The Bath & Body Works obsession continues! This is ridiculous. These little side trips to B&BW started out as a Neiman Marcus avoidance strategy -- you know, just a quick fix to satisfy my beauty jones -- but the plan has started to backfire. I can now walk into the store and identify any new items within 5 seconds flat, anywhere in the store.

New to the True Blue Spa line is Shea Cashmere, a collection of bath and body goodies that boast shea butter and cashmere extract. The packaging is decidedly upmarket, especially when you think about what B&BW packaging looked like 10 years ago. And the prices reflect a bit of an upgrade, too -- the hand cream I picked up was $14.50 for 2.5 oz.

So is it worth it? Well, for starters, it feels absolutely lovely on the skin, very silky. But I had to chuckle at one of the reviews on the B&BW site: "...offers a silkier finish, thanks to the cashmere extracts found in this formula." The marketing machine has sucked you in! I seriously doubt it's the "cashmere extract" that gives this hand cream its silky feel -- more like the cyclomethicone and dimethicone in it. These two silicones are the 2nd and 3rd ingredients on the list.

Not that I have anything against silicones, though. I LOVE the silky feel they add to a formula. I just think you should know what makes products like these work the way they work, feel the way they feel! And I have to admit, "mongolian cashmere extract" sounds a lot better than cyclomethicone.

Now, the scent. Right out of the tube, it's a rich, creamy vanilla almond, really nice. It actually reminds me of that Vaseline Cocoa Butter Gel Body Oil that I love so much. But within 10 minutes, it devolves disappointingly into a clone of Warm Vanilla Sugar. Boo! If you're a fan of that scent, just buy something from that range -- it's probably cheaper, anyway. I've never liked Warm Vanilla Sugar, so I was turned off.

Turned off enough, in fact, that I'm going to have to give this one the thumbs-down. Pass!

If you're looking for a deliciously-scented hand cream, hunt down some Caswell-Massey Elixir of Love No. 1 hand cream. It is the BEST. Trust.