Occo: Raiyia No6 Bath & Body Wash


I love citrus-scented bath / shower products. I think they are the best for a morning pick-me-up and this particular body wash totally does it for me. The scent is a lovely mix of sweet mandarin and ginger, a spicy sweet scent that immediately transports me to the Orient.

Occo is dead-on with its description of this range: Citrus Spice. However, the proper name for this product is (oh, it's a long one!) Raiyia No6 Bath & Body Wash, Orange, Ginger & Bergamot. It is an oat-based cleanser and does not contain Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS).

According to Occo
Active ingredients: Sage Oil, Lemon Essential Oil, Orange Oil, Bergamot Oil, Oat, Coconut Oil.

Benefits: Vitamin-packed orange oil, uplifting bergamot and gentle oat-based cleansers help to enliven your skin, enhance circulation and give you a real tonic. Natural aroma oils of ginger and mandarin will reawaken your mood. This product is 99% Natural
.

Ingredients
So, Occo says that it is 99% natural but even then, I still have difficulty pronouncing some of the names of the ingredients in the remaining 1% (where possible, I've used common names):

Water, Coco-Glucoside, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Lauroyl Oat Amino Acids, Cocamide DEA, Sage Oil, Orange Peel Oil, Lemon Peel Oil, Bergamot Fruit Oil, Glycerin, Parfum (100% natural), Citric Acid, Ethylhexylglycerin, Magnesium Nitrate, Magnesium Chloride, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, Phenoxyethanol, Benzyl Alcohol, Linalool, Citral Limonene.

The coconut oil is not named on the list per se. Instead, what appears on the list are coconut oil derivatives (those starting with coco- or coca-), which I suppose are meant as surfactants and/or foaming agents in the formula.


Body wash
This golden liquid is a gentle body wash and does not dry my skin out. As expected, you don't get much foam with this. It lathers just enough to give you the impression that it's doing its intended job. Does it do a good cleansing job? Come on, a body wash is a body wash is a body wash.

The spicy citrus scent dissipates quite quickly during lathering. On the skin, it takes on a rather raw scent, so by the time I walk out of the bathroom, there is hardly any spicy citrus scent left on the skin. That's all right. I may like citrus-scented bath products but I don't like walking around smelling of citrus. There is a difference.


I got this 100ml bottle as a gift-with-purchase. The normal size is 250ml which retails for £18 (yes, luxury indeed). My 100ml (plastic PET) bottle should last about three weeks.

About Occo
Here's some information on Occo, if anyone's interested. It is a line of high-end spa products inspired by the wonderful, pristine and varied landscapes and regions of Croatia. In Occo's words:

Occo is a new, natural, luxury, spa and lifestyle brand harnessing the diverse, rich, natural resources of the unspoilt Dalmatian Coast and Adriatic Sea.

Occo is the brainchild of Anna Doyle who has had a successful corporate career in the health and beauty industry. Two other ladies (Yasuda Avery and Katy Simpson), themselves with well-established careers in retail interior designing and brand/product creation came on board. Together, they launched Occo in the UK last year.

Occo's practices seem to tick all the interesting boxes (the usual contemporary concerns):
• uses oat-, apple- and coconut-based foaming and cleansing agents
• does not use SLS, parabens, petrochemicals
• does not use synthetic colours or fragrances
• does not test on animals
• uses soy inks and 100% recyclable packaging.

Occo's range of products can be difficult to grasp at first, as they are divided into seven main categories. Each is named after a place or region in Croatia (a great way to get acquainted with the geography of Croatia before your holiday there!) and they each serve different skin needs:

• Dalmacija No1 - advanced cell protection and regeneration
• Sipan No2 - calming and rebalancing
• Motovun No3 - skin nourishment and deep relaxation
• Mirnavina No4 - rejuvenating and antioxidant-rich
• Markocija No5 - soothing and extra nourishment for dry skin
• Raiyia No6 - awakening and uplifting
• Kornati No7 - energising and invigorating, with sea minerals

Still with me?

