Being a nail blogger basically means people are going to be scrutinizing your fingers, and as such, we probably put more effort into making them look nice than the average person. We all have stashes of potions and epoxys to keep our cuticles moisturized and our skin smooth and glowing, and every blogger has her (or his) own array of swear-by products but we're always on the look-out for that magical balm that will work, feel good, and smell great. Because I knew I was going to be doing a number on my hands with that month-long challenge I just wrapped up, I decided ahead of time to invest in some new stuff to try to help my hands in shape during all those polish changes. Thank goodness I found Sunny's Body Products!
Now, before you go accusing me of sneaking in a sponsored post here, let me just say before we begin that I found this store through Betty's Beauty Bombs (because Anne holds a mystical power of product enabling over me) and I paid full retail price for my products. I went and checked out Sunny's site, and was amazed by all the different fragrances available for her products (almost 400)! Plus I also liked that all the ingredients are listed right there on the label, so I know what I'm putting on my paws! After much deliberation, I decided I wanted to try the Sampler Pack #2 and then spent another hour deciding what scents I wanted. Amazingly, I received my order 6 days later (from California to the UK in December - unbelievable!) and immediately opened every single item to smell the gloriousness inside.
I started almost immediately with the cuticle oils. There are two oils available, a regular oil with a rollerball dispenser, and an intensive oil with an eyedropper dispenser.
I chose Cocoa Puffs for the regular oil dispenser, and this now sits at my workstation to use before I take photos. It has a great chocolately scent (very much exactly like the cereal for which it's named) and it soaks in nicely within a few minutes. This really helps take away the dryness from using acetone to clean up!
The intensive oil scent is Birthday Cake. OHMIDOT it smells so delicious. I keep this downstairs on my side table and use it when I'm watching TV. It has done wonders to soften up my eponychia (commonly and mistakenly called the cuticle, but that's a whole different post), which have always been a bit tough, especially in cold weather. I just apply a drop to each nail and massage it in, sometimes a couple of times each night!
The next pot I moved onto was Sunny's Miracle Balm, another product intended for softening the cuticles.
Touted as an "all-in-one" product, I was expecting this to be a creamy, almost fluffy consistency, but it is actually more like a soft wax (think Burt's Bee's Lemon Cuticle Butter vs Lemony Flutter). It has a fairly low melting point, and actually applies much easier than the Lemon Cuticle Butter, in my experience. The warmth of my fingertip melts enough product to apply to one nail at a time, and I like to rub it all around the nail bed and surrounding skin as soon as I've finished taking off all my polish (i.e.: before spending a few hours bare-nailed), so it also sits at my desk and has been getting daily use as a result. It has a lovely slippy texture and of course this one really does have a wonderfully warm, caramel-chocolate fragrance.
In combination with the Miracle Balm, I have also really enjoyed using the Hand Butter.
This has a slightly softer texture than the Miracle Balm, but is still fairly waxy and a little bit hard for a "butter" product, but I keep it by my nightstand and use it each night. I scoop out a bit of product onto the back of my hand and then rub it into my cuticles before spreading it all over my hands, and then put on white cotton moisturizing gloves before bed each night. The fragrance is exactly as listed on the jar - just like fresh baked sugar cookies. So yummy.
Last but not least is an exfoliating product that has not gotten as much use as the others, but only because I don't exfoliate as often as I moisturize.
This is a really soothing and smoothing sugar scrub that I try to use once a week to scruff off flaky and cracked skin around my hands and my fingertips - it has been particularly helpful in softening a calloused spot on my wrist from mouse usage! I wet my hands and then scoop a small amount out, then scrub it all around my hands and fingers before rinsing with warm water. It leaves behind a silky oil that absorbs quickly into the skin, leaving them soft and smooth. The fragrance on this one was not quite what I expected - it's a sweet and almost floral musk, whereas I was expecting more of a fruity musk. However, it's still a very nice fragrance and I do enjoy it!
I'm actually quite looking forward to using these products up, because that means I can place a new order to try out some more delicious fragrances! In addition, Sunny also has a limited edition seasonal box that contains hand, body, and lip products in sample sizes with new, otherwise unavailable aromas.
If you decide to try any of Sunny's Body Products, I would love to hear about your experience.
Hope you're all having a great week, and I'll see ya soon!