Five Hand Creams #3 // Wilko, Dr Organic, BalanceMe, Treacle Moon, Kueshi

Welcome back to another Five Hand Creams post! I go through hand cream like water so I here is where I document my experience with all the different ones I try out. I'm subscribed to a ridiculous amount of beauty boxes as well and I receive at least 1 every month through them so, when one is empty or close to empty I lump them all together for a "Five Hand Creams" post. Lets get into them shall we?

Wilko // "So Soft" Intense Hand Cream (75ml - £1)

I'm not quite sure why I bought this. I have a hand cream obsession and I like the smell of coconuts so that's why? In the tube this does smell quite nice but then you put it on your hands and start rubbing it in and the scent changes to musty clothes with a hint of coconut. I don't like it. I'm going to have to use it up because I not a big fan of wasting things but the scent on this one is so strange it's put me off buying any other Wilko branded hand creams.

Dr Organic // Manuka Honey Foot & Heel Cream (125ml - £6.75)

This cream on the other hand has become one of my all time favourites and I'm on my second tube. This is my go to foot cream. I received it in a Latest In Beauty box in August I think and that tube lasted me a good four months of everyday use. Full size is only £6.75 which is fantastic because this product actually works. I use about a walnut size on each foot at night, put on some thick socks and then go to sleep. My feet have never felt so soft or looked so good. Whilst using this, I've not suffered from any cracked heels or peeling. It has this really lovely honey scent as well and stops your feet from smelling throughout the day. This has become an essential for me. 

BalanceMe // Super Moisturising Hand Cream (50ml - £10)

I bought this at TK Maxx at the end of August for £3.99 as I was out all day and had forgotten to put hand cream in my bag. I've tried quite a few BalanceMe products and generally like the brand. I was initially put off by this cream as it has an extremely strong patchouli scent and I hate patchouli but the formula has well and truly won me over; this is a fantastic hand cream. It's rich and buttery smooth; leaving the skin soft and hydrated for hours. I would actually purchase this again despite the smell. £4 for it was a bargain because this is well worth the £10 price tag.

Treacle Moon // Marshmallow Hearts (75ml - £2) 

I featured the coconut flavour in the first 5 Hand Creams post and whereas this smells much nicer; it doesn't moisturise as well. Your hands will smell great but about 20 minutes after application it feels like you need to reapply again. For £2, it doesn't break the bank but clearly it's more for show than to be actually used. It does smell bloody good though and they offer shower gel in this scent as well so I may actually purchase that instead of more hand cream.

Kueshi // Foot Care Cream (40ml - £12 for 100ml)

And last is another foot cream I got with a Birchbox order in October. It was a free sample but seeing as how I was half way through the Dr Organic Foot Cream, I left it in my spares box until I ran out of that tube. I've been using this foot cream only for the past month til it ran out and I'm so glad it has because I couldn't wait to go back to the Dr Organic cream. It smells nice; like peppermint and tea tree. It reminds me of that scene from Mean Girls where Cady says all they've done is make Regina's face smell like a foot.

Other than that it doesn't do anything. My feet have definitely been a lot drier and I've seen a few cracks here and there through the last couple of months; I'm now back on the Manuka cream so hopefully soft feet will once again be mine. 

And that's it for this month! I have so many more hand creams to go through....I honestly think this will never end because I clearly have a problem when it comes to hand cream.

*none of the links in this post are affiliated, just ones I found off google

Three Nail Polish Removers #1 // Beauty Outlet & Wilko

Since becoming obsessed with doing my nails I'm reading more and more articles about caring for your nails. In the old days I just used to think polish remover was well polish remover and there wasn't any difference between them. I thought it smelled horrible and left my nails looking white and dry. However, since then I've learnt that removers differ vastly and I'm now on the search for the best remover. 

Beauty Outlet // Gel Polish Remover (150ml - £1.49)

I bought this after trying to do clean up with standard nail polish remover that I bought around 10 years ago. As you can tell I never used to do my nails that regularly (like once every 3 months) and so remover would last me years. However, since I've started doing nail art, I've gone through a 150ml in just under two months. 

This is blazingly fast as a clean up remover and allows you to create sharp lines. It evaporates almost instantly and leaves the skin feeling ice cold. Because of how powerful it is though I found that it would often mess up the polish (especially since I always wear a peel off base coat) and cause it to bunch up and lift prematurely. I try to avoid using it to remove my polish completely though because it's extremely drying and the skin looks white after using it. The scent is quite strong but not as bad as others. I would probably re-purchase this as back up for when I have nothing else but after trying others it isn't my favourite.

Beauty Outlet // Acetone Free Remover (150ml - £1)

This I want to throw in the bin because it's absolutely useless. It can't remove regular creme polish for shit so forget about glitter, no matter how long you leave it on. I've only used this a couple of times before I realised acetone-free remover is a gimmick and should never be used. Forget about clean up, you'll be there for eternity swiping your nails and afterwards you'll be left with dry skin. In the unlikely event it does manage to remove something, the nails are left dry and flaky. I would pour this down the drain but I'm scared the drains will forever smell of this horrid product.

Wilko // "Lift Off" Nail Polish Remover (250ml - £1)

The last remover did not smell great but winner of the unholy nail polish remover scent goes to this thing. With the gel remover running out quickly and the acetone free being useless, I picked this one up whilst doing a quick shop. I was lured in by the "fast acting formula" claim and the "lift-off" slogan. I thought this would solve my problems as it contains vitamins and glycerine as well as being predominately acetone; boy was I wrong. I hate this stuff; it smells god awful. No amount of ventilation will save you; the scent will follow you to the ends of the earth and after all that it will maybe remove some polish. But your nails will be left white and dry and they'll stink for ages. Clean up is a joke with this stuff so like the acetone free it's now languishing on my shelf as I'm unsure of what to do with them. 

And that's it for this post. Look out for another one next month as I have a few more that I've been trialling; one of which I think is a keeper and only £2.50!