I find it impossible to say what makes my hands dry out so often. Be it the constant rounds of washing up at home or the particularly evil soap dispenser at work (a white foamy dispenser that leave my hands feeling like they have been dragged through a desert), my hands constantly feel dry and not at their best. I have tried many a solution to this problem but short of not washing my hands (not very hygienic) or leaving the washing up to my better half, a hand cream is always a must in my handbag. It was upon browsing through a collection of smellies given to me by friends and family recently that I came across a tube of this Soap and Glory Hand Food.

~~The Product and Packaging~~

The design of this packaging leaves me wondering why I haven't spotted it before lurking at the bottom of my bathroom drawer. The tube is a lovely soft pink and it stands on an equally pink flip top lid. The front of the tube is illustrated with the Soap and Glory logo and a statement 'Hand Food' in large white letters. Reading above the product name is written "The most astonishing hand cream ever? You decide" a statement which immediately made me want to test this hand cream out. Reading behind the tube you are met with the text 'mend a hand?' a statement which I nodded fondly to having recently suffered with very tight feeling skin on my hands.

This hand cream is said to be non greasy and contains amongst other ingredients shea butter, macadamia oil and marshmallow. The combination of these ingredients is claimed to soften and soothe dry chapped hands although it is advised that it is not used on damaged skin.

Upon flipping open the lid I was eager to sample the smell of the cream having had many a love affair with most of the Soap and Glory fragrances. The cream is white and of a medium consistency and smells heavenly. The fragrance is difficult to describe and can be best understood when other lotions from the Soap and Glory range have been used but I would say that it is almost a fruity sweet perfume smell with a tiny hint of shea butter.

This cream comes in two sizes that being a 50ml tube and a larger 125ml tube and I own the latter. It is worth noting however that both sizes would easily fit in an average handbag and perhaps if you were a firm lover of this hand cream it would be worth buying two tubes in either size, one for smaller bags and the other for larger bags.

~~Price and Availability~~

I believe that it is always a good idea to shop around for good quality smellies as you can often find better deals online. However, a quick look on the Boots website confirms that a 50ml tube can be purchased for £2.50 and the larger one for £5. I do not think this is much to pay for a good brand and, prior to testing, I would have happily paid this price if buying this cream for myself or as a gift.

~~Results~~

Now with a statement that reads 'The Most Astonishing hand Cream Ever?' I was expecting something special from this hand cream. I do a lot of typing and admin related work and therefore I like to have hands that feel supple but without some of the greasiness that hand creams can leave on my skin. As a result of my job, I am quite a picky hand cream consumer and will therefore be scoring this product based on three criteria; 'Smell', 'Absorbency and Greasiness' and finally 'The Most Astonishing Hand Cream Ever?'.

* Smell

As mentioned above, I love the smell of this hand cream as, in my opinion; it is a typically feminine and sweet smell the results of which gently waft up to my nose in between washing my hands. The smell can last a good couple of hours in between washes and mean that I have one of the best smelling desks in the office every time I open the lid. As a result this hand cream scores top marks on smell.

* Absorbency/ Greasiness

To test this feature I put on a small blob of hand cream prior to writing this review. We are talking in the region of a pea sized dollop the quantity of which was rubbed into my thirsty hands. To start off with the cream felt soft on my skin and gave immediate relief to the dry and tight feeling. After a minute the cream had been absorbed into my hands and I then proceeded to put my rings back onto my fingers and started to type. We are now 15 minutes after the initial application and although my hands feel a lot less dry they are still feeling slightly greasy and not completely quenched. This greasiness feels like I have a film over my skin and I must admit it is not entirely pleasant as my now sticky pen will testify.

* The Most Astonishing Hand Cream Ever? You Decide...

As the title of this review will demonstrate, this is not the most astonishing hand cream ever in my opinion. Having used a shea based hand cream from L'Occitane which I immediately fell in love with, this hand cream does not compare as it fails to absorb completely into my skin. In addition, when I wash my hands the skin reverts straight back to feeling dry and tight again and I am therefore disappointed that this cream does not solve the dryness problem but simply masks it in between washes.

~~Summary~~

When I first saw this hand cream I had been anticipating giving it a five star review based on other products from this range, however as my comments will demonstrate I haven't been entirely impressed with this moisturiser. Although it scores top marks for smell and for the girly packaging, I have been slightly put off by the moisturising qualities of this cream which are not in my opinion as good as some of the cheaper end hand creams. In addition I (and my sticky Biro) will have to disagree with the non greasy qualities promoted by Soap and Glory. As a result of the above I think that although this hand cream smells lovely I would struggle to recommend the hydration or should I say 'hand food' qualities.

Consequently, this hand cream scores an average three stars from me.

I hope this review has been of use and thanks for reading! x