Nivea Pure & Natural Hand Cream Review

Today I will be reviewing Nivea's Pure & Natural Hand Cream. I have been using it on-and-off for a couple of weeks now. I keep it next to my computer and often throw it on while working on the computer. It sinks in quickly so you are not out of action for long.

First up, let's consider what the product claims to do (taken from the packaging):

• Intensively protects and nourishes dry hands. 
• Contains Bio Argan Oil. 
• Makes the skin smooth all day. 
• 95% organic. 
• No parabens, colorants, sillicones or mineral oils. 

My impressions: 

The product I have is a 75ml plastic tube with a good flip-top lid. The packaging is pretty basic but I like it. I especially like the flip-top lid as I hate lids that deattach from the product. I can't fault the packaging in any way.

The cost is also something that I really like about this product, retailing for approximately $4.39 but often found on sale and in a number of easily-accessible locations including Priceline, Target and Woolworths. This is a product that is great value.

It is a lightweight hand cream that spreads easily and absorbs into your skin quickly so that you can use you hands practically straight after application. It leaves your hands feeling silky smooth and has a relatively subtle scent. It has a lasting effects on my hands and even after washing my hands I feel that my hands are still moisturised.

To be honest, the only thing I don't love about this product is the scent - whilst being pretty subtle and not smelling of anything in particular, its not a scent I love. But having said that I would still repurchase this product without a doubt.

So now lets quick recap those claims and see if it lives up to them:

• Intensively protects and nourishes dry hands - yes confirmed. 
• Makes the skin smooth all day - It definitely lasts awhile and doesn't wash away. I will say this claim is confirmed however please note I actually haven't applied the handcream in the morning and then in the evening considered if my hands are still smooth. 

Summary 

This is a cheap product that lives up to it's claims and works wonderfully. Sinks in quickly and leaves your hands feeling very smooth without any weird residue and the moisture remains even after washing your hands. A hand cream definitely worth checking out - ideal for keeping on your desk or in your handbag. Would I repurchase this hand cream? Yes I would. Despite not loving the scent it does not contain parabens, colorants, sillicones or mineral oils and that makes up for it in my book! 

Thanks for reading and take care :)

Soap and Glory Hand Food

Today I have a review of "Hand Food" for you! I brought this hand cream because I had read heaps of rave reviews of it......

So first up, packing and first impressions. The packing is pretty funky and very practical with a lid that flips up/down for quick application and the small version of this product (50ml) will easily fit in your handbag or desk drawer. First impressions included that the scent was pretty subtle (even though I swear I read people raving about the scent) but that's fine! It's a pretty subtle scent, quite delicate.....but nice all the same. it feels really nice upon application and sinks in well.

Second order of business is what does Soap and Glory claim this product will do for you?
The packaging, despite being quite boisterous doesn't claim to do everything under the sun and I like that!!! A little bit of honesty never hurt anybody. So the claims are that it will soften, smooth and soothe your hands.  I am happy to report it does all of that - yay! It softens and smooths your hands. It feels quite luxurious and has a lasting effect. It also claims that it's a non-greasy formula. I absolutely loathe greasy hand creams that take forever to sink in, Hand Food, however, gives a reasonable performance. It doesn't sink in 100% super quickly and you have a residue kind-of feeling for a little while however it's not the kind of feeling that prevents you from picking things up and doing stuff. I just lathered way too much Hand Food on two minutes ago and I'm not too worried about my keyboard....I think it might be this residue feeling that makes your hands feeling so soft and smooth.So all in all, pretty good.

Pros

• Funky Packaging
• Practical packaging, great for on-the-run!
• Subtle scent
• Does what it claims 

Cons

• The one big negative for me is the ingredients list. I don't like using products with parabens and etc... and being overwhelmed by the many great reviews out there I didn't look at the ingredients list before purchasing. 
• Price 
• Not a heavy-duty hand cream (but works well everyday)

Conclusion
A pretty decent hand cream that feels luxurious however it isn't free from parabens and is a little pricey. Throw it in your handbag for on-the-run and it will sink in quick enough not to leave you useless.

