It’s really hard finding a good hand cream. My gold-star favorite is L’Occitane’s Shea Butter Hand Cream, but at $25 a tube, I have to admit it’s pricey. (In its defense, a full-size tube lasts for like six months, so it’s not that bad, which is why it’s still my gold-star favorite.) BUT ANYWAY. I’m picky about hand cream. I really, really hate that slippery feeling you get on your hands when a lotion or cream contains a lot of silicones. I don’t mind it on my body, but I hate it on my hands. I picked up a tube of J.R. Watkins Shea Butter Hand Cream to try out because of its IMPRESSIVE ingredient list and more reasonable price.

So, what does it have in it? What doesn’t it have in it? Seriously, this hand cream reads like a who’s who of awesome ingredients – shea butter, jojoba oil, macadamia oil, avocado oil, cocoa butter, babassu oil, apricot kernal oil, aloe, calendula, chamomile… it goes on. It doesn’t contain mineral oil, petrolatum, silicones, or parabens. It’s pretty darn close to an all natural product. The scent is a delightful lemon frosting/cookie smell, very refreshing and very yum. Seriously, I almost wanna lick my hands, it’s that good. It is knock-you-down strong though, so if you don’t like a strong fragrance, steer clear. It’s more dessert-like, as opposed to fresh cut lemon juice.

The texture is quite thick. If you want a light hand cream, this isn’t it. It’s thick, it’s rich, it’s going to leave a feeling on your hands for a while after you apply it. It won’t be a slick, slippery feel though, which is why I like it. It definitely relieves dryness like a champ. A little goes a long way, so this tube is going to last for a while.

Overall, I’m quite pleased to have given this a try. The 3.5 oz tube is on the large side to want to carry in my purse, but it’s fine for the tote bag I drag to school every day. It’s also a perfectly good size to keep on your nightstand or on the bathroom counter. Price will vary depending on where you shop, but it should always come in under ten bucks for a tube. I give it two (no longer dry!) thumbs up!

It’s late winter/early spring, which means New Product Launches for a lot of my favorite brands, especially skin care launches. Also, Valentines. I love Valentines stuff, even though I’m not really all that big into the holiday itself. I just like fun products. Here are five things I really wish I had the budget to buy!

1. Boscia Tsubaki Beauty Oil. I loooooove facial oils. I like to use a drop or two either by itself or under moisturizer at night. They make my skin happy. This facial oil contains camellia oil and rice bran oil (both of which my face likes a lot), as well as some really nice essential oils. I wannit!

2. Many items from Flower Cosmetics, which has launched at Wal-Mart stores and online. I love the packaging for this product line, AND the price points! I really need to get on over to a Wal-Mart to check it out.

3. This Red Ruby Groovy Natural Body Wash from gud smells THE BEST. Strong grapefruit scents are basically instant cheerful in a bottle, for me. I just need to use up a bottle or two of body wash, and then I can justify buying this.

4. Grapefruit must be a thing for 2013 because Yes To has launched a Pink Grapefruit product line targeting skin brightness and clarity. I want the eye cream and the serum and the towelettes. I already love the Blueberry and Cucumber towelettes, so I’m guessing I’ll love the Pink Grapefruit ones too.

5. Lush’s Valentines stuff sounds lovely, and DAMN THEM! These perfumes… oh God. I don’t love all of Lush’s perfumes, but the ones I like I LOOOOOVE. They’re seriously killing me here.

I’m kind of a sucker for cleansing milks. I like them because they are not drying like some foaming cleansers, and they do a great job taking makeup off – especially eye makeup. I haven’t tried this one from Avalon Organics before, so I decided to give it a whirl. It’s the Vitamin C Renewal Hydrating Cleansing Milk.

The Vitamin C Renewal Hydrating Cleansing Milk is made with aloe vera, sunflower oil, kukui oil, borage oil, shea butter, a slew of citrus extracts, white tea, and vitamin C. It has a light texture, smells divinely citrus-y, and rinses easily. It leaves my skin clean and soft. It does pretty good at removing makeup, although waterproof mascara sometimes needs a second pass. Regular makeup comes right off.

It was under $12 at my local store, so not super-cheap but not too spendy for a nice, plant-based cleanser. It contains a high quantity of certified organic ingredients and the bottle is made from 100% recycled material. The really great citrus scent gives it a leg up on other milky cleansers I’ve used. It gets two thumbs up! I really want to try the Vitamin C Renewal Refreshing Cleansing Gel now, for in the morning. I like to use a foaming cleanser in the shower, and I imagine the citrus would be a great pick-me-up.

I love citrus-y perfumes for summer. There’s something very refreshing about a citrus fragrance when the weather is really warm. The two perfumes I have from Lush (Tuca Tuca and Imogen Rose) are both more cool weather fragrances for me, so I was really excited to try out a new one and find it PERFECT!

