Mybeautywaxstash

Tag: Hand cream

  • What Did I Order From The Body Shop Winter Sale?

    If you saw one of my earlier posts this month, you will know I’m trying to be a bit more intentional when it comes to my purchases and what I use (My 2022 Goals For Skincare, Bodycare & Wax). I’m not banning myself from buying anything, just putting more thought behind what I buy and why. The only purchases I’ve made that have been non-grocery related have been from the brand The Body Shop. And this strangely enough tied into them having a Winter Sale. Funny that! So what did I buy and why?

    Some items from The Body Shop Winter Sale
    Why The Body Shop?

    Well why not? I used to love particular products from them when I was a teenager, and to be honest totally forgot about the brand until the a couple of years ago. It came to my attention because a good friend of mine became one of their consultants and she made me realise the brand and it’s products have evolved a lot since I first knew them. So I’ve had the opportunity to try and buy various products, experience different fragrances and textures and many I’ve really enjoyed using. So if a sale comes up, products are priced well, I’m buying!

    Why did I buy?

    I know we’ve just gotten rid of Christmas, but that’s not the only occasion people give gifts. Birthday’s, teacher gifts, there’s so many! And I like to buy things along the way through the year to cover all those eventualities. A lot of the time I will have certain people in mind with a purchase, sometimes I just get things and know they will tick someone off my list. And this is why I made my most recent order with these thoughts in mind.

    The Body Shop’s Hand Washes & Hand Creams
    What did I buy?

    I didn’t go nuts although it’s easy to do!

    Body Butters. 50ml each. In the fragrances of Pink Grapefruit, Almond Milk & Honey and Moringa.

    Hand Creams. 30ml each. In the fragrances of Joy & Jasmine and Kindness & Pears.

    Hand Wash. 275ml each. In the fragrances of Joy & Jasmine and Kindness & Pears. Pear Bath Blend x2. 200ml each.

    Camomile Silky Cleansing Oil x2. 200ml each.

    Bath Bubbles. 28G each. In the fragrances of Moringa x2 and Pink Grapefruit x2.

    Why these products?

    The body butters, hand creams and the bath bubbles are really good. Small products that can be grouped with something else to make a really nice gift or mini collection. I’ve used these before, the quality was great and all of the fragrances smelt so good!

    The Body Shop’s Body Butters

    Never tried the hand washes before, but grouped together with the hand creams of the same scent meant two items for the hands. Hopefully these would be enjoyed and a pleasure to use. Plus a hand wash, a good quality one, I think is a lovely gift idea anyway for the home and it’s a bit of luxury and very practical too!

    The cleansing oil. Ok I forgot I ordered this, these are for me! I’ve tried, bought, been gifted and loved the cleansing butter version of this and have always wanted to try the cleansing oil. So at half price (normally £12.00 down to £6.00) I would be stupid not to get one. So I got two instead!

    The Body Shop’s Camomile Silky Cleansing Oil

    The bath blend. Forgot I ordered that as well, lord forgive me! I bought one for myself and one to put away for a gift. I’ve tried two other fragrances in the bath blends and loved both of them. It’s something different, it’s something I enjoyed and personally thought in the pear scent this would be fabulous. So why not treat myself and get one for a friend too?

    So how much did I spend?

    Let’s start off with the bath bubbles. These weren’t on sale but I ordered them because I think for the price and what they deliver to the bath is exceptional! £1.50 each! The body butters, although not full size but travel (at 50g), were £2.00 each. Normally priced at £6.00. Hand creams down to £2.75 from £5.50. Hand washes £3.25 down from £6.50. The cleansing oil as already mentioned is £12.00 full price but down to £6.00. And the pear bath blend £4.00 down from £8.00. Total cost was £44.00 with free p&p. There was a £5.00 off code on the website so that brought it down to £39.00. Plus I went through a cashback site and picked up £2.34 (every penny helps right?).

    The Body Shop’s Bath Bubbles
    Am I happy with these buys?

    Definitely! Although I snuck in a few items for myself (rude not to), I think I’ve made a good head start with my little stash of gifts ready to give out when the time is right to the right people. I haven’t spent a massive amount of money because the majority of it was half price.

