Handy! (Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Intensive Moisturizing Hand Treatment)

Member Name: cyberem78

Product:	Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Intensive Moisturizing Hand Treatment
Date:	11/10/09 (47 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Leaves skin soft and fresh feeling.

Disadvantages: Smells horrible. Is expensive.

I love the outdoors and getting my hands dirty so one of my must-have cosmetic products is hand cream to help soften and soothe the wind-chapped skin particularly on my knuckles. I'm not loyal to any particular brand but I have been using Marks and Spencer's Almond Replinishing Hand Cream until recently, when a friend gave me this Elizabeth Arden Intensive Moisturising Treatment. This is a premium brand and quite pricey so I was expecting great things!

When I first recieved this I was happy that the tube was a large size - 75mls or 2.3 fluid ounces worth of product. The tube is malleable which makes it easy to squeeze out the cream from the dispensing hole in the cap. There is a flip style lid which opens easily and then clicks back into place. I'd tape this over if you intend to take this travelling though.

There is very little information on the tube itself regarding the benefits of the cream. The brand simply refer to this as a "gel cream" and claim it keeps hands moisturised for up to eight hours. More details can actually be found on the Elizabeth Arden shop website where the cream is described in more detail. Here you can learn that the cream has "soothing emollients" which help to soften weather worn skin. Emollients are ingredients which help to smooth over the roughness of skin by providing oiliness or waxiness.

The cream is quite thick and has a pearly white colour. It can be rubbed into skin very easily and abosrbs very fast, immediately changing the appearance and feeling of the skin. I don't need to use a lot to cover my hands, a few tiny spots of cream does the trick. It basically absorbs into your hand if you just rub your finger through the cream once. Straight away my skin feels soft, new and healthy. The cream also eradicates that straw-like colouration of my dry skin and gives skin a matte glow. A great thing about the cream is that it is not sticky nor does it take too long to dry or be absorbed. This means I can touch things or put on clothes just seconds after using the cream. My palms and fingers do not feel damp or glue-like either.

The effect of the moituriser lasts as long as you keep your hands clean and don't wash them. If you get your hands wet you can feel some of the cream working off - it's like a melting wax sensation. I have never managed to last the eight hours the brand claim this cream protects for without having to wash my hands. I do feel that the cream gives a high degree of protection and moisturisation though and for as long as you keep your hands dry!

One thing I dislike about the cream is the fragrance. I have previously used the Eight Hour Skin Protectant Cream and discovered this smelled horrible - a bit like parrafin or petrol fumes. This hand cream is not quite as bad but still has an unpleasant and chemical aroma. It does smell like something you'd be using to treat a medical complaint - like a muscle pain gel. Fortunately once the cream is rubbed in the fragrance is not noticable unless you actually smell your hand, so no worries about other people noticing this strong, unpleasant fragrance!

In comparison with the most recent hand cream I've been using - the Marks and Spencer Almond Replenishing cream I'd have to say that this Elizabeth Arden cream provides a much more intense and effective moisturising experience. I'm not entirely sure the cream is worth the £22 price-tag though. In lots of ways the cream is very similar to those very moisturisers like Atrixo (you can get 200mls of Atrixo for around £4) which similarly protects and moisturises with a waxy layer and has no feminine fragrance either. Overall, though I can endorse the Elizabeth Arden Intensive Moisturising Hand Cream as being effective and worth using.

Go to:

http://shop.elizabetharden.com

for information on all products in this range.

Summary: An effective hand cream but pricey.