The Fight Against Old Lady Hands...

Winter has brought a whole new level of dryness to my mits. In between missing gloves, ice and snow and central heating, its fair to say TLC was needed by the bucketload. Hand-cream was called for, and several tubes were assembled in my fight against “old lady hands”… 

Picture Sourced HERE



Neals Yard Citrus hand lotion comes in a generous 200ml glass pump bottle, with the distinctive Neals Yard pretty packaging. I picked this one up from Boots (£12) as I was looking for something to slather on after washing up dishes or scrubbing my hands after dealing with household chemicals. It contains aloe vera to soothe and grapefruit oils lend it its pleasant fresh scent. This one is great to have by the kitchen sink – Its moisturising but doesn’t leave a greasy feeling on the skin so you can just get on with whatever you are doing afterwards, and you can also afford to be quite generous with the application too… A great one for people who hate the feel of greasy hand-creams.

Biotherm “Biomains Age Delaying Hand and Nail Treatment” is a slightly more upmarket lotion – I picked this up in Boots on special offer some time ago for around £12, but I think the regular size is larger than the tube I have and comes in at more of the £20 mark..
This is a thicker cream, enriched with the spa minerals and plankton that Biotherm is famed for. This one does take slightly longer to sink into the skin as it is a fairly rich cream – but once it sinks in hands do definitely feel plumped up and rehydrated. This is the one I use when I feel I need a more intensive hit of moisture and the effect tends to cumulate over a few days. I love applying this if I know I’m going to be out driving with my leather gloves on, as it sinks right in while I’m out and about and my hands look rejuvenated again afterwards.Good for people with very dry hands, but you may not like it if you can’t tolerate the handcream feeling for more than 10 minutes.

La Roche-Posay is a brand I love for facial skincare, and their Lipikar handcream (£7,15 for 75ml), which I recently picked up in Boots, doesn’t disappoint at all. Quite runny in texture and with a fresh milky scent (sounds strange but the scent reminds me slightly of yogurt, in a good way, not a sour way…) this sinks in quickly so you can be a bit more generous with the application too. Contains lipids and spa minerals as active ingredients, and really works well – also leaves hands smelling fresh. This is the one I keep in my handbag and apply throughout the day at work, or out and about. It’s one I’ll definitely repurchase. A great hardworking one, not too thick, not too runny, which really boosts the look and feel of skin on the hands.

Davina Peace Handcream is a definite Luxury handcream at £28 for 75 mls. The brand bills itself and “Responsible Luxury” - ethically sourced, organic effective ingredients are promised. This cream contains Black Oat, Soy, Linseed and Larch extracts, which are natural moisture boosters, and is also rich in vitamin E, which also has anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. This is a super rich handcream with an absolutely divine scent – citrus notes from Lemon, Grapefruit and Lime oils are softened with Petitgrain and Lavender, and the scent is also warmed by Ginger. It smells AMAZING. Given how thick this handcream is I was surprised to discover that it does sink in reasonably quickly – it lingers long enough for you to give the hands a nice massage, so is a lovely one for using during pamper sessions or at night time. This is one I’d definitely want again, but would probably stick on my Christmas/Birthday list due to the price.

And finally – one to avoid, for me, anyway. Soap & Glory’s Hand Food – This came as part of the massive hatbox which was on offer just before Christmas – I managed to get my hands on two, one I gifted, one I kept for myself. Initially I really liked this cream – decent price and I initially liked the scent. However I did find that the more I applied it the more I found it to feel greasy and the scent was nauseating in the end. I also found that the level of perfume in this was so high that it was beginning to irritate my skin. So I had to part company with this one and my mum took it off my hands… She gets on fine with it, but if you have sensitive skin then this might irritate you.


Disclaimer - All items mentioned purchased by myself, with the exception of the Davina Peace product - this does not affect my review, which is honest and based on my own experiences with the product as always.

Man Pampering!

I've recently raved about Biotherm's skincare - you can see my review of their line HERE.

I was recently at my local Boots store, picking up some new handcream from the line and was asked the inevitable questions about what I'd tried from the range previously... Now I am a pants liar, and I always end up telling people TMI, as I am so crap at lies, even white lies. So I mentioned attending the blogger event and blah blah blah. Much verbal diarhoea and oversharing occured

Anyway, they mentioned to me that their male skincare line had been getting positive reviews, and would I know of any blokes who might like to try it - I promtly volunteered the services of The Mister, my Pops, and my Sister's bloke. They have a few bits to try and a review will be posted in a couple of weeks!

Biotherm have also asked me to mention that if any reader happen to be in the Liverpool area, and fancy getting some samples to try for their man, that they should call into the Boots at Speke retail park, and request some male skincare samples...

If they like it then that's Chrismas sorted!

Skincare Review - Biotherm and Mir.

