I am so lucky and super grateful that I get to try many international brands when my “beauty mule” travels the world, this time she traveled to the UK and picked up some goodies for me from Cath Kidston. Of course one of the gifts that she brought me couldn’t be more fitting after I read this article that explained that your hands are one of the first 5 body parts to reflect aging. Maybe I am being a bit paranoid, over the top, dramatic… all of the above mentioned, but I am upping my moisturizing routine and water intake.  I have to admit, my hands are probably my most neglected as I always focus more on the other areas like my face.

I haven’t tried anything from Cath Kidston before and obviously was super excited to give this trio a go. Before I get into the reviewing part of this post, this brand is quite popular in London – with many stores scattered around the UK and even a huge online store with products ranging from beauty to clothing, from bags to stationery. Unfortunately they don’t ship to SA but I have seen limited stock of this brand’s beauty products on another site (feel free to google if you want) at a hefty price tag. This trio retails for £12 which is roughly R224 when converted to ZAR. Firstly, the fragrance of this trio is AH-MAZING. I am not usually a fan of rose scented products as it can smell quite artificial but this smells like “the real deal”. It smells expensive and if I have to compare to a smell familiar to me, I would say that it smells like bottled rose water. You can smell this fragrance escaping the box even before you open it. For someone that is not a fan of rose scented products, this manicure set has me sold on it now.

The first item that I tried in the box is the hand cream which comes in a 50ml tube. It is a whipped consistency, not quite as whipped as a body butter but thicker than your normal hand cream. You only require the smallest pea amount to cover your hands as the heat of your hands smooths the product over effortlessly. One thing that I love about this product is that it doesn’t leave your hands feeling sticky or that it feels heavy on your hands. It soaks into the skin as soon as you rub it in and you can immediately carry on with whatever it is that you are doing.  This product is paraben free which is something that I appreciate in my beauty products. If I could change just one thing then it would be packaging. I am not a fan of screw off tops when it comes to hand creams or lotions in general as I tend to just throw the top down when I apply something to my hands.Next up is the cuticle cream. Gosh I haven’t used a cuticle cream in years and this probably explains why I always have hangnails. If you’re not in the loop with your nail anatomy, hangnails are caused by nail folds losing moisture and becoming dry and brittle. For me, this is mostly evident in the winter months and I couldn’t have received this at a better time.

This cuticle cream requires the teeny, tiniest bit of product. Don’t get finger dipping happy as you are just going to waste product and putting it back wouldn’t be the wisest of choices… you know, bacteria and all. I used to be a cuticle oil girl but never used to like how shiny it made my nail area and I am glad to report that this doesn’t do that. The cuticle cream is also paraben free and comes in a 33ml container. Now that I have completely fallen in love with a brand and products that I won’t be able to afford or get for myself in the foreseeable future, would I recommend these products? Absolutely! The scent of these are quite potent and it won’t be everybody’s cuppa tea but I personally love it and find it soothing. Of course I can’t vouch for long term effectiveness regarding hand aging but I can however tell you that I don’t currently have ashy looking, hangnail ridden hands. These have found a permanent spot in my handbag and I feel like it makes such a beautiful birthday or christmas gift as it comes in a beautiful box with stellar packaging.

If you find yourself overseas, definitely check this brand out as buying it internationally will be much kinder on your pocket as opposed to buying it locally. If you do have R2K to spend on Cath Kidston products here in SA, it is just a google search away.