L'Occitane Mango Flower Shea Hand Cream

Unlike my prior experience with L'Occitane's Honey Shea Cream, I have nothing but raves about L'Occitaine Mango Flower Shea Hand Cream.

Just like the Honey version, Mango Flower Shea Cream also retails for $12 for 1 oz of lotion. Unlike the cloyingly sweet Honey, Mango Flower manages to be sweet but refreshing. I wouldn't hesitate to pull this out of my purse at work.

Mango Flower also manages to balance the sweet and fruity without smelling like it came from one of the other mass retailers (don't get me wrong, I buy plenty of products from those chains). That's key for something at this price point. At only 20% shea, it's obviously not quite the treat of the 100% shea butter cream that L'Occitane is famous for. It is more hydrating than most other hand creams that I've tried- and it tells me that there's a hand cream from this brand for everyone.




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L'Occitane Honey Shea Hand Cream

I haven't blogged extensively about lotions in the past, but it shouldn't be a surprise that L'Occitane Shea Hand Creams are some of my favorites. For years, I've loved the unscented, traditional shea cream. Lately, I've been checking out some of the multitude of available scents.

Today, I'll be talking about the L'Occitane Honey Hand Cream ($12, 1.0oz at Nordstrom).

Honey is almost cloyingly sweet; it's overwhelming.  I was surprised at the scent, to be honest. I generally love L'Occitane's products and have tried other scents in the hand creams. I also generally love honey.  There's something about this particular product that isn't appealing to me, although I'm going to use it up. If honey is your favorite scent, I recommend trying this first. In terms of moisturizing, this performs just like the other products in the line.

Sephora Collection Super Supreme Body Butter

Since I shared my favorite self-tanner with you earlier today, I thought it was only appropriate to share my new favorite lotion for the summer that I use on the days that I'm not self-tanning- and it continues the budget beauty theme today.

Sephora Super Supreme Body Butter comes in 2 sizes- 3.2oz ($8) and 15.8oz ($25).  Consider this a case of sampling gone right.  I tried this first in the sample packets that are available with online order at Sephora.  I adore Bliss' Body Butter for the winter, but it's a little pricey for year-round use.  Enter Sephora Collection Super Supreme Body Butter.

I didn't detect any added fragrance, which is one of the things I look for the most in a body butter.  I prefer a neutral scented base for any perfume I choose to wear.

This body butter also gets high marks for absorbing quickly (a must for first thing in the morning) and doing so without making my skin feel greasy.  I'll be replenishing this tub when I run out for sure.  I do love the smaller size- product stays nicer.

Overall, I'd call this a great basic body butter. Don't be afraid to give it a shot- my legs have been loving it!

Nivea Sun-Kissed Beautiful Legs Shave Minimizing Gradual Tan Daily Lotion

Although I primarily use high-end skincare and makeup, there are a handful of drugstore products that I couldn't imagine life without.  Nivea's Sun-Kissed Beautiful Legs Shave Minimizing Gradual Tan Daily Lotion for Fair to Medium Skin ($9.99/6.8 fl oz) is one of my staples.

I've previously bemoaned the issues that us alabaster beauties face when it comes to summer and self-tanner. Most high-end products are geared to medium-dark complexions and look fake or orange on me.  That's not what I'm looking for in terms of a self-tanner.

My requirements for a self-tanner?

• Not very deep
• No orange tint
• Idiot-proof
• Not too stinky
• Buildable, so I can control the shade

 If I'm not looking to look like I just spent the weekend at the beach (c'mon, everyone can immediately tell that I burn just thinking about the sun), then why use self-tanner?

I have one main motivation: I don't want to wear pantyhose in the office all summer, but I also don't want my legs to blind everyone.  I am seeking a soft glow that's not distracting and would disguise some of the imperfections visible with my (admittedly) translucent skintone.  As for wearing shorts, I couldn't care less what the general public thinks about my legs. It's about being more comfortable in the office yet still looking put together.  To achieve that, I use a combination of this self-tanner and a shimmer lotion (my latest favorite is the Clarins Shimmer Oil I talked about earlier this month).

While I have some doubts about the Shave Minimizing claims, this product ticks all of my boxes. It's incredibly light and therefore buildable. It dries quickly when spread thinly, but the lotion texture allows you to control application for probably up to 5 minutes- making it idiot-proof.  There is a self-tanner smell, but it dissipates within a couple of hours. In the summers, I tend to shower immediately after getting home to wash away the heat and sweat of summer, and then apply self-tanners in the evening.  I get about a month's worth of applications from this tube.

Are there better overall self-tanners out there? Probably.  But this works well for my purposes, and I wanted to take a moment to show a drugstore product that I love since I routinely rave about luxuries like $50 lipsticks.

Caudalie Vinotherapy Hand and Nail Cream

A bit of a detour for this afternoon's post.  Now that the temperatures are lower, my skin is crying for more moisture.  I recently bought a full size of the Caudalie Vinotherapy Hand and Nail Cream after finishing the smaller tube that came in the Caudalie Favorites kit I purchased a couple of months ago.

Caudalie Hand and Nail Cream retails for $15 and comes in a 2.5 fl oz squeeze tube.  For those worried about buying in-store, the tube is sealed under the cap.

Like all Vinoperfect products, this has a pleasant, light grape leaf/grapevine scent.  It is a white lotion:

In terms of moisturizing ability, I'd rate it as moderately moisturizing.  It does a great job and the moisture lasts for a few hours.  However, it's not a shea cream and therefore isn't the heavy lifter that the best shea creams are.

One of the best features of this lotion is that it's moisturizing without leaving a greasy residue. It's clean, and leaves a perfumed kick.

Bottom Line: I find this to be a pleasant addition to the rotation of lotions on my bedside table and find it perfect for this time of year.