Fresh Brown Sugar Hand Cream Review & Photo
Fresh Brown Sugar Hand Cream
Fresh Brown Sugar Hand Cream
Fresh Brown Sugar Hand Cream
($18.50 for 2.5 oz.) is described as an “ultra-rich formula customized for the most dehydrated hands that offers supreme moisture, leaves hands soft, and promotes healthy-looking cuticles.”
Now, despite the usage of “brown sugar” in the title, it’s referring to the inclusiom of brown sugar crystals in the formula itself, but it has nothing to do with the scent. I know when I first tested this product out, I expected something sweet and food-ish, but the scent is actually a stronger, herbal-ish lemon. Distinctly lemon, but it almost borders on cloying and synthetic. I’m actually a fiend for lemon-y scent (seriously, I love all lemon-scented kitchen soaps!), but this smelled a little off.
ingredients: Water (Aqua), Neopentyl Glycol Diheptanoate, Prunus Armeniaca (Apricot), Kernel Oil, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Stearic Acid, Palmitic Acid, Limnanthes Alba (Meadowfoam) Seed Oil, Butylene Glycol, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, Maltooligosyl Glucoside, Sucrose, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil, Oenothera Biennis (Evening Primrose) Oil, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Borago Officinalis Seed Oil, Beeswax (Cera Alba), Tocopheryl Acetate, Retinyl Palmitate, Caramel, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Sterols, Fragrance (Parfum), Hydrogenated Starch Hydrolysate Triethanolamine, Acrylamide/Sodium Acryloyldimethyltaurate Copolymer, Behenyl Alcohol, Isohexadecane, Lecithin, Sorbitan Oleate, Bisabolol, Panthenol, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Xanthan Gum, BHT, Benzoic Acid, Disodium EDTA, Caprylyl Glycol, Polysorbate 80, Phenoxyethanol, Limonene, Citral, Linalool, Geraniol.
As a hand cream, it’s a decent product: a very thick, luxuriously textured cream that absorbs in a few minutes without leaving behind any greasy residue. It moisturizes well if you have normal skin, but when my hands are at their driest, I don’t find that it to outperform some of my favorites (like Jack Black Hand Healer). It just leaves my hands shy of feeling truly soothed and infused with moisture. This seems to do better at locking in existing moisture while imparting some but not quite enough.
It’s not bad, and it’s better than average, but I don’t think it will work well for those with particularly dry or cracked hands. Â I did like the texture and how quickly the product absorbed (which can always be an issue in thicker creams like this one). Â If your hands are in better shape and the scent catches your fancy, I think this will do the trick for you.
Have you stopped using grades?
I’m not currently rating skincare, fragrance, etc. because our system does not apply. I’m still figuring out whether there is a good set of metrics to use or whether I prefer none on these types of products.
Fresh was the first brand of cosmetics I ever fell in love with, and for awhile I was fiendishly loyal. I still favor their face products (cleanser, exfoliator, moisturizer) but this stuff…it smells terrible, you’re totally right in the comment about it being “off.” It’s not entirely unpleasant on first application; strong but not outright offensive, it’s the smell it imparts after it has been absorbed that I can’t stand. I’ve honestly had times where I’d put it on and then a little later, brushed a hand near my face and thought “Oh god what is that…ugh, it’s my hands!” I don’t know what it is about this particular combination; the herbal, citrus or sugariness…I feel like they were trying to give the sweetness some kind of depth or dimension so it seemed more complex and just fully and completely missed the mark.
Which is sad, because they make a lot of my great go-to products, but this is not a winner.
I like Shikai Hand & Body Lotion. It’s not too greasy or heavily scented, and it’s reasonably priced. It also comes in a lot of nice scents!
It doesnt smell jist a little off, This stuff smells horrible! I thought it had actually turned bad in the tube and I scrubbed my hands with soap after applying it because I couldn’t take the scent. Maybe its just a personal preference (I usually go for sweet scents) but I literally tossed a brand new tube right in the trash because the smell was horrendous.
I love Fresh so I am glad to hear you review since I WON’T be picking this up, my hands are extremely dry. I am super curious about the Jack Black stuff though now 🙂
I haven’t tried this but I love kiehls hand cream. It’s fab!
I love this sent! But it is very expensive for what it is. Does anyone know of any knock offs to the scent/sugar? I am surprised that I can’t find one.
My hands take a beating from frequent hand-washing (I teach Food and Nutrition) so I got through a LOT of hand cream. As much as I like some Fresh products, this is just too pricey for me, considering that the tube MIGHT last me a week (or less!). I’ll stick with Neutrogena and Avon’s Moisture Therapy!
I totally agree about the smell of this product. I love the brown sugar scrub so that’s what I expected. If they wanted to make something lemon scented, they should have based it off their lemon sugar perfume.
Agree. There are a lot of same type options out there. In my own case, if the hand cream is not extraordinary in healing/hydrating/lasting effects, I am not going to spend the $ on it. The best I have found for really serious hand (and other body parts) for real needs is Ultra Repair Cream By First Aide Beauty. And I have tried a ton of em!
FYI, after some bashing on the above product by Fresh..I do have to say I am addicted big time to their Sugar Lip Treatment. It’s done more for my lips than any balm or stick ever. It’s very pricy and does a tube does not last long, but I cannot find anything that heals and keeps my lips in such good shape.
The Fresh Soy Cleanser is one of my all time favorites! I won’t be trying this though…