Byredo Bal D’Afrique Hand Cream: A Review

Main Image – Live That Glow

So let’s just say it; Autumn is pretty much the best.

Between the stunning colours, cosy textures, and the promise of nights in binge-watching box sets, Fall basically beats all the other seasons hands down.

There is a downside to all the festivities, though, and for anyone who suffers from dry skin this can take the shape of sensitive, dehydrated hands.

And while there are some great, reasonably-priced lotions out there (O’Keeffe’s Working Hands is a particular no-nonsense favourite), sometimes it’s nice just to have a little piece of chic in your bag.

Enter Byredo: the Scandinavian perfume brand known for their unique and complex fragrances.

Created by Swedish former basketball player (yes really) Ben Gorham- who started the brand in 2006 following a career change- Byredo is one now of the most-recognisable fragrance lines in the world.

Byredo Hand Cream

While their EDPs will set you back anything from £48 for a perfume brush pen to £170 for a full size spray bottle, Byredo’s travel sized hand creams add a touch of moisturising luxury for slightly less.

Still at £30 for 30 ml I pretty much reserve this for special occasions, but the unique and complex scent of cedarwood, musk, black amber, jasmine, violet, lemon and bergamot in Bal ‘dAfrique’s Hand Cream makes this a product I’m still pleased to have in my arsenal for days when I’m feeling a little chic.

The addition of shea butter and glycerin also soften and moisturise, leaving my hands surprisingly nourished. By nature of this being a perfumed product, though, it does contain artificial fragrance and alcohol- so I’m more likely to use this for light hydration rather than full-on hand repair.

The Full List of Ingredients

Aqua (Water), Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Parfum (Fragrance), Glyceryl Stearate, Peg-100 Stearate, Alcohol, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Xylitol, Cetearyl Alcohol, Polyacrylamide, Ceteareth-22, c13-14 Isoparaffin, Dimethicone, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Xanthan Gum, Laureth-7, Limonene, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Disodium Edta, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Bht, Linalool, Coumarin, Sodium Hydroxide, Citral

The Takeaway

While this is now definitely the most expensive hand product I own, the gorgeous warm, woody scent which lasts for quite a few hours, means serious fragrance enthusiasts (and lovers of anything chic) might find this a refreshing change from the usual lineup of hand cream scents.

Great for: A high-quality scent and fans of chic packaging.

Not-so-great for: Sensitive skin, thanks to the alcohol here.

Byredo’s Bal d’Afrique Hand Cream is from £30 for 30ml, Space NK UK and from $43 for 1 oz/ 30ml, Byredo US