This month’s Stuff We Like is all about smaller, inexpensive treats we can give ourselves, especially our hands and feet. It’s winter here (whoa boy, is it ever) and my hands are constantly dry. My cuticles are trying to remove themselves entirely and head for warmer locations, and keeping my hands from feeling like sandpaper is like a part time job.
I know everyone has a hand cream they swear by, and I would love to know yours! Mine, by far, is this one, which Elyse loves, too:
Udderly Smooth Hand Cream, 4oz, 2pack – $8.29
I have vague memories from my childhood of hearing that this cream is much loved by crafters and quilters because it doesn’t leave any grease on fabric. I don’t work with fabric but I cross stitch a lot, and Udderly Smooth doesn’t leave spots on the aida, nor does it make the floss gummy or grease-stained. I also love that it sinks in and stays put for longer than other hand creams I’ve tried.
There’s an unscented one as well if you are dislike or can’t tolerate scents. I usually dislike scented creams, but the scent of the original doesn’t bother me. It’s pretty light and dissipates quickly.
And what about feet? I know the titles says “hands,” but winter can be dastardly to your feet – and any other season, too, now that I think about it.
O’Keeffe’s Healthy Feet Foot Cream, $7.39
I have so many friends who swear by this foot cream, especially if your heels tend to crack (ow). They slather it on before bed, and let it do all the work while they sleep.
As for extra treats for hands (and feet, too) that are inexpensive: manicure, anyone? We’ve written about some of our favorite manicure tools and polishes before. My mainstays haven’t changed much, and I have found recently that giving myself a manicure (because I’m not always very good at it, especially with my left hand) forces me to slow down, relax, and rest while I paint each nail. It used to stress me out (because I would be rather unkind to myself for being bad at it – not cool at all) but lately it’s very soothing. And at the end, I have sparkly nails!
My go-to manicure products start with CMD’s Stickey, which Elyse loves as well. It’s a green base coat that helps your polish stay put, and it’s in fact sticky. Once I put it on, I have to do very little unless I like the fashionable accessory of cat hair or lint in my manicure.
Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat, $4.07
As it says on the bottle, it does indeed dry fast. By the time I get to the last finger on one hand, the first one I painted is dry – which is incredible to me.
As for polish, we have a couple of recommendations.
I’ve loved ILNP ever since Elyse (she’s way better at manicure things than I am) recommended it. When applied with thin coats, it dramatically resists chipping – which is a big problem for me because my nails are thin and I cook and wash my hands a lot. ILNP works wonderfully.
Right now my fingertips are sparkly ice blue:
ILNP, Sky Blue vegan nail polish, $10 + $3.75 shipping
I’m thinking of ordering either (or both) of these colors for myself as a reward for upcoming goals:
ILNP Dream Girl, $10 + $3.75 shipping
ILNP Black Orchid, $10 + $3.75 shipping
A few months back, Amanda mentioned that her friends fell in love with a indie nail polish designer, Floss Gloss: “One of the was wearing this color, Night Palm, a gorgeous dark green.”
Elyse is the one who inspired this post by sharing that she’d read an article about making a press-on manicure last: “I gave myself a $9 mani in the Walgreens lot.”
Elyse: These are ImPress brand which has their own adhesive except you still use nail glue, too. And then file them short and put a layer of hardener polish on top.
These are the nails:
ImPress Press-on Manicure, So So Stellar, $8.90 (or at local drugstores)
The brand is supposed to stick on with its own adhesive (you peel plastic off the underside) but the article I read said to use glue as well. This is the glue I used:
Kiss VitaBond Nail Glue, 5g – $5.88
And then finally I painted them once with nail hardener to strengthen them:
Nail-Aid STEEL Instant Hardener (hur hur), $4.45
And the verdict?
Elyse says, “I think if you’re careful and keep some extra glue in your purse, it works well. But if you’re really hard on your nails, it probably won’t last.”
What about you? What handy (ha ha) and inexpensive lotions, polishes, or treats do you swear by for your hands or feet this time of year? What’s your favorite manicure or pedicure polish?
