I’ve to tell ya, I never paid attention to hand cream before this cold, dry winter in Tokyo. The super dry air actually makes me feel a little ill, and what’s also mortifying, the skin on my hands feel tight and my cuticles are peeling — ouch.

If I did buy hand cream in the past, it was because it was an excuse to have one more sweet-smelling product for myself.

I indulged in a bottle of L’Occitane Lavender Hand Lotion a couple of years ago (I still have loads left so you can tell how often I use it). It smells absolutely gorgeous and I smear it on before bed just to feel relaxed and ready to drift off into slumberland.

It’s a light hand cream that doesn’t feel sticky but it doesn’t hold up well in Tokyo’s current dry conditions. I had to re-apply it after a short while and my skin still peeled.

For a small travel-sized hand cream, I got Neutrogena’s fragrance-free Norwegian formula just before my Nepal trip in late 2007. I thought it could double up as a spare moisturizer if I ran out, but I hardly used it. OMG, the air in Tokyo is drier than Kathmandu’s. Ugh.

Anyway, it’s “functional”, as in it does the job but has a sticky feel to it which fades only after a long while but I can tell that there’s something on my skin. Also, a big blob takes a long while for it to be absorbed and I had to keep rubbing what felt like a paste on my hands.

After dropping off Beauty Box packages at the post office, I swung by the kusuriya with a mission to save my hands from further discomfort — BB Hanskin. I got the Moisture Natural Rich Hand Cream (814JPY) and not Water Drop because I need all the hydration I can get!

I read quite a few rave reviews about this Korean brand’s Super Magic BB Cream and I guess it makes sense to have some of that special touch on my parched hands. The label reads, “The cream contains glycerin and sodium hyaluronate…” so I thought, “That sounds pretty moisturizing to me!”

Verdict: There is still a very thin film of lotion I can feel, but it’s not unpleasant and it doesn’t get in the way of typing on my Mac. The scent is wonderfully light and reminds me of Crabtree & Evelyn’s Goat’s Milk range. The fragrance fades fairly quickly so it never overwhelms my nose while I’m going about my day. It’s more affordable than Avene’s famed Cold Cream Hand Cream at 1,250JPY and feels more luxurious to the touch than cheaper, less absorbent moisturizers.

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