Next time you pop into your local Hotel Chocolat shop (we assume this will be soon, what with Christmas being a mere 35 shopping days away), take a minute to step away from the slabs and batons and instead head over to the stands marked Rabot 1745.
The luxury cocoa grower and chocolatier, which was founded in the UK in 2004, has branched out into beauty – and its new range is impressive.
Divided into four categories, the range is inspired by Hotel Chocolat's Saint Lucian cacao plantation, Rabot Estate. The brand founders spent four years restoring the 250-year old estate before opening a hotel and restaurant nestled within the cacao groves.
Seven years later, Rabot 1745 is being rolled out into stores. 'In a collaboration with modern day apothecary Andrew Gerrie we have crafted a beauty range like no other,' says the CEO and co-founder of Hotel Chocolat, Angus Thirlwell. 'Inspired by the wild beauty of our Saint Lucian cacao plantation with its rich variety of flora and fauna, it truly captures the spirited essence of our Rabot estate, first established in 1745.'
The 16 piece collection includes 'skin enrichers' (body butters, lotions and hand creams), 'skin cleansers' (shower gel and hand wash), 'skin perfectors' (a body mask, scrub and perfume), and a frankly gorgeous range of lip balms, which come in fruited chocolate, peach chocolate, almond chocolate and honey chocolate flavours.
It's not the company's first foray into beauty. At the estate's Boucan Hotel & Restautant, cacao-inspired body treatments are offered to guests who can choose from everything from cacao facials to cacao detox body wraps.
We're not quite sure you'll be able to fully relive the splendour of the Saint Lucian mountains in your own bathroom, but you might be a step closer now.