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This is my kind of post!
I’m a big fan of ILNP polishes, and have been collecting them since they first came out on Etsy (where they’re still sold). They’re also available directly from the ILNP website, where you can get special deals and free shipping.
I also use Seche Vite, but find it dries so quickly that it can sometimes curdle polishes, especially holos (like the ILNPs). To minimize this, I try to put put on a very light SV topcoat over holo polishes. If I want a second, heavier topcoat, I’ll wait a couple of hours before adding it. (Or just use a thinner topcoat, like Out the Door, instead.)
Udderly Smooth is great for crafters/stitchers, but I often need extra help in the winter, especially with my dried out cuticles. Burt’s Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream is nice. But I also apply cuticle oil liberally–not when stitching, tho! You can get good oils just about anywhere (Amazon, drugstore, Sally’s, etc.), but I recommend Etsy as a terrific source of affordable and unique oils. I like trying different scents, but you can always get unscented. You can also get whatever applicator you prefer–drops, brush, or roller ball. And I like the idea of supporting home-based businesses.
I envy women who can wear nail polish on their hands! I go wild with my toes – blues, greens, metallic, iridescent, nail art, you name it – & since I go barefoot or in sandals as often as possible I get to show them off – but having polish on my clipped-short fingernails turns me into a child distracted by colorful objects. “Oh look! Pretty! Shiny!”
That sky blue one is definitely going in the toenail polish rotation, though.
@Susan – oh, cuticle oil! That might be a good idea for me. Any you recommend?
@Deianira – I have to agree, the sky blue on my fingernails is very distracting. 😀 I hope you like it, fingers or toes!
Another good lotion for stitchers is called Gloves in a Bottle. I’ve been told that it’s a moisture barrier to keep you natural moisture in your skin where it belongs, and it doesn’t leave any residue on your stitching or floss. It also doesn’t wash off when you wash your hands, so you don’t have to keep re-applying it. When I’m not stitching, I also like Gold Bond Healing lotion.
Possibly off topic, but I figured I’d throw this in anyway – I don’t know about you all, but my lips also get really dry in the winter. Since I’m not fond of wearing lipstick or gloss as a regular thing, I like basic Vaseline Lip Therapy. I believe it also comes tinted. My sister is a huge fan of the Burt’s Bees lip balms.
Lotions are good (I like gold Bond softening) but exfoliation makes a bit difference for my hands and cuticles. I mix a tsp of table salt and a tsp of coconut oil and rub my hands together for a few minutes once or twice a week. Then rinse with warm water. Do it over the kitchen sink for no mess. Also vitamin e oil at bedtime on my nails.
Vaseline CREAMY petroleum jelly – I use it on my hands, feet, elbows, rub some on my lips – my hands and feet are soft and lips don’t get chapped in the winter. It is, however, quite greasy and will rub off.
I like Sally Hansen’s Diamond Flash for a quick drying top coat – I haven’t had problems with it curdling the polish. And Orly makes a base coat called Bonder, which I think helps the polish stick.
I’ve been listening to (bingeing on) the Knitmore Girls’s podcast, and one on their sponsors is http://bar-maids.com. I’m pretty much obsessed with the idea of getting my hands on some Lo-Lo bars. Or getting some Lo-Lo bars on my hands. Either. Both. I want to try some! (I think the next time my cousin goes to the States, I’m making her my Lo-Lo bar mule.)
Closer to home, I haven’t found a better product for my hands than a basic cream from the pharmacy. (Aqualan, in case any Finns are interested.) But as the tube is huge (200g), and the danger of causing damage to it carrying it around in the freezing weather is high, I’ve been leaving it at home and sampling the Lidl hand creams. They are inexpensive and come in smaller quantities. My favorites are the Cien SOS Concentrated Hand Cream (it takes a while to be absorbed but it does moisturize) and the Cien Q10 Hand Cream (lighter, quickly absorbed, moisturizes satisfactorily after hand washing). The rest are…okay. Fine for their price, and good to carry around in my bag for everyday necessities/emergencies, but I wouldn’t pay more.
