that included the Salagon Gardens from the 1st century. While we were there, we distilled lavender flowers in order to make our own lavender flower water. The day after, we made collages that included leaves from over twelve aromatic plants, some of which do not even grow in the U.S. We also made our own potpourri with different fragrances. On the final full day in France, we made our own bath salts. I thought it was so cool; I wish all my blind and visually impaired friends could experience this.

My trip to Provence was one that I will never forget. What I wrote was only a small part of my experience. I have kept a journal that describes my travels in much more detail. Maybe you will discover a copy of my memoir in a bookstore someday and read all about me and my trip!!!

Emily's Provencal Experience

Guest Blogger, Emily Pennington

Not only did we learn about these things, but also we got to create our own products, one of which was bath salt. We took some table salt, mixed it with essential oil, and shook it up. Voila! Our second product was made during a tour of the L'Occitane factory. After observing how they made their products, we constructed one of our own…cherry blossom shower gel! I was so proud of myself; it smelled just like it did in all of the stores. I felt like a professional.

I also got to try some interesting foods, such as rabbit, salmon sushi, and real "French" fries (although I have to go back someday and get ahold of some escargot!). Even after we got back to New York, our adventure wasn't over; we went to a real studio and participated in media training for the next day's TV and radio interviews about the trip. I learned a lot of good tips from Larry, Tony, and Paul, who worked there, and I had a great time being interviewed. I got to wear an earpiece and microphone, and I felt like a celebrity. We also got to do some sightseeing, and try some New York pizza, which, I might add, was excellent. I don't think I was meant to come back to Cincinnati, because our flight home was cancelled, and, when we finally got back to our house, both my mother and I didn't have our house keys!

This trip was incredible; I really enjoyed the hands-on experience of learning about the creation of fragrances, and the many things I got to see and do as well. I'd like to thank L'Occitane and AFB for making this trip possible. I became good friends with the other students who traveled, and I know that we, as well as our parents and the other adults who were there, will remember it for the rest of our lives.

Last But Certainly Not Least, Chasity Reynolds...

Guest Blogger, Chasity Reynolds

A note from Caitlin McFeely: I'm sure you were all wondering about our fourth fabulous teenager traveling to France. Sorry for the delay in getting Chasity's blog post ready for you to read. Be sure to check back this week for blog posts from all of the world travelers, documenting their experience in Provence.

My name is Chasity Reynolds, and I'm a 16-year-old high school senior from Antioch, Tennessee. I'm an active member of many of the sports and extracurricular activities offered at my school, including track, cheerleading, forensics, and band, as well as a student volunteer for the Odyssey Healthcare Center and the Nashville Humane Society. However, most of my free-time is spent either writing stories or drawing pictures. I consider myself to be a pretty good cartoonist, and I usually carry a sketchpad and pencils everywhere I go.

I've never really had the opportunity to travel outside of the country, so needless to say, the thought that I'll be able to travel to another country, especially one as culturally rich as France, is absolutely overwhelming! I'm looking forward to touring the L'Occitane company and learning about the different processes involved in creating skin and beauty products. I'm taking my mom, Linda Muhammad, on the trip with me. She's extremely excited about this opportunity, and has been essential in gathering all the necessities we need for the trip. (And giving me a world-class headache in the process. Lol.) She and I want to thank AFB and the L'Occitane Corporation for giving us this awesome opportunity. We would also like to thank Mrs. Hillary Murtagh, my wonderful English teacher who encouraged me to apply for this workshop, for all of her hard work and support.

