If you've ever heard of French upscale pharmacy brand Nuxe, it was probably in an article about their iconic Huile Prodigieuse. Or maybe their Rêve de Miel lip balm, since the enthusiasm for that one has grown a lot recently in North America. The Huile Prodigieuse dry oil remains, nonetheless, Nuxe's absolute best-seller, and I told you how you can use it a while back.

What most people can't get enough of is its scent - just ask Emmy of ouiemmy.com about that! The highly fragrant Huile Prodigieuse smells of vacation on a tropical beach somewhere in the pacific, with notes of exotic white flowers. The scent reminds me of monoï, a beauty specialty of French Polynesia made of local gardenia flowers called tiaré infused in coconut oil. It's warm, sensual, and so alive. To me it's like a summer goddess elixir in a bottle... According to Nuxe the scent is "a blend of sunshine and warm sand, with notes of orange blossom, magnolia and vanilla". Pretty acurate description for me!

Created in 1991, the Huile Prodigieuse quickly became a cult classic, with customers around the world declaring their love for the mood-enhancing, addictive scent. Nuxe took the opportunity to develop a whole line around the scent of Huile Prodigieuse, and that's what I want to show you today.





First let's quickly clear up some vocabulary questions: the line is called Prodigieux, so why the difference with Huile Prodigieuse? In a few words, nouns have a gender in French as in many other languages, and the adjective form changes to agree with the noun's gender. Huile, the word for oil, happens to be feminine in French, so the adjective must be spelled and pronounced Prodigieuse. The masculine form, however, is the "basic" that is used by default in the absence of a noun (don't get me started on the intrinsic misogyny of romance languages), so the line is called Prodigieux. Learning how to spell in French sucks, and that's true even for French kids, trust me...

Anyways, after this linguistic interruption, let's take a look at the other prodigious products in the Prodigieux line:

- Prodigieux Shower Oil: I know it's called an oil, but to me the consistency is clearly a gel. It's not runny like an oil, and it's also not greasy at all. The really cool thing about the Prodigieux Shower Oil is that it's packed with super fine golden micro-shimmer that make it look iridescent! I mean, shimmery shower gel that smells amazing, hello?? What else do you need on a gloomy winter day to put a smile on your face? The scent of this Shower Oil differs a little bit from the original Huile Prodigieuse: it's less deep and warm, a bit less sensual because of that, and the vanilla seems to be stronger. It smells really good out of the tube, but I can't say it leaves much scent on my skin after rinsing it out - nor do the shimmer particles linger. It does, however, leave my skin feeling clean but incredibly soft, like silky soft. Definitely a good choice if you enjoy the scent and have dry skin! Or if you want to play with shimmer in your shower. Who doesn't!



- Prodigieux Le Parfum: of course, Nuxe had to turn this beloved scent into a perfume! The fragrance, unlike the shower gel, is exactly like the Huile Prodigieuse: sensual, warm, summery and exotic. I was a bit worried it could be overpowering - the notes of carnal flowers it contains can be overwhelming in their full expression - but it's light enough to be delightul rather than suffocating. If you love the Huile Prodigieuse scent and always dreamed of finding a similar fragrance, this is it!

- Huile Prodigieuse Or: this is the glamorous version of the classic Huile Prodigieuse. It has all the goodness of its older sister, 6 botanical oils, zero silicones and mineral oil yet a dry texture, and of course, the scent, plus some golden shimmer! It's perfect to use on the legs, arms and decolleté in the summer for beautiful golden glow.

- an elusive candle that was released for the Holidays. You can still get your hands on it on Nuxe's website, but only in a set that also includes the fragrance.


Nuxe also offers a skincare line called Crème Prodigieuse, but it's not scented like the Huile at all (probably better for your face that it doesn't). They just capitalized on the name recognition I suppose!



Where to buy: Nuxe is everywhere these days, from Walgreen's to Target, Dermstore and beauty.com online, and even Urban Outfitters and Bloomingdale's! See below for online retailers of products mentioned in the post (including a travel-size set that contains a mini Huile, Shower Oil and fragrance down there at the bottom, together with other minis from the brand's best-sellers. I bought this little set and I'm so glad I did!)
The products featured in this review were purchased by Lulle. I received no compensation to write this post, which only reflects my personal opinion. This post contains affiliate links.