Beauty, Daily, Photos, Reviews

Hand Creams I’m Currently Using

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I love hand creams. Wait, I should rephrase that. I need to love hand creams because throughout my entire life, I’ve had cold, scaly dry man-hands. I’ve been called lizard hands by someone in the past. I can see why they said that. Painted a pretty picture for you, didn’t I?

I always have hand creams in various places of our home, my car, and my purse. Needless to say, I don’t always apply it. I really should.

Here are a few not necessarily top picks that I’ve been using since moving to California, where my hands are still going to continue being dry. That’s okay. I’ve learned to live with it, no matter how far away, or close I am, to an ocean.

4 hand creams I’m currently using

Must-have-hand-creams

Caudalíe

This hand cream is pretty great when and is the most reached-for cream on this list. I’ve purchased more than a handful of tubes of these creams. It’s the most lightweight feeling of the four shown above. I’ll definitely keep buying this. $19CDN // $15USD at Sephora.

Bobbi Brown Extra

A little luxury to my collection, I’ve recently added this one to my assortment of hand creams. The Bobbi Brown counter at Macy’s lured me in. Had no idea Bobbi made hand cream. I tried it out, loved the way it made my hands feel. Then left without purchasing. Thinking about it constantly the next few days, I popped into Sephora to see if they sold any, which they didn’t. A few days later I headed back to Macy’s and asked for it. Luckily they had some in stock. It flies off the shelves, apparently. I don’t really know why. It’s $31. It’s expensive. It just seems like a regular hand cream, just in some fancy name brand packaging. It’s nice though. I’d repurchase it. However, I’m going to use this sparingly because it was so costly. I want to enjoy it. Would I recommend it? Only if you’re a hand-cream addict like myself. $31USD at Macys.

 World Market Hand Cream

Ok. I have no idea who makes this since there’s a bunch of names spewed all over the packaging. I bought it at World Market, thus the title. It feels, not greasy but quite silky once applied. After a few minutes, it evaporates and keeps my hands from feeling dehydrated and gives it a healthy look. Comes in a variety of scents, but I love anything citrus so the Grapefruit & Tangerine went in my shopping basket immediately after I smelled it. $4.99USD at World Market.

First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream

I’m not the biggest fan of the scent with this product. But it’s bearable. I’ve heard a lot of great things with this brand healing eczema prone skin, and I received a sample of this a long time ago. I only just found it in my hand-cream stash so I thought I’d keep it around to try it out. Not sure I’ll purchase it in full-size when I like other hand creams better. $15CDN // $12USD at Sephora.

Honourable mentions

Neutrogena Norwegian Formula

As much as I still dislike to admit it, Mothers are always right. The top pick I recommend to anyone who wants a non-greasy formula, that is incredibly powerful and keeps your hands moisturized after many hand-washes, is still Neutrogena Norwegian Formula. It’s like a thick ointment-like consistency and is scent-free. It’s just so hard to rub in, especially when your hands are really dry or chapped. A lot of my climbing friends back in Newfoundland still use this product. I haven’t looked for it here in the USA yet, but I presume it’s readily available at any drug store. Read more about my rave reviews on it from 2012. $7.99CDN on Well.ca // $5.29USD at ULTA.

Ahava hand cream

I never thought I’d be able to find it again. It was whisked off the shelves in Ontario, Canada. I went through 3 or 4 tubes of this. Hands down, my #1 splurge for a hand cream. It has the most spa-like smelling hand cream I’ve ever tried. When I had an office and I applied it, my old co-workers walked down the hallway, asking who sprayed on perfume, or who smelled so good. It was always my hand cream. Not one person who tried it, didn’t like it. I bought it for my boss before I left work to head down to the states here. I was surprised to find it at ULTA. For the Canadians who’d like to try it, you can get it for  $22CDN on Well.ca // $21USD at ULTA.

Everything was purchased by me.

What are your favourite hand creams?

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Reviews

Mother knows best

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Why do I insist on trying new products and not stick to the one’s that I know work best?

A clear example of this is my issue with dry hands. Thankfully they don’t crack, but they’re rough and dry and feel like man hands due to my callouses from CrossFit and Climbing. I’ve always been prone to dry skin, and hands are not the exception.

My Mom, for as long as I have remembered always had this Neutrogena hand cream around the house somewhere, at all times. I may have swiped bottles of it for myself from time to time when I lived back in Newfoundland.It even lasts on my hands throughout washing them! How does that happen? Is that science? I don’t know what it is, to be honest but it’s pretty fantastic due to its staying power.

The consistency of the cream is like an ointment when it comes out of the bottle. It takes a bit of work to really rub into your hands and doesn’t leave a greasy residue.

I’ll spare you the photo of my hands in its rough state, and in the photo above you can see my hands after I applied the hand cream. As for how long it lasts? Well hours really, as I can use the washroom and come back and my hands are still silky. That’s rare. Right? I’ve written about how great this product is in the past here and here, and it’s easily accessible at the drug stores. It’s not even pricey at the drug store. It’s five bucks! Well worth it too.

Pros:

  • It’s scent free
  • It’s easy to buy (drug store, not a specialty store)
  • Keeps my hands moisturized even after washing (whaaat!)

Cons:

  • It’s freaking hard to rub in!

Make sure you purchase the Norwegian Formula, as I’m certain they have a few different varieties of Neutrogena hand creams.

No, this review was not sponsored. I purchased multiple bottles of this cream, myself.

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NaBloPoMo, Photos, Reviews

Kiehls skin care

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Kiehl’s is a very high end skin care line, probably at par with Philosophy (my review). I had the chance to try out Kiehl’s face moisturizer after I purchased a jar of it on Ebay last winter to dry and self-cure my own eczema. It was nice, but too light weight for the dry winter months in Ontario.

Kiehl’s had a Thanksgiving promotion which I posted about on my coupon site, where Canadians can get free shipping and a free hand salve with any purchase, and three samples. Just like Sephora does! Bonus. Obviously I went for it. I looked for the cheapest product I could find on their site because I didn’t want to get one of the $50 products I’ve been eying. Trying to save a bit of money for Christmas, ya know. So I bought an $8 lip balm.

It came in a pretty packaged arrangement with a Harley Davidson look-a-like sticker (ahem Jen).All my freebies plus the lip balm I purchased. Kiehl’s Ultra facial cream (what I ordered off ebay last year), lip balm #1, ultimate strength hand salve, close shavers squadron, and bare earth deep pore cleansing masque. Nice sized samples at 5mls each + the hand salve is 30 ml!

Though, for my purchase of the $8.50 lip balm, I’d appreciate a little lip piece to smooth over my lips with the balm. Am I supposed to wash my hands, apply the balm on my fingers then to my lips? Annoying!

Why am I writing this blog post about my recent purchase at Kiehl’s? It’s because I found something similar to what my Mom uses on her dry hands. A moisturizer quite on par with Neutrogena Norwegian formula hand cream. It’s thick, hard to rub in, but keeps your hands moisturized for hours even after washing.

However, of course Kiehl’s = more expensive version of Neutrogena’s cream. But still! Meanwhile, it took forever for it to ship out of their location in Quebec — 7 whole days til I got a shipping notification. So it was in my hands in 11 days. I assume it took so long because of their Canada-wide free shipping.

What’s your favorite lotion or moisturizer?

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