Hand Care pt 1 - Hand Creams

as someone with a fondness for nail polish, I also try to make sure that I keep my hands well looked-after as there is nothing more distracting from a pretty manicure than dry skin or ripped cuticles. I work at a desk job, so nothing too damaging to the old hands there, and I get my fiancé to do as much of the washing up as I can get away with ;) however I do suffer from a sort of obsessive picking at my cuticles (not pleasant, I know - sorry!) so I have to be extra diligent to try and keep them in good nick.

lately I've been growing my collection of hand creams and potions, so thought I would share with the internet what products I have been using and what I think of them.



Part One - Hand Creams:

E45

I don't use this very often, but I am firmly of the opinion that everyone should have a tube of E45 in their stash. it's unperfumed so smells a bit nothingy and blah, but if you're suffering with dry skin or excema it's the best thing to use. i do sometimes get a little excema flare-up on my right ring finger, and a few dabs of this really soothes it and helps calm it down. it's also great for elbows, knees, heels and any other dry scratchy bits of skin. £2.30ish at boots, there is no excuse not to have some of this.

Vaseline Healthy Hands + Stronger Nails hand cream

this is my most used, go-to hand cream. it's got quite a clean, fresh scent, nothing fancy but certainly not unpleasant. it's not greasy at all and is great to use when i'm in a hurry as I find it sinks into my skin really quickly and a little bit goes a long way. it's also very gentle, my mum who has really bad dermatitis and generally can't use any store bought skin products has used this once or twice without it causing any problems, which is a huge plus. it's around £3.50 at boots for 75ml, so very affordable, and i will definitely buy this again when it runs out.

L'Occitane date bouquet hand cream

this was a magazine freebie a couple of months ago. i really wanted the plain shea butter one and couldn't find it, but as it turns out i am glad i got this one. it smells completely amazing. it's a tiny bit greasier and not quite as quick to use as the vaseline, but feels really rich and - again - smells gorgeous. l'occitaine hand creams are very pricey at £8 for only 30ml, and sadly it looks like you can't buy the date bouquet one as a solo, but i do really love this and am thinking of getting the hand and lip duo when it runs out.

Soap & Glory hand food

the blogosphere seems to absolutely rave about this hand cream, but i don't rate it as highly as any of my others. the smell is gorgeous and i could happily sniff it all day, but contrary to popular opinion i actually find it quite greasy and it seems to take ages to sink into my skin but at the same time doesn't feel rich or creamy at all. it does leave my hands feeling quite soft, but i sometimes feel like i have to rinse them afterwards as i don't like the weird sheen it leaves behind, which really defeats the whole point of applying hand cream! this is £5 for 125ml (my tube is only 50ml though) in boots, but i don't think i'll buy it again.

Neal's Yard Bee Lovely hand cream

this is the latest addition to my hand cream collection as it's a freebie in this month's marie claire mag, so i've only had it about 2 weeks. i am properly enamoured with this one though. it smells delicious as it's packed with orange essential oil, and it is so rich and creamy and lovely. it is quite greasy and does take a while to sink in - i have been applying it before bed rather than during the day, but my hands feel so soft and happy. it just feels so indulgent when i am applying it. it is another super expensive one though, at £10 for 50mls. i'm not sure whether i'd repurchase this or save my pennies for l'occitane ones as both of them are so nice.

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Phew. I didn't know I could talk so much about handcream. :|  Up next: part 2 - nails & cuticles.