Happy Hands

Don't hide your hands like Hepburn!

Since being in Paris, I wash up a lot more often. Not only because eating is such a ritual at any meal in France, and inevitably involves endless cutlery and crockery, but also because washing up is the nearest I can get to having a bubble bath. I only know a tiny handful of people who have the luxury of a proper bath. The Poodle dreams of laying in a Jo Malone Dark Amber scented bath, all warm and toasty until my skin is irresistibly soft and smooth.

All of this washing up, and with the cold winter air outside has somewhat made me develop a hand cream obsession. The slightest dryness or discomfort is enough to send me into a frenzy of moisturiser hunting! If I see one, I buy it, and if I don't buy it, I at least try it! And now I'm going to blog about it! But it's all for a good cause. If hands are the first thing to give away your age, then this Poodle is a good 10 years older according to mes mains!

So what can I recommend for perfect paws? I have recently developed a penchant for bergamot which is widely used in aromatherapy to relieve stress, insomnia and depression - the ideal uplifting ingredient for these dark and dreary January days. Any cream that contains this delicious ingredient is sure to get both me and my hands happy...



Liz Earle Hand Repair
This one is a good old favourite of mine - mostly because of its bergamot, neroli and lavender fragrance but also for its super skin friendly ingredients -beta carotene and a healthy dose of vitamin E - both rich in antioxidants - the magic ingredient for skin repairing - much needed at this time of year! From £8.25 for a 50ml tube, the ideal handbag size.




L'Occitane Bergamot Tea Hand Cream
This shea butter enriched hand cream from French Provence is £12.50 for 75ml and is delicately fragranced with Bergamot. Sinking in rapidly it instantly makes hands softer and smoother and also does wonders for your cuticles.





Neal's Yard Remedies - Garden Mint & Bergamot Hand Lotion
Harder to come by in Paris, but one of the most beautifully fragranced, natural hand creams known to ladies is Neal's Yard Garden Mint & Bergamot Hand Lotion which is in a 200ml pump - (and only £10.50 at that)! An added bonus is that you can keep this one in the kitchen in between rounds of washing up and pump natural goodness back into your skin as soon as the dishes are out of the sink. This light lotion also has jojoba, shea and evening primrose and leaves hands looking lovely and smelling delicious.



Ortigia Bergamot Hand Cream
This Sicilian brand has great taste in packaging and ingredients! Their Bergamot Hand Cream is very dense, rich and nourishing and is perfect for heavy duty washer uppers in Paris and beyond! With a fine uplifting fragrance, and of course plenty of olive oil (it is Sicilian after all) it is a reliable hand helper at 19€ although one word of advice is use a small amount because it can be a trifle greasy. Available from http://www.ortigia-srl.com/

Beauty is Law

In Paris (if you are an immeuble) it’s illegal to be ugly, unsightly or anything less than perfect! Every 10 years all Paris immeubles (traditional style Paris apartments) have to have their exterior facades repainted and re-perfected, as commanded by law. If you fail to clean up your act (or immeuble) not only do you look worn and haggard you also have to pay up!

This doesn’t surprise the Paris Poodle; this is a city of culture, beauty, a city of art and fashion, la mode and l’amour, and in this town believe me- no one’s falling in love with you if you look like you haven’t cleaned up for 10 years!

It’s a cultural requirement of the Parisian femme to cover up the cracks, and rather than every ten years this happens every 10 hours or so... morning and night. Day creams, night creams, eye creams, gels, serums and masks, there are plenty of options to keep your facade looking fabulous, and here are some French beauty secrets which the Paris Poodle has so far discovered...

Guerlain Orchidée Imperial Exceptional Complete Care Serum £275
Wowowow! This one is expensive! But if a cream doesn’t work after spending 300 euros, the Paris Poodle always finds that you will convince yourself that it really does work nonetheless! The extravagantly titled Orchidée Imperial Exceptional Complete Care Serum, contains Orchide Imperial molecular extract which has skin strenghtening powers, to rehydrate and protect dry skin. This silky smooth serum leaves your skin feeling supple and smoother and looking younger with fine lines reduced after just one application. As with all Guerlain products this serum smells beautiful –(even their lipsticks are like shimmering lip fragrances) and easily absorbed this super serum is the ladies way to better skin. The beautiful glass bottle is a work of art in its own right and or at least you start thinking it is after forking out for it !

Mixa Soin de Jour et Nuit
Right down the budget end of the scale is Mixa, this brand is a French classic that makes loads of moisturisers creams and potions in large ml’ages for not much cash. Their body lotions are great bathroom standards that have featured on every French persons bathroom shelf since I started visiting France many years ago. The day and night face creams from Mixa are suitable for all skin types – even really sensitive skin and are the non cash flashy way to care for your skin on a shoestring. The Mixa Expert Soins de Jour Revitalisant Fermete creme and the Mixa Soin de Nuit Régénérant Fermeté creme work in harmony together with a complementary vitamin complex of vitamin H and vitamin C. They stimulate collegan production throughout the day and night to ensure your skin is well hydrated – which in turn means wrinkles or ‘rides’ as they call them in France, are much less visible - And from 10 euros each this isn’t a bad price.

L’Occitane Immortelle Cream Mask £38.50

The Imortelle range from L’Occitane uses an extracted oil from the Immortelle flower which has anti wrinkle properties. This Poodle loves a rich blend of essential oils and really believes they can improve your skin overnight! The Immortelle Cream Mask is rich in essential oils and although it doesn’t make you immortelle, it does deeply replenish your skin. With restructuring vitamin A and E it protects your skin from the elements even on the coldest of days! A great winter essential this crème mask will certainly leave your skin in better condition, the only downside is the fragrance which is rather too old fashioned for a Poodle of my youngish years.

Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer from £26.50
Although not French in any shape or form the Smashbox make up primer really does leave your skin feeling smoother than freshly spun silk. Apply just a teeny amount of this each morning before applying your make up foundation and this will instantly make your skin feel and look smoother, softer and perfected. Formulated with vitamins A and E this primer is the rescue remedy for skin tone casualties everywhere! Thanks to grape seed extract this primer is like smoothing liquid pixie dust onto your skin, the velvet texture is incredibly smooth but leaves a flawless matt finish whilst the antioxidant green tea extract helps protect your skin from damaging free radicals.

Let the Poodle know what your anti facade cracking favourites are! Post me a comment ...