Recommendations for a really good hand cream please.

[RainbowDashed]

I have a relative who is having a significant birthday in hospital soon - she has been extremely unwell (told to prepare for the worst, long spell in ITU) but is now on the mend. She won't be home for a while yet though.

She turns 65 soon and I thought of getting her some hand cream, her hands have got very dry and chapped which she hates as she's always been really well groomed. She's extremely picky when it comes to, well, pretty much anything so it will have to be something fairly high end. Her roots are longer than the hair that's still coloured, everyone's seen her without her make up and her nails are a wreck and she's mortified to know we've all seen her like this, so I thought perhaps something to help her feel better would keep her spirits up a bit.

Budget up to £30, which is WAY more than I'd usually spend, so I've no idea what's out there that's any good.

Any recommendations for something which smells nice and works well?

Firstly I'm sorry to hear about your relative and wish her a speedy recovery.
Secondly I would defo recommend loccitane shea hand cream, it's very rich and repairing and smells gorgeous.

I love Clarins hand cream.

I second the Clarins one.

Another vote for L'Occitane shea butter. It's £19 but it's the best hand cream I've ever found.

I love the Elizabeth Arden 8hr hand cream but it has quite a strong smell so not for everyone.

I have the EA one, it's good but agree, the scent is not to everyone's taste.

I've often bought the Clarins one as a present. It's good, and perfect as a present, lovely gift.

I'm not a fan of Clarins - it simply doesn't do enough for my dry hands. The smell also isn't appealing IMO. My mum likes it though.

I really like the reve de miel hand cream from Nuxe, L'Occitane (they have different scents), Caudalie (but it smells of condoms) and Avene Cold Cream hand cream (not a fan of the scent though, but it really works).

My current favourite is La Roche Posay Cicaplast hand cream. It doesn't smell of anything at all, doesn't sting if using on very dry or cracked skin and just works. My dad who has psoriasis on his hands loves this cream too.
It doesn't look particularly luxurious but it really is very good.

How about giving her a Dior creme abricot nail cream and a hand cream?

Another Clarins fan here.
Can you find out of there are visiting hairdressers on the ward and arrange one?

Clarins isn't moisturising enough for me if my hands are very dry, but it is a lovely present. I really rate the Body Shop hemp one, which isn't terribly luxurious, but is the best one I've ever used.

The Clarins one is my favourite, not moisturising enough for when my hands are in a bad way though.

Thanks all. Think I'll go with the L'Occitane one.

Indecicivejo thanks for your good wishes, she will be fine given time and there are high hopes of her being home for Christmas

Seriouslyffs that's a great idea, I'll speak to family who are able to get the hospital more frequently to see if we can arrange that.

The best by a long, long way (and I've tried LOADS) is La Roche Posay Barrier Repair. The next is Aveda Hand Relief. The third is the normal LRP one, mentioned below.

All of the above are infinitely superior to the Clarins (although that one smells lovely!), the L'Occitane (most of theirs manage to be thin, greasy and strangely sticky) and the nasty stinky stuff that is 8 Hour Cream.

I have spent a lot of money on hand cream over the years but the LRP Barrier Repair is pretty cheap and absolutely amazing.

Oh and you sound really lovely btw and I hope your relative has a happy (and beautifully soft-handed) recovery. :)

L'OccitAne Shea butter is brilliant the Clarins one brings my eczema out.

Loccitaine is fab and you can get gift sets this time of year I've seen a box with 3 Loccitaine handcrafts all different smells Inc the shea one for less than your budget.

I'm glad she is on the mend and hope she makes a speedy recovery

Liz Earle has a new ( I think it's new) hand serum out. I haven't tried it but it's on my list.
Clarins and L'Occitane are lovely gifts to get but they didn't really do the job for me. Nor did Body Shop Hemp.
Nobody has worse hands than me- ugly and wrinkly though no excema or psoriosis.
The really good hand creams are Flexitol hand balm and Neutrogena foot cream - but glamourous they are not
I hope your relative gets well soon.

L'Occitane hand creams aren't all the same.

The Shea butter cream is rich and thick - unlike the other L'Occitane hand creams - a bit like Neutrogena but without the parabens and sodium sulphate.

La Roche Posay barrier cream has butylene glycol in and other potential irritants.

Ooh yes - Flexitol is good.

I don't like the Shea butter one either - feels like Sudocreme.

Another vote for L'Occitane. This set is on the uk site:
www.uk.loccitane.com/must-have-hand-cream-trio,83,1,29776,813850.htm

I always look on QVC for L'Occitane products www.qvcuk.com/LOccitane-4-Piece-Collection-de-Grasse-Hand-Creams.product.209208.html?cm_sp=VIEWPOSITION--23--209208
and I usually find what I want cheaper on eBay : www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LOccitane-Hand-Cream-set-in-a-Gift-Box-6-x-10ml-BN-Xmas-Gift-Ideas-/191735922288?hash=item2ca459fe70:g:b5AAAOSwl9BWHlRR

L'Occitane often does gift sets of different scented ones, as does Crabtree & Evelyn. Lush Handy Gurugu is awesome but find it being in a pot rather than a tube to be very inconvenient.

Maybe get her some of the cotton gloves so she can do an intensive treatment.