Review: Lush - Smitten - Almond Icing Hand Cream

Lush Smitten

Hi guys! For today I have a review about Lush's one of their hand creams. The reason why I'm reviewing it today is it's discontinued but still available! I already reviewed and really liked Handy Gurugu, do I like this one just as much? Read on to find out.

Like almond icing

According to Lush, Smitten is a protective, almond scented hand cream. It's a lighter hand cream with the same fragrance as the famous Snowcake soap. "Smitten is made with natural oils, calming chamomile and beeswax to protect the hands from extreme weather or nourish them when they need it most. Use it regularly for nice soft mitts. Chamomile is anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, bactericidal and sedative. Aromatherapists have used it to treat bruises, allergies, stress and depression. It is helpful for sensitive skins."

Kind to mitts?

Smitten has a very creamy texture and is definitely moisturizing. I do feel like the effect is quickly evaporated, but I still like it. The smell is famous, and while it does reminds me of almonds, I immediately thought: Play Doh! I thought I was crazy for thinking it smelled liked Play Doh, but a quick Google search showed me I'm not alone! So, Play Doh.. I think it's quite a funny smell, and it makes me a bit nostalgic, at times I love it, at times I hate it. The scent does wear off after an hour or so.

What's in it?

The ingredients look rather nice, Chamomile, Almond and other nice oils. I love the fact Lush is cruelty free, if you're vegan you can't use Smitten though, as it contains lanoline and beeswax. The one thing I don't get is why a company like Lush still uses parabens, but okay.
Overall, I quite like this product, even though I haven't decided on the smell yet. It's a good cream to take with you on the road, since it's quite light and quickly absorbed. For a more thorough moisturizing effect I'd recommend Handy Gurugu over this though! If you want to get this cream, get it fast as it's discontinued!

Ingredients

Chamomile Matricaria Infusion (Chamomilla recutita), Almond Oil (Prunus dulcis), Marigold Infusion (Calendula officinalis), Cold Pressed Flaxseed Oil (Linum usitatissimum), Glycerine, Stearic Acid, Cocoa Butter (Theobroma cacao), Cetearyl Alcohol, Cold Pressed Wheatgerm Oil (Triticum vulgare), Cold Pressed Avocado Oil (Persea gratissima), Coconut Butter (Cocos nucifera), Lanolin, Beeswax (Cera alba), Benzoin Resinoid (Styrax benzoin), Rose Absolute (Rosa centifolia), Cassie Absolute (Acacia farnesiana), Perfume, Triethanolamine, Methylparaben, Propylparaben.

Lush Smitten costs € 11,75 / 100g, or $17.95 / 3.5oz. Visit www.lush.com for more information.

Nail biting: Ditch that habit!

Ditch the biting

Some people don't believe me when I say I used to bite my nails. But I did. Real bad, and for years. I started this awful habit when I was pretty young, maybe around the age of seven? I bit my nails until they bled, not a pretty sight. Embarrassed as I was, I always sat on my hands: I absolutey didn't want anyone to see them. But I always had a thing for my mom's nail polish though, it made me sad, looking at my nails. I'm not sure about all the reasons I ended up with this habit, but I managed to beat it eventually.

If it's more serious...

Of course it depends on your reasons why you bite your nails, if there are serious psychological motives behind your addiction, I don't think this post is right for you. But, if you just got used to the biting, the habit, to the point of no return, let me tell you how I did it.

Why is nail biting bad?

There are actually quite some health risks attached to biting your nails. It's not very hygienic, you can end up with some serious infections. It isn't that great for your teeth as well, and not to mention the permanent damage you can do to your nails and cuticles.

Possible solutions

There are plenty of products on the market which you can polish on, that leave a horrendous taste. A friend of mine actually kicked her habit to the curb with Essence No More Bite. Many companies sell products like these. If you haven't tried them yet, give it a shot.

It didn't really work out for me though, it was a short term solution and I just kept biting through that bitter awful mess. At one point I just had enough, I wanted pretty, polished nails. So I decided to get acrylics. Best thing I've ever done for my nails. Not only did I realize how much I actually liked pretty nails, I just couldn't bite my way through them. Well, I know a lot of people can and will, but somehow I didn't feel like putting those acrylics in my mouth anymore. After a while that oral fixation disappeared and I didn't have to fight the urge anymore. I let my acrylics grow out, and here we are today.

