Thursday, December 30, 2010

Egyptian Magic Cream: Putting Lord Pharaoh ImHotep AmonRa's pride and joy to the test

(Yes, that is really the CEO and founder of Egyptian Magic Cream's name.)
I love multi-use products. Even if I just use them for one thing, just knowing that there are more possibilities makes me happy. Like using kitty litter under your car tires if you get stuck in the snow. But Egyptian Magic is special, this is the sort of thing you'll want to use yourself, give it to your entire family, and put it on your puppy's winter-chapped paws.

First of all, I must tell you that this is not a "cream" at all, it is actually a salve, made from olive oil, beeswax, honey, royal jelly and bee propolis. I will mention here that they also list "divine love" on the ingredient list. Ugh. Anyway, moving on. When you use Egyptian Magic, you can swipe your fingers along the top of the (generously sized 4 oz) jar, warming the solid salve with your body temperature. I actually prefer to scrape a bit out of the tub with a cosmetic spatula to be more sanitary, rub it between my palms to melt it, then I apply wherever it is I feel like applying it. I've used it on extremely irritated, reactive facial skin and found it to be soothing and indeed healing. I've used it on rough heels and elbows, and it softened them nicely. It makes one of the best cuticle treatments I've ever found. I've used it to shine my hair (don't use on fine, thin hair) and as a lip balm. I have mixed loose mineral pigments into a bit of it to make creamy, bright shades to use on lips and face. It is wonderfully hydrating, fantastic for dry skin and suitable for people with eczema. It is also supposed to help heal post-surgical skin, bug bites, blemishes, diaper rash and scars, but I can't speak from experience on those things. I don't need a baby, but I could use a mini-brow lift and a kind benefactor. Right.

I find that Egyptian Magic is a great alternative for those times you want to reach for the Aquaphor but are kind of dreading the greasy aftermath of it (like before bed as you fear for your pillowcases). Another benefit for some will be that the ingredients here are all natural, contains natural antioxidants, and the jar does have an expiration date on it (in my case, it's October of 2014). Here is a night time moisturizing skin ritual I've grown to love involving Egyptian Magic:

-Cleanse with a gentle cleanser (I love Atopalm Moisturizing Facial Cleansing Foam)
-Use a hydrosol or thermal spring water spray (La Roche Posay has selenium which soothes skin)
-When skin is almost dry, use a gentle moisturizer like Atopalm MLE Cream, or retinol/retinaldyhyde product
-Apply a light layer of Egyptian Magic, gently pressing into the skin all over face and neck, which will effectively seal in moisture



I have a lot of skin sensitivities, rashes, breakouts and such, and a product like this is extremely useful to me. This takes dry or damaged skin, brings it into the supple arena and keeps it there. It's also gentle enough to use around the eye area. I should note that this would probably not be a good product for people who are very allergic to bees. It would be nice if they made little travel sized jars to throw in your purse, because it's a huge jar and not travel friendly. You can transfer some of the contents into an empty small jar, though.



Overall, I think this product is well worth a try if you have stubborn dryness, are prone to irritations, or just to have around for any number of the uses I have mentioned here. A 4 oz jar of Egyptian Magic is available for $36 at b-glowing.

[product was sent to me for review by b-glowing. I have no affiliation with Egyptian Magic or b-glowing, and am not being financially compensated. My opinions are solely my own.]

11 comments:

  1. You have no idea how much I love a multi-tasking product. That's what is making me want this. I imagine myself hydrating cuticles/hands, setting eyebrows and flyaways, and using this on my feet. And of course, I can use it on my face when I need it. I didn't realize it was 4 oz. so that is a good deal. How would you compare this to Smith's Rosebud Salve?
    I also have a sick Egyptian, dare I say, fetish. I was so obsessed with Egyptian mythology as a child. That's what got me into fragrance. I'd love to visit Egypt as an adult. I feel this unexplainable urge to migrate there. I also suffer from a terrible Cleopatra complex. I had the bangs for 5 years to prove it.What I'm getting at is that I'm about to buy this for the name.

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  2. Thanks for writing about this. I could definitely use some of it during the cold months here (especially my cuticles at the moment). I'll try and see if it can be found around here.

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  3. What does it smell like? Just curious! :)

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  4. Jen, that was something I forgot to talk about here, it smells like a faint olive oil and beeswax smell. Nothing too strong, and it smells natural. I like it.

    Victoria, I think you would really like this. I've not tried Rosebud Salve, so I can't compare, but I can say this: it's not shiny greasy, it's silky smooth and soft. No petrolatum or castor oil here. You can buy it for the name, or the guy's name who owns the company (cool or uncool? I can't decide), but just buy it. You'll find a thousand things you'll use it for.

    Ines, You're in Croatia, right? I couldn't find anyplace online in your country that has it, but you could probably do a better search than me. However, b-glowing will ship anywhere in the world, if all else fails!

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  5. Coming up soon, I'll be putting yet another multi-functional product to the test- Adara Coconut Oil. From what I understand, it's unfracionated, organic virgin coconut oil, and it comes in a variety of fragrances (green tea, jasmine, peach, lavender). It can be used anywhere on the face, body and hair. Lisa from b-glowing is *crazy* about this stuff, so I have to give it a try. It supposedly comes to you in an almost solid form and you have to run it under a hot tap to melt it.

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  6. I LOVE multi-tasking products, and look forward to trying this one.. thanks for the review!
    -dee

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  7. Hi there; to Ines in Croatia and other non US-readers: I live in Norway, and I usually order the Egyptian Magic from iHerb.com. Worldwide shipping is $4.00 (for orders weighing up to 1360g/3 lbs or less)! Direct link:

    http://www.iherb.com/Egyptian-Magic-All-Purpose-Skin-Cream-4-oz-118-ml/24365?at=0

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  8. Thank you very much Cathrine, that's very helpful!

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  9. I was SO excited to see that you reviewed this! I kept reading about it in beauty magazines but refused to believe all the hype until someone I knew backed it up.

    BTW, I cracked up over your reaction to "divine love". I get the same way anytime I read the labels on organic products. Barf.

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  10. hi carrie i would like to konw where can i buy that Egyptian Magic Cream here in dubai pls let me know

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  11. Hi Lei, I'm sorry, I don't know where you can get this in Dubai, but I'm sure if you go to the Egyptian Magic website, you can find out. If it doesn't have a way to tell right on the website, if you email customer service, they will be able to tell you. Good luck!

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