Inspired by Jersey’s breezy, beautiful coastline, chondrus crispus (carrageenan) is one of the marine nutrient-rich ingredients in Smiths of Jersey’s Eco-certified skincare and their Hand and Foot Cream got a special mention in the Beauty Shortlist Awards this year, quite an impressive feat (feet?) considering 408 products were tested over four months; it stood up well in the competitive Best Hand Cream category.
Prediction: watch for more seaweeds appearing in “big brand” moisturisers this year. The French have sworn by seaweeds in their skincare for years – a lot of it is harvested off the shores of Brittany which is pretty much “seaweed central” in the European beauty world, although Ireland’s Atlantic coast isn’t far behind.
This Hand and Foot Cream feels rich but light, fresh and non-greasy and it’s skin PH balanced which is good. There’s shea butter in it, too, so if you’re a L’Occitane or Abahna hand cream fan you’ll already know how well shea performs on skin which veers towards the dry side.
The ingredients read a bit like a quiz for would-be phycologists (people that study algaes, as in the Greek word φῦκος, phykos, “seaweed”) and include:
- Crithmum Maritimum Extract (Organic Sea Fennel)
- Laminaria Digitata (a brown algae also used in diet pills)
- Chondrus Crispus (Irish moss or carrageenan)
- Ulva Lactuca (also known as sea lettuce, which it looks like, we Googled it!)
Verdict: a nice, luscious, unscented every day hand cream, light enough for summer and all skin types, yet effective enough to deal with dry skin, if that happens to be an issue. Earmarked for the beach bag.
We haven’t tried them yet, but we like the look of SoJ’s Sheer Hydrating Body Lotion and toning Detoxifying Shower Wash too.
Discover the rest of the bath and body capsule collection by Smiths of Jersey HERE
As seen in Natural Health mag recently, in Ten On Trial – Under The Sea