Would I recommend this product? Yes.
Would I repurchase it? Probably, however I prefer products that are more organic.

Overall score: 7.5/10

Weekend Haul

Okay so it's Wednesday evening and I'm only now just getting around to my weekend haul post! I'm a very bad blogger I know!!!! It's not that I don't love love love blogging but I had to cut my nails super short and I am trying to get them healthy so I can't pain them :( so sad!!!!! But anyway, I managed to do quite a lot of shopping over the weekend and even started my Christmas shopping. This is like the earliest I have ever started my x-mas shopping, I'm so pleased with myself. Okay, okay I only got one present but hey, it's not the day before Christmas........yet.



 Anyway, my weekend haul:

• Palmer's Purse Essentials (included mini body lotion, daily facial lotion SPF 15+, Dark Chocolate & Peppermint Lip Butter and hand cream). This was being sold for 'below cost' at Target for $5.83 which I thought was a wicked awesome price considering the lip butter alone sells for $4.79 
• Essence Nail Polish (old bottle) in princess prunella 
• Essence Breaking Dawn Part 2 Trend Edition 'A piece of forever'
• Sun Sense SPF 30+ Sunscreen 
• Sun Sense Daily Face SPF 30+ invisible tint finish

 So I will be testing out all of these products and getting back to you. Literally, ten minutes ago I put on some of the lip butter for the first time and wow - it really does smell like peppermint.

I totally forgot to take photographs of the sunscreen but I have photos of the rest of the haul. Not much of a haul I guess but I'm pretty happy with it!

Thanks for reading,
cheers

Empties - October

I have 45 followers!!!! I was super excited when I logged on today and saw that I had some new followers. I love blogging but what makes it really special is having such great followers. So thank you :)

The frequent blog reader that  I am, I often come across "empties" posts which I always find interesting because the best way to tell if a product is good or not is
a) does a blogger use it all?
b) do they re-purchase it?
So I have just emptied two of my absolute favourite products and thought I would share.

First up, we have the Mario Badescu Enzyme Cleansing Gel, I think I have been using this for around 6 or more years and have re-purchased it every time my bottle goes empty without even thinking about changing product. I started using this when my face was the typical teenager face - pimples, oily and breakouts all the time and now (thank god I'm not a teenager anymore) my face is less oily and I rarely have break outs. It is a gel cleanser meaning it's not foaming or frothy and leaves your face feeling super clean but not tight and dry like other cleansers do. It can be used twice a day and removes dirt, make-up and oil from your face as well preventing blackheads and pimples.

The second empty is Kiehl's Ultimate Strength Hand Salve which is the best hand cream I have ever had and definitely want to repurchase it. For the 75ml tube it costs $22.00 and for 150ml it costs $34.00. Unlike most hand creams this hand cream really does moisturise super-dry skin and acts as a "glove" so that your hands are protected from dryness all day. I use this a couple of times a week (or daily if my skin is really dry) even when my skin isn't dry because it keeps my hands feeling great and is also great for my cuticles.  

Hope you enjoyed this post, thanks for reading!

The Body Shop - Christmas Limited Editions

Hi guys, hope you are all having a good day :) The Body Shophas announced their Christmas limited edition products.  So I had to share!!!!! They are always gorgeous and smell great.

The two ranges for Christmas 2012 are: Cranberry Joy and Ginger Sparkle. They sound scrumptious don't they?

Products are:

• Body Butter
• Shimmer Lotion
• Body Polish
• Shower Gel
• Soap
• Hand Cream
• Home Fragrance Oil
• Room and Linen Spray
• 2 gift sets

I immediately set my eyes onto the 'Body Polish' (exfoliator) and no doubt I will want the hand cream and body butter too :) Also, there doesn't seem to a lip balm this year :( which is a shame because the last two years they have had pots of yummy smelling balm!!!! 

Please do go have a look at the website:  http://www.thebodyshop.com.au/

Do you look forward to The Body Shop's Christmas range? Any favourites?
Cheers,

Product vs. Product - Kit vs Vaseline

This week's battle between two products focuses on body moisturisers, body lotions.... or whatever you want to call them.

