Bath and Body Works 60-Second Manicure Hand Scrub

One of the hardest places on my body to successfully self tan is my hands, I have never found a good way to make my hands look natural and completely streak-free.  I have struggled with this year after year and I doubt that I will ever find a way to make this an easy process.  I have decided that I need to focus more on the preparation and the maintenance of the tan.  I have a good regime started for tanning and I will need to just add an extra step or two to improve upon it.  I have been using the Bath and Body Works True Blue Spa Smoothing Foot Scrub for years now to keep my feet an even, streak-free tan and I have decided to use the hand scrub in this collection to see if I get the same results.

I had originally used this product back in college when it was first released and I have used it on and off ever since.  However I have mostly been using it during the late fall and winter in order to try and relive some of the chapping that occurs every cold weather season.  I had not thought of using it any other time of the year since I really don't need it unless my skin is very dry and cracked.  This is the best hand scrub that I have ever tried and I have tried several from a range of salon brands and this is the clear winner and one that I am going to try to make the self tanner on my hands a bit less of an issue. 

"Why wait? This sugar-based exfoliating treatment makes quick work of dull, dry skin and ragged cuticles to give even the most mani-deprived hands a taste of soft, smooth, spa manicure perfection - in just one minute.  Sugar crystals provide exfoliation, resulting in smooth, glowing skin.  Light citrus fragrance.", states the Bath and Body Works website.

To use - "Massage treatment into wet hands for a full minute, paying special attention to any rough areas. Rinse clean to reveal hands that look like they've spent the whole day at the spa."

I use this scrub once a week to get rid of the dry skin that is soaking up too much of the tanner and creating the issues with the streaks and the deep spots than tend to appear on my hands.  This product has some great benefits but a few downsides to it at the same time.  The major benefit is that it is more effective than anything else that I have tried to get dead skin off and help to improve rough, dry areas.  Use of this scrub makes my hand cream work much more effectively and this continues to improve my tanning experience.

The main issue that I have with this product is that I can only use it once a week (at maximum), it takes too much of my tanner off to make me happy and I need to use it sparingly or I will take all of my tan off and I will never be able to build up a good fake tan.  I have accepted this because this is the best hand scrub out there and will help my hands to absorb the tanner better and more evenly (and make them look much more natural than they did before I tried using this product).

I am glad that I started using this product again, I remember how many times I used to wash  my hands with it when I first tried it out and it really is the best hand scrub on the market.  I have tried quite a few and this is the best one and I highly recommend this product for anyone that has dry skin on their hands.

photo courtesy of Bath and Body Works

C.O. Bigelow Lemon Hand Treatment

One of my favorite products when I was in college was the C.O. Bigelow Lemon Hand Treatment and I stocked up on this product before Bath and Body Works stopped carrying it.  I am reaching the end of my supply so I started playing around on the actual C.O. Bigelow website to see what they still carried from this Lemon product line.  To all of you that aren't in the know about Bigelow, this company started as a separate apothecary in the middle of the 1800s and a line of their products was picked up several years ago by Bath and Body Works, bringing these great formulas more into the mainstream.  Ever since college, many of the C.O. Bigelow products have been my favorite body products and I wish that an actual Bigelow store was much closer to me.  The closest one is now in New York City since I don't believe that the one that I used to frequent is in King of Prussia anymore.  I can't even imagine the amount of beauty products that I would have if I lived in New York City...

Some pieces of the Lemon line are still carried in Bath and Body Works and I have used and covered this line several times before, so you can still find some of these products to try out.  However the poroduct that we are looking at today is not so you will have to do some online ordering if this product really appeals to you, I think that this product is worth the search if you ahve dry hands and/or love the scent of lemons.  Both of these statements describe me so this is one of the best hand products for me to use. 

"This ultra-moisturizing and skin-brightening formula absorbs quickly to treat dry hands.", is the product description provided by the C.O. Bigelow website.  This product contains the following three active ingredients: Lemon Oil and Extracts (6.25%), Grape Seed Oil (.75%), and Licorice Extract (.25%).  This product also contains shea butter to help the hydration.  The description of the product is pretty accurate but I am going to expand on the information. 

This product has a light lotion texture and sinks into the skin very quickly and easily, without leaving any greasy residue.  I would recommend this product for anyone who has normal to dry hands, pretty much anyone can benefit from this product.  The Shea Butter and the Grape Seed Oil help to hydrate dry areas and allow the skin to retain moisture after repeated washings.  The Lemon Oil in this product helps to fade areas of sun damage and hyper pigmentation however with the addition of this as one of the active ingredients, this is best used as a night hand cream in the summer months.  Lemon is a very effective natural de-pigmenting agent however it can make skin photosensitive, making the skin extra sensitive to the sun.  I would recommend being diligent with sunscreen if you choose to use a product line with natural lemon in during the summer months.