I have been testing a lot of skin care over the past few months - so I need to get cracking with the old reviews! I started to switch up my skin care after moving house and the resulting havoc it wreaked on my skin...

You may remember that some time ago I reviewed the MIR skincare range - (read the review HERE). I remember noticing how "calm" my skin felt after a couple of weeks use, so I decided to invest in a few bits from the range...

I ordered full sizes of the cleansing gel, skin refresher and gentle exfoliating cleanser. Service from MIR was quick and efficient - I was notified by email that the products had been dispatched and they arrived the next day.


I also introduced a couple of products from the Biotherm range. I actually attended an event for Biotherm, however the products given were not quite right for my skin - I was given a cream for very dry skin, which was a little too rich. I still liked the feel of the products and the promises to rehydrate the skin sounded perfect too, so I invested in a couple of products...

Above, we have Skin Vivo Reversing anti-aging gel, and two versions of their Aquasource creams.


The pink jar is Aqua Source Non-Stop. This was the product given to me at the event, and is aimed at very dry skin - I did try this for a couple a weeks and it was nice, but did feel a little heavy for my skin. At the event we were shown the Aquasource Skin Perfection (the blue jar) which is aimed at all skin types and has a cooling effect on the skin. I liked the feel of that at the event, so I decided to go and pick one up to try...

Biotherm make the following claims about the product...

Thirsty for hydration and perfection?

Biotherm creates its 1st 24hr moisturizer – perfecting care, enriched with Aqualiss complex. It concentrates the equivalent of 5,000 litres of thermal spring water and micro-spheres filled with perfecting ingredients to replump the skin’s hydration mattress and smooth skin.

RESULTS
• 24hr non-stop hydration
• Refined skin texture
• Crystal-clear radiance.

Biotherm are pretty big on the whole thermal spring water thing - Apparently the products contain plankton derivatives which enable to skin to retain water and remain hydrated more effectively... I have to say I have no idea whether or not this is a scientifically valid method if hydration, but for me, this product worked well


I was very pleased with the results - within a couple of weeks my skin felt much more settled, smooth and hydrated. I really liked this cream, and it worked really well for me. 


The cream retails at £29.50, for 50mls. It has a lovely fresh scent, which I didn't find overpowering,and which faded from the skin. 

It has a "sorbet" texture - somewhere between a light cream and a gel, so it sinks into the skin quickly. I noticed a difference in how comfortable my skin felt within a week and then started to notice that my skin was feeling smoother. I didn't get any blemishes or breakouts while using the range, and my skin felt hydrated and comfortable for the whole day, without feeling overloaded.


I'd definitely recommend this for those with dehydrated and/or stressed out skin... as always, get the correct formula for your skin type and always try to get a tester before purchasing - at £30 a jar, you don't want to make an expensive mistake!


I also tried their Source Thérapie Skin Perfection Serum - this was given to me at the event.
Biotherm describe this as an even more concentrated source of moisture, containing higher 
levels of the plankton extracts the range uses. It retails at £27 for 30 mls.

This is a really nice product too - it definitely boosts and hydrates the skin prior to applying the moisturiser, however it does have a slightly silicone-y feeling about it, which some might not like. 


I'd definitely recommend this if you get that "tight" feeling after cleansing, but don't want to remedy that with heavy creams. 


The Skin Vivo eye gel is part of their range aimed at targeting signs of aging. Depressingly I am finding I need to direct myself towards these types of products more and more...

This is an unusual anti aging eye product in that it feels very light - a lot of the time eye products aimed at anti aging feel a bit heavier and creamier than this, and I like it for that. I've definitely noticed that my eyes have been feeling less tired and more hydrated since using this. It's pricey though at £29.50 for 15 mls. 


I used this product for approx four weeks, and I did definitely feel a lot more fresh and hydrated around the eye area - I felt I looked less tired and felt fresher. I can't say I noticed any massive decrease in my fine lines, however my problems around my eyes are also linked with expressions - ie I smile and it looks worse. I'm more about prevention than cure really when it comes to my eye area. 


Finally, I also picked up their Biomains age delaying handcream.

This is a pretty small tube - 50mls for around £15 (from memory), but this is a very concentrated cream that packs a punch. Only a small amount is needed, however it's definitely not as heavy feeling as some other handcreams I have tried - neutrogena's for example just feels like I've dunked my hands in vaseline!


I also like the fact that this is not too heavily scented - it has a faint fresh-floral scent, which doesn't linger too long on the skin. It hydrates very well and leaves the skin feeling and looking a lot smoother after application. 


Of the products described above - I'd definitely repurchase the hand cream, and the Aquasource skin cream. I'd also be likely to repurchase the serum. I feel I need a longer time to consider whether I'd repurchase the eye cream. 


Overall though I am very impressed with this range - it really helped my skin and made it feel a lot more comfortable, supple and refreshed.