Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Hand and Nail Care Gifts from Crabtree and Evelyn

Still looking for some last-minute gifts and stocking stuffers? If so, may I show you this small selection of gift ideas from Crabtree and Evelyn? Even if you're not shopping for gifts for someone, these are still really nice sets for yourself.


Crabtree and Evelyn Gardeners Gift from the Earth Collection

The Gardeners Gift from the Earth collection comes in a metal lunchbox-style tin. It's about 5"w x 9" l x 3" d, has a metal handle and clasp, and has no markings other than "Crabtree & Evelyn" printed on two sides, so you really could use this as a lunchbox or a tool box after you're done with the products inside.


It contains a 0.9oz Gardeners Hand Recovery scrub, a 0.9 oz Gardeners Hand Therapy hand cream, a 0.52 oz Gardeners Nail and Cuticle Therapy cuticle cream, a 0.9 oz Gardeners Age-Defying Hand Remedy hand cream and a four-sided nail buffer with a cute vegetable pattern on one side.

The texture of the Gardeners Hand Recovery scrub is on the loose side. It feels a bit like a thin body lotion with lots of sandy, grainy particles. I believe it has both salt and pumice as exfoliating particles so they don't all dissolve when your hands get wet and you can get a good, thorough scrub. When it's rinsed away, it leave a light, silky coating on the hands, possibly from the macadamia nut oil and shea butter in the formula.


The Nail and Cuticle Therapy (top) has a very thin texture, similar to CND Cuticle Eraser. It absorbs very quickly and gives a light amount of moisture but isn't oily. The Age Defying Hand Remedy (bottom) is a slightly thicker and waxier lotion than the regular Hand Therapy cream and leaves more of a protective barrier on the hands than the Hand Therapy as well.

All the products are scented with the Gardeners scent of fresh green clover, lavender, sage, rosemary, and thyme. It's herbal, gender-neutral, clean and a little bit spicy. It's currently my favorite of all the Crabtree and Evelyn scents I've smelled so far. It's not too strong, doesn't give me a headache and smells very pleasant but not flowery or too sweet.


Crabtree and Evelyn Hand Therapy Sampler

This is a set of six 0.9 oz tubes of Crabtree and Evelyn Hand Therapy hand cremes in all different scents.


Rosewater: Delicate rose bouquet with fresh leafy green top notes.
La Source: Relaxing Sea Air.
Gardeners: Fresh green clover, lavender, sage, rosemary, and thyme.
Lavender: Fresh lavender enhanced with violet, tonka bean, lemon leaf, and soft musk.
Citron: Vibrant lemon & fresh coriander with a touch of sweet honey.
Summer Hill: Warm, white floral blend of summer grasses, wildflowers and orchard fruits.


The texture of the Hand Therapy creme is pretty thick. It reminds me of L'Occitane's Shea Butter Hand Creme that comes in the same type of metal tube. It's not overly heavy or greasy like a body butter but it feels rich and cushiony going on. It is absorbed quickly and only leaves a small amount of residue. The scents are soft and light on the hands; this is not so strongly scented that everyone can smell your hands from a mile away when you apply this.

I really like all of the scents in this set. I have no complaints about any of them. Even the most floral scent, Summer Hill, was soft and sweet and very enjoyable. Normally I prefer spicy, woody and vanilla-based/foody scents, which none of these are, yet all of them smell fantastic to me.

The tubes are cute, too. The design is really charming and old-fashioned looking. The only complaint I have about this set is that the metal tubes do start looking rough after a while, getting all dented and crinkled with use.


Crabtree and Evelyn La Source Warming Foot Smoother

This is an interesting one. It's a foot scrub that heats up when you use it. It really does! It's a really strange sensation; a wave of mild heat that lasts for a few seconds and then disappears. You may remember the C.O. Bigelow Ginger Mentha Warming Body Wash from a few years back, or that Frederic Fekkai warming hair treatment from even longer ago... This is a similar sensation to that.

The texture of the scrub is buttery but not super thick. It has lots and lots of grains that don't dissolve right away so you get a very good exfoliation. It rinses away quickly and leaves behind a lotion-like coating.

This is a foot scrub, but I use it on my hands and it is fantastic. I absolutely love it. The warming effect is so nice in the winter, even though it only lasts for a few seconds. The scrubby particles feel amazing and scratchy but not sharp or harsh. The coating it leaves on your hands after it's rinsed off soaks in just like a lotion and my hands feel super silky and awesome after I use this. It's just as nice on my feet, too, but I love it as a hand treatment.

My favorite of all of these is the La Source Warming Foot Smoother, but I don't actually dislike any of these. This was actually my first time using any Crabtree & Evelyn product and they made a really good impression on me. Everything looks pretty, smells pretty and is lovely to use. My personal favorite scents out of these are Gardeners, La Source, and Summer Hill, but I still enjoyed all of them.

I think that these would make great gifts for pretty much anyone. Gardeners, teachers, nurses, anyone who works with their hands or has to wash their hands frequently. These are especially nice for winter when everyone's skin gets dry and our hands start to feel chapped and cracked. The formulas are nice, the scents are nice and the presentation is definitely nice enough to feel confident about gifting these.

Also a great gift for nail bloggers... Keeps your hands, nails and cuticles smooth and moisturized after a rough, acetone-soaked day of swatching!

These are all available online and instore at Crabtree and Evelyn. From now until December 25th, 2011 you can get $15 off your purchase of $75 or more at Crabtree & Evelyn with code AFFILIATE15.

(These were sent for review. Contains an affiliate link.)

11 comments:

  1. I love many of the C&E products I own. Very pampering. Enjoy everything!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love Crabtree & Evelyn, thank you for posting some great sets! I found some C&E sets to gift to the women in my family at Marshall's this year, sometimes they have really great stuff hiding in their bath and cosmetic shelves!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I adore CrabtreeEvelyn. But today I was very disappointed to discover this starter 6er set is no available in germany..

    ReplyDelete
  4. Love the Gardner's hand creme. Smells delicious. Would love to get any of those sets.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I've tried the La Source Hand Therapy and Recovery Scrub and while I liked how my hands felt afterwards, I'm not big on the scent. The whole "fresh air" thing, not so much. It smelled like public restrooms, with the generic air freshener scent.
    That neat little sample of all the scents looks like it'd be a great gift though!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I absolutely love Gardener's Hand Therapy! The smell is yummy & I'd wear it for that alone, never mind that it is awesome lotion for my gardening weary hands. Great for my cuticles, too! :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. I am lemming that Hand Therapy Sampler now! :D

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love Crabtree and Evelyn! I have an unrelated question and I apologize in advance - do you know the name of your granite countertop? I am in the process of choosing one and I really like the appearance of yours.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Cool to see that so many people like Crabtree and Evelyn! Now I'm excited to try more things from them.

    Kim, yep! It's called Caledonia. :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thank you Scrangie!! I thought it might be - the one we are going to go with is Caledonia Dark, but I think it's the same.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I would LOVE love love to get that Hand Therapy Sampler for Christmas, haha! C&E hand creams are really amazing, both the smell and moisturizing function.

    ReplyDelete

Please be respectful. Refrain from using my comments for unsolicited advertising. If you would like me to check out your blog or product, please email me. Thank you!