    At the time of writing this post the The Body Shop sale was still live online and instore. You can visit them here now but remember, the best purchases are intentional. Happy browsing!x

  • Aldi’s Lacura Winter Candy Apple Shower Gel & Hand Cream

    Back in the day, supermarkets used to sell only food. Fast forward to now and they sell everything and anything! That’s why going to buy your daily or weekly essentials can be dangerous and sometimes very expensive! BUT, having everything under one roof isn’t a bad thing and going to buy groceries sometimes leads to some new discoveries of the non food variety. I found some new bath and body products last week in my local Aldi store. What did I find? A selection of new shower gels, hand creams and hand washes, all Winter seasoned inspired. So me being me, I picked up the duo of Lacura’s Winter Candy Apple Shower Gel & Hand Cream. Each at a cost of £1.99.

    Aldi’s Lacura Winter Candy Apple Shower Gel & Hand Cream
    Why did I buy these?

    These were striking to look at! I tend to find the way products are laid out in Aldi a little confusing and sometimes difficult to see. But these shot out at me like a bow from an arrow! I couldn’t help but feel this new range were similar to Bath & Body Works which is a US brand now available in the UK. So how they looked pulled me in. The fact they were new and products I like and would normally use, triggered me to buy them. And the fragrances screamed Christmas so why would I NOT buy these? Oh, and of course the price!

    Packaging.

    Shower Gel. A fabulously shaped plastic bottle for 400ml of product. Not straight up and down in shape. This is tall with faceted corners on the top and bottom making it look interesting and different. The bottle is clear, so you can see the vividly coloured red shower gel sitting within it. Super cute labelling which is festive with a twist (see pic below). Eye catching to the fullest!

    Lacura’s Winter Candy Apple Shower Gel

    Hand Cream. Exactly the same colouring and design look wise as the shower gel, but the hand cream is housed in a plastic flip top lid. Pretty much standard for most hand creams available on the market. 100ml in size.

    Lacura’s Winter Candy Apple Hand Cream
    Fragrance.

    The scent of these products is the same-ish and absolutely lip lickingly good! It literally smells of juicy, red apples. With a little sweetness but more importantly that tartness that some apple varieties have. I can honesty say at first whiff this is my favourite apple scented product/range ever!

    Shower Gel

    The shower gel is bright red in colour which of course is in line with the fragrance and the packaging/labelling. The consistency pretty much is the same as other shower gels, which is quite thick and gel like.

    As you can imagine with me being the bath addict, I used this in the bath. I squirted two decent sized blobs of this under warm running water which immediately created bubbles. By the time my bath had been filled the bath was FULL of bubbles! Plentiful, soft, airy and white! The bath water underneath remained clear with no colour. It was a nice bath to be in. No better or no worse than others I have had before, but I was quite relaxed in it. In the morning I’ve used this in the shower. Lots of bubbles/foam, quite creamy and washed my not so little body like a dream! A great little pick me up at 5am in the morning if I do say so myself.

    I could get the fragrance of the shower gel but it was quite soft. Pleasant, but soft. When I got out of the bath I did get the fainest whiff of this on my skin but just about. My skin out of the bath wasn’t dry or aggravated so I could continue with my body care routine as usual.

    My only negative about this product is I think the fragrance should have been stronger. Its such a great scent, I mean, how many shower gels out there smell of apples? So make it stand out a bit more please, don’t be shy!

    Hand Cream.

    I assumed the consistency of this would be quite thick almost body butter like, but it was white, and more lotion like in consistency. It rubbed into my hands like a dream, very quick and easy. And it gave my hands an immediate look of moisturisation rather than greasiness. They didn’t feel tacky once I applied this, but I did feel a few minutes later they looked and felt quite normal.

    Fragrance wise this stayed on my hands but it wasn’t overpowering. What I found interesting was the fact that I swear I could detect a hint of floral, which made this scent even more pleasurable and unique.

    I think this hand cream is for those with normal hands. For it to be suitable for drier hands I think it would need to be richer, waxier and probably thicker. But for everyday use when your hands aren’t looking mummified I think this will do just fine. Or if you need to use your hands straight away after application this is good. I think I prefer a richer more nourishing consistency.

    Are these dupes for Bath & Body Works products?

