First Impressions: Essence Cuticle Balm, Nail Balm, All Round Talent, Nail Care Pen & Penneys Beeswax Handcream

Phew! That was a mouthful of a title!

So lately I've been trying to look after my nails and hands a bit more. I got a manicure before my holiday to Spain, and I'm convinced the cuticle oil & vitamin D from the sun did them a world of good. I can see the difference in the new nail growing, so I'm trying to keep it up.

I started by getting the Nail Care Pen by Essence seeing as it seems the easiest way to apply all them good oils to the cuticles and nails. I usually do it after I've taken off my nail polish and washed my hands. I haven't used it enough to see too much of a difference but I have noticed my cuticles are a lot softer, and I haven't has any dry/rough skin around the sides of my nails, which I normally do.

It contains: vitamin a & e, gingko extract, jojoba oil, avocado oil and almond oil.

The other Cuticle/Nail item I got was the Nail and Cuticle Butter Stick from Essence. It's very like the oil pen, but this one is more moisturising. You apply it the same as the oil pen, by rubbing it on your cuticles and around the nail area, then gently massage it in. I love the smell of this, it's just like beeswax handcream!

It contains: vitamin e, shea butter, lanolin and beeswax.

I then got the Essence All Round Talent nail polish. This claims to be an "all-in-one base or top coat, ridgefiller, hardener, optical whitener and sealer". I figured why not try it out! I just have to wait until I remove my current nail polish to try it and see if it can live up to its claims. It does have a purple tint to it so I believe it will whiten, but I'll wait and see about the rest... Update: I just tested it on my baby finger and just as I suspected the purple tint to it does lend to the whitening effect BUT I put it over my pink nail polish on my other finger and it altered the colour, only a bit, but still noticeably different to the other nails. (Nail with brightener is more of a lighter pink, the rest are fuschia pink.)

The last things I got are two hand/nail creams. I got a hand, nail and cuticle cream from Essence (I told you I had a think for it haha!) and a beeswax hand cream from Penneys (Primark) for 1,50€! 

The nail cream does the same job as the other two I mentioned before, so I won't go on about it too much. It's a water based cream.

It contains: pro-vitamin B5, natural beeswax and glycerin.

The other hand cream I got from Penneys is a beeswax and jojoba oil cream - it smells amazing. Just sayin'. I got this to try out because I have seen so many people talking about hand creams, and yes I know it's coming up to summer but you have to have pretty hands to show off all the pretty summer manis! And anyway, it's never a bad thing to look after your skin, no matter where.
I got this primarily to keep in my handbag so I would have no excuses for not taking care of my hands, but I definitely am going to get another one, especially seeing as they're so cheap (1,50€). I would recommend everyone to get your hands (pun intended) on some when you're next in there!

It contains: Beeswax, Jojoba oil & Almond oil

That's it for now, I hope you enjoyed! I will definitely keep you all updated on how it goes regarding all my new lotions and potions! Keep an eye out on twitter, instagram and she said beauty for updates!

What have been your recent discoveries? What's your nail care routine? Let me know in the comments!

Ta-ta for now kittens! xo