The scent of this product is very light and is 100% natural lemon.  Since the fragrance is the natural oil, it is not going to hang around all day so this product can be used with any type of fragrance and will work well for men also.  This will disappoint those of you who like a strong fragrance but I love how light it is and how it won't compete with any other fragrance that I am wearing that day.  This is a big reason why this is a favorite hand cream of mine!

photo courtesy of C.O. Bigelow

LUSH Helping Hands Hand Cream

Most people think about hand creams in the winter and fall months.  I don't know about anyone else but my hands take a beating all year round; working, blogging, and constantly changing my nail polish shades really dry them out.  Now that my China Glaze obsession is starting and both of my orders came in, I have been changing my polish almost every single day to try new products out.  And WHAM!  My hands feels like they normally do in January...
I am still using my Rich Girl Hand Cream from Lippmann Collection but since that one contains an SPF 25, I decided to save that for during the day and try something different out at night.  I wasn't even quite sure what I had left in collection of products so I decided to do some digging around.  Lo and behold, I found a hand cream in the Think Pink LUSH gift set that I purchased on year on my birthday and I somehow managed to forget about everything that didn't fizz or explode.  I mostly associate LUSH with bath products even though I know they create top quality skincare items too.  Time to move beyond the bubble bars!

The hand cream that was in this set is the lesser of the known products from LUSH.  Their Lemony Fluffer and Charity Pot products usually get the most attention and Helping Hands is never really featured in the LUSH Times or in a prominent place on the store shelves.  Had this product not been included in my giftset simply because the lotion is pink, I doubt that I ever would have really noticed it.  LUSH categorizes this product "for over-worked hands" and a "heavy duty moisturizer".  This is exactly what my skin needs at the moment...

"Miracle working, softening hand cream.  You might be a person who thinks that hand cream is merely one more non-essential thing to spend your money on.  This was created for people that work there fingers to the bone and have suffering hands.  Mark wanted to create a cream that would protect and care for those hands in particular.  It soothes and softens with a powderful mixture of marigold and lavender; shea butter and almond oil are emollient and we've added softening linseed and glycerine.  Give your hands a little help."

Linseed is an ingredient that I have never seen in a body product until now.  "The outer coating of linseeds swells, producing a gel when exposed to water.  They are rich in protein, oil, vitamins, and minerals.  The seeds are nutritious and aid digestive health."  I can see how they play a role in this cream since linseed is rich in oil.

This is one of the most hydrating hand creams that I have ever tried!  The texture is more that of a lotion instead of a tradition cream and therefore, it sinks into hands right away without leaving any type of greasy afterfeeling.  For that alone, it is worth purchasing the small purse size of this cream right along with the full size since you will want to carry it with you wherever you go.  I have been lending my tube of this cream out to my coworkers and it has been getting rave reviews from everyone who tries some of it.  LUSH has never disappointed me and this product is no exception!  LUSH has proven themselves beyond the bath bombs and the bubble bars...

photo courtesy of LUSH 

Lippmann Collection Rich Girl Hand Cream

It has been said that a lady's hand reveal more about her than any other part of her body.  If you remember back to Gone With the Wind, Rhett saw through Scarlett's facade of richness as soon as he looked at her hands and saw how beat up they were.  The skin on the tops of our hands is among the thinnest on any area of our body and it often the most affected by the sun and the damage that it causes.  Many first impressions come in the form of a handshake and therefore a good hand cream is something that everyone should be in the habit of using daily.  Personally, I usually alternate between at least two different hand creams, one for the day and one for the evening.  My night hand cream is currently the Super Rich Hand Cream from Bath and Body Works and my day hand cream is this one from Lippmann Collection.

We all know that I love Lippmann Collection polishes and it was only a matter of time before I began trying out their whole line of products.  I bought this hand cream several weeks ago at Nordstrom, after being given a small sample a few months before.  I was intially attracted to this product for two major reasons.  The first reason was that it was a product from Lippmann Collection and the second is that it contains an SPF of 25.  The last thing that I can afford is to have age spots and visible sun damage on my hands since my skin is so pale to begin with.

