Hello, Allie’s Answerteers! I am Courtney, the proud recipient of one of the Yes to Carrots items featured in Allie’s latest fabulous giveaway. I ended up with the Feel the C Pampering Hand and Nail Spa, and since Allie asked me to share my opinion of it, I will happily oblige.

You may be thinking that Yes to Carrots is a bizarre name for a company, and I agree. But — and this is important — all their stuff is made with natural, nontoxic ingredients and none of those nasty parabens that so often appear in cosmetics and toiletries. For that I applaud you, Yes to Carrots. I also must add that I am a sucker for cool packaging, and this particular product hits all the right notes — it’s simple yet functional, it’s made from #1 plastic that is easily recycled, the label is a vibrant and pretty shade of orange, it’s not overdone, and all the ingredients are easy to read. Oh, and thanks to the aforementioned natural ingredients, I can actually pronounce everything on the label. Big plus.

The Pampering Hand and Nail Spa is just a mixture of sea salts and various oils and extracts, similar to a salt scrub I use on my whole body in the shower sometimes. To use it, you just take a handful of the mixture (the directions say to use a teaspoon, but that seemed to be a bit much; I recommend scooping up just enough to cover your fingertips and work from there.) You take the mixture and rub your hands together as if washing them for a minute or so, then rinse your hands and pat dry. I was amazed at how soft my hands felt after just one use. Even my cuticles, the driest part of my hands, were nice and smooth. It even got rid of some of the ridges on my nails, though not as thoroughly as a nail buffer. Still, my nails were shiny and my whole hands were glowing. Just for fun, I also tried it on my feet, and they felt soft and exfoliated for a long time afterwards.

When I first opened the jar I noticed the oil-to-salt ratio is a bit heavy in favor of the oil. Even after I stirred it, there was still a lot of oil sitting on top of the salt mixture. This is probably why the Hand and Nail Spa left my hands a tad greasy. It’s not extremely or uncomfortably greasy, but I wouldn’t recommend trying to open any jars immediately after using it. The greasiness only lasted a little while, but the softness lasted a lot longer. Another word of advice: When you’re stirring it, just stir with your hand. It’s going to be covered with the stuff anyway, so don’t waste a spoon.

Overall, I would recommend the Pampering Hand and Nail Spa to anyone. I think even men would enjoy this product because its smell isn’t fake or overpowering; in fact, there’s hardly any smell to it at all. Plus, at 8.45 ounces per jar, it should last me quite a while. I can’t wait to try more Yes to Carrots products!

Thanks, Courtney!