little white truths

I included these two L'Occitane samples in one of my recent declutter posts (see here) because I've wound up with so many smaller items during 2017 that I needed to finish some off.

I'd thought that I would only use one and gift the other, but turns out that I haven't reviewed this hand cream yet so I decided to keep both so I could do that.

L'Occitane hand creams remind me of mums and their handbags: my mum always had a rolled up, travel-worn tube floating around in the bottom of hers, and I know that she's not the only one.

I'm not sure what it is about this particular hand cream, but it seems to be a product that everyone has tried and almost everyone loves. L'Occitane must be staying afloat based on hand cream sales alone.

When I received these hand creams as GWPs, I wasn't that excited because I've tried this hand cream countless times and the best thing about these versions was the packaging. A 10ml size is perfect for the handbag because it's so small, and you can even throw these into a clutch or jacket pocket because they're that tiny.

Having said this, I've used a few bung hand creams lately so I ended up being a lot more excited about these two than I first was, and it's been nice to return to something that just works. My dry hands certainly need it.

L'Occitane claims/product details:

• Did you know that every three seconds, someone buys a tube of our bestselling cream? 
• There’s something about our formula that’s made it a fan-favorite around the world - a certain je-ne-sais-quoi that has people going wild for these little tubes that pack a moisturising punch 
• Enriched with 20 per cent organic shea butter 
• Also contains a yummy blend of honey, almond and coconut oil
• Tough on cracked, chapped hands without leaving any leftover oily traces
• Often called 'life-changing' and a 'beauty-must-have', this miraculous little hand cream is an essential for home, work and on-the-go
• RRP $14 AUD for 30ml or $44 AUD for 150ml, but do shop around

Verdict

This is an excellent hand cream and I'm really enjoying it. I don't remember liking it before as much as I do now, but perhaps that's because it hasn't been a great year for hand cream for me - so it's nice to finally be using one that works.

It's a white cream with a thick, rich texture that's not too heavy and it spreads and absorbs well. A little goes a long way so even my two little samples are lasting me a good while.

It has a light, clean shea butter scent that's nice but not overpowering, and although I enjoy the scent, I would quite like to try some of the brand's other fragrances because I do like scents in my body products but don't like them in my facial skincare. There's nothing nicer than a great-smelling hand cream I reckon.

What I like about this is that it absorbs immediately and relieves any discomfort in my dry skin. It's rich enough for the overnight spot (I have one tube on my bedside table and the other one in my handbag), but it's not so rich that I can't use it for day.

Yes it does leave a slight film on the hands but I don't find it to be too greasy - there's a bit of grease, but it's not so much that my hands are slipping over the keyboard - and I've certainly used hand creams that leave a worse film than this does. And better still, within ten minutes the film is gone and my hands just feel soft, nourished and supple.

Otherwise there's not much to say about this product except that it works and I can see why it's so popular. It's not super cheap but it's not that expensive either, and the 30ml tube that costs $14 would last me ages so I don't think it's a bad buy.

Lovely.