Haul| Hand Cream Galore

 Hi, I'm Be and I'm a hand cream addict. 

I have to have a tube in every place I could possibly be at any given moment. There's one in the car's glove box compartment, two in the husband's van, one in my work purse, and another at my work desk. Oh, did I mention there's a tube in my "spare" purse and my "weekend" purse? How about the one by the nightstand?  

Needless to say, I have complete ogre-ly hands that needs to be moisturized frequently and by something that knows how. 

I picked up Neutrogena's Norwegian formula Hand Cream ($4.99 retail) to replace my Burt's Bees Shea at work. That one smells revolting... like ginger and soy sauce. The Neutrogena lotion is very balmy but absorbs super quickly and is fragrance free. 

 Though I'm a L'Occitane whoreshiper, Crabtree and Evelyn had a 3 for $40 deal I couldn't resist. After some copious sniffing in stores, I walked out with three floral scents: Nantucket Briar, Rosewater, and India Hicks Island Living Spider Lily.

As revolting as "India Hicks" sounds, it is the most comforting and sophisticated floral scent I've ever experienced in a hand cream. The scent gave me an instant rush of nostalgia, until I realized it's the exact same scent my mom uses for the body wash in the guest bathroom that I use when I come home to visit.

The Nantucket Briar is an even more subdued scent, even though Crabtree and Evelyn describes its notes as : "Scents of peony, wild rose and ambergris get a refreshing boost from the citrusy fragrance of bergamot. Meanwhile, notes of vanilla, patchouli and exotic spices add a proper dose of the unexpected." 

The last scent is Rosewater, which is much more light than the L'occitane rose scented hand cream. I found it to be very floral without being powdery, which is most important when it comes to rose scents for me. 

Though I'm not a fan of floral scents in perfume or body lotion, I find them very sophisticated and calming when in a hand cream. Gourmand scents really don't work for hand creams in my opinion, even if the Avocado scent I tried out smelled absolutely delicious. I almost always do prefer a fragrance to none as it makes my ritual much more enjoyable on a daily basis. 

I'm still waiting for my massive L'occitane Shea Butter lotion to arrive in the mail, but that one is most like going to be my backup for the bathroom. At this rate, I need to grow more hands.

xo, Be.