We have  Vaseline's total moisture aloe fresh daily light lotion spf 15 against Kit's Hand & Body Lotion. Each of these products I have owned for around a year and to be honest, I love them both. There are a few differences though, so here goes.

The vaseline retails for around $8.00 for 200ml and is easily found in chemists,supermarkets and shops like Target. It is made in Australia :)

The Kit Hand & Body Lotion retails for $29.95 for 200ml. You can purchase it from Kit stores, kit kiosks located at Myer or online here:http://www.kitcosmetics.com.au/products/kitcosmetics/essentialkithandandbodylotion/

Notes on Kit's Hand & Body Lotion

• Delightful, sophisticated scent with tones of lemongrass and yummy oils. I love the smell!
• Absorbs into the skin very quickly and leaves your skin feeling moist. 
• No yucky greasy feeling after application. If applying onto your hands, you can use your hands pretty much straight away. You don't end up feeling slimy!
• Combined hand and body lotion that serves two functions effectively without compromising on anything (it's a great hand lotion as well as being a body lotion). 
• Made in Australia. 
• Contains no parabens, phthalates or sulphates. 
• Comes in a useful pump bottle. 
• Packaging is simple but classy.

Overall score 10/10

Notes on Vaseline's total moisture aloe fresh daily light lotion spf 15

• Ok so I know I said I loved the smell of the kit lotion (and I do) but I also really love the smell of the Vaseline lotion. No, I'm not that fussy with my scents but these two lotions have really great scents and dare I say it......these two lotions are my absolute favourites!) This lotion smells very 'green', if that makes sense?
• Sinks into the skin very quickly and doesn't leave any residue. Skin feels very moist after application and smooth. 
• SPF 15 and protects against both UVA and UVB rays, always a plus although if I was going into the sun I would put SPF 30 on. I like this lotion though for days when I'm not sure what I'm doing and want to play it safe or if I won't be in the sun much. 
• Packaging is pretty standard but functional. 
• I'm not sure if it is intended to be used as a hand lotion but I can't see why not. 
• Made in Australia. 

Overall score 10/10

To test each of these lotions out I applied one to each leg, two days in a row (yes I know, my testing technique was quite poor) and tried to decide which leg felt smoother on the second evening.  The 'kit' leg felt marginally smoother although both lotions did a great job of keeping my skin hydrated. As a combined lotion the Kit lotion is brilliant. I would highly recommend it's use as a hand lotion as well as a general purpose body lotion. However, despite being a lot cheaper, the Vaseline lotion also performed brilliantly. I know this review is pretty pointless because I can't pick a winner!!!! Sorry!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

I am going to say that both products are winners and I would recommend them both to you :) 

If you want something cheap and for general purpose and for your body mostly (not as a independent hand lotion) go for the Vaseline however if you want a lotion that you can use on your hands and body equally go for the Kit lotion. 

Have you tried either of these products? Do you have a favourite lotion? 

Cheers and have a great weekend!

Top 5 products under $10 July

The title of this post is pretty self-explanatory, I am going to show you my top 5 products all available for under $10 for the month of July :)

I hope you enjoy this new kind of post, let me know in the comments section please :) There is no word-verification required so it should now be a lot easier to comment. 

1. Lush Ultrabalm $7.95 - admittedly I have only had this product for two days but I am already falling head over heels in love with this balm. I will post a review after I have used it for a bit longer. First impressions is that it is a soothing and moisturising balm that can be applied dry and chapped skin. 

2. Nivea's Lip care Honey & Milk $3.95 - yep another lip balm! 

3. OmShe nail polish $9.95 - it's free from nasty chemicals and made in Australia. 

4. Essence's mattifying compact powder - I decided I wanted to experiment with some compact powder because whenever I see my self in photos my face seems really shiny. Plus, I heard that compact powder might help my foundation stay on for longer (yes I use primer too). 

5.  Face of Australia acetone free nail polish remover $3.99 - a polish addict needs a good nail polish remover. This is what I am currently using.  

*Please note that the prices above are estimates. Whilst I cannot remember the precise cost of every single item listed they were all under $10 and even though some items were on sale they are all below $10 even before discounts*