25:43 was named for the amount of time it took the perfumer to develop it (25 minutes 43 seconds, apparently). It has notes of lime, tonka bean, lemongrass, vanilla, ylang ylang and litsea. This is a very lemon-y perfume, but the addition of ylang ylang, vanilla, and tonka bean keep it from veering off into Pledge territory. It comes a bit close to smelling like lemon sandwich cookies, but manages not to stray too far in that direction from the herbaceous lemongrass and litsea notes.

I love this perfume. It wears a bit close to the skin, which is nice if the weather is particularly warm. I catch whiffs of it now and then that are quite pleasant. Like most citrus fragrances, it’ll last longer on well moisturized skin – I recommend spraying it on right after you’ve applied lotion (even if it’s not particularly matching lotion).

The 0.3 oz size is only $14.95. I suspect I’m using it up faster than my other Lush perfumes in that size, because you can spray it more liberally without creating a suffocating cloud. All this is to say that I’m probably going to wish I’d gotten the big bottle.

If you’re looking for a beautifully sunny citrus scent with a bit of sweetness, do check out 25:43. It’s lovely.

I really like citrusy fragrances for summertime, and summer has definitely arrived in Oregon! After what seems like months of rain, we finally have weather in the 90′s and sunshine, so what’s more appropriate than a fresh, citrusy fragrance to cool off with? L’Occitane’s new Verbena Summer Secret Eau de Toilette perfume is fits the bill perfectly.

I have never been a particular fan of L’Occitane’s original Verbena  Eau de Toilette. It has a lot of geranium in it, and I don’t particularly like geranium. I am rather fond of the Citrus Verbena version, with all its grapefruity goodness, but I think this Summer Secret wins the prize as the best one so far.

It opens with a burst of apple and some watery green notes with anise. It’s not a jolly rancher type apple, but is rather more tangy and less sweet. Then the mint and basil and verbena settle in, and the base notes have cedar and musk. There is a definite fruitiness to the fragrance, but after that wears off it definitely takes on a more masculine herbalness that I like.

This is a perfect hot weather perfume. It’s super-refreshing and has great lasting power for a citrus scent. I love the mint and basil, it’s like they trick you into feeling cooler even if it’s hot outside.

The Summer Secret collection includes a shower gel, lotion, and candle, all of which I’m just dying to have! Two thumbs up for this lovely summer scent.

It’s finally starting to look like spring around here, despite all the rain we’re having in Portland. I start pulling out all my fruity-floral-girly scents in the springtime, so here’s a list of five that I like.

1. Hidden Fantasy by Britney Spears is a happy, fun fragrance. Lots of citrus and cake to cheer you up when the weather is bad.

2. Kenzo 7:15 AM in Bali is also a citrusy vanilla scent, with more flowers than Hidden Fantasy. It’s super-refreshing and happy.

3. Dreaming by Tommy Hilfiger is a great peachy-floral fragrance. Fabulous for springtime.

4. Diesel Fuel For Life for women: Berries and weirdness. One of my favorite perfumes!

5. Wrapped With Love Hilary Duff is definitely a spring scent – its aggressive fruitiness is a bit much for me unless I’m really in the mood.

I happened to be passing through the duty-free shop while killing some time at JFK recently, and what did I find? Perfume! Yippee! I snagged a bottle of Kenzo’s 7:15 am in Bali perfume and I’m loving it!

Produced exclusively for travel retail, the perfume  represents the fresh air of early morning on Bali and the beauty of the sunrise. It includes notes of juicy grapefruit, passion fruit, sambac jasmine, orchid, and vanilla. I find the grapefruit very refreshing and the drydown relaxing and soothing. It’s a very friendly fragrance, very approachable and likeable. You probably won’t offend anyone sitting next to you, and it would be good for a work situation, I would think.

It’s a light fragrance. I do wish it had more lasting power, but I definitely enjoy it while it does last. It’s a wonderful reminder of my trip to NYC (okay, it’s not Bali, but still). Now I want to find 5:40 pm in Madagascar!

Last year I wrote a 5 Things Summer Perfume, with some of my favorite summer fragrances. I still recommend all those perfumes for summer, and this year I have five more to suggest!

In no particular order…

1.  L’Occitane Bergamot Tea is a perfect summer scent. It’s citrus-y and fresh, but with lovely woody undertones to keep it grounded.

2. Daisy Fuentes Dianoche Ocean is floral, but has a nice coolness thanks to the mojito note.

3.  L’Occitane Shimmering Honey & Lemon is a gourmand scent that isn’t too heavy for summertime. The cut grass and apricot lighten it up and the shimmers are fun on bare skin.

4.  Kenzo Eau de Fleur de magnolia has this great crisp citrus opening that settles down to a lovely woodsy-floral. It’s perfect for a hot summer day.

5.  Sean John Unforgivable Woman is my “sexy” choice for summer. I love the bit of coconut, the whole things reminds me of suntan lotion and warm sand.