It feels like AGES since I last wrote a product of the month…and yet, I did one in September!…

As a (mostly) reformed cuticle biter, while I was having a browse at Lawtons one day on my lunch break, I thought to pick up a cuticle moisturizer, as the more hydrated they are, the less apt I am to nip at them here and there.  It was a toss-up between Burt’s Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream (0.60 oz/17g) and an oil, but in the end, this won as I find oils don’t linger as long and in an hour I’m reapplying again.  Lucky me, this happened to be on sale for like, $1.50 or something, when it regularly retails for $7.99 – awesome!

As is standard for Burt’s Bees products, their Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream is paraben- and phthalate-free.  And, thankfully for me and my eczema, without added fragrance!  Here is the ingredient list: Sweet almond oil, beeswax, lemon peel oil, tocopheryl acetate, cocoa seed butter, candelilla wax, beta-carotene, rosemary leaf extract, tocopherol, sunflower seed oil, soybean oil, canola oil, vegetable oil, limonene. The cream comes in a cute little tin, similar to their lip salve, and looks a lot like it too.  It takes a little bit of elbow grease to rub some of the balm off initially, but once it’s worked in a bit, it’s no problem.  It has a really nice lemony scent that I don’t find at all overwhelming – more just clean – and the texture is like, well, butter, almost.  Pretty much like your standard balm – greasy but not uncomfortably so.  I do have to wipe off my fingertips after applying so I don’t get fingerprints everywhere, but I like that it’s like that; it means the hydrating effect lasts on my cuticles, for several hours or until I wash my hands.I leave this tin at work and reapply a couple times a day.  If I’m consistent, it really helps with the look of my cuticles, which can be a touch ragged because of how dry they are.  Also, unlike some other products I’ve used, it doesn’t interfere with my manicure at all (sometimes I find some cuticle treatments can cause my polish to chip faster).Overall, I’m digging this cream and I will definitely repurchase when it’s gone.  It’s so handy to travel with, I don’t have to worry about it spilling in my purse (which has happened before with nail oils), and it smells lovely.  It may seem a bit pricey at $8 a pop, but it’s gonna last for ages, and many nail oils are priced well over $10!

What great thrifty finds have you picked up lately??