Friday 16 October 2015

Hand and Nail Creams Review: Lacura and Champneys

Champney's Hand and Nail Cream comes in two sizes, full sized 75ml and the mini size 40ml which I find great for popping into your handbag or on your desk and applying throughout the day. The packaging is a tube with a gold flip lid with gold and brown print and is actually quite simple for a luxury brand. 

Champney's Hand and Nail Cream contains shea butter and sweet almond oil, both staples hand cream ingredients as well as Vitamin E and Pro-Vitamin B5 to strengthen nails and soothe your skin and sodium PCA to soften hands. The addition of  liquorice and vitamin A is supposed to reduce the appearance of age spots but as I don't have any I couldn't test this. It smells of liquorice and essential oils- particularly lemon and Bergamot although it also contains orange and other essential oils. It does contain silicon which I thought I'd mention it as some people are allergic to it.    
It is a light cream but does take around 10 minutes to dry. It did make my hands softer as well as moisturised and repaired the skin around the edges of my nails which often gets dry and raggedy. I did notice that my nails became a little bit softer and less dry but the difference was slight.

At full price £3.50 for 40ml and £6 for 75ml, you don't get much product for the price. However it's currently on sale in Boots for half price (£1.75 for 40ml and £3 for 75ml.)  As it's no longer on the Champney's website I think these will soon be discontinued so grab them while you can.


Lacura, the Aldi skincare and makeup brand have three hand creams in their range, but this is the only one for both hands and nails. They all come in one size, a generous 125ml for just 75p! The tube is an easy flip lid but perhaps a bit too big to chuck in your handbag.

Lacura Hand and Nail Cream contains beeswax and lanolin. Lanolin is used for it's moisturising properties while the beeswax acts as a protective barrier against water and the elements. The fragrance is light and not overpowering at all, it smells pleasant: a fresh, sweet smell. The cream is light, like a lotion and absorbs quickly, so you can get on with other things after applying it. The cream is not sticky or greasy as such, but it does leave a waxy protective layer on the skin. The beeswax locks in the moisture rather than restores it. The benefit being that when you later wash your hands the water won't wash all the cream off. The not so good thing is that while it locks in some moisture it's not incredibly nourishing. This explains why when I first used it, it felt drying on my knuckles because it doesn't restore moisture. However apart from that one occasion it has felt comfortable on the skin and repeated use has made my hands feel really, really soft. I've tried other hand creams and they've never left my hands feeling this soft. It has also healed the raggedy skin around my nails. As for the nails it coats them in beeswax and kind of waterproofs them when you wash your hands so that they don't lose as much moisture. My nails gradually became a little softer over time but the difference was fairly small. You don't need much, the swatch above was enough to coat both hands.
 
I would say that the Lacura Hand and Nail cream is great for making your hands silky soft and is incredibly good value for money- you can't beat it.  Although I would say that if you're after a more intensive moisturiser for sore hands to try something else. However this is an excellent bargain and would be good for students and those on a budget. Available at Aldi in store 125ml for 75p
 
To sum up both creams make your hands softer and can heal the skin around your nails, although they only made a sight difference to my nails. Champney's hand cream has more expensive ingredients such as the essential oils which explains the higher price and reflects the luxury brand.  Personally I prefer the Lancura over the Champneys Spa Hand and nail cream since I like the smell better, it dries quicker and is better value. Saying that the Champneys spa hand cream is currently half price at Boots which makes it better value for money.
 
 

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