A review of the best hand creams

It may surprise some of you to learn that as well as writing a beauty blog, I am currently studying Archaeology at Uni. I know the two are never normally connected with one another but on the days I'm not spent digging dirt, I do try to look nice. I also try and keep my hands clean as much as possible and constant washing or cleaning dries them out.

My favourite hand cream is by The Body shop and it's lasted me ages. The Body Shop had an offer on last year where you could try their 30ml hand creams for free of which there were four in the range. I really like the Almond Hand and Nail Cream as it sinks into the hands straight away and gets to work moisturising those cracked hands. Almonds are great for your hair and nails and the cream is really easy to moisturise into your cuticles. It smells wonderful too. I love how light it feels and how quick it sinks into the skin. It's also made from Community Fair Trade Brazil nut oil so you can do some good when you use it.

I tried the other three in the range; Wild Rose, Absinthe and Hemp and found all three to have overpowering scents, (especially Wild Rose). I find that the Almond cream leaves my hands soft and smooth but I found the Hemp hand cream too thick to sink in and the Absinthe too greasy. The Wild Rose cream works to soothe cracked skin but the smell was too flowery for my liking. A small tube retails at £5 and it's presented in an unusual silver tube rather than a plastic container. It's because of the tube however that it has pride of place on my bedside shelves. The tube is easily squashed and so it can explode with pressure. My handbag is already a mess so I don't need hand cream leaking into it.

Another favourite is the Amande l'occitane hand cream which although it comes in the same silver tube, my sample came with a little knitted hand cream container. I can throw this into any handbag and not have to worry that the liquid will ooze out. I received another two samples with this; Fleur de Cerisier Cherry Blossom and for dry hands Shea Butter. I love the smell of the Shea butter and almond hand creams but again, the cherry smell is too strong for me.

Lastly, if I'm travelling my skin dries out quickly on planes so I need an intense moisturiser that will get to work straight away. I received a small sample of the Rituals hand cream and as it's less 10ml, it's the perfect size to fit in your hand luggage if you travel abroad a lot. Both the l'occitane hand cream and the rituals hand cream take a little while to sink in which is a bit restricting.