Etude House My Castle Hand Cream Set Review

Hello everyone!

Today I bring to you a review of Etude House's newest hand creams, the My Castle Hand Cream. I'm not really a hand cream user since my hands don't get dry very often, but I couldn't resist when I saw the packaging. Etude House released this about 3 weeks ago I think, and I bought it almost immediately after it was released. There goes my shopping ban... although is it even possible to not shop during the holiday season? 

에뛰드하우스 마이캐슬 핸드크림 4종세트

Name: Etude House My Castle Hand Cream Set

Price: 23,600원

Size: 30ml x 4

I didn't translate the ingredients list for this since there are 4 nearly identical lists save for a few ingredients (color pigments I think), but each of these hand creams contain shea butter, which is very well-known for its moisturizing properties, and 6 plant-based ingredients (Aloe, Lavender, Centella, Chamomile, Aloysia citrodora, and Marshmallow roots). 

The box the hand creams come in:

If you "tear" off the box along the dotted lines, then you get a sort of display stand for the hand creams:

Aren't they adorable? They're perfect for placing on your desk as decoration as well. ^^

For some reason I'm missing one of the side pictures. Forgive me. OTL (but both sides do look the same!)

Doesn't this remind you of the actual Etude House stores? :D

This immediately reminded me of the gingerbread house in Hansel and Gretel. lol 

The packaging for this one kind of reminds me of Victorian houses. The detail is so pretty! 

Both Forever Rose and Ice Frozen have roofs that remind me of European houses, whereas Pink Wish and Sweet Cookie resemble cottages more. 

I think one thing people wouldn't really like that much about these hand creams though is the packaging, despite how cute they are. The cream itself is housed in thick, sturdy, plastic house-shaped tubs, which are a bit bulky for carrying around everyday in a bag or purse. The size of the container is pretty small, but it still takes up some unnecessary space. Also, since it is in a tub container, it's unhygienic unless you use a spatula. As someone who doesn't need to carry hand cream around all day, the container doesn't bother me, but it is a bit inconvenient for those who do.

If there's one thing I don't like about some hand creams, it's how heavily scented some of them are. Keep in mind though that I'm  sensitive to scents, so ones that normally wouldn't bother people bother me (hence why I can't stand every single magazine that includes perfume samples, and omg don't even get me started on Bath and Body Works lol)

Sweet Cookie definitely smells very sweet, for it has a creamy vanilla scent. I am a fan of sweet scents, however I would prefer it to be a fainter and less heavy.

Pink Wish supposedly has a fruity floral scent according to Etude House, but I find it leaning a lot more on the floral side rather than fruity. It also smells sweet. 

Forever Rose smells JUST like the Mamonde Rose Water Toner. It definitely smells like roses, and the scent is very elegant and feminine. 

Etude House claims that Ice Frozen has an ice floral scent. ...what? I don't know what scent I was expecting, but definitely not this. It smells a tiny bit floral, but its dominant scent is something similar to that of a sweet and sour candy... blue raspberry perhaps?  

To be honest I feel like none of the scents were really special save Ice Frozen. Everything else smelled very average and common. All of them are sweet scents, with Sweet Cookie being the sweetest (obviously haha). If I were to rank each scent from best to worst, it'd be something along the lines of Ice Frozen>Forever Rose>Pink Wish>Sweet Cookie. It's kind of surprising how all the floral scents ranked higher than the one vanilla scent, considering how floral scents are my least favorite. There's just something about Sweet Cookie that I dislike, most likely due to its strong scent that smells kind of cheap. 

The color of each hand cream corresponds to the colors of their houses, so Pink Wish is pink, Sweet Cookie is a cream color, Forever Rose is pale purple, and Ice Frozen is an icy blue.

Since they are a part of the same line, every hand cream has the exact same texture. I find the texture to be just right, since it isn't too thick nor is it oily. It's actually a little bit difficult to take out of the container with your fingers, since it's really smooth and feels a tiny bit watery(?). I'm sure everyone has heard of the L'Occitance Shea Butter Hand Cream right? If I was to compare this to a high-end hand cream like L'Occitane's, it's definitely lacking in terms of moisture. However, I feel that L'Occitane's was too thick and a bit sticky for me, whereas this one is just right.

First things first, I really love the packaging for these hand creams! They're so adorable. *-* I bought them without the intention of carrying them around, so the unhygienic and inconvenient packaging doesn't bother me. Those who are in need of a travel-friendly hand cream might want to look into ones contained in a tube instead. 

The scents were undeniably a bit disappointing, but judging from the very vague descriptions Etude House gave, it was to be expected. I personally like the texture, but people with very dry hands might want to invest in a thicker, more moisturizing hand cream. 

I think these are definitely worth it considering their price, but if you're not an everyday hand cream user (like me lol), I wouldn't suggest getting the whole set. I don't even know how I'm going to use them all up, since I barely ever use hand creams. #impulsebuys 

Pros

-Cute packaging

-Cheap

-Not too thick

-Not oily

Cons

-Not travel-friendly

-Unhygienic

-Not suitable for people with very dry hands

-Average scents (some are a little too strong)

Where to buy: all shops listed also sell each hand cream individually 

-Jolse $27.98 $25.18 (free shipping, discount until Dec. 25)

-W2Beauty $35.99 ($2.50 shipping, get a $5 voucher when you enter 04308009 at registration)

-TesterKorea $24.08

Which hand cream would you get if you had to choose?

Happy Veterans Day to everyone in the US! :)