The Lippmann Collection website states, "Your hands are the first reveal your age.  Keep them guessing with this award-winning hand cream that is formulated with shea butter, avocado, and jojoba oil for unparalleled hydration.  A botanical brightening complex to help even skin tone and a broad-spectrum sunscreen also lend a hand.  Apply a dime size, and then throughly massage into the hands and cuticles.  Intensely hydrating formula works instantly to moisturize and soften.  SPF 25 provides UVA and UVB protection.  Botanical brightening complex even skin pigmentation without irritation.  Cyclomethicone locks in moisture for continued comfort and hydration."

There is just so much to love with this product!  Of course, I love the sun protection since I need any help that I can get in that area with my skintone.  The scent is a very light floral that doesn't compete with any perfume that I wear and doesn't offend anyone that comes into contact with me. This hand cream is very rich and hydrating, mostly thanks to the Shea Butter in the formula.  You only need a little dab of this ceram to completely cover your hands, a dine size might even be a bit too much depending on how dry your hands are.  The first time that I used the product, I put on way too much and it didn't sink in nearly as well as I would have liked.  Less is more with this hand cream formula.   I don't really have any complaints about this product at all, which is pretty new for me.

The SPF is a nice added protection however you must continue to apply the product everytime after you wash your hands.  You must remember how often you use your wands during the day and then wash them or wioe them off.  Everytime that you do that, some of the sunscreen comes off.  So this is a product that you can't just put on once and forget about, like any other sun protection item, you do need to be diligent about repapplying.  Other than having to remember that the SPF is only as good as the way it is applied, I think that this is fabulous hand cream and one that every woman should try.

photo courtesy of Lippmann Collection

Five Favorite - Bath and Body Works True Blue Spa Products

True Blue Spa has been a favorite Bath and Body Works product line since I first worked there in college. This line contains very high quality products with high levels of active ingredients that also happen to smell great and are very fun to use. This line was just given a packaging makeover for spring 2011 so I decided to let you all know what my five favorite products from this company are. I have bought all of these products over the past few years and usually ended up rebuying them at least once or twice more.

My five favorite True Blue Spa...

60 - Second Manicure Hand Scrub - One of the best hand scrubs that I have ever tried and it really extends the life of my manicure. It is a sugar scrub with a jelly-like texture and smells like sweet candy oranges. "Why wait? This sugar-based exfoliating treatment makes quick work of dull, dry skin and ragged cuticles to give even the most mani-deprived hands a taste of soft, smooth, spa manicure perfection - in just one minute".

Fresh Foaming Body Buff - A scrub that is spiked with shea butter and is gentle enough to use everyday. The light orange fragrance makes it a perfect wake-up call in the morning and it foams and rinses clean so it can be used as a daily body wash or a twice a week scrub. "If you're like us, you never miss an opportunity to shower yourself with luxury. This pampering, cleansing shower scrub with soothing Orange Fruit Extract lets you buff and polish skin with gentle exfoliators, then lavishes it with a generous dose of nourishing shea butter beads. Shall we start the shower for you?"

Super Rich Body Cream - This used to be known as Lay It On Thick and I have already raved about this product this winter. This is a heavy duty moisturizer with a high shea butter concentration that is very hydrating and helps to heal winter-ravaged skin. "Nothing makes skin feel better than incredibly rich shea butter. This deluxe cream takes it even further with protecting, conditioning Vitamin E and Macademia Nut Oil. Because you know more is really more."

Invigorating Spa Scrub - This salt-based scrub provides one of the best exfoliations of any product on the market. This scrub will get all the dead skin off and I love it use it on alligator skin at the end of the winter. This scrub contains natural mineral sea salt and works equally well for men and women. "Dry skin rubbing you the wrong way, and no time to get to the spa? Just reach for this cooling, exfoliating Sea Salt Scrub with refreshing Eucalytpus to get the job done yourself, a la Spa."

Super Rich Foot Cream - This is the perfect foot cream to get your feet ready for sandal weather. I use this product all year round to help hydrate my feet and get the most from my pedicures. This cream contains shea butter so it hydrates well and yet sinks in easily and leaves litle to no residue on the foot. "To put it simply, nothing hydrates like Shea. Dive foot first into this luxuriously rich treatment made with nourishing Shea Butter, Conditioning Avocado Oil and refreshing Eucalyptus Extract to smooth away rough spots and drench dry skin with unbelievable moisture."

This is great head to toe collection and I really recommend the above five product and the whole rest of the collection. The new packaging is very cute and makes it really easy to tell the different sub-collections apart. I am a bit disappointed that some of the older products don't seem to be available on the website at this time. What are your favorite True Blue Spa products?

photo courtesy of Bath and Body Works