Hotel Beauty Products WORTH Taking Home

G

Like many a girl, I have always had a fascination with New York City. This intrigue was embedded long before the days of Sex and the City and Gossip Girl. I just always knew I had to visit and in a perfect scenario, live in the Big Apple. Unfortunately I still am yet to live in my beloved city, however I was blessed to take a long overdue holiday recently and thus ended up travelling through US and Mexico, which of course included, New York, New York baby!

With stars in my eyes, we landed in the great city and travelled to our hotel. Despite just stepping off a sleepless red eye flight, I was peppy as ever, eager to explore the fabled streets. Much to my dismay we spent that entire first day (and I mean at LEAST 6 hours!) sitting in a hotel lobby in Midtown, (of which said hotel will remain nameless) whilst the check in staff had my partner and I on standby waiting for our room (which we booked SIX MONTHS ago) to be cleaned. 

My high spirits were quickly dwindling as we sat wasting the day. Upon the fourth or fifth time that we checked whether or not the room was ready, we were met with the response, "I am so sorry Ma'am, but it looks like you cannot stay here tonight , as we have had an unforeseen emergency with our rooms". My blood boiled with the vague excuse and images of a crack den of a last minute substitute hotel swirled in my mind. This was NOT my New York fairytale! Holding back tears and ultimately deflated on such a wasted day, I half-heartedly listened as the staff member continued on, "We are going to send you to The Plaza tonight instead". My little 5 Star ears instantly pricked up, and excitement pumped through my body. Now THIS was my New York fairytale all tied up in a bow. Keeping the ultimate poker face towards the hotel staff (I couldn't look TOO excited now after everything they had put us through that day) I proceeded with a spring in my step to The Plaza Hotel.

Now, without sounding like a total snob, I have to admit that I definitely suffer from the syndrome of "Champagne Tastes on a Beer Budget", so you can forgive me when I say The Plaza is absolutely my kind of place! With the high ornate ceilings,  and marble everything, I was in absolute heaven. Our gigantic room did not disappoint either and I quickly made myself at home on the fluffy cloud of a bed (BEST nights sleep in my entire life) wearing my thickly weighted towelling hotel bath robe and delicately munching on the grapes from the fruit platter. So plush!

Usually with hotels (even the nicer ones), the complimentary products are hardly something to write home about, and quite often I steer clear of using them, apart from the occasional shower gel. The shampoo and conditioners are particularly cringe worthy, and all I can think about is how many nasty chemicals have been used to bulk up this product so the manufacture costs are kept low. As a child I used to delight in collecting hotel bath products and used to insist that my parents bring them back for me whenever they went on a business trip. Things have certainly changed now that is for sure! However upon taking a shower in that room at The Plaza,  I was over the moon to discover the complimentary products they supply are not just an actual brand (versus a "hotel branded" item), but they were in fact Caudelie! **Happy Dance**

For those who are not familiar, Caudelie is a French skincare brand who also have a range of haircare. You may know them for their Beauty Elixir, which is a favourite among a few key members of the beauty community. I have been keen to try their products for some time now, but they are not that widely available in Australia and I have not had the opportunity to trawl the interwebs looking for an online store who supplies their products. Hence, you can imagine my delight when four 60ml (2 fl oz) products basically landed in my lap!

The products were the Gentle Conditioning Shampoo, Gentle Conditioner, Fleur De Vigne Shower Gel and Nourishing Body Lotion. All four products are gently scented with a similar fragrance and smell absolutely DIVINE! I am not great with scents, but I would describe the scent are fresh floral. I also found that the scent lingers on the hair and body after use, but it does not overpower. These four products are also free of Parabens, Sulfates and Mineral Oil. TICK!

I am definitely keener than ever to purchase some items in the brand now after sampling the four products I mentioned before. I particularly enjoyed the Fleur De Vigne Shower Gel and will be hastily restocking this item when it runs out. I also enjoyed the shampoo and conditioner. While very gentle, I did find them quite nourishing and they certainly helped clear up the vast issues with dryness and frizz that my Tresemme travel sized products caused (we did not get along AT ALL!). I am also intrigued by the Caudelie Divine Scrub and Caudelie Divine Oil, so they will probably end up in my shopping cart as well. 

Please let me know if you have found any hotels or resorts in your travels which stock amazing complimentary products like The Plaza. I would love know ( and possibly stalk said hotels on my next adventure!)

Jen xox