What also works for a lot of people: baby them like crazy! File, moisturize, keep them polished at all times, and enjoy it! Your nails can be in pretty bad shape after you've bitten them for so long, so don't expect them to be nice, long and strong immediately. Everything will work out though, invest in a good nail hardener and ridge filler and just be kind to them. If you can't do it on your own, don't hesitate to tell some people, because they can help a great deal, especially when you mindlessly put that finger in your mouth..

Any experiences to share?

So this was my personal story.. If you used to bite your nails, and have some great tips or tricks, please share!

How to: get velvety hands

Hi guys! Due to all kinds of crazy busy-ness, just a quick little tip for today: how to get smooth and velvety hands. Ages ago I got an excellent tip from Kirsten from TheDuchNailBlog: scrub your hands with sugar or salt with vinegar oil. By doing this you get rid of dead skin cells thus making your hands a whole lot smoother. If oil dries you out, finish with a rich handcream and you won't stop touching your own hands, I promise!

Clumsy?

If you're clumsy, like me, you'll be happy to know there are several pre made hand scrubs available. I tried the P2 - Ultra Clean Hand Peeling and let's see how I like it!

First thing I noticed was the smell, it's quite fresh but strong, reminding me of pomelos or grapefruits. You're supposed to use this several times a week, by taking a little, massage your hands with it and wash it off. The texture is really grainy, which makes sense, because it has a lot of sugar in it. I like how the sugar leaves me with smooth hands, but I hate how it gets under my nails. It's easily washed of and you won't end up with oily hands. I don't find this scrub to be very moisturizing on its own so I like to use a handcream afterwards, and with this routine I get the softest hands ever.

Ingredients

Sucrose, Helianthus annuus [sunflower] Seed Oil, Caprylic / Capric Triglyceride, Isopropyl Myristate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate Se, Silica, Sodium Lauryl Sarcosinate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Fragrance, Water, Propanediol, Eclipta prostrata Extract, Propylene Glycol, Hibiscus sabdariffa Flower Extract, Lactic Acid, Phenoxyethanol, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Ethylparaben, Butylparaben, Isobutylparaben, CI 26100, CI 47000th

Conclusion

I really like this scrub, it does a good job at exfoliating, I like the smell and how my hands feel afterwards. This product costs only 2.45 eur for 100 ml, but it's not easy to get (DM in Germany). Good news is, like I mentioned before, it's very easy to make your own scrub!

Review: Lush Handy Gurugu

Hi guys! Maybe it's just me, but when I'm in love with a product, things often go wrong.. My favorite hair mask: discontinued. My favorite veggie salad: not so veggie anymore. My favorite hand cream: they changed the formula. Can you believe this? I'm not kidding! But in a way I'm glad, because in the search of the next perfect hand cream I found a match. In fact, I love it even more than the previous cream I've been using.

Lush Handy Gurugu

First of all, Gurug..what?! Hell, I don't even know what it means but I do know Lush's Handy Gurugu is something special. Lush did this lovely writeup on their website:

You'd think because this hand lotion has such a light and fluffy consistency it would be lightly moisturizing, but Handy Gurugu is a rich cream that sinks in quickly and really goes to work on dry, sore hands. We mix in a multitude of butters including fresh Shea butter, purchased fairly from women who whip it up by hand in a village in Ghana (they're really strong - trust us we went and tried to whip it up ourselves and let's just say our arms were quiet puny compared to theirs)

And, as far as I'm concerned, they're not lying! Handy Gurugu is fabulously fluffy and light yet really moisturizing. It's quickly absorbed and doesn't leave my hands greasy (as with Smitten, which would be great for extremely dry winterhands), which is a major plus. I love the smell too. The scent is very strong though, I think you'll either hate or love it, it's definitely not for everyone. It reminds me of a giant herbal explosion; it smells extremely earthly. The smell lingers for a long time too, I can smell it almost throughout the entire day. If this makes you feel a bit reluctant, I'd suggest a little batting of the eyelids and ask for a sample to try it out!

