My favourite hand cream – L’Occitane Crème Mains

I’m a bit lax on the skincare front.  I don’t really moisturise (definitely not daily), and until I need to start thinking about getting my legs out (doesn’t happen often), I don’t bother with body lotion.  Luckily thanks to having had a dishwasher since moving in with the OH, I don’t spend lots of time washing up, so my hands are still pretty supple and smooth for a late 30 something year old.

But I do have a favourite hand cream.  I usually have some cheapo hand and nail cream left in the office to use, but at home I like to have a thicker richer cream.  Since discovering it years ago when I was looking for presents for family members, I’ve been using L’Occitane en Provence Crème Mains.

I was originally horrified at paying such a large amount for hand cream.  But as you use so little (especially myself if I only use it occasionally), it’s definitely worth paying the money as it lasts for ages.  In fact, until my OH got hold of it for his rough farmer hands this winter (he’ll probably kill me for telling people he uses hand cream!) and used it by the bucketload each night, my last tube had been going for a year or so.  (I did say, I only use it every so often!)

So I had to track down another tube for myself.  I tend to buy from Bicester Village as there’s a shop there.  The only problem is finding the product you like as the stock varies.  On this occasion the standard Shea Butter hand cream wasn’t available, so I spent a good 15  minutes trying out the various testers, and the checking out the value gift packs of mini limited edition tubes.

As I was looking for small gifts for family members I bought a multipack of 30 ml tubes.  I couldn’t resist the Date Bouquet smell – complete with 20% Shea butter, a certainty to make your skin feel beautifully smooth.   They didn’t have the exact combination of tubes I wanted, so they made me some up which was great service.  I chose some citrus and rose flavours along with the date.  I’ve never seen the smaller travel sizes in shops, but they have some online – good if you like to chop and change.

But what about the hand cream itself. 

It is really thick, unlike some of the standard larger bottles of hand cream.  L’Occitane hand cream really feels rich and luxurious – although it doesn’t feel greasy once you rub it in.  I like to put some on my elbows as well – weird, but it feels nicer than greasier knee/elbow creams).

The smell is divine.  Not quite chocolatey, but that similar rich buttery scent.

And I love the packaging.  It’s simple, with a vintage feel.  You could quite easily see it sitting on a vanity or dressing table and not looking out of place like a plastic bottle might.  You do sometimes need to watch out for the ‘metal’ tube splitting if you squeeze it out like toothpaste and fold over the end to get every last bit out.  You could get round that by decanting the cream out into a different container, although I think that’s probably a bit extreme.

My hands always feel that little bit softer after using it, and later in the day.  I really like that hours later I can still smell a slight waft of the scent as well.

I’ve given L’Occitane as gifts to several friends and family members, and all have liked it.  It just seems to suit everyone who uses it, and when this tube’s finished, I shall be there buying another tube to replace it.

What hand cream do you use?