    I’ve never seen in real life these products, used them or sniffed them so I genuinely couldn’t compare them. Do I think they are inspired by the range? Probably. Same fragrance name, the look of the packaging though is different enough but with a few similarities e.g colouring.

    Recommended?

    The fragrance alone grabbed me. It’s not a typical fragrance to have but it’s a very Autumnal/Wintery scent, but we just don’t see it really on the market! So scent wise it’s different. Packaging is striking and the price is affordable. Would I say the shower gel (used as a bath foam) was the best I have ever used? Or the hand cream in my top 5 of hand creams? No. But are they decent products and overall recommended? Yes they are. Good prices with good sizes to match. This screams a Christmas stocking filler to me. But if you grab the hand wash (I didn’t buy that), the trio would make a great stand alone gift for just under £6.00!

    If this review is making you itch to buy this, I would suggest to check out your local Aldi store asap as I suspect these will fly out and being seasonal especially will probably be limited too. And if Lacura’s Winter Candy Apple isn’t your favourite fragrance, there is Gingerbread and Winter Cookies available too! Happy holiday shopping! Ho ho ho!

  • Primark’s P.S Frosted Berries Hand Cream

    When everyone starts to wear winter coats and jackets, you know there’s been a seasonal change. With the onslaught of Autumn comes wind, rain, a cooler temperature and central heating on full whack. Weather changes effect our skin too along with our fashion choices and heating bills. I’m mixing up my skincare routine a bit to compensate for this but my body care routine for now remains the same. Although I have noticed my hands have been looking a touch on the ashy side which is a no no! The call of a hand cream has reached me, so I’m listening, and I’ve decided to start use Primark’s P.S Frosted Berries Hand Cream I picked up last week. 80p for 30ml.

    Primark’s P.S Frosted Berries Hand Cream

    Why did I buy this?

    I have loads of hand creams at home so I didn’t NEED a new one! I heard Primark was selling a pumpkin scented one and I just wanted it. Perfect for the month of October. But my local store didn’t have any so I picked this one up instead. No massive problem as I like berry scents anyway. I thought it could be ideal for work and throw it in my bag. So for 80p I thought what was the worst that could happen so why not buy it?

    Packaging.

    30ml of hand cream comes in a standard, plastic tube with a screw top lid. Lilac in colour, giving off wintery vibes (but in a cute way) thanks to the illustrations on it e.g berries, holly, stars etc. Practical packaging, very sweet to look at and the perfect hand bag or pocket size.

    Fragrance.

    My kind of scent! A mix of berries with a slight hint of vanilla. Not the most sophisticated scent I have ever smelt. But I think fruit, especially anything berry inspired, is a hard one to make it more than what it actually is. It is sweet, it’s a very nice scent and not too strong.

    Consistency.

    White in colour with a decent thickness to it. I would say it’s comparable to many hand creams when I think about how thick it is. Just a touch more thicker than a normal body lotion but no way near as thick as a body butter.

    On the hands.

    I used a good squeeze of this, around half of a finger tip. I rubbed the back of my hands together first then the palms. Super easy and quick to rub in which I liked. What I found quite curious was the fact once rubbed in it didn’t leave my hands tacky, greasy or shiny. They felt and looked matt, and I could use my hands straight away without fear of not being able to grip something or leaving hand prints on things. I quite liked this because sometimes you have to time when you use a particular hand cream because of how moisturised it leaves your hands.

    But on the flip side for my hands this needed to be thicker, more moisturising and protective. I use my hands a lot in work and of course I wash and sanitise them like crazy. It gave a little hydration and enough for my hands right now, but formulation wise this would need to be more hard working if my hands were in a drier state. I can imagine having to use this a lot and often which isn’t ideal for me. But as my hands aren’t bad right now once or twice a day for application is fine.

    The fragrance was there and it smelt lovely. It wasn’t too much strength wise but was noticeable. An ideal strength because if anymore I think it could have been overkill. On the body in general I find it ok to have heavily fragranced lotion on myself. But hands are different. They can be close to the face a lot and I don’t want to be knocked out by how it smells. I’ve used this during the day and also at night before bed, and the next morning there was a faint trace of the fragrance still there.

    Recommended?

