If you know me, you'll know I am literally never without three things: my iPhone, lip balm and hand cream. The problem with lip balm and hand cream is that once you start using them, you can't stop. Or at least I can't; maybe my skin is just totally addicted to them now. So it goes without saying that I have tried a lot of hand creams in my time. I have one in every room of my flat, my bag, my car and my desk at work. I'm pretty confident, therefore, that I know what makes a good hand cream and I'm definitely qualified to rate and review them. As always with my reviews, nothing here has been sponsored, gifted or otherwise biased. These reviews are totally my opinions so take them as you will. I hope they're useful!
Neal's Yard Bee Lovely hand cream / £10 for 50ml
Rating: 8/10
This was in my Marks & Spencer beauty calendar and I have to say I'm impressed with it. The scent is pleasingly fresh and zingy, like real ripe oranges. The texture is thick but non-greasy and absorbs well. It loses marks for the packaging (the scent of orange is a yes but the colour is a no).
Grown Alchemist vanilla & orange peel hand cream / £14 for 65ml
Rating 10/10
You know I love Grown Alchemist and this was the product that started my obsession. The best scented hand cream ever (just so luxurious yet not overpowering), it sinks in like a dream and the packaging is divine. I have this as a hand wash/hand lotion set in my bathroom and I never get tired of it.
Clarins hand and nail treatment cream / £21 for 100ml
Rating: 7/10
This is a good consistency, sinks in well with a nice scent, if a bit too perfumed for my tastes. I'm not overly keen on Clarins' packaging in general (red is one of my least favourite colours, to be honest, and I think the beauticians' uniforms make them look like air hostesses, which is never a good thing). But this is a good, nourishing hand cream at the end of the day.
Molton Brown rhubarb & rose hand cream / £10 for 40ml
Rating: 5/10
Molton Brown products always feel like a treat, but to be honest some of them are nicer than others. I'm not that keen on the sickly sweet scent of this hand cream (the Seville orange is much better), plus in my opinion the garish colours of the packaging look a bit cheap. The consistency is OK, but doesn't sink in as well as some.
Diptyque Baume Généreux luxurious hand balm / £22 for 50ml
Rating: 8/10
As always with Diptyque, you get a beautiful scent and a high quality product. I do think the packaging could be more special, though, so I'll probably be sticking with candles from this brand.
Aesop Resurrection Aromatique hand balm / £19 for 75ml
Rating: 9/10
Aesop win hands down on packaging, but the scent of this will divide people. For some, the heady, herbal - almost medicinally so - fragrance will be off-putting. I absolutely love it, but it is very overpowering; I once applied it before eating and it genuinely put me off my food because I could only smell my hands. I use it just before bed now and it's a divine scent to send you off to a blissful slumber.
The Body Shop almond hand & nail cream / £12 for 100ml
Rating: 9/10
This is my favourite budget option: the texture is really rich and it sinks in like a dream. I love the nutty almond scent, too, and it's great value for money. Loses a mark for the really annoying lid which is a nightmare to screw back on, and the metal tube, which will develop cracks before you've finished it.
Korres antispot almond oil & vitamin C hand cream / £9 for 75ml
Rating: 7/10
The best selling point of this hand cream is the SPF 15 - no more sun damage-induced age spots, thank you. The sweet almond scent is lovely, too, but the packaging and consistency could be better.
L:A Bruket sage, rosemary & lavender hand cream / £17 for 70ml
Rating: 10/10
This comes in at joint first place. Excellent range of scents; I have both the rosemary, sage & lavender and the wild rose, which are equally divine. The packaging is excellent and the consistency is really thick and nourishing. The only annoyance is that they have now changed the tube from silver to white, which isn't quite as nice. Change it back please, L:A Bruket!
Rating: 2/10
A super cheap one in here for balance, and the lowest scoring of the bunch. The texture of this is sticky and doesn't sink in well at all: it's the opposite of nourishing. It also both smells and looks cheap. I have to say that in my experience, when it comes to hand cream, you usually do get what you pay for.
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