Meet New York City's Daniel Gillen

Guest Blogger, Daniel Gillen

Hello, my full name is Daniel Luke Gillen, and I am a 14-year-old graduate of East Side Middle School in New York City. Next year, I will begin my high school career at the Beacon School. This is the school at which New York State Governor David Paterson's son was accepted. Hearing of my acceptance there made me realize how accommodating the school is to allow people with disabilities to attend. My main hobby is playing the piano. I began with my first piano lessons at the age of 6, followed by regularly held lessons since. At present, I have just finished learning my first piece by French composer Claude Debussy, and I am working on another piece by this composer. In October of this year, I will be performing for a national disabilities conference in New York. Aside from this, I have a strong grasp of world history and geography. During my spare time, I may use this knowledge of geography to create braille maps of any region around the world. At other times, I may be researching current news on the Internet.

In terms of the trip to France, I am excited about going to the main headquarters of L'Occitane and exploring the surrounding fields. Not only does this give me the opportunity to travel overseas to another country, it is also very educational and interesting to see how the wonderful products are manufactured. In general, I am excited about being in France, which is one of my ancestral background locations. I am looking forward to eating the various foods they have there, and trying to communicate with others in the French language.

My mother, who is going on the trip with me, is even more excited because she has been dreaming her whole life of some kind of trip to France. We had planned that if I was accepted into this program, she would accompany me on the trip. She can't wait to have a croissant there.

Bonjour, From Emily Pennington

Guest Blogger, Emily Pennington

Hello (or should I say, bonjour!). My name is Emily Pennington, and I live in Cincinnati, Ohio. I'm 14 years old, and I'm about to be a freshman in high school (though I wouldn't mind if summer lasted a little bit longer).

Anyway, it's only two short days until we all leave for France. That's right, I've been counting down ever since I found out I was going. I'm guessing you've noticed how excited I am. I mean, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I'm full of anticipation. I'm really looking forward to learning about the essentials to creating fragrances; I've always wanted to do that. I'm also excited to get a taste of French culture: what they eat, what they do for fun, even if their bathrooms are different from ours (yes, I am curious about that). My mom will be accompanying me on the trip, and she's just as excited as I am, if not more so. We're trying to learn some French phrases before we leave, and we're also looking forward to visiting New York, because we've never been there either.

Anyway, that's all I have to say for now; I'm going to start packing tonight, so I must be off. I'll write more later. This is Emily, saying over and out.

Introducing Brooke Berger

Guest Bloggers, Caitlin McFeely and Brooke Berger

Hi, again! This is Caitlin with a special announcement. AFB and L'Occitane thought it would neat to have the four students attending this year's fragrance school (Daniel, Chasity, Brooke, and Emily), blog about their experiences in France (we had a little inspiration from Emily and her mom DeeAnn's web site). We hope to cover everything from pre-trip excitement (or maybe jitters) to our actual experiences in France to post-trip reflections…all of which we hope you readers enjoy. So, without further ado, I'd like to introduce our first student/guest blogger, Brooke Berger.

Hi! My name is Brooke Berger. I'm 14 years old and from Elizabethtown, Kentucky. Next year I will be a freshman at John Hardin High School. Some of the hobbies I enjoy are swimming, reading, knitting, playing the piano, shopping, and hanging out with my friends. I also enjoy spending time at the Kentucky School for the Blind. I have made a lot of friends there and have learned a lot of useful things. My two favorite subjects at school are history and algebra. I love to learn about the world's history and algebra isn't something I enjoy doing; it's just something I'm good at doing. I am involved in a lot clubs, one of which is the Kentucky Youth Assemblely. It is a fake government where you can write bills about real life issues that affect the state of Kentucky. You also get to speak in front of others and state your opinions about issues. Public speaking is another thing I enjoy doing.

I am really grateful for this wonderful opportunity to go to France and learn about fragrances. I think that it is wonderful that L'Occitane actually cares about the opinions and thoughts of blind and visually impaired people, and realizes that our sense of smell is much greater than most people. I have been trying to learn some French. I have a little trouble with it, though. I'm really excited to get to visit the lavender fields! Lavender is one of my favorite scents. The workshops sound really interesting.

I would like to thank everyone from the American Foundation for the Blind and L'Occitane for making this trip possible.

Brooke