ORIFLAME Intense Hand Protection Concentrate Review

At work, I very often come in contact with the substances which dry out hands. Currently, a hand cream is something that I can’t live without. After spending Eucerin hand cream, which was very good, I wanted to find a cheaper solution and I’ve found it in Oriflame Intense Hand Protection Concentrate. It is not as cheap as I have hoped for – I got it on the sale for $4 for 50ml tube (Eucerin costs around $10 for 75ml).

The cream is very thick, but it spreads easily. However, it won’t sink immediately – it will take at least 5 to 10 minutes for it to sink in completely. This makes the cream not so work-friendly, as in this case you need something that will sink in quickly.

As for its effectiveness, it is very good – I usually apply a two pea-sized amount and it moisturizes pretty well (especially if I apply it in a thicker layer and use it over night). It works well for the cuticles, too.

The cream has a light, inoffensive scent, which needs some time to disappear completely.

All in all, a nice option, although I’d prefer if it would sink in more quickly.

EUCERIN pH5 Hand Cream

I’ve given up on L’Occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream because of its packaging (aluminium tube on which I have managed to cut myself several times), so the replacement was needed.

Eucerin always has the promo where if you spend 720 kunas (around $130), you get a free product. My mother uses Eucerin moisturizers and she was missing 50 kunas to the required amount for a free product, so I’ve put the hand cream into the cart.

The cream comes in a 75ml plastic tube with a flip top opening. It retails for around $10. It has a pleasant, mild scent which disappears quickly upon application.

The consistency feels like a mousse – it looks thick, but when you spread it, it goes easily and it is very lightweight. It sinks in immediately, without leaving a greasy layer on the skin, which is a bonus, in my opinion.

The cream leaves the skin on your hand moisturized for a long time. It immediately fixes the skin dried out from hand-washing dishes.

Even though it is far from cheap, in my opinion this cream is worth every penny.

L’OCCITANE Aromachologie Relaxing Hand Balm Review and Ingredients

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

L’Occitane Relaxing Hand Balm comes in a 50ml jar and retails for around $17. The product boasts with a non-greasy, nourishing texture. It is scented with rosemary, lavender, orange and tea tree extract and it contains shea butter and 3 essential oils: grape seed oil, coconut oil and sunflower seed oil.

–

TEXTURE

The texture is true to claims – it is very light, non-greasy and sinks in immediately.

–

REVIEW

I have used up two 5ml samples. I’ve been using the balm once per day (at night before going to bed) and these samples lasted me for a month.

I don’t have especially dry skin on my hands, but my first impression was: this won’t moisturize much. After a month of usage I must agree with my first impression – if you are looking for something that will deeply moisturize, check out L’Occitane Shea Butter hand cream.

However, I do not think that Relaxing Hand Balm is a bad product. I think it would be ideal for those who need to put a hand-cream several times per day. The balm skins in immediately, it is not greasy and provides a bit of moisture and relief to the dry skin. It is a good choice for an instant relief. Since it is non-greasy and sinks immediately, it might be a good choice to have a bottle of the balm on the working table – especially if you work a lot with papers.

The balm is scented with essential oils – the most dominant is the tea tree note. The scent, while it might not be everyone’s cup of tea, disappears quickly, 5 minutes upon the application.

SKINCARE STASH INVENTORY (January 2012)

In my Make-up stash inventory post, I’ve promised skincare and body care stash post so here I am, fulfilling my promise.

You can read on my make-up inventory HERE.

Project 10 Pans and Sample Challenge Update #4

It’s been ages from my last update. I can’t believe it took me so long to finally spend all of these products. However, I haven’t been as disciplined when it comes to the new purchases. I’ve got several nailpolishes and a primer. I’m also planning on a foundation purchase (even thought I have half a bottle of Clarins Everlasting and half a bottle of Dior Airflash) if the foundation I’m currently testing proves it is worth it.

Here are the original posts: Project 10 Pans, Sample Challenge

Project 10 Pans Samples Challenge

During spring, I’ve made a plan of finally finishing some products from my stash. I haven’t updated it for a while, but it is only because I haven’t managed to spend anything. Later I have also announced a possibility to include more samples in the challenge.

Last week I have finally managed to find some time so I’ve been rearranging my cosmetics storage and I have figured out that I have tons of samples and testers. As I’m a bit afraid that they don’t go bad, I’ve picked several products I would like to spend. Some of these are already reviewed, as I’ve been using them before, but some I’ll have to test for the first time. I will only write a review if the product was tested for at least a week of daily usage.

–

L’OCCITANE Shea Butter Hand Cream Review

L’Occitane Shea Butter Hand Creams contains 150 ml and retails for $26 (18 euros). It is not among the cheapest, but it is definitely the best hand-cream I have ever tried. This cream contains 20% of shea butter.

The cream comes in a metal tube with a small cap which can be a bit inconvenient when opening the product (I’d prefer it to be a bit bigger). The packaging looks a bit like a tube of paint.

Shea butter hand cream is very thick and a little goes a long way. I usually use a pea size amount of cream for both hands. The cream sinks in immediately and softens the hands.

The cream has very mild scent. I can’t say I like it very much, but it isn’t overpowering and it disappears immediately upon the application.

This cream helps even with severe dryness. My father has such a dried out skin on the hands that it cracks and breaks and this cream always solves the problem without being too irritating. After 2 weeks of constantly using this cream, his hands are in much better shape and the skin doesn’t cracks anymore.

Shea butter hand cream is also available in travel size (30ml packaging) which is great for carrying it around in the purse (I’ll be getting one of these when I spend my Dior hand cream), and every year, around Christmas, L’Occitane releases special edition of this moisturizer with different scent (last Christmas it was vanilla scented).

Overall impression: