Gardening has been our saviour during the past few months. (And our hearts have really ached for anyone who didn’t have access to green spaces or able to get their hands in the earth, during this time.)

It takes its toll, though, on hands and nails – and many’s the time we’ve looked down and thought, ‘Hmmmm, those are definitely NOT the hands of a beauty editor…’ (And thanked our lucky stars that the only launches we’re attending right now are via Zoom.) We’re talking earth under fingernails (from pushing seeds into the soil even when we KNOW we should be wearing gloves), dryness, roughness.

But not any more. These tins of Tam Mason Nourishing Sugar Hand Scrubs basically pulled off a masterful makeover on gardener’s hands. Massaged into hands (used in tandem with a nail brush for getting under the nails), they’re a brilliant skin blitz.

They scrubs are blends of sugar and essential oils, in a base of organic sweet almond oil and vitamin E, packaged in a recyclable aluminium tin with a small wooden scoop for dispensing.

The sugar scruffs skin to smoothness, but the oil stays on the skin, sinking in to leave hands like silk. The hand scrubs come in absolutely LOADS of fragrant options, but we’ve tried the four photographed here – and love them all, frankly. Rose & Patchouli smells feminine, pretty and powdery, while Bergamot & Blood Orange is zestily uplifting. We’re keeping Mint & Cedarwood by the sink – and along with Black Pepper & Verbena, we think this has masculine appeal, too. (There’s also an unscented version.) Great for banishing cooking smells, as well as garden grime. 

Somerset-based Tam (below) launched these in May, having first had the vision for the collection back in 2016. Quite a time to launch a new beauty brand – but we’ve got to hand it to her: these are absolutely fab. 

£18 each for 150g – buy here

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