    I think this is a decent hand cream. Good size, great price and presented well. I don’t think this is ideal for very dry hands but for normal it should do the job. I’ve had more moisturising hand creams before but they did contain ingredients such as shea or cocoa butter. This doesn’t. But you do have to ask yourself what do you want or expect for 80p? If you lose it, or you need a hand cream for multiple places such as your bag, car, desk, etc, this wouldn’t break the bank. And dare I say this would make an ideal stocking filler….So yes I would recommend this. But if you want something more hard working this wouldn’t be my first choice. So treat your hands according to their needs!x

  • Treacle Moon’s Marshmallow Hearts Hand Cream

    If there has been one body product I have used since March 2020 more than I ever have in my whole life, it has got to be a hand cream! Dry hands, like dry lips, normally isn’t a massive concern of mine. But as we all know constant hand washing and using hand sanitisers is NOT kind to this area of the body. And with my skin colouring being brown, looking down at hands that pretty much have turned white, isn’t the look I am after! So I think I’m justified in buying a hand cream or three if and when needed. My latest hand cream of choice has been Treacle Moon’s Marshmallow Hearts Hand Cream. Bought in my local Tesco store, for £1.75.

    Treacle Moon’s Marshmallow Hearts Hand Cream

    Why did I buy this one?

    I’ve actually wanted this hand cream for ages! I’ve tried shower and bath gels, bath salts and body scrubs from this range and really enjoyed them. The one product I haven’t tried is the hand creams but I could never find them in store …until now! And having a hand cream is a must for me at the moment as my hands can go from normal to White Walker looking dry in a heart beat! So this was on my to purchase list for sure.

    What is this supposed to do?

    Moisturise the hands when suffering from dryness, thanks to it containing ingredients such as Apricot Oil, Vitamin E and Shea butter.

    Packaging.

    This packaging is quite adorable! It doesn’t come in your standard tube that many hand creams come in. I can’t quite describe the shape of this as it’s not a traditional shape as such e.g circle, square etc. 75ml of hand cream lives in a plastic flip top lid bottle which can sit up right. It’s quite flat with slightly rounded edges. Pale pink in colouring with writing and lid in black, which contrasts nicely. Matches perfectly with the shower and bath gel in the same fragrance. It’s quite a fun way this hand cream is presented and I think geared more towards younger people.

    Fragrance.

    If I remember correctly the smells similar if not identical to the shower and bath gel. Sweet, candyfloss, marshmallow like. This isn’t for the faint hearted. Not everyone likes sugary scents. But you will know if you do and I do! But what I would say is it’s not massively strong. It’s there but doesn’t give your nose diabetes.

    Consistency.

    Squirting this out of it’s packaging, the texture of this reminds me of many body lotions out there and white in colour.

    On the hands.

    I didn’t need too much. A good squirt the size of a 5p piece was enough. Easy to rub in, and as I did so, I could feel the hand cream had a little slip to it. But what it didn’t feel or look like was greasy. My hands looked more hydrated and healthier but not oily or shiny. In fact, quite matt in appearance. They felt smoother too. I could go a head with any tasks I needed to do e.g driving or being at work, without worrying about my hands feeling sticky or slippy.

    Did my hands stay moisturised?

    I found Marshmallow Hearts hand cream is something I apply a few times during the day. You can’t expect one application of a hand cream to keep you going for hours and hours, in between hand washing and everything else! This gives me an immediate hit of moisture but does need to be reapplied.

    Recommended?

    I would! And I would repurchase this for myself too. It’s a good amount of hand cream (75ml), great packaging which is super easy to carry around all day. And of course I like the smell! But what I like is the fact I have so many different textured hand care products, but this one is a more practical one as I can apply it and straight away use my hands. I have richer ones that will moisturise my hands more and for longer if I’m honest, which is great when my hands are beyond dry! But this is for everyday use. And the price? £1.75 is affordable! And because of how this looks and the fact it’s a good hand cream, I would (and have) gifted these to friends for birthdays and/or Christmas.

    If you want to get your maybe not so moisturised hands on this hand cream, it’s available online direct from Treacle Moon, and instore and online at Tesco. Don’t forget they have other products for the body too. Check out my posts on their Coconut Island Body Scrub, Gentle Powder Love Shower & Bath Gel and Marshmallow Hearts Shower & Bath Gel. A budget friendly brand for bath, body and gifting.