A hard working balm can solve a multitude of skin problems, save space in
your handbag and just generally reduce shelf space in your beauty cabinet. I
love a multi-use balm and have hundreds (I exaggerate) scattered around my
house and in various handbags. I suffer from dry cuticles and lips so I am
always slathering some ointment on myself to heal & soothe dry skin.
Here are my current fantastic four:
Lucas’ PawPaw
The cult makeup artist product all the way from Australia. This is up there with Bioderma (micellar) and Embryolisse with it being everywhere I look backstage! I remember 10 years ago when I first started working in makeup this was super hard to get hold of – you had to literally get ozzie pals to being some back with them, now fortunately it is readily available everywhere, It is a great price too in comparison to my others with a 25g tube costing around
£4.50.
Key Ingredients: Fermented Papaya fruit, Pharmaceutical grade petroleum jelly
Best For: Makeup Artists & those who love to have a cult beauty product in their stash!
Elizabeth Arden 8-hr cream (fragrance free)
The best selling skincare classic! This used to pretty much be the only multi-use balm
that was known on the market 10years ago. It was such a beauty buzzword and everyone had a tube of this. Fast forward to now and they recently launched a fragrance/Paraben free version which is when I started buying it again, particularly for my makeup kit. As it is instanty recognisable , my clients love it and know it , so it’s an absolute kit essential.
Not only is it great on the lips and any dry skin, but I use this A LOT on the cheek bones and browbones to give a gorgeous subtle glow. For ultra dewy and glossy skin, just tap a small amount in between fingertips to warm it up and lightly blend onto the skin.
Key Ingredients: Lanolin, Acacia, Salicylic Acid, Castor Seed oil
Best For: Those with a penchant for high end brands & those who don’t like the original 8-hr cream fragrance.
Antipodes Skin Saviour balm*
This is a pure and organic skin remedy that reduces dryness and treats lots of different skin troubles. It contains a blend of rich oils, Australian tea tree to give antibacterial properties and anti oxidant-rich Vivanza grape. So kind it can even be used on babies. It comes in a an oversized tin that I like to keep at home rather than
the handbag as it more of a task to get into that my other tube formulas.
Key Ingredients: Tea Tree, Vivanza Grape, Calendula, Sunflower seed oil, Carrot seed oil, Shea butter
Best for: The whole family, including children & babies.
Lanolips Golden ointment
I’m a shameless Lanolips addict and have a wide range of their products. This is the most concentrated of all the balms and it is highly efficient at tackling the most hardworthy of dry skin. Medical grade lanolin is one of the best moisturising ingredients out there and it REALLY does work.
Key Ingredients: Lanolin, Manuka Honey, Vitamin E
Best For: The driest skin on earth!
Have you used any if my trusty four multi-use balms? What is your go-to product? Was pretty hard whittling it down as there are SO many good ones.
