Three wise cremes - hand cream discontinued by Cake Beauty - review by Adriana Ravenlust

The design and clever naming of these hand creams absolutely indicates that they're intended to be gifts and gifts for Christmas, no less. Of course, you can keep them all for yourself if you'd like. The thicker lotion formula is great for the stresses you hands undergo, but don't let that limit your creativity. These creams will work just as well on your feet if they happen to dry out in the winter months or anywhere on your body that needs more intense moisture.

Hand creams tend to contain less water than body lotions, which makes them thicker. This is definitely the case with this sampler set. All three scents are fairly thick and will stay exactly where you put them without any dripping. The texture is consistent throughout the creams. There's no watery runoff at the beginning or end.

The cream dispenses easily from the tubes, and because it's thick, you can take your time rubbing it into your skin without the fear or dripping all over the place. However, it doesn't take a long time to absorb. I've used some cheaper lotions that seemed to slide right over the skin, but Cake's hand cream definitely seems to absorb into it without leaving any streaks.

My hands feel noticeably more moist, but I wouldn't call them greasy.

I haven't tasted any of these products, and I don't think you should, either. However, I've given them all a good sniffing, and I have mixed feelings.

I thought I would love the hand cream in Milk Made scent because I've used both the body wash and froth and just adore them. However, it doesn't seem to come across as well as a lotion--at least, not initially. I can smell the sweet raspberry that I like, but there's a definite "aftersmell." It's a mix of really strong 'cosmetic' ingredients coupled with the smell of something sweet gone rancid. All in all, I hate the way my hands smell after I initially apply the lotion. What makes this weird is that after some time has gone by, the aftersmell goes away and all I can smell is the lovely raspberry milk scent. It wafts through the air as I move my hands and go about my business, and then it's awesome. But it smells strange at first.

Desserted Island is another scent that I've already tried in another Cake product. It's pretty much the same with this hand cream as it was with the body scrub. The brown sugar is easy to detect among hints of vanilla. There is no strange 'aftersmell' with this variant. It's warm and reminds me an awful lot of my mom's kitchen as she would bake. I just slightly prefer Milk Made.

Finally, Sugar Cookie is the only scent I hadn't had a chance to try, and I'm not over the moon for it. I'm not sure if it's the same issue as the Milk Made or if this scent just isn't for me. It's quite powdery, which I find unpleasant and surprising. It's generically sweet in a way that makes me think it would be better as a candle than a product to put on your body. Desserted Island is the better baking smell for me.

All of the smells are fairly strong. You can smell them for a while after you put them on, even after you move your hands away from your nose and stop sniffing. The smell lasts through a hand wash or two as well. Other reviewers have called these scents too strong, but I think that's the purpose of scented products. I suppose you could say that I like to be overwhelmed by smells--when I like them. If you're particularly sensitive to smells, you probably shouldn't buy these. Then again, smell is the main selling point of this set, and you'd be pretty silly for considering them to begin with.

While I may not love the smells of each of the creams in this set, they perform well. As I mentioned, the texture both stays in place and absorbs without feeling too greasy. They're thicker lotions than Cake's body milk -- or so I would assume -- so you might not want to put lotion on immediately before doing something intricate, lest you find yourself breaking your grandma's antique vase. ;) For those who want to enjoy this product but remain non-slippery, you can apply the cream before bed time to let it soak into your skin while you sleep. I put it on my hands whenever I walk past the tube in my bedroom, and I also apply a thick layer of lotion to my feet in the morning to keep them moisturize during the day.

I do feel like this hand cream leaves my skin feel pretty soft and smooth!

I noticed that one application will last through washing my hands, and this is good or bad depending on your needs. If you don't like moist/slippery hands or wind up not liking the product, this is bad. If you love the product and need something to withstand to some water -- perhaps you wash dishes at work -- then this is a definite selling point. I don't suffer from any seriously dry skin, so I can't tell you if this will be a miracle product. However, it adds just a bit of soft and moist to my skin.

These three hand creams came in a bright pink box that is made to look a bit like a present. It would be most excellent for a gift, as it's both pretty and practical--the product info is one the back. My box is already in the recycling bin because I was so excited to use the products themselves. I was momentarily entertained by how snugly the hand cream tubes fit into the box. They're angled against one another so that they stay put. This is convenient and saves space. There's no need for a finicky plastic tray. You can't actually see the products through the box as there's no plastic "window," but I think this really classes up the container.

The hand cream tubes themselves are small enough to fit in a bag or purse, but you'd need some mighty big pockets. They use a flip-up cap that could work with one hand, but I always use two to make sure I'm getting exactly the amount out of the container. Each tube has just a tiny hole, which allows you to control how much cream you squeeze out. When you close the cap, nothing can leak. Even though the lotions weren't sealed beneath the caps, they fared well during shipping, and I'd trust them in my bag.

Each of these products is in its own line, and the individual tubes reflect that. Milk Made is all pink and white with typography on the front. Sugar Cookie has white-on-white sparkles, and Desserted Island has a tan label that matches the other products in that specific line. The Cake logo appears on all three, but they're not designed to match one another.

Cake products aren't made in the USA, but they are made in our neighbor to the north. I am more than happy to "Blame Canada" for these products. (= The ingredient lists all begin with water and include shea butter, mango see butter and dimethicone, a type of silicone. Glycerin does make an appearance does make an appearance, and this could potentially leas to yeast infections if you used this internally but, uh, don't. This ingredient lists include no gluten, GMOs, petrochemicals, phthalates, triclosan or parabens, however.

I don't experience reactions to products very frequently, but I know some people like to know more about ingredients.