When my cuticles peel and fingertips crack with dryness, it’s time to break out the big guns, Another pharmacy product, Bepanthen, gets slathered around my fingertips after I first put on a thick layer of Aqualan. Then the cotton gloves, some sleep, and my hands are better in the morning.
I should really stop by the pharmacy and stock up on the basics, find my cotton gloves, and give my hands (and feet) some TLC ;).
Also, if you’re wearing nail polish, you can put cream under the nails to help keep them from getting dry and brittle.
I volunteer with cats at an animal shelter, and have to wash my arms to the elbow between cats. At first this was destroying my skin, but I started bringing my own Dr. Bronner’s soap instead of the antibacterial stuff they use (kills germs just as well), and rub a 50/50 blend of jojoba and lanolin (I mix my own) into my skin before every shift, and also before bed and after my morning shower. I also apply straight glycerine to my skin immediately after every shift. This works wonders– despite all the washing, my skin is in good shape.
I’ve been using Neutrogena Norwegian Formula hand cream for years because it doesn’t leave a residue on my keyboards and has no fragrance. I’ll have to give the Udderly Smooth hand cream a try.
When I was really active with horseback riding and had a horse who required a lot of maintenance, my cuticles and nails would suffer from wear and chemicals. A light application of jojoba oil on the cuticles really helped. All that stuff about hoof products helping your nails is hooey, IMO.
Burt’s Bees Almond and Hand Cream at night during the winter, but I have not found the perfect day hand cream! Lush has ‘Naked Body Conditioner’ that you are meant to use on your skin to moisturize it in the shower – but I have on in a soap dish next to the sink, and after I wash my hands and rinse the soap off, I rub a little bit on my hands to seal in some moisture.
I cannot have polish on my fingernails because I cook and bake regularly, but it is cute on my toe nails!
I love Live Love Polish polishes including their amazing glossy top coat. Also even if you’re not a polisher I recommend that everyone get a glass nail file (a real one, not one that looks like glass from the drug store – Twinkled T has a bunch of super cute ones). They’re faster and way smoother than other types. I’m a knitter so any little imperfection gets snagged on my yarn and drives me crazy.
My favorite cuticle/nail oil is CBD SolarOil but winter definitely calls for Burt’s Bees cuticle cream.
As the owner of a couple of thousand bottles of polish, I second (or third) the red for ILNP. The holos are beautiful and cover nicely. I’ve definitely been distracted by shiny nails I’m the sun before….
For a quick dry top coat, if you can still find it, NYC’s Grand Central Station is terrific. It’s much thinner than SV, so it doesn’t warp or shrink. And it’s usually less than $2. CVS has stopped caring the brand though and I haven’t been able to find it lately.
I love polish in all sorts of fun colors and CND Stickey is my go-to base coat as well. I am something of a hand cream addict and always have a tube or jar somewhere within reach but my absolute favorites are Aveda’s Hand Relief and and the Renewing Goat Milk Lotion from an indie brand called Fox Fire Wax and Bath. Both of them sink in rapidly and provide lasting moisture. I also use face oils and when I am done applying one to my face I rub a drop into my cuticles as well – it works just as well as a dedicated cuticle oil does and I remember to apply it daily that way.
I use Lush’s charity pot on my feet, I try to put it on before my socks so that it works all through the day. It has a light scent which I like and also use it on my hands since its not terribly greasy. Though I’ll add these to my list as I’m always looking for good lotions. Oh and another one I like is from the Target brand called Soap and Glory that I first got at a Yankee swap and also good lotion. I always have various lotions scattered around my apartment.
Painting my nails is fun but since I keep mine so short, I don’t usually do it though I love when I do.
I love the True Blue Spa 60-Second Manicure Hand Scrub Sugar by Bath & Body Works. I have work roughened hands and I love this scrub so much I have a stack of the jars-just so I don’t run out. My hands feel so soft and I love the smell too.
