When it comes to Mother’s Day, there’s just something about hand cream, isn’t there? For as long as I can remember, I’ve bought my mother hand cream on Mother’s Day. Come to think of it, I buy her hand cream to celebrate virtually every special occasion. It’s not because I can’t think of anything else to buy her. It’s simply because she loves it...
She has a thing about keeping her hands soft, supple and glowing (she also has a thing for roses but I’ll get to that later). All these years later, I wish I had listened to her when she told me to wear rubber gloves when I did the washing up. “I don’t know how you can wash up without gloves,” she’d often say to me while simultaneously applying hand cream. It’s not just the dishes she fusses over. She also tells me to put sunscreen on the back of my hands when I’m driving. Again, as the sun spots continue to appear, boy I wish I’d listened to her earlier in life. She still wears driving gloves when she’s in the car, so the glaring sunlight doesn’t catch the back of her hands. She’s not even obsessive-compulsive – she just looks after her skin. After all, our hands are the first place to show ageing (mum is always the first person to remind me of this). When it comes to beauty, I feel like hand cream doesn’t always get the attention it deserves. When you think about it, it’s one of those creams that you need by your side all day. If it’s not by your side, it really should be. There’s nothing worse than dry hands, particularly in winter. When the temperature drops, I keep hand cream everywhere. In my bathroom, bedroom, car, desk… everywhere!
The Jurlique Farm where rose petals are handpicked to create Jurlique’s new Rose Hand Cream Handpicked 2017, a deluxe version of the brand’s iconic hand cream. Shop it here
Now when it comes to Mother’s Day this year, I wanted to make mum feel supremely special. I know she wanted hand cream – that’s always a given. But how could I up the ante? I went searching for something unique and I found it. Introducing Jurlique’s Rose Hand Cream Handpicked 2017, a deluxe version of the brand’s iconic hand cream. The story behind this covetable cream? It celebrates the extraordinary beauty and scent of the 1,800 rose gallica bushes at the picturesque Jurlique Farm in the Adelaide Hills of South Australia. Like all of Jurlique’s farm botanicals, they grow their roses organically to keep them as pure as possible. When the roses reach their natural peak, they gently pick them by hand and create concentrated extracts right there at the farm. It all sounded supremely special to me.
Now, mum’s a passionate gardener. She knows her flowers. More to the point, she knows her roses which is why this cream is even more special. For the flower lovers out there, the gallicas are probably the oldest of all garden roses, grown for centuries for their medicinal qualities. They were grown by the Greeks and Romans. In the 17th century the Dutch started to breed new varieties, and later the French continued their development on a larger scale. Take note of this – it’s the kind of thing you can just casually throw out next time someone comments on the heavenly scent of your Jurlique Rose hand cream. “Oh thank you so much, well did you know”… and so on. So here’s the thing: I got a little excited about this limited edition launch and I gave the hand cream to mum early. I couldn’t help myself. I got a call the next day. “Darling all my friends at bridge loved the hand cream you gave me. The minute they walked into the house they asked me what that beautiful scent was. Everyone tried it and loved it.” Like I said, she loves hand cream and she hasn’t stopped applying her new Jurlique hand cream ever since. I suspect I’ll need to purchase a new tube for her before Mother’s Day. So mum is sorted for this Mother’s Day. As for me? I just hope my husband is reading this. Photography: Grace Alyssa Kyo | Georgie wears Vilshenko skirt, from Parlour X | In association with Jurlique
The spectacular Jurlique Farm in the Adelaide Hills of South Australia