Elizabeth Arden hand cream brand poor at keeping skin moisturized

Hand cream from Elizabeth Arden was found to have the poorest moisturizing effect of 27 samples tested, the Shanghai Consumer Council revealed today.

The price of the hand creams ranged from 4.2 yuan (6 US cents) to 790 yuan (US$120), and the council tested the water content of the skin after immediate application, after two hours and after four hours. 

The moisturizing effect of a 75-milliliter sample of the Elizabeth Arden brand, costing 185 yuan, was 1.71 after four hours of use, compared to the 46-yuan Shiseido sample's 25.22, the best of all those tested, according to the council.

The Elizabeth Arden sample's instant and two-hour performance was also the worst of all the creams tested, the council found.

"Some hand creams have very good performances in moisturizing when just applied, but the effect drops very soon," said Tang Jiansheng, deputy secretary-general of the council.

The council found the moisturizing effect of samples from Elizabeth Arden, Mentholatum and Nivea dropped 78 percent, 63 percent, and 53 percent respectively after four hours of use, the largest drop among all those tested.

"Consumers usually choose hand creams based on the instant smooth and moisturizing effect, but they have no idea of ??their long time moisturizing performances," Tang said.