Sparkled Beauty

I believe everyone's hands suffer this winter, but I have not seen my cuticles this bad before, ever. In a mad hunt for anything that works for them, I embraced the offer to review the Miracle Balm, 100% natural.

Now to get the facts straight, the Miracle Balm is a lot more than a cuticle cream.

It restores dried/ chapped skin, sooth bruises, itches (caused by psoriasis or eczema) or burns, strengthens weak nails, eases sore muscles, protects facial skin from the cold, etc.

The natural formula includes:
- Propolis: the resin collected by the bees on tree buds (acts as a beehive sealer), very strong antiseptic, antibiotic and healing characteristics
- Emu oil: moisturizing, healing and antifungical
- Castor oil: emollient, soothing and fortifying for nails and hair
- Bees wax: protects the skin by creating a waterproof barrier
- Comfrey: a plant whose extract has healing and anti-itching properties
Also contains jojoba, avocado, essential oils of lavender, geranium and lemon.

As soon as I saw the lovely yellow texture and the little spatula, I had this deja vu feeling, like I used this balm before. But it was not in my stash nor featured on the blog, so it was a long while before I realized I did try it before through Elle Beauty Grand Prix.

It was a blind-testing program, where products were concealed and numbered to ensure unbiased opinions. This balm was categorized as a hand cream, so I tested it for that and gave it quite high ratings (spoiler alert lol). My coworker fell in love with it too and asked if she could have it after I was done testing, which was why I didn't have it anymore.

The Miracle Balm has a more solid texture than coconut oil in cold environment, but it melts the same way when in contact with the skin, just more slowly as it is thicker. And it smells herbally, in a good way, like a medicated balm if you ever try one before.

For other purposes that I didn't know of at the time of Elle Grand Prix testing, the Balm has done a great job in helping with my muscle pain after shoveling all March and into April. The feeling of it melting into the skin, the warmth from rubbing it in and the medicated scent offered comfort!

It also brought hope that my cuticles can soon be back to where it was pre-winter. They are not there yet, that tells you how bad things were.

Due to its thick texture, I did not use the balm on my face on those no-makeup days but in extreme cold situations, I definite will.

Ingredients: Gromicelus (Emu oil), Cocos Nucifera (Coconut oil), Cera Alba (Bee wax), Vitis Vinifera (Grapeseed oil), Ricinus Communis (Castor oil), Persea Americana (Avocado oil), Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba oil), Propolis, Symphytum Officinale (Comfrey Root extract), Lavandula Officinalis, Pelargonium Graveolens (Rose Geranium), Citrus Sinensi, Tocopherol (Vitamin E).

The Balm is made in Quebec, distributed by Bella Vita. The tin has 80g of product, retails for $15 in most health food stores.