The Quest for Beautiful Hands

The desire to have beautiful, elegant hands – long nail beds, evenly toned knuckles and soft skin – has been instilled in me from a young age. From the age of 11 I’d make my pocket money by washing the dishes, and I vividly remember my grandmother extolling the importance of wearing gloves if I were to ever have beautiful hands when I grew up. Furthermore, not only did my mother’s beauty books from the eighties mention how one can achieve a mean frosted lip, but that jewellery only looked worthy on manicured hands, hence why I take them pretty seriously.

However, something standing in the way of attaining this ideal is a sad case of eczema, which at the worst of times leaves me unable to type or pick things up without discomfort. Over the years I’ve tried everything, from Bliss’ Glamour Gloves whilst watching TV à la SATC’s Miranda Hobbs (though I’ve never actually tried those Borghese Spa Gloves she praised in The Good Fight episode) to cheaper and more effective alternatives like immersing my hands in a concoction of hand cream, powdered milk and honey, then covering my hands with the EcoTools Sustainable Moisture Gloves. In a similar vein, a recent paraffin wax treatment with Crème de la Mer at their Selfridges counter led me to discover The Hand Treatment*, a super emollient cream which also works to brighten and diminish the appearance of age spots.

Much to the glee of my hands, Bioderma’s Atoderm PO Zinc Cream and the Carmex Replenishing Cream have also worked wonders, though the latter sadly is exclusive to the United States.

To up the ante, I’ve taken to working Nuxe’s Huile Prodigieuse* into the hands and cuticles and locking in the moisture with any of the three creams. I urge you all to overlook the price tag and snap this oil up:

1. It smells divine. I can’t quite narrow down a description, though vanilla, baked cookies and the beach come to mind; and
2. Nuxe’s Huile Prodigieuse is a blend of borage, St Johnswort, sweet almond, camellia, hazelnut and macadamia oils. Your velvety, supple and glistening skin will thank you.