The Occo range of products includes body lotions, body scrubs, bath & body oils and wash, hand lotions and hand wash.

I think it's worth pointing out that Occo is not a Croatian brand. It is really a Croatia-inspired brand based in the UK. As far as I know, the ingredients are sourced in Croatia, the products are made in the UK and its natural fragrances are blended in France.

In any case, I read on Occo's website that they've opened a spa in Dubrovnik and I believe more are to follow.

Ms Doyle really loves Croatia.


More information:
Occo website

9 comments:

나니 said...

Wow, your review is definitely thorough! -ish amazed- Haha. I love how you capture every detail..

The packaging kinda bothers me tho.. I don't really like it >__<" Not sure why. But I like the color of the product.. For some reason the color of a product I'm using is always extremely important to me (which is why I was a bit iffy about the Purity Cleanser, cause it kinda looks like snot O_x) - I guess that's kinda weird.. but oh well. That's just me ; D

Anonymous said...

Still with you..Still with you! Such an interesting review. It's a good thing you got this bottle as a gift-with-purchase so you could try it. Sometimes you wouldn't know such products are out there, right? And you like it so that's even better! Well thnx for introducing it to me. "KTee"xx

Anonymous said...

I agree with "anonymous". I love getting free Gift with purchase so i can try out different products that i wouldn't buy normally. It's awesome and you find something that you really love!

Adis said...

It sounds interesting scent-wise :o. I too like citrusy shower products, but I hate smelling like it (reminds me too much of dish soap XD).
Doesn't seem to be available in the NL though, which is too bad :(. Oh well, I'll just go and get it if I ever find myself in the UK :).

Anonymous said...

The bottle looks like the ones you see in luxurious hotels.

Just had a peek at their website and I would love to try some of the products.

Great review! Take care, Nicole x

sugar sugar said...

Thank you for the in depth review dear! :)

Makes me want to try this product too! Maybe I can find it here haha! :) I will keep the name in mind just in case. ;)

Witoxicity said...

@나니
Hi, Nani! Apparently, I'm incapable of writing short reviews. :D I can't explain why. I suppose, just like how you're particular about the colour of a product, I'm particular about the details in my articles. Haha! And that's just me. ;D

@KTee
Phew, I'm relieved that you didn't snooze off (or click away) reading my convoluted tale! :D Yes, you're right. It's a great way to try new stuff and mind you, this bottle wasn't that tiny. Getting three-weeks' use out of it is enough to enable one to assess the product....for a body wash, at least. :)

@Beauty Addict
Aye, aye! The good thing is that I get to try something that I wouldn't normally get to try. The not-so-good thing is that now that I've tried it and LIKE it, I want more! [guiltily adds Occo to to-buy list] :)

@Adis
Haha! Dish soap. Dreft. :D Anyway, I don't think Occo is available here yet. I think they're still concentrating their efforts in the UK. However, their online shop does ship to Europe but you'd have to pay £10.00 for shipping. That really adds up! Well, I think you shouldn't have problems finding it when you're in the UK. According to their website, Occo is available in many of the John Lewis stores, among others, and oh, Harrods too. :)

@Nicole
Hey, you're right, Nicole! They do remind one of toiletries in swanky hotels. Who knows, maybe Occo does supply hotels with its products. :)

@sugar sugar
My pleasure! :)

Unknown said...

Exactly :p! I wish Dreft never made that lemony scent it's signature dish soap scent :p. I've seen differently scented dish soaps, but it's just not the same without the super lemons XD.
Ooh Harrods :D! That fancypants place? :D Always wanted to wander inside it anyway! I'll go sniff the Occo stuff while I'm there :D!

Witoxicity said...

@Dei
Yes, you do that and you might also want to buy an elephant while you're there (well, you can buy just about anything from there, they say). :D