On my happiness scale of 1 to 10, I would rate finding a great skin cream at 50. So when I found the much hyped about Egyptian Magic during a recent Costco run, I was happier than a pig in dirt — or is it slop? Whatevas. I was happy! I read so much about this secret of the stars, cult classic, all-propose cream. Egyptian Magic normally sells for $39.99 in a 4 oz. jar. However, Costco packaged a 4 oz. jar with a 2 oz. jar and a cute makeup-bag-sized jar. I paid $39.99 for the more is more Costco bundle.
A quick look at the ingredients made me wonder what makes this stuff so amazing: olive oil, beeswax, honey, bee pollen, royal jelly, and propolis (which is bee glue that honey bees produce by mixing saliva and beeswax with exudate gathered from tree buds, sap flows, or other botanical sources). If you’re a crunchy, granola type, these simple, natural ingredients are right up your alley. However, I was expecting something a little more exotic, like tears from a rare breed of birds that only live on a volcano in the Vanuatu Islands.
Even though Egyptian Magic has no added chemicals or fragrances, it does have a weird smell — kinda medicinal. It’s really hard for me to get over unpleasant smells. But I can’t let that stop me from trying out this allegedly magical cream. So I mixed the cream with a couple of drops of lavender essence oil and hoped for the best. I decided to use the all-purpose cream for four purposes: as a hand cream, a night cream, a lip balm, and a foot cream.
Four weeks later, the results are mixed. As a night cream it’s a little too greasy and ended up all over my pillowcase. As a lip balm, there’s too much slip so I had to constantly re-apply. It’s not bad as a hand cream. I’m a frequent hand washer, so my hands can benefit from a little additional moisture. I layered Egyptian Magic with my normal hand lotion after every wash. Before using Egyptian Magic, my cuticles were in pretty poor shape (from frequent hand washing). Now, my hands and nails look great. On my feet, I also layered Egyptian Magic with my normal body lotion. The results were good. However, I’ve had similar results just using Vaseline.
THE TAKEAWAY
Egyptians have been credited with some of the greatest cosmetic discoveries, such as eye liner and mascara, this all-propose cream is not one of them. I will continue to use it on my feet and hands. And thanks to Costco, I have enough cream to last for months.