Regular readers of 40s Chic will know I’m a bit of a geek when it comes to hand cream, I’m always looking for that perfect product and I have tried many in my quest, yet still that ‘holy grail’ of hand care escapes me. The latest contender is Hands Forward by Ole Henriksen.

First off, it contains sunscreen, so it’s already way ahead of so many others in that respect. I suffer from really dry skin on my hands so the last thing I want is more  dryness and age lines to boot. Including an SPF of 15 in the formulation offers a general level of sun protection I usually only see in facial moisturisers. Why is that I wonder?

This contains Shea butter, known for its moisturising and softening properties, blackcurrant oil (not sure what that’s for) and fruit acids to exfoliate and even out skin tone, reducing dark spots.

The consistency is lovely – not too heavy, but not too thin either, it sinks in quite quickly and does not feel greasy afterwards. My only query with it is the fragrance – I can’t decide if I like it or not. It is medicinal rather than herbal and a little too disinfectant-y for me, but then the fragrance dies down to a lower herbal level, so it’s not too overpowering…

Results-wise it delivers. My hands feel softer after using this and they look better, which after all is what it’s about. Find it here

Miners has expanded its Tin O’ Tint lip gloss range with three new flavours: cocoa bean, mango and pink grapefruit. When Dot saw these she couldn’t wait to get her hands on them as they smell so good. They add a slick of colour to your lips and a lot of shine, while the packaging adds an extra touch of luxury.

Miners is a great, inexpensive brand and the products are often highly fragranced I find, which make them popular with teens, or in Dot’s case tweens. I prefer unperfumed make-up generally, the exception perhaps being lip gloss, so while I’m not a big consumer of the brand I do like these. Find them at www.minerscosmetics.co.uk