Review: Badger Balm Rose Damascus Rose Face Oil

Wow it's been almost 2 months since my last post. Well that's what happens when life gets in the way. In a fashion, it's also good - you may infer that I haven't been spending money. Nor have I received any gifts, aww.

But there comes a time when I come across something that sounds and looks too enticing to pass up. I decided to purchase a bottle of Badger Balm Rose Face Oil when my Jurlique one was (finally) finishing up. For the uninitiated, Badger Balm is a US brand that first made its mark with their all-natural, super moisturising body balms. These come in beautiful vintage tins a la "Zambuk" style, but prettier. I have yet to try any, but the chest rub and sleep balms look lovely, and everytime I walk into the shop, E1 starts sniffing all of them because they "smells goooood". They also have a delicious-looking range of lip balms (lavender & orange, it's you I'm eyeing).

Anyway let's not get distracted. Look how pretty the packaging is. Yet this is a no-frills bottle of face oil. As you may know, rose oil is bloody expensive. But this is probably the cheapest face oil I've ever invested in. More on that later.

Look at those ingredients. You could slap on a brand name and sell it for 10 times the price. In fact, if you do a quick search, a well-known brand does have a rose facial oil, and they don't even declare the full list of ingredients. The carrier oil for this is jojoba, which is better than most branded non-natural oils out there (many use mineral oil). On top of that, there's baobab, pomegranate, lavender, rosehip and chamomile oils. Can you feel how excited I was just looking at this?? I will say though, that rose oil is potent (and like I said, expensive) and only a small amount is needed, hence its position in this list.

What sold me was their commitment to genuine, quality products. How could you not want roses handpicked at dawn and steam distilled the very same day?

However, the first thing I noticed, and dislike, about this, is that it's a pump bottle. I've always bought face oils that come with a dropper. For one, it's difficult to control the dispensed amount with a pump. Another albeit frivolous reason is, it's much more luxurious and pampering to drip something precious for your equally precious face, don't you think? Just adds more indulgence to the whole experience.

That aside, the second thing I noticed was the smell. If you are hoping to get a blast of rosy fragrance like Jurlique's range (I was), then you will be sorely disappointed in this oil (I was). This has a very herbal scent distinctive of raw oils. I once made my own blend of jojoba, lavender and some other oils - smelled almost exactly like this. I don't dislike it, but it takes some getting used to. And if you're really good with your nose, you can actually sift out the lavender and rose somewhere in there.

Beware, this is a very greasy oil. It is, after all, meant for dry skin. A 3/4 pump is enough for my entire face and neck (don't want the jowls of a bulldog now, do we) and takes a relatively long time to absorb. It was slightly off-putting at first, but I realised my skin needs this. And after I layer on my serum and heavy-duty moisturiser, the smell isn't obvious. I would dare say, interestingly, it actually enhances the fragrance of my Jurlique moisturiser.

But of course, the biggest question is, does this product work? One word: Impressively.

After 1 week of using this, my dry patches at the jawline have disappeared and my cheeks feel softer and smoother than it was before, which I didn't think was possible. The bumpy bits around my chin have evened out and -get this- it held my skin up even in the wake of my first period in 1.5 years. I'm particularly prone to hormonal breakouts that I now know is probably associated with extra-dryness. I had a few spots threatening to develop into full-blown pimples but this oil kept that under control (before this, I had one pimple on the chin).

I'm completely sold.

Verdict: I've found my HG oil!

This is definitely a keeper, for so many reasons. Besides giving me smooth, glowing skin, it doesn't break the bank like the other branded ones. It can be yours for a princely sum of S$27.90. Yes you read that right. Like I said, it's the cheapest face oil I've ever bought, and costs 1/3 the price of Jurlique's. How could I not love this?

I was bummed that ironically I couldn't find this in the States when I was there a month ago. I'm dying to try out the cleansing oil, which isn't stocked at the Unity below my house. They also have a limited range here, but for those with less dry skin, you may want to check out the Argan oil range. Some other products I'm keen to try are the sunscreens and the rose body oil (for stretch marks). The good thing is if you order more than $100 worth of products, they do cash on delivery, so I may not have to scour each shop for the products I'm interested in. At this rate, I may actually hit the price mark!

Check out their range here.