CND Vinylux nail polish.https://smile.amazon.com/CND-Vinylux-Long-Wear-Coat/dp/B00CNE2GOO/ref=sr_1_1_s_it?s=beauty&ie=UTF8&qid=1548264577&sr=1-1&keywords=cnd+vinylux+nail+polish Dries super fast and the top coat is amazing. Lasts 2 weeks with little to no chipping and is removed with regular nail polish. I’m not into soaking my nails to remove polish.
Working with paper at work and fabric, floss and yarn at home tends to suck the oils right out of my hands, and now the splints I’m wearing for carpal make it worse. Here are some of my go-to hand helpers:
Made By Willing Hands https://www.facebook.com/MadeByWillingHands/ makes an unscented lotion bar that is solid lanoline and glycerine. It comes in a tin and is about the size of a muffin bottom. Warm it between your hands, rub some off and then massage into skin. It absorbs quickly with no residue.
To help prevent dryness (because ALL my skin dries out, especially in winter) I suggest the Almond and Honey bar and the Olive Oil bar from Greenstone Soap Company, a (relatively) local company I’ve used for years. http://sale.greenstonesoap.com/soaps-2/ All their soaps are fabulous. They used to also make an Almond and Honey lotion I swore by but they seem to have discontinued that. Also, their Shampoochie is a great moisturizing soap for dogs who have skin dryness or irritation. And all their products are all natural and vegan, with NO cocomidopropyl Betaine, for those like me who are allergic to that chemical.
For a quick fix at work, I ADORE Bunnies And Cream! https://www.bunniesandcream.com/ I keep one of their small size lotion bottles in my desk at all times, and one in my purse as well. I also give them as gifts a lot because they’re relatively inexpensive and everybody loves them. All of their scents are fabulous; my favorites are Dark Mage and Wizard’s Brew (“It SMELLS like a magic spell!” quoth my boss) and for the men in your life try Space Dad. Their lip balms are fabulous too, and they also sell body splash and candles in the same scents.
@Sarah:
These are some nice, portable oils that I’ve bought/used. (The polishes are great, too.)
https://www.etsy.com/listing/183061010/scented-cuticle-oil-8-scents-to-choose?ref=shop_home_active_14&crt=1
The following seller also has terrific nail products. Their Etsy shop is on hiatus, but they have a separate website.
https://www.kbshimmer.com
But there many other Etsy shops selling indie polishes and oils that are worth checking out. So many fun choices–just search on nail polish or cuticle oil and enjoy!
Live Love Polish has a collection of multi chrome magnetic polishes called Felis that are not only cute, they’re supporting a cat shelter! My partner got me three of them for Christmas. I’m also obsessed with the thermal polishes that change color with temperature.
Link for Felis: https://www.livelovepolish.com/collections/the-felis-collection
Link for one of my favorite thermals (for some reason it’s in pre-order, maybe it’s out of stock?): https://www.livelovepolish.com/products/illimite-blue-nude-nail-polish-picasso-collection
I second the recommendations for Burt’s Bees hand stuff, especially the lemon cuticle cream.
I also like L.A. Colors nail polish remover pads. They do a good job of taking off your polish, and they smell good. They can be a bit sticky, so you have to wash your hands afterward.
Oh my gosh, I use the Impress nails all the time!!! So many fun designs and I can keep them on for up to two weeks. My recommendation is this: put them on at night so you won’t get your hands wet. The box used to say not to wash your hands for 45 minutes, but I think you need to wait at least 2 hours, so I put them on before bed and just keep pressure on while I read or watch Netflix. I don’t use glue because it tears up my nails, so I can’t vouch for how well that works underneath the adhesive that is already on these nails. That they don’t use glue is the whole reason I tried the Impress a couple years ago. I get compliments EVERYWHERE about how cute they are and I tell everybody about how much I love them. Plus, they have really fun designs for holidays. Also, SO CHEAP! Less than $10 at any drugstore, Walmart, Target, etc. I’m so excited y’all shared these!!! Makes me so happy! ❤️❤️
Working Hands Cream, in the little round tub not the tube. Often found at hardware stores. It’s the best thing I have ever found. My hands used to crack in winter and this stuff is amazing!