ProductWhores

love & toast

What a beautiful day it was when I discovered the brand love & toast by margot elena.  When we received the email from one of our fabulous readers gushing about this handcreme she tried and loved, I feverishly went online and fell in love right away.  love & toast, even before you try anything, captivates your senses with their adorable packaging and unique scents (how can you not try something called paper flower?!)  When I got the package in the mail I thought the rollerballs and handcremes were even more gorgeous in person.  All the boxes have little cut-out hearts and pieces of toast on the inner flaps (are you kidding me?  they're killing me with cuteness?!) and then you realize how high-class this brand really is with the etched hearts and pieces of toast on the glass rollerballs and the metal tubes of creme.  All brilliant packaging aside (I am also a packaging whore, I guess), the products themselves are even more brilliant.  The handcreme formula is super hydrating, sinks right in and smells so beautiful (even though I haven't tried them all, paper flower is a must-try).  The rollerballs have real staying power and the unique scents translate to tons of compliments from passer-bys (what are you wearing?).  I love the candied citron (such a fresh burst of citrus without being overwhelming).  love & toast products are paraben free, not animal tested and the packaging comes from 100% annually renewed resources.  In addition they donate a portion of all sales to regional affiliates of Girls, Inc which helps to empower girls to be strong, smart and bold.  Could this brand be any better??  You'll be hooked once you give them a try... and you'll be thankful for our PWs reader who "got a great handcreme as a present."  

 

Give me MOR

Oooh, MOR makes amazing hand creams and I am currently obsessed with their Lychee Flower.  Yeah, they're a bit pricey at $12.00 for 1.7 oz tube, but it is so worth it!  The formula is extremely hydrating, sinks right in and smells absolutely delightful!  I love the fresh fruity scent for the summer.  Also, bonus, the tube is beautiful with its pink and gold decoration.  You look like a fancy lady when you pull it out of the handbag (maybe that's just my crazy thinking).  Check out MOR if you haven't before (wow, what a Dr. Seuss moment for me there).

Soft Hands

I keep at least two or three hand cremes on my desk at all times, just to make sure that I'm never stuck at work with dry, uncomfortable hands.  (The horror!)  Right now, the top one in my rotation is Laura Mercier's Crème Brûlée Hand Creme.  It fulfills pretty much every requirement you could ever want in a hand creme - it moisturizes really well, it's not sticky or greasy at all, it leaves my hands super soft, and it smells absolutely divine, like the most delicious dessert you've ever been lucky enough to eat.  (One of the guys I work with made me laugh out loud this week when he saw it on my desk and asked if he could use a little.  I tossed him the bottle, he put some on his hands and rubbed it in, then he got this look of amazement on his face as he got all excited and exclaimed, "It smells just like cake!"  Hee!  Men are funny when they play with beauty products).  I love all of Laura's Crème Brûlée products, but this is the only one I can keep at work to cheer me up when I'm having a bad day.  (Somehow, I think my co-workers would look at me funny if I kept a Sugar Scrub on my desk).  And at $15, it's an affordable luxury.  I love those.  

My hands Love Pai

I am a hand cream-a-holic.  I must have literally a million in my place (I am staring at four on my bedside table right this very moment) but none are nearly as luxurious as Pai Skincare's new Fragonia & Sea Buckthorn Instant Hand Therapy Cream.  This stuff is absolutely fabulous on all accounts (and will be taking its stance as Queen Bee on my bedside)!  First of all, I need to give a little background on Pai Skincare because if you're like me, and are new to this brand, you will be so impressed with this company!  Pai Skincare is organic, only uses naturally derived ingredients, no animal testing and was created primarily for people with sensitive skin (the founder, Sarah, started this incredible company because she suffered with allergies for years).  They don't use any icky stuff (I guess the technical term here would be "chemicals") and are certified by the Soil Association, which is a really big deal as this association checks to ensure that the products are produced to the highest quality standards (anyone can say they're organic, but Pai truly is).  Truly unbelievable for a skincare brand to boast all this AND have amazing products at an affordable price!   Back to the hand cream - this stuff is amazingly moisturizing without any greasy feeling at all.  I adore the scent (think Weleda's Sea Buckthorn line, but much better quality) and I think the container is perfection (an adorable little pump perfect for bedside or handbag).  As I've said before, I have super sensitive hands which are very chapped, so hand creams have a tendency to irritate me (I will be reviewing Philosophy's which I recently bought and it makes me cry in pain every time I try to use it).  Pai Skincare's is the first one to make my hands soooo happy - no pain and absolutely works.  I really can't say enough good things about this stuff - everyone needs to own it.  Retails for $25.00 on their site and is worth every penny.  I noticed they have free shipping with $50.00 and their facial moisturizers (which sound incredible) are only $38.00.  A definite bargain for an organic product that actually holds up to it's promises.  Thank you, Pai.  I love you.

Note:  A sample of this product was sent to me by a PR representative working with Pai Skincare.