For some people the packaging could be a downside, because it's in a tub you'll have to stick your fingers in it. If you don't want cream under your nails, use your knuckle to get the product out of the tub, I do this with day creams as well!

I love how Lush uses only cruelty free and fair trade ingredients. This is most likely bustin the price as well, but I don't mind paying a bit more for a good cause. The price of Lush products vary a lot depending on the country you live in, here in The Netherlands a jar of Handy Gurugu retails for €12,95 for 100gr (or $16 for 3.4oz)

So in conclusion, I found a new love in Handy Gurugu, if you ever happen to stumble upon a Lush, I'd say at least ask for a sample!

Ingredients

Rose Water (Rosa centifolia), Fair Trade Organic Shea Butter (Butyrospermum parkii), Glycerine, Stearic Acid, Organic Almond Oil (Prunus dulcis), Triethanolamine, Fresh Lemon Juice (Citrus limonum), Vanilla Absolute (Vanilla planifolia), Rose Absolute (Rosa centifolia), Chamomile Blue Oil (Matricaria chamomilla), Organic Evening Primrose Oil (Oenothera biennis), Organic Peanut Butter (Arachis hypogaea), Organic Pumpkinseed Butter (Cucurbita), Organic Cashew Nut Butter (Anacardium), Organic Almond Butter (Prunus dulcis), Tincture of Benzoin (Styrax benzoin), Cetearyl Alcohol, *Benzyl Salicylate, *Coumarin, *Geraniol, *Benzyl Benzoate, *Farnesol, *Limonene, *Linalool, Perfume, Chlorophyllin, Methylparaben, Propylparaben.

The Battle of the Balms

You probably all know by now that I love Lush's Lemony Flutter and just don't know when to stop, when it comes to my constant raving about it. It isn't the only good product for cuticles out there though, so I thought I'd share my opinions about some other Cuticle balms I've tried so far. I've used cremes and oils as well, but for today the focus is on balms.

	Sally Hansen - Cuticle Massage Cream The jar says this is a cream, but I'd like to disagree. From all four this one has the sturdiest substance, it's not soft at all. Also, it doesn't really melt when you apply this on your cuticles, so absorption isn't good at all with this one. If you put this on at night, it's definitely still there in the morning. The smell isn't that strong, it smells like Apricots, which is really nice. There's also a chance Sally Hansen tests on animals, since they never bothered to reply to my email where I expressed this concern. I give this product a 4 out of 10.
	Essence - SOS Nail & Cuticle Balm Now this is such a cute jar! When you first get this, the balm looks like a swirled candy cane, a sweet mix of pink and white. Essence SOS Nail & Cuticle balm contains shea butter and almond oil. This balm applies pretty smooth, and it does melt, absorption isn't perfect but it's not as bad as with the Sally Hansen balm. The smell of this one is strong! It smells like sweet almonds, I love it. I give this product a 7 out of 10.
	Lush - Lemony Flutter Ok, my beloved Lemony Flutter. Lemony Flutter contains lots of good stuff! Among the ingredients are many different oils like soya, flaxseed, avocado, castor and many more oils. The base of this balm is shea butter with fresh lemon infusion. This one goes on the smoothest of the bunch. It also leaves my cuticles the softest. Lemony Flutter is a bit greasy though, that's why I like to apply this product at night. The smell is very strong, I've heard some people can't stand it, but I love it. It smell like fresh lemons. I give this product a 9 out of 10.
	Burt's Bees - Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream I know the opinions differentiate on this, but I think this is the next best thing to Lemony Flutter. It contains beeswax and different oils like citrus and almond oil. The substance isn't as soft as LF, but I love that it goes on quite transparent, so it isn't that noticeable. Unlike all previously mentioned balms. The smell is lovely too, it's best described as the smell of Napoleon candy! I didn't find it to be as hydrating as Lemony Flutter and that's the only reason why it isn't my favorite. It was a neck to neck race though, so: I give this product a 8 out of 10.

So these were all my opinions, please share your favorites?