Forget soaps and candles for a moment, one of the best gift ideas is the classic – a beautiful handcream. Everyone gets dry and tired hands in need of a refreshing, hydrating cream, whether they work indoors on a computer, or are washing their hands often as a mother, or baking, or gardening, or whatever – there’s nothing like a gorgeous, scented hand cream to restore tired hands. So, give yourself a hand: the latest in beautiful handcreams.
First up, Ingrid Starnes’ brand new hand cleanser and hand cream.
Ingrid Starnes
One of our favourite New Zealand fashion designers, Ingrid Starnes, has already delved into perfume and soap to complement her fashion brand. Now, she has just released this hand cream and hand cleanser containing her perfume, pictured above. The products not only look stunning with a contemporary bronze shimmering label, they are natural, cruelty-free, and made in New Zealand. The all-natural perfumed hand cream is fragranced with Vetyver Bergamot essential oil, and hydrates skin using nut-based emollient oils including jojoba, rosehip, macadamia nut, cocoa butter, as well as the healing properties of organic manuka honey and organic goat’s milk. It literally sounds good enough to eat but it’s not a smoothie, although it is a real smoothie on dry skin. The perfumed hand cleanser is ideal for the kitchen or bathroom and again is fragranced with vetyver and bergamot essential oils. The products are free from petrochemicals, sulfates, parabens, silicones, and are animal cruelty-free. You can buy them at Ingrid Starnes stores and at Smith & Caughey’s.
Savar Advanced Hand Repair
Savar have released their Advanced Hand Repair in this elegant 250ml limited edition bottle for Christmas, perfect for gift-giving. The lotion can, of course, be used anywhere on the body that needs a little boost of hydration – particularly hands, heels, and elbows, so don’t feel as though you have to limit it to your hands. Lime and violet are two of the ingredients and make such a great fragrant combination of floral with a touch of citrus. Savar is a New Zealand natural skincare brand and this nourishing hand cream contains the super-skincare-workers marshmellow extract, organic bilberry, blackcurrant oil, and organic goji berries. It retails for $39 from www.savaronline.com and selected retailers and beauty therapists.
LUSH Celebrate
I’ve been dipping into this heavenly Lush Celebrate Body Lotion since I got it and love the rich creamy formulation. This is the thickest of the handcreams featured on this page, so is great for those who like a very rich consistency that feels decadent and luxurious when you apply it. The overwhelming scent is a citrus one, with Brazilian orange oil and lime oil, and moisturising ingredients cocoa butter and almond oil. It is paraben free and like all Lush products, it is cruelty-free. Celebrate Body Lotion is available at Lush stores and online at www.lushnz.com
ELEVEN Australia Wash Me All Over
This ELEVEN Australia ‘Wash Me All Over’ has been on high use in my kitchen on daily use – just as well the Hand & Body Wash comes in this huge 500ml sized pump bottle! This hand wash is actually the first ever body care product from the Australian brand popular for fantastic haircare. I love their famous Eleven Australia Miracle Hair Treatment multi-tasking hair styling product, and I’m fully sold on this handwash now, too. It contains almond oil, jojoba, and papaya, is crulety-free, and retails for $32 elevenaustralia.com
Kevin Murphy Touch of Hydration
Firstly, I adore anything lavender, so this had me at first look. The silver foil logo is also tres glam on your dressing table. The Kevin Murphy Touch of Hydration hydrating hand cream is infused with kakadu plum, with shea butter – well known for its deeply moisturising qualities – as well as safflower oil, sunflower seed oil, coconut oil, and botanicals known for their healing and soothing properties: calendula and chamomile. Touch of Hydration is available now at Kevin Murphy stockists.
Ashley & Co Soothe Tube
Soothe Tube. Even saying it out loud feels soothing. This intensive hydrating cream for your hands by the Auckland-based brand Ashley & Co is a rich handcream made with organic borage and essential oils. I found the fragrance of this one- exotic elemi, cedar and black tea – actually lingered exceptionally well unlike some that smell great for a few seconds then fade away. It is just the ticket for those who prefer a spice-based fragrance rather than floral fragrance and as such is a perfect unisex handcream for anyone to use and enjoy. Some of the hero ingredients in Soothe Tube are chamomile, shea butter and Vitamin E, and the choices of scents in the range are wild ginger and lily, tuberose and jasmine, and elemi, cedar and black tea, and a new fragrance: fig and black gardenia. It is made in New Zealand and available from Ashley & Co stockists nationwide priced at $22 – $24; see ashleyandco.co.nz
MARACA New Zealand
MARACA New Zealand Bloom handcream and candle
Chris Lim has launched MARACA – a lifestyle brand with candles and handcreams, drawing upon his experience in the fragrance industry. These gorgeous candles are made and poured in New Zealand using perfumes formulated in France, and retail around the $45 mark for candles and $30 for handcreams. His fragrances in this candle range are based on Asian Orientals: Ambre Vanilla, Shanghai Night, and Velvet Noir. The Bloom handcream contains botanical extracts and Vitamin E and shea butter to soften hands, and rosehip and jojoba to moisturise skin. www.maraca.co.nz
Megan Robinson
18th December 2014
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