NEW! L'Occitane Shea Nail and Cuticle Nourishing Oil: Gets a (Non-Scraggly) Thumbs Up

Last week, my best friend and I went along to an event where they were offering  manicures. She's a wonderful person, but has committed what is apparently the crime of ignoring her beauty responsibilities. As she was having her nails done, the manicurist declared (with a look of total disdain and horror) 'Ermagerrrd... You TOTES need to get your cuticles done'.

My friend can't be bothered with that stuff, she's just not a big beauty buff. But the reaction of the manicurist was priceless, with the implication being that if she didn't have her cuticles trimmed post-haste, she would awake one morning with a foot growing out of her wrist. At which point the manicurist would jump from behind the wardrobe and say 'I TOTES told you'.

Me? I like to trim my cuticles. Why? Because it makes me feel groomed and I enjoy wearing nail polish, so I like to have more nail surface on which to wear it. It's a preference, not a need. I don't fear the imminent growth of a hand-foot.

That's why, when I say that I love this product, I mean that I love it, and not that I need it. You don't need it either, but if you like to look after your hands (and  keep those pesky mutations at bay), you might love it too.

L'Occitane's new cuticle oil has my hands in better condition than they've ever been before. Containing a combination of Shea Butter and various nourishing oils, including almond, grape seed and apricot kernel oils, it keeps dry, scraggly cuticles looking supple, nourishes the nail bed (which is essential for the health of your nails if you constantly wear polish as I do) and make cuticles soft and easier to trim (if you're into that jazz). Add to this the fact that it smells like baby powder, and you have a completely dreamy product.

The consistency is a thick, clear, oily gel. The tube is tiny at 12mils, and I was suspicious of the €14 price tag given the quantity. However, though it could definitely be cheaper, the quality is self-evident. I've been using this three times a day for a week, and haven't made even  a slight dent in it. The brush applicator allows you to get every little crevice around the nail. I quite like the dinky size as I can keep it in my handbag and use it out and about. That girl applying cuticle oil on the train? That's me. Come say hi.

You only need the tiniest amount, and I've genuinely never seen my nails looking so good. This is especially impressive given the fact that I have poor circulation in my hands - the fact that the blood supply to them isn't always great means that they are very prone to dryness - particularly at extremities like fingertips.

Up till now, I've been using Nails Inc's Vitamin E cuticle oil pen, and this completely blows it out of the water. It's also €4 less expensive and I don't need to use as much. L'Occitane - je t'adore! It's all I'll be using from now on.

Are you a maintainer of cuticles? What do you use? And do you have a case of hand-foot to report? ' Totes' tell us in the comments.