New Fave Drugstore Hand Cream

 

As I ushered in 2011 I realized that I needed to commit myself to being cheap (frugal is much too classy a phrase for the likes of me) because, well, much like everyone else right now my income and expenses are not playing well together.  This said, I cut coupons and skipped into Target to only get the essentials and ended up coming home with the greatest hand cream!  Neutrogena's Fast Absorbing Hand Cream moisturizes hands without any stinging (you know how that can happen in winter when you have chapped hands) and without any greasiness at all.  This stuff is seriously amazing.  Smells fresh, super-affordable ($5.99) and you can get it anywhere (drugstores, supermarkets, online).  Maybe this year-of-the-cheap won't be so bad, afterall.

Agave Nectar Makes Me Happy

 

Okay, so I already talked about my love for Thymes' Azur hand cream and then I discovered their brand new Agave Nectar!  I didn't think they could put out a hand cream I would love more than Azur, but then they went and surprised me - and did just that!  Agave Nectar smells amazing - crisp, grapefruit/citrus scent - and sinks immediately into the hands.  I adore the package (gorgeous desert flowers) and am especially impressed with how long the moisture lasts without having to re-apply (although, I am constantly re-applying because I love this stuff so much).  My definite must for hand cream and will be making my favorite things to stuff in your stocking this year!  Be forewarned, friends and family, you'll be getting one...  Oh, and get psyched because they have an entire collection of Agave Nectar products (and they all look amazing).  How fabulous!

Note:  A sample of this was sent to me by a PR representative working with Thymes

Soft Hands, Kind Heart

I was walking past the Body Shop the other day when a display of hand cream caught my eye (hand cream always catches my eye).  Their newest cream, Soft Hands Kind Heart, is a great cream that benefits organizations who are putting an end to sex trafficking.  If you've seen any of the "after school" specials, like I have, you would be horrified to know that sex trafficking is still very prevalent (to the tune of 1.8 million children currently estimated to be in this disgustingly awful situation).  The Body Shop is helping the organizations (ECPAT USA and Somaly Mam Foundation) by donating $6.00 for every $10.00 tube of handcream purchased.  Pretty amazing, if you ask me.  And, the best part, the hand cream is great - sinks in immediately, really moisturizes and has a sweet floral scent. 

Photo courtesy of The Body Shop

The Ocean's In My Handbag

I am definitely one of those people who overstuffs her bag because you just never know when you will be in a rest stop and require soap sheets, or will be called last-minute to go to a red carpet premiere so you need the Laura Mercier palette.  While I have yet to actually use soap sheets and definitely haven't even come close to a red carpet event (unless you consider my mom calling me to hit up The Cheesecake Factory to be an A-List evening out), the one item in my bag that I use every single day is hand cream.  Because I can't justifying lugging around multiple tubes of hand cream, the one that actually makes it in my bag is definitely my go-to.  The latest one to knock out all the competitors is Azur by Thymes.  This stuff smells fantastic (like an ocean breeze if I can be cheesy about it) and sinks in immediately.  My hands feel soft, smell fabulous and the tube has a pop-top so no worry about losing the lid.  The cream only costs $16.00 and the label is really beautiful - ocean waves with little bubbles.  Thymes has a bunch of hand creams, so if you're not into water scents there seems to be a boatload of other options on their site which all sound amazing.  

Note:  A sample of this product was sent to me by a PR representative working with Thymes.  

Sticky Icky Hand Cream

On a whim (okay, fine, I was scouring the hand cream aisle at CVS) I picked up a tube of Eucerin's Daily Skin Balance Skin-Fortifying Hand Creme and it is such an enormous disappointment.  Seriously, I can't think of the last time I bought a product that I hated as much as this.  First off, the scent is sickening (smells like a clean hospital room to me), does not moisturize at all (my hands actually feel more dry after using this) and it's so ridiculously sticky that even if you wait 5 minutes, you still feel like you have that nasty "cheap hand cream" film on them.  This is a definite bust as far as hand creams go and if I could turn back time, I would totally not buy this.  Heck, if I could turn back time, I would major in something other than communications in college; and would definitely not have dated that guy with the weird Star Wars and comic book obsession.  Only if I had the power!

Photo courtesy of Eucerin

Clean Your Hands

 

As someone who loves everything CLEAN, I'm lusting after their new Anti-Bacterial Moisturizing Hand Cream.  I use a lot of hand cream, but I have to admit, I'm not always careful to make sure that it's anti-bacterial, which is stupid because I live in a major city and touch ton of things on a daily basis.  (Also, I have a touch of the hypochondriac in me.  Not a lot, but during the whole Swine Flu epidemic, I was convinced I was coming down with it every time I coughed).  I haven't seen this in person yet, so my only question is how I'm going to feel about an unscented CLEAN product (half of what I love about them is how great all their products smell!)  Here's some info from CLEAN:

CLEAN ANTI-BACTERIAL MOISTURIZING HAND CREAM uses Benzethonium Chloride suspended in a layer of white wax, which bonds to the skin to form a protective barrier to prevent bacteria from transferring to and from skin even after contact for up to 4 hours.  In addition to being a Triclosan and alcohol free, this hand sanitizer works double duty as a moisturizer, helping to keep skin healthy and hydrated for the ultimate fight against contamination.

I totally need a hand cream that keeps bacteria away for up to 4 hours after I put it on!  Especially on days I go to the gym because seriously, how gross are those people who sweat all over the machines and then just get up and walk away?  Party foul.  I am so putting this in my basket the next time I'm at Sephora.