Whether you’re a mother to kids, adults, pets or plants, your hands take a beating! And that, my friend, is how people can size up your age and wellness. If you’re looking to pamper Mom or pamper yourself, Mother’s Day offers the opportunity to enjoy deserved leisure and enjoy, smell like a fresh bouquet. Don’t burn gas and energy to soothe – that’s unnerving! Instead, enjoy some one-stop shopping from your smart device with Fragrance.com. I was happy to be hosted to experience it!
Demeter is well-known for fun and imaginative fragrances, but also nails single-note florals, for a classic and beautiful scent. Right on the site, Demeter Lilac comes in several formats. If you know Mom, you know what flowers she likes and lilac is probably one of them. Demeter’s spray cologne has the fresh, spicy sweetness that you’ll particularly find in the purple and purple-pink flowers.
The first Eau de Cologne was a fragrant water created in Cologne (Koln), Germany: 4711 and its formulation dates from the 18th century. That means, generations and centuries of people know and love this brand – including my dad, who left me a giant bottle of the stuff. Now, 4711 has expanded its range into 4711 Floral Collection, including Magnolia. Packaged in a feminine, light mauve box and golden bottle label, it makes an attractive gift for Mom.
The scent itself is not a mimicry of Southern sweet magnolia. Rather, it’s a sophisticated expression of the flower, with fresh pepper and green notes. Fragrantica.com describes it as “Top notes are Mandarin Orange, Sweet Orange and Pink Pepper; middle notes are Magnolia, Freesia and Jasmine; base notes are Cashmeran and Sandalwood.”
Sabon is a luxe Israeli brand that I first experienced at the ancient Akko’s Efendi Hotel, a repurposed Ottoman-era palace. With sea and sun, those folks need a good hand cream! They make hand creams in several exotic fragrances, including Ginger Orange. Its metallic tube houses a rich lotion consistency cream that dries right away to a moisture-free, almost powder-like finish. This type of product is sure to beloved by musicians who can’t get grease on vintage instruments, readers of fine and antiquarian books, handling silk and velvet material. The scent itself is bright and juicy, redolent of freshly squeezed orange juice and just-cut ginger.
L’Occitane en Provence is a French beauty line famous world-wide for its utilization of Mediterranean ingredients like almonds and African shea butter. When last I flew out of JFK, its international concourse felt like a luxe mall, low-lit and glamorous. L’Occitane held a prominent place amongst the finest jewelry, scarves, furs and timepieces. Well, you certainly need hydrating products on a long-haul flight! Soft Hand Trio has three different scents and formulations, for all of your different needs. Verveine (lemon verbena) Cooling Hand Cream Gel has a fluid application out of its tube, with a brisk, lemony garden scent. It does have a cooling effect, so that’s sensational for wind-burnt, sunburned, dry or dusty hands.
Recently, I was checking out some vintage self-help, change your life books and not one, but two of the women interviewed exclaimed that they were going to grow their nails! Is that life changing? I always thought of long nails as being a fillip of sorts. I type for hours, swim, do a lot of hand-washing and gardening. L’Occitane has a product to start one on the path to greatness, easily and beautifully: Almond Delicious Hands. This light cream consistency product has a sweet, fresh almond/almond blossom fragrance. But it’s not just the aromatherapy that makes this a winner. The cream is chock-full of skin reviving and strengthening. Shea butter, sweet almond oil, sweet almond protein and coconut oil, to not only help your hands, but also soften cuticles (stop biting them!) and make dehydrated nails shiner.
The set includes their beloved product – 1 is purchased somewhere in the world every 2 seconds! – Shea Butter Hand Cream. It has 20% African shea butter, along with rapeseed and coconut oils. It’s a true rich consistency, that’s comforting and leaves your hands with moist finish. It has a beautiful floral bouquet fragrance.
Nuxe is a beauty brand that you see at all the finest duty-free shops across Europe. The concept is, blending luxurious formulations with simplicity. Their new line, Bio Beaute’, incorporates organic ingredients, essential oils, etc. Lait de Figue Cream for Hands and Nails has a rich fresh fig scent with a rich cream consistency. It absorbs well and the finish is moist – good for a quick fix for hangnails and flaky skin. The texture leaves a protective barrier on bare nails, so I’d suggest a slather before activities that could affect your nails.
StriVectin is a research-driven brand with a bio-medical heritage. Volumizing and Rejuvenating Hand Cream addresses hard-to-tackle problems for older hands. Older hands inevitably get sun spots, wrinkles, crepey-ness. I have experienced this problem prematurely, as many years ago, my hands were damaged in a fire. It has always bothered me to have old looking hands! This cream has vegetable oils and extracts, along with modern protectorants and acids to address these issues. It is suggested to use it morning and evening, as well as after hand-washing. It is unscented, with a rich lotion consistency, leaving a barrier on delicate skin. That gleam helps give a younger look to your hands immediately.
Philosophy has an attractive gift set that’s good for when you don’t know what kind of fragrance Mom likes or you just want to give a bounty of hand creams. Hope for All contains scents of Hands of Hope Nurturing Hand and Nail Cream that won Allure magazine’s 2018 Best of Beauty award. They contain aloe, shea butter, olive oil and other protectorants. Sparkling Grapefruit has the scent of just-cut pink grapefruit. Berry & Sage has the scent of a sophisticated women’s perfume. Green Tea & Avocado has a vegetal, unisex scent. Lemon Custard has a creamy, sweet, baked custard scent.
Luxe & Down-Home Cuisine/Culture/Travel/Style 